Re: Linux ease of use

Daniel C. von Asmuth wrote:

>
>Well, there's a simple answer: the Linux community is perfectly capable
>of creating an OS that would embody everything that sucks about some
>other OS that was sometimes mentioned on this mailing list, but that's
>like building guns: you risk becoming a victim of your own product.
>
>The good news is of course, that you need to be root to install software,
>and hopefully root will think for half a second before installing the
>latest trojan.
>
That's only a good thing when you're installing something
system-wide that could affect the whole system. But regular
users *should* be able to install things on their *own*
account that only *affect* their own account. And they
*would* be able to do that *too* if it weren't for the
fact that so many installers are just too inflexible.

I mean, sometimes you just need to get something installed
quickly in order to meet a deadline: and going through the
hastle and red-tape of convincing the sys-admin to install
it for you could result in kissing that deadline goodbye.

It is *not* a good thing if you miss a deadline because
you're waiting for the SysAdmin to install a given program
in "/usr/bin" when if only the installer had been more
flexible you'd be able to set a preference variable to
install it in "/home/myself/bin" (assuming that
"/home/myself" is your homedir).

There are some programs (such as CGI Wrappers) that by
their very nature can and should be installed by only
one user, the SysAdmin. But what is the *point* of having
a CGI Wrapper? It's very *point* is to allow regular
users to have their *own* CGI scripts without the risk
of jeopardizing each-other's security.

--

>
>
>A small tip for sysadmins whose 'users' don't need to do any programming:
>Mount the /home file system with the nodev and noexec options to keep
>your minions from installing software.
>
Any sys-admin who does that looses my business. I have
no patience for admins who's idea of "protecting" the
service involves crippling it.

And I also don't want to give my business to any admin
who will think of me (let-alone treat me) as a "minion".

I use Linux because I don't like it when Micro$oft
decides for me what I can do with their system. And
likewise, I don't like it when the SysAdmin delibarately
limits what I can do with my own account.

To follow your suggestion would involve throwing the
Golden Rule out the window. I don't take kindly to
SysAdmins who try to prevent me from installing stuff
on my own account.

Software that I install on my own account does not
pose a threat to system-wide security. It threatens
my own account and *only* my own account. On the
other hand, an action from the admin to *prevent*
me from installing my own software jeopardizes
the very *usability* of the service.

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