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  1. Newsgroups: comp.security.misc
  2. Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!news.iastate.edu!john
  3. From: john@iastate.edu (John Hascall)
  4. Subject: Re: unhappy about overloading finger
  5. Message-ID: <1992Jul27.034904.18959@news.iastate.edu>
  6. Sender: news@news.iastate.edu (USENET News System)
  7. Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
  8. References: <1992Jul24.100650.9235@nntpd.lkg.dec.com> <dag.712016415@ossi.com> <1992Jul26.211735.5134@cirrus.com>
  9. Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 03:49:04 GMT
  10. Lines: 19
  11.  
  12. dhesi@cirrus.com (Rahul Dhesi) writes:
  13. }dag@ossi.com (Darren Alex Griffiths) writes:
  14. } [...finger...]  Even worse, [you can find idle usernames].
  15. }Isn't this carrying security by obscurity just a bit too far?  In
  16. }today's networking world, finding usernames is too easy.  Just scan
  17. }Usenet and collect email addresses -- you can build up a HUGE
  18. }collection in a day.  If you want idle usenames, well, do another scan
  19. }a month later, and look for the ones that aren't found any more.
  20.  
  21. Nothing says a site has to use usernames as e-mail/news addresses.
  22. I expect firstname.lastname@site will probably become more popular
  23. for this and other reasons.
  24.  
  25. John
  26. -- 
  27. John Hascall                                       ``Live with it pink-boy!''
  28. Project Vincent                                                              
  29. Iowa State University Computation Center                     john@iastate.edu
  30. Ames, IA  50011                                      515/294-9551 [fax -1717]
  31.