Security hole in the making?

Everyone knows Apple uses BSD as its base and wraps all manner of inhouse (inbred?) applications around it to create the user experience known as OS X. Ubuntu and friends (Xubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu etc) are all based on debian and uses the 'sudo' application with gay abandon.

Many 'LiveCD`s' use a root account and a root account only. By passing the root versus user setup that Linux distributions and BSD distributions have used since forever. Linspire is another distribution, amongst many others, that uses root for everything. There are many examples of this blatant security breach everywhere.

This deliberate breaking of the dual root/user account setup has the ability to become a clear breach of security. Having a user account with limited ability to break things is one of the major reasons why Linux Distributions have a deserved record of lack of rootkits and spyware, malware etc etc. Sure there are rootkits available out there for Linux distributions but properly secured they are all but useless and this fact is where the run as root could open a whole can of worms.

'Sudo' has its place and used properly has all sorts of advantages but by creating a distribution that breaks away from the normal usage of 'sudo' takes away any advantages that it has when used properly.

Ignoring the advantages of the root versus user accounts by removing the need for a user account is in my opinion, one step closer to the abyss of darkness that is the MS Windows way of doing things with all the rootkits, viri, malware etc that brings with it.

Patent pledges.

Is it just me or are Microsoft digging themselves a hole so deep even they will never find a way out? They duped Novell into signing a patent pledge, which is now backfiring against Novell, and a few other lesser distributions have followed suit. Many, however, have not and amongst those who have not sits Red Hat. Red Hat wants dual indemnification but without the patent pledge (This pledge apparently is a dual 'we won't sue you' thing). Whether or not this plan is workable from both sides remains to be seen but so far Microsoft has said a firm 'no' to the idea. As an aside it is worth mentioning that the all new and shiny GPL Version 3 has a covenant within it that will stop these backhanded patent pledges so from Red Hat's point of view it makes perfect sense to seek doing it the way they want. Plus, they have shown Microsoft to be what others suspected them to be. A wolf in sheeps clothing. I will not claim to know the ins and outs of patent law but it does seem to me that Microsoft wants these patent pledges to deflect the view away from themselves. I also do not know how much, if any, GPL code sits within a Microsoft OS, be it NT, XP or Vista. It is almost a given that there is no Microsoft patents in a Linux distribution and that all this mutual indemnification pacts are nothing more than a smokescreen for what is really happening out there in the world of OS's/distributions. I am not the first to comment on this subject and no doubt will not be the last but nobody, that i have read online, is seeing this the way i have written about above. So, from that angle it is worth writing as if nothing else this blog was created to stimulate discussion.

Life Insurance Journey - REGISTERing on sites that want all your personal information when not needed & RANT TOO !

Why is Life Insurance in the topic on THIS blog ? Read on my friends ... I did not originally intend on blogging this until I was in the middle of saving a personal note and it struck a nerve. This site ( Linked Below ) has Easy, online, instant approval and quotes without giving SSN, Credit Cards or bank accounts. At least you can get an "estimated" quote fast and easy without giving out that so important Personal Information that these thieves are using for ID theft. You know the drill, Phishing for Info and all that. At least some sites are easing up on the "registered user FIRST" to get any thing other than worthless Information concept. This is the next "advertising ploy" but it is just a tool that advertisers are using for sites to get more traffic, however, it is actually something useful. IE: Sites not asking for any Information than can be used for ID theft to get simple things such as a quote or details of services for the public to view. How smart you say. Well, the public "John Doe" has been waiting for sites to smarten up ( RANTING NOW =) and STOP the nonsense of having you give your first born to "REGISTER - SIGN UP" for simple viewing. That all started with the PHP-NUKE ( and other CMS applications ) era IMHO. So, there ya go. My opinion on what started as a simple personal link as I was checking on Life Insurance premiums out of curiosity that I may want to add to my additional. ramble ... ramble ... ramble ... Term Life Insurance from American Life Direct

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