[TriLUG] icmp as non-root (on Mandrake)

[Tanner Lovelace]

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 22:01:14 -0400, Matt Frye <mattfrye at gmail.com>
replied to my advice:
> > Please don't edit these files.  Besides changing msecs idea of defaults,
> > you run the risk of having your modifications undone if you upgrade msec.
> > Instead, you can add it to your local perm.local file in
> > /etc/security/msec/perm.local.
> 
> A good practice, but in reality, with proper documentation,
> modifications to any item are up to the site admins.  I cannot say
> whether Tanner speaks from that view point or perhaps as a Mandrake
> developer (volunteer or otherwise), but mods like this are common when
> servers are for specific apps.  Just my perspective based on
> experience...I've seen both done depending on a given organizations
> policy.

Just because they are common doesn't make it a good idea.  These
files are not config files, they are defaults files and as such can get
overwritten if you upgrade.  By putting local modifications in the
level.local file, you avoid all that, *and* you make clear what modifications
are local and what are defaults.

Cheers,
Tanner