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Re: [RFR] templates://eviacam/{templates}



Christian PERRIER wrote:
> Rationale:
> --- eviacam.old/debian/templates	2016-02-15 19:53:17.828347882 +0100
> +++ eviacam/debian/templates	2016-02-22 07:12:12.633368880 +0100
> @@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
>  Type: boolean
>  Default: false
>  _Description: Should eviacamloader be installed 'setuid root'?

This doesn't need to be a sentence, but then again
   _Description: install eviacamloader 'setuid root'?
might be a bit baffling.  I'll just introduce one systematic change:
use double quotes.

> - In order to enable users of the group 'eviacam' to run eviacam in 
> - high priority (which improves responsiveness), the eviacamloader 
> - program can be installed with the set-user-ID bit set, so that it 
> + In order to enable users of the 'eviacam' group to run eviacam in

"Users of" a group is odd, especially since it doesn't mean users who
are *now* members of that group - at the moment the sysadmin reads
this there are no such users.

It's "at" a priority, not "in".

> + high priority (which improves responsiveness), the eviacamloader
> + program can be installed with the set-user-ID bit set, so that it
>   will run with the permissions of the superuser.

Elevated privileges, not permissions,

>   .
> - Such a setting requires that the sysadmin adds authorized users to the 

Setting the setuid bit doesn't require this; making use of it does.

Also, given that "the sysadmin" means whoever's reading this, we don't
need to refer to them in the third person (or at all).

> - 'eviacam' group and may have security implications in the case of 
> + Such a setting requires that the sysadmin adds authorized users to the
> + 'eviacam' group and may have security implications in the case of
>   vulnerabilities in eviacamloader's code.
> 
> Drop trailing spaces in all lines, as they trigger double spaces in
> the middle of debconf screens.
> No other change

My main problem with this is that I didn't realise what it meant until
I looked at the code.  I was assuming eviacam did something involving
rtprio (in /etc/security/limits.conf), but no - it's just using a
"rwsr-x--- root:eviacam eviacamloader" so that it can run "nice -11".

I'd like to rephrase it as:

    Installing eviacamloader with the set-user-ID bit set enables all
    users who have been added to the group "eviacam" to launch eviacam
    with a modified scheduling priority for better responsiveness.
    .
    Since this setting allows eviacamloader to be run with superuser
    privileges, it may have security implications in the case of
    vulnerabilities in eviacamloader's code.

> --- eviacam.old/debian/control	2016-02-15 19:53:17.828347882 +0100
> +++ eviacam/debian/control	2016-02-22 07:13:33.867229762 +0100
> @@ -21,6 +21,6 @@
>  Recommends: wx3.0-i18n
>  Description: webcam based mouse emulator
>   Enable Viacam (aka eViacam) is a mouse replacement program that moves
> - the pointer as you move your head. It works on a standard computer
> + the pointer with head movements. It works on a standard computer
>   equipped with a web camera. No additional hardware is required. Based
>   on the award winning Facial Mouse software.
> 
> "unpersonnalize". There's probably a better proposal than mine...:-)

How about:
 
    the pointer tracking the user's head movements.

Saying "web camera" makes it sound as if it's talking about a proper
old-style webcam, which meant a CCTV camera streaming its output to
the Internet, rather than just a laptop camera pointing at the user.
Oh well, we've got the term "webcam" in the synopsis.

The last line is verging on an un-English use of "software", but I
wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't looking for problems.
-- 
JBR	with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
	sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package
Template: eviacamloader/eviacamloader_setuid
Type: boolean
Default: false
_Description: Should eviacamloader be installed "setuid root"?
 Installing eviacamloader with the set-user-ID bit set enables all
 users who have been added to the group "eviacam" to launch eviacam
 with a modified scheduling priority for better responsiveness.
 .
 Since this setting allows eviacamloader to be run with superuser
 privileges, it may have security implications in the case of
 vulnerabilities in eviacamloader's code.
Source: eviacam
Section: x11
Priority: optional
Maintainer: Cesar Mauri <cesar@crea-si.com>
Build-Depends: debhelper (>= 9),
               dh-autoreconf,
               libgtk2.0-dev,
               libopencv-dev (>= 2.0),
               libpng12-dev,
               libv4l-dev,
               libwxgtk3.0-dev,
               libxext-dev,
               libxtst-dev,
               po-debconf
Standards-Version: 3.9.6
Homepage: http://viacam.org

Package: eviacam
Architecture: any
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}, opencv-data
Recommends: wx3.0-i18n
Description: webcam based mouse emulator
 Enable Viacam (aka eViacam) is a mouse replacement program that moves
 the pointer tracking the user's head movements. It works on a standard
 computer equipped with a web camera. No additional hardware is required.
 Based on the award winning Facial Mouse software.
diff -ru eviacam-2.0.3.pristine/debian/control eviacam-2.0.3/debian/control
--- eviacam-2.0.3.pristine/debian/control	2016-02-06 12:23:25.000000000 +0000
+++ eviacam-2.0.3/debian/control	2016-02-22 09:27:44.158278498 +0000
@@ -21,6 +21,6 @@
 Recommends: wx3.0-i18n
 Description: webcam based mouse emulator
  Enable Viacam (aka eViacam) is a mouse replacement program that moves
- the pointer as you move your head. It works on a standard computer
- equipped with a web camera. No additional hardware is required. Based
- on the award winning Facial Mouse software.
+ the pointer tracking the user's head movements. It works on a standard
+ computer equipped with a web camera. No additional hardware is required.
+ Based on the award winning Facial Mouse software.
diff -ru eviacam-2.0.3.pristine/debian/templates eviacam-2.0.3/debian/templates
--- eviacam-2.0.3.pristine/debian/templates	2015-09-24 14:42:36.000000000 +0100
+++ eviacam-2.0.3/debian/templates	2016-02-22 09:41:48.369275278 +0000
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 Template: eviacamloader/eviacamloader_setuid
 Type: boolean
 Default: false
-_Description: Should eviacamloader be installed 'setuid root'?
- In order to enable users of the group 'eviacam' to run eviacam in 
- high priority (which improves responsiveness), the eviacamloader 
- program can be installed with the set-user-ID bit set, so that it 
- will run with the permissions of the superuser.
+_Description: Should eviacamloader be installed "setuid root"?
+ Installing eviacamloader with the set-user-ID bit set enables all
+ users who have been added to the group "eviacam" to launch eviacam
+ with a modified scheduling priority for better responsiveness.
  .
- Such a setting requires that the sysadmin adds authorized users to the 
- 'eviacam' group and may have security implications in the case of 
+ Since this setting allows eviacamloader to be run with superuser
+ privileges, it may have security implications in the case of
  vulnerabilities in eviacamloader's code.

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