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Date:      Sat, 2 Dec 2000 13:12:06 -0800
From:      "Crist J . Clark" <cjclark@reflexnet.net>
To:        john@T-F-I.freeserve.co.uk
Cc:        questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: bpf enabled in default kernel?
Message-ID:  <20001202131206.R99903@149.211.6.64.reflexcom.com>
In-Reply-To: <4e8i2t0mrjf4e0rsautrm5sepgq1oq1r7q@4ax.com>; from john253@crosswinds.net on Sat, Dec 02, 2000 at 05:05:12PM %2B0000
References:  <4e8i2t0mrjf4e0rsautrm5sepgq1oq1r7q@4ax.com>

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On Sat, Dec 02, 2000 at 05:05:12PM +0000, John Murphy wrote:
> In the FreeBSD Security How-To at:
> http://people.freebsd.org/~jkb/howto.html#bpf
> it says 'By default FreeBSD's kernel does not support BPF.'
> 
> and yet in /usr/src/sys/i386/conf/GENERIC there is a line:
> pseudo-device bpf       #Berkeley packet filter
> 
> Is the default kernel generated from something other than GENERIC,
> or is bpf disabled in some way by default?

As others have pointed out, BPF is in fact in the default kernel. The
webpage is outdated.

Before the thread inevitably gets started, the reason it was enabled
by default is that after much flamage, fist fights, and at the cost of
dozens lives, it was decided that the security risk to the new user
was outweighed by the fact DHCP needs BPF to work. With the increasing
popularity of DHCP, BPF was added to GENERIC so it could do DHCP.
-- 
Crist J. Clark                           cjclark@alum.mit.edu


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