Questions about UNIX viruses

[Tom Reingold]

In article <579 at bria> uunet!bria!mike writes:

$ [...]
$ The point I'm making (while being a wise-ass in the process) is that there
$ is no way to truly protect your machine.  If someone wants to do you damage
$ badly enough, they will find a way.  For every security guru out there,
$ there are a dozen 14 year-olds with nothing better to do than make our
$ lives hell.
$ 
$ My personal recommendation is: do what is reasonable (passwords, etc.)
$ and don't worry too much about it.  I don't curse the sky when it rains,
$ either ...

You are right, but missed something.  Someone in the corporation may
make the point, valid or not, that publicizing the existence of an
easy-to-get-to machine or login makes it more vulnerable than a machine
or login that is unknown.  Connecting well is a form of publicity.
Once you're there, people notice.  Posting news makes you much more
noticeable.

I am facing this at my job (which is not at Princeton University).  The
company I work for has a policy of (almost) no internet connections.
Worse, it has a policy that we are not to have any non-company-owned
software on our computers.  This means no software from Usenet.  I
think the goal may be reasonable, but I think the means are not for two
reasons: 1. the policy probably won't work, and 2. it restricts free
exchange of ideas.  The latter, in my belief, affects productivity, so
bottom-line-watchers ought to care about it too.
--
        Tom Reingold
        tr at samadams.princeton.edu  OR  ...!princeton!samadams!tr
        "Warning: Do not drive with Auto-Shade in place.  Remove
        from windshield before starting ignition."