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ripley> Quoting sen_ml@eccosys.com (sen_ml@eccosys.com):
> if you su, don't you have to type in the root password?  even if the
> session is encrypted, the password still goes over the wire.  if you
> use rsa key authentication you don't have that particular risk (though
> you may have others).

ripley> There are alternatives to su which don't need the user to have the
ripley> root password.  

then perhaps those can provide viable alternatives.  (btw, do you have
any personal recommendations?)

at least for the current discussion i was under the impression that su
was mentioned explicitly :-)

ripley> Besides (assuming encrypted connections) it's not so much a
ripley> matter about the password being transferred over the wire

i think this is concern is a subject of individual perspective.  party a
may not care, but party b may.

as you can tell, i'm one of those people that is bothered by the
password going over the wire, even if in encrypted form.  i like things
like challenge-and-response authentication and srp.

ripley> but whether the user has to know it at all.  If he doesn't even
ripley> have it, it can't be compromised by the user...

isn't the situation similar w/ using rsa authentication and logging in
as root (i prefer this set up)?  you have to be able to decrypt a
certain secret key.  if the user can't decrypt some secret key, the
user shouldn't be able to get root that way.

am i missing an important difference here?


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