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Re: [POSSIBLE GRAVE SECURITY HOLD]



On Wed, Feb 02, 2000 at 06:18:55PM +0100, Pierre Beyssac wrote:
> 	- what is the purpose, in terms of system usability, of
> 	  this MBR, other than bypassing BIOS and Lilo controls,
> 	  which hardly qualifies by my book?

Actually, it is quite convenient -- you could set your boot
order to cdrom,hd,floppy, and use MBR to boot the floppy disk when
needed.

> 	- what function(s) of this MBR, enhancing system usability,
> 	  cannot be accomplished using the BIOS configuration and/or
> 	  Lilo?

Lilo does not offer this menu. Even without the menu, MBR provides the
mbr code which a brand new disk may not have. LILO is IMHO not the
best thing to put in the mbr.

> 	- what is the purpose, in terms of system usability, of
> 	  NOT EXPLICITLY DOCUMENTING that behaviour in the install
> 	  process?

Well you should be aware of the function of all packages installed
on your system if you are serious about security, surely?

Just change it if you don't like it -- ie put something else in there,
perhaps the Microsoft version.

Hamish
-- 
Hamish Moffatt VK3SB. CCs of replies on mailing lists are welcome.


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