12 Nov
2004
12 Nov
'04
21:26
I don't know if this has been covered, but a technique that both
legitimate and not-so-legitimate software sometimes use is this:
open a file "foo"
unlink file "foo"
Now, you have a file *handle* to a file that doesn't exist (has no
name), but *does* have control of it's inode, and you can allocate space
all day long with it. Other programs can't *list* it, can't *see* it,
and without intimate knowledge of the filesystem, can't *access* it in
any meaningful way.
All of the allocated space for the file gets deallocated when the /last/
file handle to it is closed.
--
Carpe diem - Seize the day.
Carp in denim - There's a fish in my pants!
Jon Nelson