Re: Please correct me: Informix security sucks
> > > > All database information is stored in binary format and isn't easily (or > > feasibly) readable. Also, root doesn't have any special > > privileges; he/she is just like any user and needs to be granted access. > > But, as with Oracle, root can *become* any user - there's no database > > that can get around that. > > > > > > > > It would be easy to write a utility to dump the system catalog information. > > > > Nope. See above. > > Wanna bet?.... ;-) > > I've debugged stuff without source code before. I've found bugs in other vendor's > compilers based on the generated binary. Also, I've written utilities to format and > intreprete stuff in binary format without any documentation. I'm not all that smart > either - just stubborn. > > Also don't forget how Compact Computer got started. They reverse engineered the IBM > PC and in order to legally do that, they had to use engineers that knew absolutly > nothing about the IBM PC. Now just imagine how few really good engineers there were > at the time that had absolutly no knowledge about the IBM PC, including having never > even seen one. Remember at the time it was the neatest 'hot stuff'. Okay, but remember that I said "isn't EASILY accessible." If we get to the level of reverse engineering the Informix data, then why wouldn't the model apply to Oracle or anyone else for that matter? I think that's how this whole thread got started, anyway. My point was that Informix requires a valid system login ID and is further controlled at the database level. If these things are properly controlled by the system and Informix administrator, you should have no problems. - Ron F. ________________________________________________________________________ Ron Flannery <mailto:rflanner@informixhandbook.com>, 248-887-8470x40 Lead author, Informix Handbook President, One Point Solutions "Your Complete Reference" "Informix & Web/Database solutions" http://www.informixhandbook.com http://www.one-point.com ________________________________________________________________________