Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!agate!ucbvax!DUCVAX.AUBURN.EDU!OWEN
From: OWEN@DUCVAX.AUBURN.EDU (Larry Owen)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re:  BITNET -- Internet capabilities
Message-ID: <8910281148.AA25221@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 26 Oct 89 13:17:00 GMT
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 22

>>I wish the Internet had BITNET-style sender-initiated file transfer
>>that did not require the sender to know the receiver's password.  It's
>>very convenient.  Sending files as email is not very user friendly.
 
>The ability of some arbitrary user elsewhere on a network I'm connected
>to to put files in my account without (at least) password protection
>is a security hole.  I'm glad my systems aren't directly connected to BITNET.

This may be the first (or the tenth!) of a series of similar responses, but:
 
Just in case this misconception is shared by many others, files sent over
Bitnet (at least on most operating systems) don't go in your directory.
You have to actively receive the files from a holding area into your
directory.  This does not present a security hole.

Larry Owen
Mgr., Network Support
Technical Support Services
Auburn University

Bitnet:   owen@auducvax
Internet: owen@ducvax.auburn.edu