Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site stolaf.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!floyd!vax135!ariel!houti!hogpc!houxm!ihnp4!stolaf!bormanp From: bormanp@stolaf.UUCP Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: Security and $PATH Message-ID: <1128@stolaf.UUCP> Date: Sat, 30-Jul-83 19:56:20 EDT Article-I.D.: stolaf.1128 Posted: Sat Jul 30 19:56:20 1983 Date-Received: Tue, 2-Aug-83 12:42:33 EDT References: <396@houxq.UUCP> Organization: St. Olaf College, Northfield MN Lines: 17 As to having the current directory searched first in the PATH. Here at St. Olaf this is the default. As super-user this is not so good, so we switch to current directory last. Why not make this the default? Simple, as system programmers, we under stand about paths and such things, we know that if we write a program called 'mail', we must access it as './mail'. Try telling that to 3,000 students, most of them new users. They don't know what is out there, all they know is that they wrote a program called 'mail' which should be thier programming assignment, and when they run it, they can't imagine where all that other garbage came from. If you are paranoid, you may change it for yourself. Paul R Borman St. Olaf College ihnp4!stolaf!bormanp