Ethan wrote:
// Oh God, not the everyday examples == proof argument, PLEASE.
Er, what? everyday examples are a perfectly good existence proof,
which is all they're being used for here. You seem to be after a more
"universal correctness" sort of proof, for which they're entirely
inappropriate, but which they weren't being used for.
// The common case in the present time is that people EXPECT
// server terminals to be password protected so they're not likely
// to bother looking.
"Expect"? The console comes up and you get a prompt. Is that fact
really more hidden than you think a reasonable level of investigation
will get you? If so, then I expect you install unfamiliar OSs without
checking for running services, open ports, debug consoles, default
passwords, and the like, in which case having any conversation about
security is laughable. When installing any new system, you're expected
to determine whether the default behavior works in your circumstances.
I find it informative that while you object to "proof by real-world
examples" (which I hadn't even tried), you counter with "proof by
contrived examples".
// Now here's the point. I and a billion other people HAVE MORE
// FUN THINGS TO DO THAN FRET ABOUT SECURITY. A weak
// OS needs me to put in boring work...
Ah, yes, there's the point. You have a system in front of you that
doesn't quite operate the way you'd like, and rather than put in the
*trivial* work involved to change it, you instead want to convince the
community that they were somehow wrong for building it that way and
should change it to your desires.
This has gone from silly to stupid. The original question was why Plan
9 doesn't do this by default; that has been explained. The explanation
holds valid for very many Plan 9 systems, as evidenced by the
testimony here. Yet nobody has said you can't have what you want. In
fact, various options for getting there have been identified. The only
reason this conversation persists is because some participants are
intent on proving the abstract, universal correctness of their
position. That's dumb. Don't be dumb.
Run this on your console if you're still worried about Frank:
#!/bin/rc
lockword=`{cat /tmp/lockword}
while() {
echo -n 'Enter lockword: '
entered=`{read}
if (~ $entered $lockword)
exit
if not
echo 'Wrong. Die, Frank!'
}
