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From: rcj@moss.ATT.COM
Newsgroups: news.misc,news.sysadmin
Subject: System administration views (was re: Foothead etc.)
Message-ID: <8761@clyde.ATT.COM>
Date: Sat, 25-Apr-87 18:59:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: clyde.8761
Posted: Sat Apr 25 18:59:17 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 26-Apr-87 21:49:11 EDT
References: <1128@cartan.Berkeley.EDU> <1065@epimass.UUCP> <5553@eddie.MIT.EDU> <5558@eddie.MIT.EDU> <784@killer.UUCP>
Sender: nuucp@clyde.ATT.COM
Reply-To: rcj@moss.UUCP (Curtis Jackson)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Whippany NJ
Lines: 40
Xref: mnetor news.misc:321 news.sysadmin:162

In article <784@killer.UUCP> root@killer.UUCP (Admin) writes:
>   The POSSESSION of the necessary scripts IS ample proof to remove the
>login and the directory. I would not hesitate to do exactly the same. I
>do not use root privs to "snoop" or for any other purpose than to keep
>up with the maintenance of my system and the software. I do monitor the

Rather totalitarian, don't you think?  Especially now that certain facts
and methods have appeared in this newsgroup, we may all be finding such
scripts lying around on our systems.  Kind of like the long discussion
of "!FUNKY!STUFF!" a few years back, only more damaging.  Why?  Because
on most of our (meaning the collective net) machines there are these
things called hackers.  Hackers like to figure out how things work and
how to circumvent them.  Once the puzzle is solved, though, 90% of them
get bored and go on to the next puzzle.  I would rather move the scripts
to a protected place and send them mail telling them to call me and talk
about it if they don't want their login removed.  Of course, I *DO* use
root priveleges to actively snoop for system breakins and such; and I
do so without reasonable suspicion that anything is going on.  I consider
it a moral imperative not to reveal anything of a personal nature that
I find.

>   One other note. I would also not hesitate to give pooh, you, or the
>other person access to my system if access to the net was needed. I
>would, however, require only that nothing such as the faked articles be
>done and would guarantee that your files were secure from me as well as
>from the other users. I also must guarantee that if those types of actions
>were traced to my system. I would certainly be looking for the origin
>with whatever means at my disposal.

By all means.  You'd be surprised how many sysadmins really don't give
a damn.

>   Hopefully, you will not view this as a flame - it certainly is not
>meant to be.

Same here; I just have a different view of system administration.

The MAD Programmer -- 201-386-4295 (Cornet 232)
alias: Curtis Jackson	...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd allegra ]!moss!rcj
			...![ ihnp4 cbosgd akgua watmath  ]!clyde!rcj