Manny Styles wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: John Connell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 1999 4:06 PM
> Subject: Re: [newbie] KDE
>
> > I keep reading--"never surf the web for security reasons." Just exactly
> what
> > type of security risks are we talking about here? Maybe a dumb question
> but
> > a legitimate one. Please help me with my ignorance!
> > John
> >
> >
> As a normal user, if someone tries to maliciously hack your pc while you are
> online, the damage will be minimal; only affecting what that normal user has
> access to, which isn't enough to destroy your system. On the other hand, if
> you are root, this malicious hacker will have possible access to your entire
> system. The consequences could be as simple as you having to reconfigure
> your system, to a full reinstall, or even trashing your pc for good. That
> is enough reason to not go online as root, even if you do take precautions.
> It is also the reason that many of us decided to go with linux as opposed to
> Windows. Although there are a lot of ways to protect yourself on windows
> when you are online, it is pretty much comparable to being online in linux
> as root. I'm am commenting only on what I have read, luckily not from
> experience.
I want to "ring in" on this one before people get the wrong
impression...
Simply logging in as root while online is NOT a security problem. Being
a normal user while online does not decrease the chances of a malicious
cracker breaking into your machine and trashing the system. Network
daemons (ftp, imap, pop, telnet, Apache, etc, etc) are the things that
will result in cracked systems from remote users no matter who you
"surf" as.
The decrease in risk comes from any possible problems there might be in
applications you run on the network as that user. If you fire up IRC as
a normal user and someone hacks that application, the only damage they
can do is to files and directories that you own. If you IRC as root,
you own the entire system and you put all of it at risk. Similarly, a
buglet in Netscape that erases your home directory might be a little
bothersome (if you don't have backups!) as a normal user could be
disastrous as root.
And THAT'S why you should NEVER surf as root.
--
Steve Philp
Network Administrator
Advance Packaging Corporation
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
