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Alan E. Davis wrote: |
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> I helped a friend install Ubuntu GNU/Linux on his laptop, he left |
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> town, forgot his passwords, and I promised to breakin for him, so he |
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> can re-do his passwords. Told him all I have to do is run Knoppix, |
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> access his partition, and delete the little x in the password file. |
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> Then he would reset his root password in be back in business. |
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> |
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> He felt betrayed. I understand why, I think: what's secure about |
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> GNU/Linux if anyone can boot the system and reset his passwords? |
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|
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That's NOT a Linux problem. If you've got physical access, |
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you can easily break in (same for Windows, BTW). |
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|
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> I said, Dunno. I'll ask on the Gentoo list. |
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> |
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> How can anyone easily avoid the problem of anyone being able to access |
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> the guts of his machine using a live CD? |
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|
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Remove CD-Rom. |
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Put Computer in a solid box which cannot (easily) be opened, |
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so that it's "impossible" to attach an external CD-Rom. |
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|
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> I already thought of one: |
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> use the BIOS to disallow booting from a CD or Floppy, and set a |
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> password on the BIOS. |
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|
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Most BIOS support either a "master password" |
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or a way to reset a password (some pins on the |
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motherboard). |
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|
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> Don't know whether all BIOSes will allow this, |
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> and anyway, isn't it possible on a lot of motherboards to short out |
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> the EPROM and thus reset the password of the BIOS? |
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|
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Yes. |
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|
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Alexander Skwar |
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-- |
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Hey Satan, didja hear the news? A war just broke out up on earth. |
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|
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Meet Saddam Hussein, my new partner in evil. |
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-- |
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gentoo-user@g.o mailing list |
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