Larry Stotler wrote:
As many are aware, Linus Torvalds has started a rant about the security policies in openSUSE for things that require the root password. From his Google+ post(https://plus.google.com/102150693225130002912/posts/1vyfmNCYpi5), he names these:
Time Zone changes Adding a Printer Adding a wireless network.
Those things should be set as a policy. Some companies like to lock down systems, where users can't chose anything, but they should not be mandatory, as appears to be the case. Certainly WiFi should be done by uses, unless a company wants to send a tech along with employees to hotels, coffee shops etc. There was a lot of discussion on this list a while ago and the general concensus was that requiring root for WiFi has to be one of the most idiotic decisions ever. As Linus mentioned, he doesn't want to have to follow his kids around, just so they can use WiFi. By comparison, I'm currently working on a project for a large insurance company and they provided me with a notebook computer for use while connected to their network. Everything is locked down, so that I can't add anything or make changes to the config etc., but they allow connection to public WiFi and even include a utility to make accessing public hot spots easier. This clearly illustrates the idiocy of the current root password for WiFi on openSUSE. Whoever dreamed up that one has clearly never worked in the real world, where employees are given a notebook to use elsewhere and expected to do so. Nor must they have kids with notebooks. As far as I'm concerned, such a decision should be a "firing offence". It is just flat out wrong, without any justification. By all means make it an option, configurable by root, but never, *EVER* mandatory, the way it is now. The way it is now, it simply defeats the point of wireless, when used on a corporate computer. If there was ever a bad decision, this is it. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org