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Re: deleting content of /tmp



On Sat, Mar 24, 2007 at 06:40:01PM +0000, andy wrote:
> Hi all
> 
> Can someone advise me on the pros and cons of deleting the contents of 
> /tmp/ as part of general security conscious non-paranoia. I was thinking 
> that it would be an okay thing to do periodically (or at logout, etc.) 
> using a overwriting/shredding program. But, before I committed myself, 
> decided it was prudent to ask.
> 
It depends.  If you are the only user of the machine and don't leave
things running in the background when you log out, then it is very
likely safe to do what you are talking about.  If there are other users,
it is almost certialy a bad thing, since you will invariably end in
deleting some temporary socket or working file in there while someone is
accessing it.  I don't think it would be too bad, since as long as some
process maintains an open file descriptor, the kernel won't remove the
content.  However, I would think it is better to not risk it.

Regards,

-Roberto
-- 
Roberto C. Sánchez
http://people.connexer.com/~roberto
http://www.connexer.com

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