Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!ptsfa!ames!umd5!mimsy!aplcen!osiris!mjr
From: mjr@osiris.UUCP (Marcus J. Ranum)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Trojan Horse a Myth?
Summary: '.' in path - shell can help.
Message-ID: <1478@osiris.UUCP>
Date: 11 Dec 87 14:13:15 GMT
References: <459@gtx.com> <30800002@ccvaxa>
Organization: My Etch-A-Sketch runs X-Windows
Lines: 20


	A trick I'd always thought would be nice would be to have a shell
that could have an option set to show WHAT was being executed. If one was
root, and typed "ls" with that option set, and it came back with "./ls"
you would know you had a problem...   Obviously, catching it BEFORE is
the way to go, but catching it at all is a big deal for some. Another
choice would be to have it say "exec ./ls (Y/N)?"  :-) :-) :-)

	I haven't looked at sh source (all those gross preprocessor
commands) for a while, but doesn't it just try to exec() the program in
each part of the PATH ? That would need to be changed. I'm not suggesting
adding more junk to the "real" shell, but I have often thought that a 
shell with "enhancements" for system admins might be useful. 

--mjr();
-- 
Once, there was NO fun... 
This was before MENU planning, FASHION statements or NAUTILUS equipment...
Then, in 1985..  FUN was completely encoded in this tiny MICROCHIP...  
It contains 14,768 vaguely amusing SIT-COM pilots!!