Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!bu-cs!buengc!bph
From: bph@buengc.BU.EDU (Blair P. Houghton)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Multiple Root ID's considered evil?
Message-ID: <4183@buengc.BU.EDU>
Date: 15 Sep 89 21:13:40 GMT
References: <435@lxn.eds.com> <347@galadriel.bt.co.uk>
Reply-To: bph@buengc.bu.edu (Blair P. Houghton)
Followup-To: comp.unix.wizards
Organization: Boston Univ. Col. of Eng.
Lines: 23

In article <347@galadriel.bt.co.uk> pcf@galadriel.bt.co.uk (Pete French) writes:
>From article <435@lxn.eds.com>, by bill@lxn.eds.com (Bill Doviak):
>> 
>> After checking both PASSWD(4) and PASSWD(1), I can't determine the
>>signifcance of an asterisk in the password field unless you wish to
>>prevent logins entirely for that account. Is this the intention or is
>>there some other purpose for the "*"?
>
>Yup - you gotit !
>
>The star is 'traditional' for some reason. technically known as being
>'starred out'.

But, and this is important, it's not perfect, or even very close.

With a * in the password field, and a hostname in his .rhosts, a user
can log in without a password from that "trusted" host.

Make up your own method to fix this.  I think I'll just rot13 the .rhosts
of people who "don't need" their access, after starring them out.

				--Blair
				  "Speaking from experience, of course..."