Root account

[Pete Holsberg]

Brian Fahrlander keyed the following on 4/18/2007 8:27 PM:
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> Pete Holsberg wrote:
>   
>> Why is it not advisable to activate the root account??
>>     
>
>    It's the one account the bulk-attack people can guess and try
> millions of times until they get in.
>
>    When you get ssh set up on a Linux box, and you have logwatch
> running, 

logwatch? Where do I get it?


> you'll see just how bad it is.  It's also a good reason to use
> usernames with parts of the first AND last names, not just "george" and
> a password of "password".  They try them by the millions per day,
> literally.
>   

That's very interesting. I used to admin a Unix system -- started out in 
an AT&T 3B2 and ended up on a Sparc running Solaris. Usernames were 
assigned by a script; first 7 chars of the last name plus first initial 
was the default simplest case, but friends got whatever they wanted, 
usually their initials. I've had no reports of any successful break-ins!
> When they find one they can get into, the IP address goes into a
> database for the real hackers to come mess with...and you find yourself
> sending spam for the bot-herders.
>   

None reported so far.

> I've used Unix since 1989; trust me- great idea to keep it the
> default way.

Got you by 3 years! :-) But I'm just getting back into it after a 
Windows-only period of more than 6 years!!