Linux-Misc Digest #905, Volume #20 Sat, 3 Jul 99 14:13:08 EDT
Contents:
Re: Visual programming language for linux? (Christopher B. Browne)
Can someone explain this syslog error? ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: internet speed (Silviu Minut)
Re: first/second/third world (Richard Kulisz)
Re: bet you cannot solve this! (well probably will) (Silviu Minut)
Irregular CTRL-C Freezes on 2.2.10 with ping/tcpdump ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: mi.linux...see mi.news for details! (Silviu Minut)
Re: Candidates for module-loading? (Silviu Minut)
Re: How do I create the soundcore.o module? (Silviu Minut)
Re: Could Microsoft Cheat On The New Mindcraft Benchmark? (Anthony Ord)
Re: Log out users automatically? ("Daniel W. Burke")
Re: LILO question, WIN98 dual boot. (Leonard Evens)
Re: Linux Presentation Software (Chu_Yik_Chi)
Re: thinkpad 770x modem ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
user "init"/startup scripts: ucrond or home-grown? (Peter W)
Re: 10GB disk and LILO - I tried EVERYTHING! (Leonard Evens)
info please ("Tom")
Re: Anyone got Soundblaster Live to work (Chris)
Re: shell script (Konrad Hambrick)
Re: Linux vs. Unix (William F. Hammond)
Re: Contribution request (was: Idea for new *nix site: yes or no?) (Kris)
Re: Nonexistent means impossible?? Linux viruses (Robert Heller)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher B. Browne)
Subject: Re: Visual programming language for linux?
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 14:25:22 GMT
On Sat, 03 Jul 1999 06:12:07 GMT, Ken Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> posted:
>>H.Eitjes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>>news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>>> Does there exist a Visual language for linux. Like there is visual C or
>>> visual basic for MS-windows?
>
>http://www.cs.uni-potsdam.de/~smeier/kdevelop/
I thought they were asking about a visual *language,* not merely an IDE.
--
Those who do not understand Unix are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
-- Henry Spencer <http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/lsf.html>
[EMAIL PROTECTED] - "What have you contributed to free software today?..."
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Can someone explain this syslog error?
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 15:24:36 GMT
I keep getting this error on bootup in /var/log/syslog with both my
2.0.36 and 2.2.7 kernel:
Jul 3 15:21:06 ogham kernel: Symbol table has incorrect version number.
The original dist. was slackware 3.6 which had a 2.0.35 kernel. Could this
have something to do with it?
NJR
------------------------------
From: Silviu Minut <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: internet speed
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 11:17:54 -0400
Michel Catudal wrote:
> Silviu Minut wrote:
>
> > > Try installing the intelligent dialer that comes standard with
> > > SuSE 6.1 --> wvdial
> > > The best dialer I've seen yet.
> >
> > > Have you seen xisp?
> > >
>
> How is it different from wvdial?
>
>
I don't know, I was asking you. I wouldn't mind giving it a try if it's
really worth the trouble.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Richard Kulisz)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: first/second/third world
Date: 3 Jul 1999 15:12:35 GMT
In article <7lja66$7r7$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Stephan Schulz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Today most scientists are leaning towards the first interpretation
>(due to Occam's Razor),
This is wrong. Ockham's razor actually says that you should pick
the Many-World interpretation. And so does General Relativity. And
the Kobenhavn interpretation is blatantly unscientific so just being
a scientist should mean you stay the hell away from it (btw, this
is why scientists get headaches when they're indoctrinated into its
Mysteries -- because it's all a bunch of nonsensical bullshit that
would confuse a postmodernist).
>but there is no conclusive evidence in either
>direction.
It is conclusive to anyone who knows about it. Someone recently
proposed an experiment that will torpedo Heisenberg's Uncertainty
bullshit once and for all, and the principle of duality has been
disproved quite a while ago.
Frankly, the Kobenhavn interpretation got accepted only because a
couple of morons with too much authority screwed up their own analysis.
------------------------------
From: Silviu Minut <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: bet you cannot solve this! (well probably will)
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 11:28:08 -0400
Reboot. Then do a
setserial -a /dev/ttyS2
and post the output. Then we'll see.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.networking
Subject: Irregular CTRL-C Freezes on 2.2.10 with ping/tcpdump
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 15:38:15 GMT
I'm running into some weird behavior on the new 2.2.10 version of Trinux
I develop (a ramdisk version of Linux)
Control-C fails to stop the ping command or tcpdump. Unfortunately
it doesn't do it all the time. Actually, right now it only appears to
be doing it on tcpdump.
Here are some possible explanations?
* this is a terminal problem, possibly with the termcap library
* this is raw socket problem perhaps an incompatiblity between tcpdump
and 2.2.10 (I get an error message: tcpdump uses obsolete (PF_INET,
SOCK_PACKET)
* I'm forgetting to compile something in the kernel
* It is somehow related to the ramdisks because using the same kernel on
a real (non-ramdisk) box it works fine
I know these are kind of out there, but this one has really got me
stumped (and its really annoying, too)
-mdf
Trinux: A Linux Security Toolkit
http://www.trinux.org
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
------------------------------
From: Silviu Minut <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: mi.linux...see mi.news for details!
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 11:56:30 -0400
There's already an msu.linux.misc group and a greater lansing linux user
group (gllug mailing list). I bet there's linux groups in Ann Arbor too.
You don't have to go to MSU or to UofM to post.
Tarkaan wrote:
> I hope this isn't a breach of etiquette...I apologize if it is.
>
> I'm looking to see how many people are interested in a mi.linux
> newsgroup, and I've sent a proposal through to mi.news. If you're in
> Michigan or the surrounding area, or just want to say something, please
> go over to mi.news and say what you think on the topic.
>
> -- Jack Tarkaan Kalamazoo, Michigan
> -- http://www.bigfoot.com/~tarkaan mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> -- NO UNSOLICITED E-MAIL AT THIS ADDRESS - Respect privacy - NO SPAM!!!!
------------------------------
From: Silviu Minut <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.questions,comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: Candidates for module-loading?
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 12:02:34 -0400
Perhaps the best source would be /usr/src/linux/Documentation.
Don't worry about loading/unloading modules. You're not going to load/unload
the sound 10 times per second. If the config script says you can compile
something as a module, then you can. However, there's a number of drivers that
must be compiled into the kernel. A typical example is ext2, or else, the
system can't mount any ext2 partition, including the root partition, hence
kernel panic. The documentation explains all you need to know about all the
drivers.
Edward W. Morris, Jr. wrote:
> Hey. I'd like to ask for information pertaining to wise and unwise choices
> when rolling a kernel and specifiing module loading. Where could I find
> such information? I ask myself this question: "If given the choice to
> compile a device driver as loadable, is it a good idea". I'm not talking
> lack of resources either. I'm just saying that for example, would something
> that would be frequently accessed possibly be loaded and unloaded into the
> kernel frequently as to simulate thrashing? Thanks.
>
> ed
------------------------------
From: Silviu Minut <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: How do I create the soundcore.o module?
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 11:24:48 -0400
If your kernel was configured correctly and you didn't get soundcore.o then why
do you think you need it? For instance I only have sound.o, sb.o, awe_wave.o
opl3.o and soundlow.o (I have a Sound Blaster). And sound works just fine.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Pat Heuvel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >Gday Neil,
> >
> >[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> >>
> >> I've tried various (2.0.36) kernel compilation options but the module never
> >> gets created. Or do I have to download it from somewhere or should it have
> >> come with the distribution? (Mine is slackware 3.6)
> >>
> >> Help!
> >>
> >> NJR
> >after you've built the kernel, try "make modules" followed by "make
> >modules_install".
>
> Tried that , i got one called sound.o but nothing called soundcore.o :(
> I don't suppose theres a dummies guide to creating soundcore.o because I'm
> goint round in circles and frankly its pissing me off. It shouldn't be this
> hard just to get a bloody soundcard working. Sometimes I wonder why I bother
> with linux. </rant>
>
> (Sorry , not having a go at you mate :)
> NJR
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Anthony Ord)
Crossposted-To:
comp.os.linux.networking,omp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix
Subject: Re: Could Microsoft Cheat On The New Mindcraft Benchmark?
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 16:40:15 GMT
On Thu, 1 Jul 1999 11:44:00 -0700,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] ("Bob Taylor") wrote:
>In article <7lfucc$9j0$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>> In comp.os.linux.misc "Bob Taylor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> = And how do you know this actually happened? Were you present? You read
>> = it in a book written by an American hater? On behalf of the Americans
>> = who died saving your sorry ass in WWII, I *demand* a retraction and
>> = appology for such a vicious attack!
>>
>> Who are you to *demand* anything?
>
>You falsely accused Americans of brutality.
No. He didn't say anything. I said it. It is not a false
allegation. Do you want to hear the story?
>> More to the point, I really wish the US lusers would stop it with the "We
>> pulled your ass(sp) out of the fire in WWII" bollocks.
>
>Look, you insufferable ass, the people of the US build the worlds
>largest and most successful economy. Our farmers feed the US
>population and 25% of the rest of the world. The American people
>freely give of their time and money to those less fortunate.
>
>Now as to WWII, why don't you do some research and a little thinking?
>
>> The USA was *supposedly* an ally from BEFORE the war...
>> So, Mr Taylor... What year was the start of WWII again??? 1939? Or 1942?
>> WHERE WERE YOU LOT THEN?
>
>The overwhelming opinion of the Americans prior to Hitler was to stay
>out of European squabbles. There was also laws against involvement.
>
>Exactly *what* do you define WWII as? The war against Germany began
>when Britain and France declared war. As far as I am concerned, WWII
>began when the US declared war on Japan and Germany declared war on
>the US.
So what was it before that date? A bun fight?
>> And don't come back with any balls about the US helping to rebuilt the
>> infrastructure in Britain with lots of money, because those were LOANS,
>> which we paid back and owe you NOTHING on that anymore.
>
>American money rebuilt Europe under the Marsall Plan. I Have *no* use
>whatsoever for revisionist historians. They are an insult to
>history. I also have little use and absolutly *no* respect for people
>who spread lies about my country and my people. Most especially
>vicious ones such as these.
Be sure. Be very sure.
Regards
Anthony
--
=========================================
| And when our worlds |
| They fall apart |
| When the walls come tumbling in |
| Though we may deserve it |
| It will be worth it - Depeche Mode |
=========================================
------------------------------
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.admin,comp.os.linux.help
From: "Daniel W. Burke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Log out users automatically?
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 15:34:40 GMT
On 2 Jul 1999, Dave Smart x2890 wrote:
> Helmut Katzgraber ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
>
> : look into /etc/security there into access.conf and time.conf. the
> : examples should be self-explanatory.
>
> but you probably need a cron job to kill users.
>
Have to do a little research on this, but I recall there was a daemon running
on a slackware system I used frequently about 3 years ago, that logged people
off that were idle for X number of minutes... it might be what you need.
Dan.
------------------------------
From: Leonard Evens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: LILO question, WIN98 dual boot.
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 11:03:43 -0500
Coy A Hile wrote:
> In article <7lj1fo$58c$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> Charles Sullivan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> >
> >Strange - I've always thought an extended partition had to
> >be be in one of the "slots" hda1 through hda4. Then the
> >logical partitions would be numbered hda5, hda6, etc.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> I had always seen the same thing as well....
>
> Coy
> --
> Coy Hile
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> "Theirs not to reason why; theirs but to do...."
> Tennyson, "Charge of the Light Brigade"
Oops! You have me there. The extended partition will be
/dev/hada2-4, depending on what else is there. However, my
main point is still valid. Having the Linux root partition
in /dev/hda6 is a common situtation arising from the use
of an extended partition.
--
Leonard Evens [EMAIL PROTECTED] 847-491-5537
Dept. of Mathematics, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL 60208
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Chu_Yik_Chi)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.development.apps
Subject: Re: Linux Presentation Software
Date: 3 Jul 1999 15:52:58 GMT
i know there is a software called "VMware" which cliamed that it can let u
run multi-platform in a single machine without reboot and run at the same
time.
chack the website "www.vmware.com"
-Jo
Karel Jansens (jansens_at_ibm_dot_net) wrote:
: On Fri, 2 Jul 1999 20:58:03, "Kenvyn Davies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: > Hello all,
: >
: > I'm currently working on a web site (www.ivojo.com) for my business. I have
: > a hint's and tips page which covers presentation software for Windows and I
: > would very much like to extend this to cover Linux software. I use Redhat as
: > a file server at the moment and SuSE for a lot of my work and a combination
: > of these have turned me into a bit of a Linux advocate. I'd very much like
: > to do what I can to promote Linux and it makes sense to try to use a hints &
: > tips page covering software which will be used by presenters and therefore
: > seen by potentially large audiences to do this.
: >
: > If anyone has any hints, tips etc. or knows of a resource which may be
: > willing to share theirs then please email me of reply to this post.
: >
: If you're into "lean 'n mean", have a look at Applix Office. No frills, no
: paperclips, but it works.
: I don't know about Office-imports tho'. Never checked (and I'm not near to
: my Linux box now) and never really cared about it...
: Karel Jansens
: jansens_at_ibm_dot_net
: ===============================================================
: "I wonder what'll happen if I do this," mused Stibbons.
:
: ..
:
: DON'T YOU WISH NOW YOU HADN'T DONE THAT ?
:
: (Terry Pratchett - Apprentomancer - the B-space collection)
: ===============================================================
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: thinkpad 770x modem
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 16:45:20 GMT
By default the ir is turned on and the serial port (com1) is off, this
is the most likely reason, you need to boot into dos or win and use the
correct tool to change them (win=thinkpad configuration, dos= ps2
commands).
Brian
>
> Thanks for the replys, now for the next question
> com1 works in windows, but isn't detected in linux
> anyone know the reason ???
>
> --
> The wealth of reality, cannot be seen from your locality.
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
------------------------------
From: Peter W <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.security,comp.security.unix
Subject: user "init"/startup scripts: ucrond or home-grown?
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 11:48:07 -0400
I'd like to specify scripts to run as a certain user when the machine
reboots, or, preferably, when it enters/leaves runlevels. The
immediate desire is to have "fetchmail" start in daemon mode for
certain users when the machine is rebooted. This is a feature of some
versions of cron (notably ucrond [1]), to specify tasks to run at
startup, rather than at certain clock times. Sounds like a good way to
do it.[2]
Otherwise I imagine writing a script that would allow user startup
scripts: an init script that would parse /etc/passwd and /etc/shells,
look for executable files with specific names, e.g. ${HOME}/startup,
and use su's -c option to spawn the scripts if the permissions and
ownership looked OK. Probably written in Perl.
So I'm torn between two concerns:
- How many people actually use ucrond? Is it reliable/safe?
- How boneheaded/dangerous is my script idea?
Since 'crond' runs as root, I tend to favor the home-grown approach.
As long as 'su' is safe, this should be a viable approach. Right?
Comments, ideas?
-Peter
Followups to comp.os.linux.security, please.
Email responses weclome; please watch the spam bait in my address.
[1] ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/.4/linux/sunsite/system/daemons/cron/
[2] Depending on when cron runs. Depending on the design of other
daemons, like Netscape Web servers writing daemonstat files in /tmp,
the ability for users to possibly issue commands before the system is
done with the runlevel's scripts could be bad. I'd think you could
just make sure that cron, inetd, and sshd (or similar) were the last
services to be started in any given runlevel.
--
The Intel Pentium III chip: designed to deny your privacy
Boycott Intel. http://www.privacy.org/bigbrotherinside/
------------------------------
From: Leonard Evens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: 10GB disk and LILO - I tried EVERYTHING!
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 11:27:01 -0500
Robert Heller wrote:
> [Deleted]
>
> I think Win95 and Win98 have special drivers that allow access of
> partitions past the BIOS's limit (but I am not sure). If Win95 and
> Win98 don't have special drivers, that Win95 and Win98 are indeed
> limited by whatever the BIOS is limited to (8 gig). WinNT and Linux
> both don't use the BIOS once they have been booted. Both use a boot
> loader stored in the MBR. LILO uses BIOS calls to load vmlinuz, NT's
> boot loader is more self contained, but has its own BIOS-ish
> limitations.
>
>
I set up a dual boot machine running Windows 98 and Linux with some
help from the vendor. In this case, it turned out the BIOS could not
handle the first disk the vendor put in (10 Gig), but the problem did
not show up in Linux. (We used Boot Magic to boot.) It showed up
in flakey performance from Windows 98. The vendor switched to an
8 Gig disk and a second disk for Linux, and the problem was resolved.
--
Leonard Evens [EMAIL PROTECTED] 847-491-5537
Dept. of Mathematics, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL 60208
------------------------------
From: "Tom" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: info please
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 12:39:53 -0400
Hey folks
need some info 'how to' for linux installation of modems, sound cards, etc
Just installed linux SUSE 6.1, looks very cool, but can't go very far with
it. Where do I find info about the above? thanks, Tom
------------------------------
From: Chris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Anyone got Soundblaster Live to work
Date: 3 Jul 1999 16:30:48 GMT
I have it working in a i686 RH 6.0 machine.
i downloaded the kernel module from the site below. However i had to
recompile the kernel, because there was most likely some module confusion
based on the fact that i used to Have RH5.2 on the PC. so recompile w/ the
latest source and install teh modules
insmod soundcore.o
insmod -f sblive.o
chris
Julius Longauer wrote:
> Ronald D. Haynes wrote:
> >
> > Hi, I am considering purchasing a system that has a Soundblaster Live
> > card in it...
> >
> > I noticed on the SUSE /REDHAT sites that this card is not supported,
> > anyone
> > have any luck with a driver for it?
> >
> Yes, take a look at:
> http://developer.soundblaster.com/linux/
>
> Julius
================== Posted via SearchLinux ==================
http://www.searchlinux.com
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Konrad Hambrick)
Subject: Re: shell script
Date: 3 Jul 1999 16:45:49 GMT
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Arie Gerszt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>hi
>
>has anybody done a shellscript which enables a user to search
>for a string in the files contents. so for example
>
>ffind * STRING
>
>would search through all files in the parent dir for the STRING and if
>a match is found would display the filename for example. i was trying
>around with, find, grep and more but i did not bring out any thing
>useful
>
>thanks for your help
>arie
Arie --
Man egrep, man fgrep, man grep
Hint ( where 'parent dir' == 'current working dir' ):
egrep -l "STRING" *
hth.
-- kjh
--
============================================================
Konrad J. Hambrick | email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] |
1111 Seacoast Dr. Unit 41 | home: (619) 423-4451 |
Imperial Beach, CA 91932 | |
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (William F. Hammond)
Subject: Re: Linux vs. Unix
Date: 03 Jul 1999 11:48:09 -0400
Gerald Willmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> there are also small non-technical differences. Commands (or rather
> programs) are the same but the options have an annoying tendency to be
> denoted differently. Try ps or df under linux and solaris and you'll see.
Doesn't solaris itself come with two different flavors of "ps" and "df"
(and other things as well), i.e., /usr/bin versions and /usr/ucb versions
corresponding to the SysV and BSD traditions?
-- Bill
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Kris)
Subject: Re: Contribution request (was: Idea for new *nix site: yes or no?)
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 16:36:09 GMT
Hi [EMAIL PROTECTED],
>> Thankyou _very_ much if anyone can help me get this thing started, and
>> I'll probably start a new thread pleading for contributions sometime in
>> the near future if this message doesn't lead to much. It'll just be me
>> and my college 10Mbit connection otherwise :-)
>
>were?
'where's the site?' It isn't there yet :-) Well, it is, but it's my
really old & pathetic frame-fest home page. And you don't want to see
that. No, really, you don't. You could work it out from my headers if
you really wanted to see it.
If you meant which college, it's wakcoll.ac.uk (which, incidentally, is
a really awful place[1]).
I'll pronounce the address properly when I get everything organised,
which might take a month or two (that li'l think called "real life"
kinda sucks, doesn't it?).
Cheers,
Kris
[1] My personal opinion and not that of my ISP, of course....
--
Kris
For a faster reply, use:
smaug [{at}] dufas [{dot}] globalnet.co.uk
------------------------------
From: Robert Heller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Nonexistent means impossible?? Linux viruses
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 17:27:43 GMT
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Truls Cronberg),
In a message on Sat, 03 Jul 1999 15:54:36 +0200, wrote :
TC> In article <2GDe3.4738$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
TC> "Binesh Bannerjee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
TC>
TC> >To be honest, all the posts on this group about how it's "impossible"
TC> >to have a virus on Linux, kinda tempts me to write one on Linux, because
TC> >I want to see if I can do the impossible. It would have nothing to do
TC> >with recognition, sadism or hubris. It's just curiosity, and I see
TC> >nothing at all wrong with it.
TC>
TC> In the late eighties the was a discussion and warning about virii, but
TC> there was no virii out there. The discussion intensified and some people
TC> wanted to try to see if it was possible. This became a boom in some areas
TC> of the world.
TC>
TC> Interesting to see is that more than 90 per cent of all virii are made on
TC> PC clones. I belive that Macintosh would be the easiest computer
TC> plattoform for virii, but the attention was on PC of several reason, for
TC> example amatuer programming was been discouraged by Apple and it was easier
TC> to start program for a text based computer (DOS) than GUI computer(Mac).
TC> The result is that just a handful virii is made for Mac and other computers
TC> than PC clones.
TC>
TC> Linux/Unix has a more rigid administrator/user design as makes it harder to
TC> create virii. It would suprise me if it is impossible to make virii for
TC> Linux. Every week there are security flaws reported and healed. I find it
TC> unbelieveable if there is no flaws that are unreported that cannot be used
TC> for a virus.
TC>
TC> What I believe is that it is possible to make a virus for Linux and I
TC> believe that discussions like this encourage some programmers to try, if
TC> there is a "success" then lots of others will copy it and make new ones...
TC>
TC> In my opinion the best way of keeping virus away from a computer plattform
TC> is to not discuss it. The fewer articles about virii and anti-virii the
TC> better.
AH, "Security through obfuscation" -- this really does not work. The
security differences between MS-Windows and Linux are proof of this.
Yes, there are security holes in Linux, but they tend to get plugged
very quickly, sometimes *before* some cracker can make use of them. The
security holes in MS-Windows only get plugged *after-the-fact* -- that
is, only after a cracker finds them.
I agree it is probably possible to create various sorts of
viruses/trojans/worms for Linux, BUT because of the fact that Linux
uses a true 'protected process' model, many of the games *specific* to
MS-DOS based viruses simply cannot work -- it is not possible to
implement a virus or trojan than 'pokes' at the disk controller to make
it do a low-level format of your hard drive, for example. 'Peek' and
'Poke' type games simply fail to work under Linux. A virus under Linux
is limited to what the O/S interface provides. No poking around in the
guts of operating system memory or diddling with low-level hardware.
Because a *sane* Linux user does not login as root, except when doing
very specific admin jobs (like major system upgrades and the like), a
virus is preempted to a limited privilege level. Worms that crack
root access via some sort of security hole (eg a buffer overrun on a
network process running as root, etc.), can do a number of interesting
things. Generally, linux is very good about these things -- these
holes tend to get spotted (and fixed!) *before* a cracker finds them.
There are a number of plainly *stupid* things in MS-Windows that are
all but billboards saying "Kick me, please". The CD-ROM 'autorun.inf'
feature is one. Given the fact that CDRs are now cheap and plentiful,
it is only a matter of time before some clever boy burns a CD with an
interesting autorun program and starts passing it around to people --
insert CD, autoformat drive C:... Eg. the resurrection of the
'boot-sector virus'...
The recent set of macro / E-Mail worms, while easy enough to implement
under Linux (in theory), generally won't work because *lack* of a hard
standard in mail reader / word processing interfaces. Here the
*variety* of things like mail readers, mail transports, word
processors, etc. makes it hard for the people writing these worms --
for linux, such a worm would need a huge "configure" script, just to
figure out which mailer, which word processor (if any), which mail
transport, etc. is being used. And then it needs to figure out where
the user has stashed his/her E-Mail addresses. And *then* needs to
somehow get the user to run the whole mess, without looking at the
code. Also since Linux is not on a monolithic hardware base or even
run-time base (eg. the worm would have to figure out if libc5, glibc,
or glibc2 is installed, whether it is a Slackware or a RedHat or SuSE
install, on a i386, ppc, Alpha, or Sparc. It cannot be pure compiled
program -- it would *have* to be a shell script and the only certain
shell to be installed would be /bin/sh. Possible, but probably far to
involved for the typical cracker. By the time a would-be high-school
cracker does all of the research and development to do all of this, he
would finishing grad school and probably be busy earning a living to
take care of a wife and kids and not have time to waste writing a
stupid macro / E-Mail worm.
Because MS-Windows is so 'monolithic' and because M$oft is so intent on
creating a 'uniform' desktop environment, with *everyone* using the
same Intel chip, the same O/S, the same mailer, the same word
processor, the same ISP, etc., M$oft makes it *easy* for crackers to
write these macro / E-Mail worms. And because of M$oft's 'easy
point-and-click' GUI, most of the people using these systems tend to
NOT be computer literate and in fact M$oft's 'easy point-and-click' GUI
discourages true computer literacy, which just makes things even
easier for the crackers to spread these worms.
TC>
TC> /Truls
TC>
TC>
TC>
TC>
--
\/
Robert Heller ||InterNet: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://vis-www.cs.umass.edu/~heller || [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.deepsoft.com /\FidoNet: 1:321/153
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