[net.micro.mac] LockOUT

frankk@mcvax.UUCP (Frank Kuiper) (07/22/86)

The LockOut DA, recently posted on net.sources.mac, looks very nice.
There are, however, two things wrong with it (if I don't count the
advertisement in the 'About' window).

1) It's to easy to bypass. Just reboot the Mac.

2) When called in a program under Switcher, you can still use cmd-[ or
	cmd-] to switch to another application (also a security leak).
	When trying to switch back to the first program, the Mac bombes
	with ID=02 ...

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               Frank
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Frank Kuiper, CWI, Amsterdam.                                    _][__| |
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tdn@spice.cs.cmu.edu (Thomas Newton) (07/24/86)

I have nothing to do with the guys who wrote the DA and the advertisement.
It bothers me slightly, but I can't see how an ad for the services of the
people who wrote the program is worse than a shareware notice.  Especially
on a net that has seen such programs as:

    MenuClock -- a shareware program that's many times as large as its
        functional component.  This is obviously meant as an incentive
	to get people to pay for it, but consider the waste of network
        bandwidth involved in transmitting the "padding".
    MacID -- a program that prints out the machine configuration on the
        screen and for this immensely hard task is labeled as shareware.
    Softworks BASIC compiler -- a shareware program that comes without
        documentation of any kind and that furthermore is deliberately
	crippled; getting a manual requires paying $30 for registration.
        I thought the whole idea of shareware was to be able to evaluate
	a program *before* paying for it.

                                        -- Thomas Newton

feikema@mmm.UUCP (John Feikema) (07/24/86)

What would really be useful is the Lockout DA in application form. This way
you could set it to be the startup application. Rebooting would not defeat its
security. This at least would solve the unnattended Mac problems. (Those using
switcher would still have a problem). Is the source for this program available
or is the author willing to modify it??



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dubois@uwmacc.UUCP (Paul DuBois) (07/25/86)

> What would really be useful is the Lockout DA in application form. This way
> you could set it to be the startup application. Rebooting would not defeat its
> security. This at least would solve the unnattended Mac problems.

At least, if you glued the disk into the disk drive....Otherwise all you
need is a paper clip to force the disk out before rebooting.  Then you
could boot with whatever you wanted.

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