On Fri, Jul 25, 2003 at 07:10:51PM -0700, Mr O wrote:
> (ro, root_squash)??
> What's better for my network then? NFS seems to offer me better
> performance over SMB. I don't know why though.
> 
> Seriously curious,
> 
> Mr O.
Mr O.,

Seriously insecure!

What are the purposes of storing data on a server?
1 Prevent unauthorized viewers
2 Prevent unauthorized changes
3 Central information store && backup && a few others

For a read only, public share nfs can work great.  It seems to perform
better for me as well, with limited testing and having unix file
permissions is wonderful! 

What about #1 and #2?  How about having user home directories on an nfs
server?  You don't want one user viewing or changing data from another
user, however you do want a user to be able to change his or her own
data.  How is the user authenticated to the server?  By host and uid.
Where does the uid come from?  The local system.  

I say telnet is more secure than nfs.  A telnet server that is never
logged in to never provides the password to the network.  However an nfs
server provides its shares to an intruder whether they capture any
legitimate traffic or not.  By stepping through some configurations one
could configure a laptop to assume various ip addresses and uids trying
to mount nfs shares.  By browsing through dns records and other network
services one could easily get a network layout game plan that would make
this easier to do.  A network share /home/mro and a computer named
mros_puter.domain.com probably go together for instance.  Lookup the ip
address of the system and you are half way there.  Step through some
common uids, say 1000-5000 and you have it.  This is a lot easier than
trying to brute force a telnet daemon.

For your home network, behind a firewall, nfs is fine.   For public read
only shares nfs is fine.  I have started to use nfs on my local lan at
petersen-arne, however I am really disappointed in it's lack of
security.  Windows 95 password protected shares are more secure than
nfs.

Unfortunately intermezzo and coda are pretty immature.  Coda says use me
if you have less than 30 knowledgable users, but not if either condition
is false.  They offer things like encryption, authentication and a
disconnect mode for laptops.  I *really* want that last feature!

Cory

--
Cory Petkovsek                                       Adapting Information
Adaptable IT Consulting                                Technology to your   
(541) 914-8417                                                   business
[EMAIL PROTECTED]                                  www.AdaptableIT.com
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