diff --git a/dlls/ntdll/server.c b/dlls/ntdll/server.c
index 145540f..17e685e 100644
--- a/dlls/ntdll/server.c
+++ b/dlls/ntdll/server.c
@@ -832,6 +832,13 @@ static int server_connect(void)
         if (chdir( serverdir ) == -1) fatal_perror( "chdir to %s", serverdir );
     }
 
+    /* warn about running Wine as root */
+    if (getuid() == 0)
+    {
+        MESSAGE("You are running Wine as root. You risk damaging your system by giving windows applications full access to your system!\n");
+        MESSAGE("You should run your applications as a regular user unless root permissions are absolutely needed.\n");
+    }
+
     /* make sure we are at the right place */
     if (stat( ".", &st ) == -1) fatal_perror( "stat %s", serverdir );
     if (st.st_uid != getuid()) fatal_error( "'%s' is not owned by you\n", serverdir );