Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Tue, 23 Apr 2002 08:23:26 -0700 (PDT)
From:      Frank Mayhar <frank@exit.com>
To:        Robert Watson <rwatson@FreeBSD.ORG>
Cc:        "Greg 'groggy' Lehey" <grog@FreeBSD.ORG>, Jordan Hubbard <jkh@winston.freebsd.org>, Oscar Bonilla <obonilla@galileo.edu>, Anthony Schneider <aschneid@mail.slc.edu>, Mike Meyer <mwm-dated-1019955884.8b118e@mired.org>, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Security through obscurity? (was: ssh + compiled-in SKEY support considered harmful?)
Message-ID:  <200204231523.g3NFNQnq029649@realtime.exit.com>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.NEB.3.96L.1020423110123.64976j-100000@fledge.watson.org>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Robert, it's really, really simple.  For new installs, install the new, more
secure behavior.  Be sure to loudly document this behavior so that those of
us who expect the _old_ behavior don't get bitten by the change.  And don't
change the old behavior in upgrades of existing systems.  As I said in my
other email, if you _must_ change the defaults, add overrides so the behavior
doesn't change.  And by "add overrides" I mean something like an
/etc/rc.conf.override file that gets pulled in after /etc/defaults/rc.conf
but before /etc/rc.conf.

(This says nothing about the necessity or desirability of the change itself,
by the way.  That's an entirely _different_ argument.)

When you change defaults on a running system, you piss off a lot of users.
Including me. :-)
-- 
Frank Mayhar frank@exit.com	http://www.exit.com/
Exit Consulting                 http://www.gpsclock.com/

To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?200204231523.g3NFNQnq029649>