[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Three questions

[Leroy Tennison]

Kyle Davenport wrote:

>*** Authentication Certificate ***
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>>1) What makes the user 'root' special?  Is it because the kernel treates
>>UID zero or the name 'root' differently?  If not, what is it?  I'm part
>>"just curious" and part wanting to know what would happened if I renamed
>>root.
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>It's the uid=0 that counts.  I believe you can call it anything you want.
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>>2) What are the significant differences between FC3 or FC4 and Red Hat
>>9?  I just did an FC3 install and, taking a quick look, didn't see much
>>different.  What am I missing?
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>I just did RH8 to FC3 and RH9 to FC3.  Main differences I see are in
>gnome/kde, kernel 2.6, and selinux enhancements.  Despite the improvements
>in kernel 2.6, the system was noticeably less responsive.  Compiling my own
>kernel helped tho.
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>>3) Anyone know of a way using Samba client on a Linux PC to get "network
>>mappings" to remote SMB servers without having to supply the password
>>for each one (no convenience) or store it in clear text in a local file
>>(bad security)?
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>I have done this at work because of the dozens of windows hosts and
>multiple domains I have to connect to.  cifs and smb mounts can use a
>credential file.  I put my different domain logins into separate root-only
>read files like /etc/IT.cred looks like this:
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>username=me
>password=secret
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>and in /etc/fstab:
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>//winserver/C  /winserver/c cifs   credentials=/etc/IT.cred,gid=10,
>file_mode=0644,dir_mode=0755 0 0
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>or, what I usually do, an autofs file, with an entry like this:
>auto.host:D$ -fstype=smbfs,credentials=/etc/NA.cred,workgroup=NA
>://host/D\$
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>I'm still trying to hack an auto autofs file, which almost works, to
>automount any box in a domain.  Let me know if anyone's interested.
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>Kyle
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>_______________________________________________
>https://ntlug.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
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I was with you until you started talking about autofs, I don't 
understand the syntax or how that is going to help.  I should have also 
stated that I'm looking for functionality equivalent to Windows.  The 
credentials file has some possibilities but the password is still clear 
text (a "bad" administrator could have a field day) and you also have to 
deal with the issue "what happens when the password changes"? 
 Microsoft's password caching has it's painful aspects (just be logged 
in to more that one PC and change your password without at least logging 
out and back in everywhere - account lockout soon follows).  But it sure 
is convenient.  Guess what I'd really prefer is a "password pass" from 
the login process to smbmount or temporary password caching (for a 
minute or so, just long enough to process a login script).  Wonder if 
the Samba developers would be receptive?