Just wanted to add a note of thanks for this post. It's got me started towards resolving my onboard modem setup.
Also to document that in RedHat 9.0 (& earlier?) we're dealing with:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] root]# ls -la /usr/bin/kppp
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 14 Aug 14 14:28 /usr/bin/kppp -> /usr/sbin/kppp
Keith McGavin wrote:
On Sat, 9 Aug 2003, Fred Wyatt wrote:
1) I can use Kmail if and only if I start Kppp.
Any problems with starting Kmail on it's own?
2) I can start Kppp if and only if I type the root password.
Redhat used to set kppp as root user only using pam authentication, then about RH-6.2 they also added the "consolehelper" script. A workaround is to bypass the use of "consolehelper" for /bin/kppp.
As #root:
'which kppp' (should show kppp in /bin) 'ls -la /bin/kppp' (shows kppp is softlink to 'consolehelper') 'rm /bin/kppp' 'ls -la /sbin/kppp' 'chmod u+s /sbin/kppp' 'ln -s /sbin/kppp /bin/kppp'
If you get "Device Busy" messages when starting kppp that means
your "/dev/modem" softlink maybe pointing to the wrong modem device.
In Kppp setup, select the correct device (/dev/ttyS1,S2,/dev/LTO etc)
or fix the /dev/modem softlink.
3) KDE Help Center (kppp Handbook) says it is a "bad thing" to dial inas root.
The Kppp book can be confusing for Redhat user's because the recommendation of setting up a "modem" group does not work around the Redhat "consolehelper" script iirc.
By dialing in as root I think the help document is referring to being logged in as root user and dialing up,browsing etc, not to being an ordinary user who just uses the root "password" to start kppp via consolehelper.
The problem with this route is that it leaves the user just one tick away from retaining root authorisation over the entire desktop, & X online insecurity it seems.
Your fix is far wiser.
Thanks again : )
~ Rik
