Jim Lambert proclaimed on mutt-users that:
> Does anyone have experience with any of the free shell providers and
> what are they like (security, reliability, etc)?
Security - reasonably OK (just as OK, in some cases, as a +paid+
shell provider like Panix / Shore). Note that shell accounts are
magnets for skr1p7 k1dd33z and others, so there's always a risk.
Reliablity - Fairly OK - but there's no guarantee of service. If
something goes down, it stays down till the admin(s) get around to
fixing it.
Thanks to the skr1p7 k1dd33 problem (and thanks to lots of people
trying to run eggdrops and such on the shells, leading to a huge
overutilization of bandwidth) some of the shell accounts are
routinely booted from one DSL provider to another [yep, that's what
they mostly run on, DSL lines]
An alternative source of free shells is the freenets scattered
around the USA. More reliable, set up primarily for a community and
so sponsored, with a staff of full time admins, etc. I use two
freenet accounts rather regularly - m-net.arbornet.org (Ann Arbor
MI) and efn.org (Eugene, OR). Much more reliable than the common or
garden freeshell accounts around. Efn.org particularly (but it
requires you to fax / snail-mail 'em a signed registration form)
[hanging on topic - yep, both these have mutt installed - arbornet
has 1.2.5i on freebsd 4.2-stable and efn has 1.0i on a heavily
patched sun os 4.1.4]
-s
> Biju Chacko muttered:
> > There are several free shell providers -- hobbiton.org, sdf.lonestar.org, etc.
> > Don't they offer mutt as an optional mailer?
--
Suresh Ramasubramanian + Wallopus Malletus Indigenensis
mallet @ cluestick.org + Lumber Cartel of India, tinlcI
EMail Sturmbannfuhrer, Lower Middle Class Unix Sysadmin
