On Tue, Oct 23, 2001 at 11:51:02AM -0700, Justin Bengtson wrote: > >i hate to seem naive, but why am i asking for trouble when running as root? >security? i already covered that. save me from myself? i think of it as >part of the computer experience. if i f**k up my system, i just learned >something (and i back up, so this isn't a problem to me. it's just time.) >
Saving me from myself is more valuable than it might seem; i've lost data and had to spend days restoring a system to a usable state before. Backups help a lot, but they can't give me my time back. More troublesome to me is the programmed threat; worms, trojans, et al. My machine is connected to the Internet via DSL; i have filters and firewalls, but i can't have thought of everything, and if the latest l33test exploit comes out while i'm away from a console, i can be exposed to the world for hours. I won't get into the really paranoid bits like the question of just who is accessing my console when i'm not there (note that the FBI has just acquired the power to get a search warrant, search the suspect's premises while he's away, and only notify him about it later...); if these don't already occur to you, they are not likely to interest you anyway. -- "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.
