Re: tlug: Cobalt Qube

[Scott Stone <sstone@example.com>]

On Wed, 3 Jun 1998, Manuel Chakravarty wrote:

> > Well Mr.  Joe Potato doesn't know how to setup a BSD/Linux
> > and or a WinNT box.  All Mr. Joe Potato has to do is place
> > in all the infomation (IP information and other network crap
> > given by their provider) either locally and or remotely (via
> > bootp).  Then just plug it into the wall and ethernet
> 
> Actually, such machines from a security perspective are
> probably a kind of time bomb.  I mean, you have a more or
> less mass-manufactured device with a highly complex software 
> system hooked up on the net without much monitoring
> facilities nor a knowledgeable person who could use such
> facilities if they were available.
> 
> Given that for practical purposes any system has some
> security holes, customization, logs (ideally on some
> permanent media), and people who daily work on a system
> probably gives you the best chances to detect a cracker
> early.  A machine like the Cobalt Qube has, by definition,
> nothing of this and the fact that many of them have the same
> hard- and software makes it easier to crack a bunch of
> systems with basically the same scheme.
> 

Besides which, handing Mr. Joe Potato a "plug-and-play" internet server
and telling him to have at it is about as useful/dangerous as letting a
monkey loose in a shopping mall with a loaded machine gun...

--------------------------------------------------
Scott M. Stone <sstone@example.com, sstone@example.com>
               <sstone@example.com>
Linux Developer/Systems Administrator for Pacific HiTech, Inc. 
http://www.pht.com		http://armadillo.pht.co.jp
http://www.pht.co.jp	        http://www.turbolinux.com


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