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From: "Dave Korn" <dk AT artimi DOT com>
To: <cygwin AT cygwin DOT com>
Subject: RE: Problems with Indirect Interpretation (#!/bin/csh, #!/bin/tcsh, #!/bin/perl, etc...)
Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 18:50:59 +0100
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X-OriginalArrivalTime: 11 May 2004 17:50:59.0647 (UTC) FILETIME=[84CB3CF0:01C43780]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cygwin-owner On Behalf Of Rocket Boy
> Sent: 11 May 2004 18:44

> This indeed appears to be the problem. I figured it
> something that basic. Though I searched the web for
> days I couldn't find the same symptoms discussed
> elsewhere.
> 
> The FAQ says that it is not recommended to add . to
> $PATH. Anyone, know a compelling reason not to?

  It's a security measure for the medium-to-fairly paranoid. :-O

  Basically it protects you against the possibility that some virus/trojan
might e.g. dump a copy of itself under the filename 'ls' into your home dir
or somewhere.  If you had '.' in the $PATH, as soon as you log in and run
ls, you'd end up executing the trojanned version; if you don't have . in
your $PATH, you know for sure that you'll always be executing the version in
/bin, which presumably (on a well secured system) will be read-only to
everyone except root, and hence less likely to have been trojanned/infected.


    cheers, 
      DaveK
-- 
Can't think of a witty .sigline today....


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