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Most modern Linux distribution prompt you during the installation to create a user on the system, with good reason.
The root user is all powerful on a Linux system. With this power comes responsibility. Since Linux has not ``trashbin'' and no simple means to recover deleted files, when you tell it to remove files, it usually does so without hesitation and often without prompting you, unless there is an error. For the beginner, the lack of response from the system can often be disconcerting. If you are running as root, it can be hazardous to your system.
Many system commands have recursive options as well as wild card arguments that can create havoc on your system, if you are root. If you run as a regular user, you can still destroy a lot of data in your home directory, but you usually don't have the proper ownership and permissions to do much damage to the system as a whole. One of the reasons Linux is highly resistant to virus and worm infection is that most users on the system don't have root privileges, and therefore can't propogate virus and worms to system files. Operating as root would circumvent these protections and allow viruses and worms to spread through Linux systems much as they do in other operating systems.