kempf@tci.bell-atl.com (Cory Kempf) (02/08/90)
>Protected-mode OS: granted, and it's coming, but it'll still be a while. >In the meantime, what else did you have in mind? Perhaps we can start >a discussion on standard anti-viral measures in applications. > >-eric Protected mode OS is one of the most important steps... after all, if the intruder can rewrite your protection software, well, "Game over man". To have a truly safe mac, I think what we need is a combination of Gatekeeper, a User/Password login scheme, with file protections (similar to Unix, but I really wouldn't mind if they did it better), a combination of auto-logout/screen saver, and disk drivers that require a password to operate. The finder could be set up to give the driver the correct password, once the user has logged in. This way, booting on a floppy would not bypass the security systems. (If you need to boot on a floppy -- the disk is toast, you should have a few in a safe somewhere). I think that this would do a lot to eliminate viri, trojan horses, etc. I would also like to see launch modified s.t. it does a checksum on an application being launched before launching it -- if it doesn't match a preregistered value for that application then it complains. There are at least two problems with this: developers and speed (how much will it delay the system?) Anyway, comments? +C -- Cory Kempf Technology Concepts phone: (508) 443-7311 x341 uucp: {anywhere}!uunet!tci!kempf, kempf@tci.bell-atl.com DISCLAIMER: TCI is not responsible for my opinions, nor I for theirs