Xref: utzoo news.admin:1839 news.software.b:1255
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!cos!asp
From: asp@cos.com (Andrew S. Partan)
Newsgroups: news.admin,news.software.b
Subject: Stopping unauthorized checkgroups messages?
Message-ID: <1231@cos.com>
Date: 25 Mar 88 22:00:47 GMT
Organization: Corporation for Open Systems, McLean, VA
Lines: 31
Summary: method wanted

I noticed that someone (root@altel.UUCP in <21@altel.UUCP> and
<22@altel.UUCP>) sent out 2 checkgroups messages to the whole net.
Neither was what Spaf had posted.  This also happened last month (a
different person, if I remember properly).

Presumably, this person will not do it again.  However, I can not
assume that this will not happen again.  What I would like to do is
find a way of stopping this (at least on my system) until Spaf (or
someone 'in the know') starts posting them again.

Does anyone know of a way of trapping any incoming checkgroups messages
and turning them into mail to usenet so that the usenet administrator
could apply them as she see fit?  This would stop unauthorized people
from sending out checkgroups messages and having them applied to our
system.  I looked thru the news documentation and found no way of doing
this.

Failing such a way, I guess that we shall have to keep an eye out for
'bad' checkgroups messages and reapply the latest 'correct' one that we
have on hand if a bad ones gets sent.

As far as I can tell, the checkgroups message only updates
 ~news/newsgroups.  It does not modify ~news/active.  Is this correct?

Thanks for any help,
	--asp (Andrew Partan @ Corporation for Open Systems)
	-- asp@cos.com or asp%cos.com@uunet.uu.net
	-- {uunet, sundc, decuac, hqda-ai, hadron}!cos!asp
	ASN.1 Object Identifier: "{joint-iso-ccitt mhs(6) group(6) 157}"
DISCLAIMER:  Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the
Corporation for Open Systems, its members, or any standards body.