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- From: darrell@cse.ucsc.edu (Darrell Long)
- Newsgroups: comp.os.research
- Subject: On wtmp files...
- Message-ID: <171eipINN2f3@darkstar.UCSC.EDU>
- Date: 21 Aug 92 00:49:28 GMT
- Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz
- Lines: 13
- Approved: comp-os-research@ftp.cse.ucsc.edu
- NNTP-Posting-Host: ftp.cse.ucsc.edu
- Originator: osr@ftp
-
-
- I got a note from someone who was concerned that the information in the wtmp
- files I requested could be put to some bad use (hacking). This is because
- the wtmp file contains the login name of each user that logged in, and when
- they logged in and out. While this could yield some information to a hacker,
- it's less than can be gotten from most hosts using finger. It does not
- contain information about which programs were run (that's /var/adm/pacct).
-
- Let me assure you that my purposes are honest. FTP my paper and see
- that we're really working on this problem. If you would like a copy of the
- report when it's finished, send me a note and I'll make sure you get a copy.
-
- Sincerely, DL
-