[comp.windows.news] remote NeWS servers

peterson@SW.MCC.COM (James Peterson) (10/05/88)

Rich Berlin writes:
> > In article <643@prlhp1.prl.philips.co.uk> Richard Cole writes:
> > 
> > I get the following message on the server
> > 
> >   Network security violation:
> >   Rejected connection from yyyy
> > 
> > where yyyy is the id of the mechine originating the message.
> 
> ... To make machine yyyy a trusted
> host, you must execute the command
> 
> newshost add yyyy
>
> on machine xxxx.

Another possibility is to modify the value of NetSecurityWanted in 
lib/NeWS/init.ps:

/NetSecurityWanted false def	% false if everyone is allowed to connect

By default this variable is shipped as true.  If it is true, then
network security is used, as Rich described.  When it is false, the
entire process is ignored and any machine can access any other --
much easier in a trusted environment.  (In theory, if NetSecurityWanted
is false, an undergraduate with access to the Internet at Berkeley
could pop windows up on a screen at Maryland, so you have to consider
ALL machines that can access yours).

jim

ron@ron.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) (10/06/88)

Worse than popping up windows, which is only annoying, they can
execute UNIX commands through your interpretter with out you even
noticing.

-Ron

montnaro@sprite.steinmetz.ge.com (Skip Montanaro) (10/10/88)

James Peterson writes:
   Rich Berlin writes:
   > ... To make machine yyyy a trusted
   > host, you must execute the command
   > 
   > newshost add yyyy
   >
   > on machine xxxx.

   Another possibility is to modify the value of NetSecurityWanted in 
   lib/NeWS/init.ps:

   /NetSecurityWanted false def	% false if everyone is allowed to connect

Ay, Ay, Ay! Don't do this in /usr/NeWS/lib/NeWS/init.ps!!! You should not
make the assumption that all users that access /usr/NeWS (possibly via NFS)
want what little security exists to be disabled. Have the user execute the
above line from his/her ~/user.ps

Better yet, users should leave NetSecurityWanted true, then enable specific
machines to communicate via lines like:

   RemoteHostRegistry /moose true put

which allows client programs on "moose" to connect to my machine's server.

--
Skip Montanaro (montanaro@sprite.steinmetz.ge.com, montanaro@ge-crd.arpa)