Newsgroups: comp.admin.policy Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!linus!progress!matth From: matth@progress.COM (Matthew J. Harper) Subject: Re: Possibly nefarious users Message-ID: <1991Jun7.164102.672@progress.com> Sender: usenet@progress.com (Mr. Usenet) Nntp-Posting-Host: aruba Organization: Progress Software Corp. References: <2D.-_.N@cs.widener.edu> <1991Jun6.214915.18946@athena.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 7 Jun 1991 16:41:02 GMT Lines: 41 Ron Newman writes: >In article <2D.-_.N@cs.widener.edu> brendan@cs.widener.edu (Brendan Kehoe) writes: >> >> Here's a question: how do other people deal with users that they *think* >>are doing no-nos around the net? One of our users had the habit of >>occasionally going net-surfing and doing the hit-and-run type of >>attempts (trying 'guest' usually), but I didn't have any real proof--only >This is a no-no? This is how many people I know first became >acquainted with the Arpanet (as it was called back then). If someone >has a 'guest' account it seems like this is an invitation for the >outside world to look around; not much different from 'anonymous' ftp. This is indeed a no-no. Not a whole lot is being done about it legally at the moment, but a few cases have come to trial and the accused have been found guilty of actions such as this. (Randomly banging on machines to try and gain access.) Just because a guest account exists does not mean that it is there for all in the world to log in and look around! Perhaps if we looked at a different situation from the same outlook: If you leave your car unlocked with the keys in the ignition, does this give anyone who walks by the right to take it for a spin? Even if they return it where they found it, nobody saw them do it, and there is really no proof that they were there? I think anyone would be pretty pissed if this happened. Is there really a difference? Matth -- Matthew J. Harper UUCP: mit-eddie!progress!matth Progress Software Corp. Internet: matth@progress.com 5 Oak Park Disclaimer: My words & ideas, That's all. Bedford, MA 01730