Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!ukc!mucs!s2!dente
From: dente@s2.uucp (Colin Dente)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: FTP
Message-ID: <5947@ux.cs.man.ac.uk>
Date: 27 Apr 89 13:36:01 GMT
References: <1451@dsacg1.UUCP> <43200079@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu>
Sender: news@ux.cs.man.ac.uk
Reply-To: dente%man.ee.els@ukacrl.BITNET (Colin Dente)
Organization: University of Manchester, UK
Lines: 32

In article <43200079@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu> kai@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu writes:
>
>> /* Written 10:47 am  Apr 20, 1989 by dente@s2.uucp in uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu:comp.unix.wizards */
>> Surely it doesn't have to be *that* unsecure, as if you have a .netrc file
>> containing the line:
>> machine machinename login myaccountname password mypassword
>
>The .netrc file is a potentially *horrible* breach of security.  One of the
>first rules taught about passwords is "never write them down".
>
>You're right, there is probably very little to worry about security-wise when
>using a script to anonymously FTP something.  I just wanted to point the
>potential hazard out for people who might take this a step further and try to
>write non-anonymous FTP scripts.

Okay - I'm fairly new to this Unix sys-admin game, so enlighten me.  Just *how*
insecure is a file with mode 0X00? - providing (as I said before) you can trust
root (which I can - 'cos he's me!).  Just how easy is it for someone to crack
security easily enough to read such a file?

Colin


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