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Date:      Thu, 24 May 2007 09:44:20 +0200
From:      Alexander Leidinger <Alexander@Leidinger.net>
To:        Colin Percival <cperciva@freebsd.org>
Cc:        freebsd-arch@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: RFC: Removing file(1)+libmagic(3) from the base system
Message-ID:  <20070524094420.de73ozujr4sccc0o@webmail.leidinger.net>
In-Reply-To: <46553A6B.7070904@freebsd.org>
References:  <46546E16.9070707@freebsd.org> <7158.1179947572@critter.freebsd.dk> <20070523213251.GA14733@keltia.freenix.fr> <20070523.161038.-1989860747.imp@bsdimp.com> <46553A6B.7070904@freebsd.org>

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Quoting Colin Percival <cperciva@freebsd.org> (from Thu, 24 May 2007 =20
00:10:35 -0700):

> M. Warner Losh wrote:
>> I would argue that it would make the system LESS secure, because one
>> loses the ability to identify files on the system.  People are going
>> to install it anyway, and it is a jump ball as to whether having it in
>> the base system would cause vulnerabilities to be updated faster than
>> having it in ports (both the actual update in the system, as well as
>> the user causing the update to happen: ports are a touch easier to
>> update, but lag a bit both in terms of people updating their ports
>> tree and ports committers updating the port).
>
> Interestingly, my experience from portsnap is that people tend to update
> ports more frequently than they apply security patches to the base system.

You can say people tend to update the ports collection, you don't know =20
about the ports (as in "installed ports"). I have several systems =20
(behind a proxy) which update the ports collection every day. But the =20
ports there are not updated that often. I also know about several =20
systems where the ports collection is updated every day, but the =20
installed ports are only touched if a client ask about a new software =20
or an update, which is maybe once a year.

I also like to keep file in the base. It's too damn useful there.

Bye,
Alexander.

--=20
He who hesitates is last.

http://www.Leidinger.net    Alexander @ Leidinger.net: PGP ID =3D B0063FE7
http://www.FreeBSD.org       netchild @ FreeBSD.org  : PGP ID =3D 72077137



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