Page 19 of 20 FirstFirst ... 917181920 LastLast
Results 181 to 190 of 193

Thread: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

  1. #181
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Beans
    306
    Distro
    Ubuntu Studio 10.04 Lucid Lynx

    Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Firstly, a very warm thank you to all you coders who have made Ubuntu a Linux install that really does work.

    I consider myself a 'new user' of only some 8 weeks experience of Linux. Yes, it is very powerful and very empowering but for a new user it quickly becomes a nightmare of sudo gibberish where we can only be guided by trawling this lifeline that is the Ubuntu forums.

    As this OS explodes into the mainstream (the backlash against Vista being a major contributary factor!), I can envisage a time not very far into the future when the voluntary administration of Linux will become so swamped that rm type commands and impenetrable perl hieroglyphics will proliferate.

    I respectfully tender the suggestion that if far more effort was devoted to a graphical user interface for everything vital to a users well-being and confidence in Ubuntu, the terminal could return to being the rightful preserve of programmers.

    As a personal example of this - the only way I have found at present to get my Realtek (rtl818x) wifi running is to reset the bit rate with iwconfig then dhclient to re-awaken it - every session. I have yet to find where the card's parameters are stored so I could hardwire these parameters - a couple more tabs and gizmos in Network Tools could keep this tyro from dabbling in the terminal window based only on code provided by users here.

    I just don't have the time in this life to get up to the speed of those already fully conversant with computer-speak but I most certainly have unbounded admiration for what you have achieved so far.

    Can you avoid being swamped now the corporate boys have dropped the ball big-time? They're a vindictive bunch on the whole...

  2. #182
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Cardiff, Wales
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu UNR

    Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Quote Originally Posted by LaRoza View Post
    Windows can be destroyed with one command easily,
    Code:
    format C:
    That's a myth. Try it some time -- it will tell you in Billyspeak that it can't unmount the drive.

    or
    Code:
    del c:\*
    del has switches, just as rm does. To get the same effect as -rf, you need /S (include subdirectories) /F (delete read only files) /Q (don't prompt).

    I do not think posting these commands here is dangerous, because users familiar with the Windows command line know what these do, and if not, they don't use the command line.
    Equally, users familiar with the Linux command line should know what basic file management commands do, and those that don't shouldn't use the command line, at least not as root.

    Quote Originally Posted by argie View Post
    Couldn't we have the default Ubuntu user's .bashrc file have rm aliased to rm -i? Anyone who doesn't like that could change it, and it makes things a little safer (admittedly it doesn't solve the problem)
    As you note, it doesn't solve the problem (as in rm -i -f does rm -f, not rm -i), so what would be the point of that other than to annoy users who actually know what they're doing?

    Quote Originally Posted by saphil View Post
    There is a safeguard for this. It is to not use rm -fR on any directory, until you understand the ramifications of using the command, and don't use sudo unless you are absolutely sure you understand the ramifications.
    Exactly. Which is why this thread is ultimately misdirected: the command to warn people against isn't rm; it's sudo.

    Quote Originally Posted by K.Mandla View Post
    I filed a bug report against the coreutils package (which is where the rm command resides) asking that option to be reversed -- that the root directory be protected by default, with the override flag available if you know what you're doing.
    And it's just about the most verbose override flag in Linux. And ultimately, if I'm root, I should be able to remove whatever I like.

    Messing with the functionality of rm to prevent people who don't know what they're doing from abusing sudo strikes me as the thin end of the wedge. Will we then cripple mv to stop trolls telling people to rename /bin/ to /foo/ ? Will we alias dd to man dd to prevent people from overwriting their boot sector with random numbers at a troll's instruction? Will we break chmod to stop numpties listening to advice to make core components unexecutable?

    The problem is that people seem to think sudo means abracadabra (I just watched a hilarious video on Youtube where someone logged in as root and then used sudo!). If we have to break anything by aliasing, it should be sudo (alias sudo foo to man sudo for selected commands) -- anyone who knows what they're doing can use su or start a root terminal session.
    Alarm clock:
    sleep 8h; killall xmms; sleep 1s; cat /dev/urandom > /dev/audio


  3. #183
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Beans
    Hidden!

    Arrow Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Looks like the " rm -rf " threat is not over, the latest (14 Dec 07) was just tonight.

    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...76#post3953576

    For the life of me I don't understand why people do these things. That goes for virus programs, mal-ware etc. I just don't understand how malicious people are at times.



    Edit: It looks like the thread linked above has been removed.
    Last edited by Bruce M.; December 15th, 2007 at 04:17 AM. Reason: Thread at link removed

  4. #184
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Second star to the right
    Beans
    607
    Distro
    Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon

    Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Gah. Some people...this one didn't do too much damage, thanfkully, but it's still horrible.
    I don't really mind, and it's starting to get to me.

  5. #185
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Beans
    Hidden!

    Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Quote Originally Posted by coolen View Post
    Gah. Some people...this one didn't do too much damage, thanfkully, but it's still horrible.
    But any damage due to a malicious command given on purpose is too much.

  6. #186
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Glasgow, Scotland
    Beans
    1,642

    Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Perhaps drawing attention to this whole thing has made people more likely to tell people to do a rm or dd type thing.

    In my book, it's -fr, it makes more sense in alphabetical order.
    A Fedora user

  7. #187
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    The End of the Universe
    Beans
    567
    Distro
    Ubuntu Studio 10.04 Lucid Lynx

    Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Quote Originally Posted by bruce89 View Post
    Perhaps drawing attention to this whole thing has made people more likely to tell people to do a rm or dd type thing.

    In my book, it's -fr, it makes more sense in alphabetical order.
    People were doing it long before this initiative was launched, and they will be doing it long after it fades. Some people are just jerks. At least we're trying to do something about it.
    Don't Panic!
    Practice safe text. Never run a command unless you know exactly what it is going to do.
    Ubuntu User #1132
    Linux User #417929

  8. #188
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Long way from there..
    Beans
    45
    Distro
    Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

    Lightbulb Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Im joining you guys right now, im changing my signature. I completly agree with your idea, im a noob myself, and i thing i haven't entered any malicius string.. but.. i could have.

    so, here it goes.

    thanks for caring..

  9. #189
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Beans
    261

    Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    done!

  10. #190
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Close to your Heart
    Beans
    137
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Join the fight against malicious commands given to new users

    Quote Originally Posted by manco1911 View Post
    Im joining you guys right now, im changing my signature. I completly agree with your idea, im a noob myself, and i thing i haven't entered any malicius string.. but.. i could have.

    so, here it goes.

    thanks for caring..

    Me too. I hang out on the beginners forum a lot(i am also a beginner !!). so i think it would help.

    Signature changed!

Page 19 of 20 FirstFirst ... 917181920 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •