Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-15 Thread will trillich
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:31:38PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > > Wichert Akkerman wrote: > > Amusingly enough Jochen Voss made a draft of such a document recently > > that is still sitting in my mailbox. I'll flesh it out and add it to > > base-passwd later today. > > Looking forward to seeing it.

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-11 Thread John Hasler
Javier Fdz-Sanguino Pen~a writes: > I can confirm that on Solaris 2.5, bin is the owner and group of most > files in /bin, /usr/bin, et al. Likewise on System III on my Onyx, IIRC. -- John Hasler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dancing Horse Hill Elmwood, Wisconsin

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-11 Thread Marcelo E. Magallon
>> Javier Fdz-Sanguino Pen~a <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > I can confirm that on Solaris 2.5, bin is the owner and group of most > > files in /bin, /usr/bin, et al. I don't go back all that far in unix, so > > I don't know why that is. > > I can confirm the same for AIX 4.3.3 FWIW,

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-11 Thread Javier Fdz-Sanguino Pen~a
On Wed, Aug 08, 2001 at 04:31:52PM -0500, Aaron Hall wrote: > On Tue, 7 Aug 2001, Joey Hess wrote: > > > bin: > > > > HELP: No files on my system are owned by user or group bin. What > > good are they? Historically they were probably the owners of > > binaries in /bin? It i

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-09 Thread Philippe Troin
Joey Hess <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > sync: > > The shell of user sync is /bin/sync. Thus, if its password is set > to something easy to guess (such as ""), anyone can sync the system > at the console even if they have no account on the system. > > HELP: If that

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-08 Thread Aaron Hall
On Tue, 7 Aug 2001, Joey Hess wrote: > bin: > > HELP: No files on my system are owned by user or group bin. What > good are they? Historically they were probably the owners of > binaries in /bin? It is not mentioned in the FHS, debian > policy, or the chan

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-08 Thread Carel Fellinger
On Wed, Aug 08, 2001 at 09:43:36AM -0500, Dave Sherohman wrote: > On Wed, Aug 08, 2001 at 12:41:13PM +0200, Carel Fellinger wrote: ... > > I thought this allowed sgui-ed games to have a top-scores file that > > can't be altered by lusers, unless ofcourse they turn into winners. > > Yep, that's wha

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-08 Thread Dave Sherohman
On Wed, Aug 08, 2001 at 12:41:13PM +0200, Carel Fellinger wrote: > On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 05:46:31PM -0700, Eric G. Miller wrote: > > On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 12:25:56PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > ... > > > Hmm, I'm not sure I understand. Yes of course you have games owned by > > > group games. But

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-08 Thread Marco d'Itri
On Aug 07, Adam Heath <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >This is kinda like group mail. People can be added to group uucp, then be >able to call the uucp binaries, to interact with the uucp subsystem. No user should be ever added to group uucp. -- ciao, Marco

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-08 Thread Carel Fellinger
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 05:46:31PM -0700, Eric G. Miller wrote: > On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 12:25:56PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: ... > > Hmm, I'm not sure I understand. Yes of course you have games owned by > > group games. But what is the user good for? > >Got me. I thought this allowed sgui-ed

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Ethan Benson
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:31:38PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > > staff: > > Allows users to add local modifications to the system (/usr/local, > /home) without needing root priveledges. Compare with group "adm", > which is more related to monitoring/security. since the default .p

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Eric G. Miller
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 12:25:56PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > Eric G. Miller wrote: > > > HELP: My system has no files owned by user games, and I don't see > > > the point of the user, aside from symmetry. > > > > Have several binaries in /usr/games with group "games". Some of >

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Ethan Benson
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 04:59:28AM -0500, Colin Watson wrote: > > Incidentally, /var/cache/man has been man:root mode 2755 on Debian for a > long time. Is it just me, or is the setgid bit rather unnecessary? it is necessary, otherwise all the cache files end up owned by random luser's primary gro

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Ethan Benson
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 04:46:22PM +1000, Sam Couter wrote: > Apache runs with this uid. Some people like to make their web pages owned by > this uid as well, but that's bad. Web servers don't modify web pages, they > just read them. > > Apart from CGIs and other such nastiness, the web server cou

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Ethan Benson
On Mon, Aug 06, 2001 at 11:02:53PM -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > www-data: > > > > HELP: Er, I should know this, but this box doesn't run apache and > > I'm offline. > > Used by apache as the user/group, typically is the user/group that > owns web content. no, apache sho

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Adam Heath
On Tue, 7 Aug 2001, Joey Hess wrote: > Debian has always lacked an explanation of what the various users and > groups are for. Such a document is useful for sysadmins who must > determine the correct way to use various users and groups. It's useful > for developers as well, and it might help us fi

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Milan Zamazal
> "JH" == Joey Hess <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: JH> gnats: JH> HELP: Evidently used by gnats. And it needs a static set why? GNATS holds its database files under that user and accesses them via `gnats' setuid programs and/or programs run by an Internet superserver under `gnats'. Tho

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Joey Hess
[ Please honor Reply-To, y'all. ] Wichert Akkerman wrote: > Amusingly enough Jochen Voss made a draft of such a document recently > that is still sitting in my mailbox. I'll flesh it out and add it to > base-passwd later today. Looking forward to seeing it. Here is what I've come up with merging

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Josip Rodin
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:35:48AM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > dialout: > > HELP: Is this used for /dev/cua devices or something? Like, find /dev -group dialout > dip: > > HELP: WHat did this group's name signify? DIaluP? The name dip probably comes from the name of the dip program.

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Dave Sherohman
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 05:28:43PM +0200, Wichert Akkerman wrote: > Previously Dave Sherohman wrote: > > Why? It seems a good, fairly standard method for allowing (selected) > > non-root users to configure and build system software. (You still have > > to become root to install it, of course, but

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Mark Brown
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 10:07:13AM -0500, Dave Sherohman wrote: > Why do it that way around instead of ownership root.news, mode 0640? > That way a program running as group news would be able to read it, > but modifications would remain restricted to root. No particular reason other than that tha

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Wichert Akkerman
Previously Dave Sherohman wrote: > Why? It seems a good, fairly standard method for allowing (selected) > non-root users to configure and build system software. (You still have > to become root to install it, of course, but, IMO, that should be the > only part of the process to require root privi

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Dave Sherohman
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 02:49:56PM +0200, Wichert Akkerman wrote: > Previously Joey Hess wrote: > > src: > > > > This group owns source code, including files in /usr/src. It can be > > used locally to give a user the ability to manage system source > > code. > I wouldn't mind ditching

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Dave Sherohman
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 02:48:35PM +0100, Mark Brown wrote: > The package would like the configuration file to be readable by a > program that is running as user news without being world readable since > it may contain passwords in plain text. The group news could probably > go, though. Why do it

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Daniel Stone
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 02:03:15PM +0100, Andrew Suffield wrote: > On Mon, Aug 06, 2001 at 11:11:18PM -0700, Daniel Jacobowitz wrote: > > > irc: > > > > > > HELP: Why does an irc daemon need its own static user and group? > > > > Because no one wants to trust it? :) > > > > It doesn't. Of cou

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Mark Brown
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 02:41:31PM +0200, Marco d'Itri wrote: > >HELP: I notice that /etc/news/leafnode/config and even /etc/news > > are here owned by news.news. Which is odd, because those > > arn't things the programs should be editing on the fly. What > > gi

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Andrew Suffield
On Mon, Aug 06, 2001 at 11:11:18PM -0700, Daniel Jacobowitz wrote: > > irc: > > > > HELP: Why does an irc daemon need its own static user and group? > > Because no one wants to trust it? :) > > It doesn't. Of course, removnig them is tricky. This is a bug in ircd. It setuid()s itself to a

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Wichert Akkerman
Previously Joey Hess wrote: > majordom: > > Majordomo has a statically allocated uid on Debian systems for > historical reasons. > > HELP: Do we still even ship that buggy old POS? And can someone > remember what the hysterical raisins were? No longer created on ne

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Marco d'Itri
On Aug 07, Joey Hess <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > HELP: I notice that /etc/news/leafnode/config and even /etc/news >are here owned by news.news. Which is odd, because those >arn't things the programs should be editing on the fly. What >gives? The packa

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Wichert Akkerman
Previously Antonio Rodriguez wrote: > What exactly is base-passwd? [tornado;~]-2> dpkg -p base-passwd Package: base-passwd Essential: yes Priority: required Section: base Installed-Size: 92 Maintainer: Wichert Akkerman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Architecture: i386 Version: 3.2.1 Replaces: base Depends: l

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Antonio Rodriguez
What exactly is base-passwd? Is it the base system? if so, it probably means that will be installed in any system that will use the new base by default(??); in any case, how can all this info be accessed? > Previously Joey Hess wrote: > > Debian has always lacked an explanation of what the various

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Wichert Akkerman
Previously Joey Hess wrote: > Debian has always lacked an explanation of what the various users and > groups are for. Such a document is useful for sysadmins who must > determine the correct way to use various users and groups. Amusingly enough Jochen Voss made a draft of such a document recently

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Colin Watson
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 04:46:22PM +1000, Sam Couter wrote: > Joey Hess <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > man: > > > > The man program (sometimes) runs as user man, so it can write cat > > pages to /var/cache/man > > > > HELP: My system has no files owned by user man, and I don't see > >

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Wichert Akkerman
Previously Sam Couter wrote: > Joey Hess <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > dialout: > > > > HELP: Is this used for /dev/cua devices or something? > > Probably historically mixed up with uucp, fax and dip. I don't see why four > groups for serial port access are necessary. No, they are very diff

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Wichert Akkerman
Previously Daniel Jacobowitz wrote: > On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:35:48AM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > > dip: > > > > HELP: WHat did this group's name signify? DIaluP? > > Dialup IP. apt-cache show dip, actually. And ppp as well. Being in group dip allows you to use a tool to dialin, group dial

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Craig Sanders
On Mon, Aug 06, 2001 at 11:11:18PM -0700, Daniel Jacobowitz wrote: > > sudo: > > > > HELP: Nothing uses it here, and I have sudo installed.. Maybe > > there's a way to only let users in this group use sudo? > > There is, sure, but the group isn't special in any way... users in grou

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Tollef Fog Heen
* Martijn van Oosterhout | > list: | > | > HELP: Evidently used by smartlist? | | It's what the list archives are owned by as well as the user doing the | sending and receiving of email. Used by mailman as well. -- Tollef Fog Heen You Can't Win

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Peter Palfrader
On Tue, 07 Aug 2001, Joey Hess wrote: > uucp: > HELP: Presumably used for UUCP, which I know nothing of. > dialout: > HELP: Is this used for /dev/cua devices or something? The uucp user and group is used by the UUCP subsystem. It owns spool and configuration files. uucico, a binary o

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Sam Couter
Joey Hess <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > man: > > The man program (sometimes) runs as user man, so it can write cat > pages to /var/cache/man > > HELP: My system has no files owned by user man, and I don't see > the point of the user, aside from symmetry. Wasn't there

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Eric G. Miller
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:35:48AM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > Debian has always lacked an explanation of what the various users and > groups are for. Such a document is useful for sysadmins who must > determine the correct way to use various users and groups. It's useful > for developers as well, an

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Rainer Clasen
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:35:48AM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > sudo: > > HELP: Nothing uses it here, and I have sudo installed.. Maybe > there's a way to only let users in this group use sudo? sudo uses this group internally. Members of this group do not need to type their passwor

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Martijn van Oosterhout
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:35:48AM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > postgres: > > HELP: Presumably used by the postgresql database? > All the data file in the postgres system are owned by that user and group. I think it's just a way of ensuring that no-one else can accedently access it. > list:

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Daniel Jacobowitz
On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:35:48AM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > uucp: > > HELP: Presumably used for UUCP, which I know nothing of. > > HELP: Why is minicom owned by group uucp? Is this a bug? It also was (until recently?) setgid uucp, for modem locking. I believe it was removed for sec

Re: exploring debian's users and groups

2001-08-07 Thread Aaron Lehmann
(oh no, a crosspost) On Tue, Aug 07, 2001 at 01:35:48AM -0400, Joey Hess wrote: > The man program (sometimes) runs as user man, so it can write cat > pages to /var/cache/man > > HELP: My system has no files owned by user man, and I don't see > the point of the user,