rpc.* services in default install
I'm sure I missed a few details, but be kind :)
Basically, I'm having a hard time understanding why the portmapper, rpc.*,
etc, (especially NFS) are default installed and in runlevel 2.
As I'm sure we all know, these are primary attack points for our
(not-so) friendly skript kiddies... In fact, I had to rebuild a server
once because I (stupidly) put a default proxy live on the @home network,
which, is notorious for this kind of behavior. After he flooded efnet from
my ip, I make this mistake no more :)
My bigger point is though, is that even though I caught it after the fact,
a lot of people do not understand what these services do, and probably
never touch it. I'm sure a lot of users new to debian and/or unix and
linux feel similar or just aren't paying attention.
Personally, I would prefer that no suid binaries that serve as daemons are
installed at default. Most people can apt-get sendmail and whathaveyou,
and sshd asks if you want it set, etc. And I think I can safely say that
most users aren't using NFS these days anyways.
This may not be an issue with certain pre-defined install sets, but, it's
still something to think about.
--
Erik Hollensbe <erik@powells.com>
Programmer, Powells Internet Division
"I respect a man who lets me know where he stands, even if he is wrong."
- Malcolm X
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