At 1048925984s since epoch (03/29/03 06:19:44 -0500 UTC), Paul Johnson wrote:
> Considering the default user for OSX is root and most end users don't
> realise the ramifications, I'm hoping OSX and Linux never, ever ship
> with binary compatability with each other. Not because I have risky
> habits, but rather because the last thing this list (or any other
> Linux forum) needs are lusers bitching that they were running as root
> and got themselves tagged by some foriegn bug.
What are you talking about? The default in Mac OS X is actually to
ship with the root account completely disabled (`su` won't get you
anywhere). There is no way that the default user is root:
http://developer.apple.com/qa/qa2001/qa1013.html
The first user on the system can admin the box via sudo, but that's
probably no different than what you've done for yourself on your linux
box.
The only thing risky about Mac OS X is that you might get yourself a
virus that asks you for your password, and then excecutes a command
via sudo to get root. However, if you're in the habit of blindly
typing in your password whenever you're prompted, it doesn't really
matter what platform you're on; you're going to get hosed one way or
another.
Plus, just like in linux, you can create user accounts that don't have
sudo access. For example, all the other users of my OS X box don't
have admin rights, so the worst they can do is nuke the files in their
home directory. If you really want security, just create yourself a
non-admin account and use that for everyday use. No matter what
happens, the only files in danger will be the ones you own.
Jason
--
Jason Healy
http://www.logn.net/
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