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From: guy@rlgvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: Auto-logoff facility in Unix
Message-ID: <1910@rlgvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 11-May-84 01:59:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: rlgvax.1910
Posted: Fri May 11 01:59:16 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 12-May-84 11:01:43 EDT
References: <833@unm-cvax.UUCP> <6970@gatech.UUCP>
Organization: CCI Office Systems Group, Reston, VA
Lines: 22

> This would really only work on USG Unix, but if you have the TIMEOUT
> facility in your /bin/sh, and you (i.e. the system administrator) want to
> force auto-logout, it is pretty easy.  Just add two lines to /etc/profile:

> TIMEOUT=...	# set to amount of time
> readonly TIMEOUT

> The USG sh, when it is a login shell, reads /etc/profile, and then .profile
> in the home directory.  Making TIMEOUT readonly will 1) keep users from
> changing it, and 2) automatically export it to subshells.

> Of course the knowledgeable/devious user can always get around it:  

The knowledgable/devious user can always say

	exec /bin/sh

which voids all "readonly" "declarations".  So much for "readonly" as
a security measure, except in restricted shells...

	Guy Harris
	{seismo,ihnp4,allegra}!rlgvax!guy