NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #30/NN_1992_30.iso/spool/comp/unix/wizards/5217

Text File | 1992-12-14 | 1.7 KB | 37 lines

Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Path: sparky!uunet!mnemosyne.cs.du.edu!nyx!bwendt
From: [e-mail] (Brian Wendt)
Subject: Re: O Wizards, is there vi w/out shell?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (netnews admin account)
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 15:33:31 GMT
Lines: 25

  I have had problems recently along the same lines:

  There is a public access site in Peoria called Heartland FreeNet.  It
is used exclusivley for email and local newsgroups.  Access is through
menus only, no shell accounts exist.  Denying access to a shell is
basically the only security that exists on the machine - they don't
even bother to set file permissions properly.  The machine is run
by an employee of the Heartland FreeNet Board who is neither UNIX-literate
nor a programmer.

  Recently, I made the mistake of mentioning to the FreeNet administrator
that it was possible to obtain shell access to vi.  I say this was a
mistake because they reacted by simply deleting the vi editor from the
system.

  As I mentioned earlier, this system is used exclusivley for activities
that absolutley require an editor.  So, can anyone give simple, clear
directions that a non-programmer can follow to provide a vi editor
that won't allow shell escapes?  There is no possibility whatsoever
of the HFN adminstrator allowing me or anyone else outside their
organization access to the machine to fix this problem.

Brian Wendt
[e-mail]
[e-mail]