Re: Change UNIX password from Windows

wyang@aerotek.com (Weimin Yang) writes: >It is not necessary to change password in Setnet when unix password is >changed. Password in Setnet is only for testing connection purpose. You >can set asking password at runtime. Once connection is Ok, you can >connect with different user ID and password if they are valid in the >server side. There is no security at all if you don't ask user for >password at runtime. You can't count on the encrypted password in >Informix.ini. Ideally (at least in our environment), user authentication is handled by the network login. Once a user successfully logs into the network, we can be reasonably sure the user is legitimate (we enforce password protected screen savers). That's what makes informix.ini attractive - there's no need (from a security standpoint) to force a user to authenticate 15 times per day. >In client/server environment, we want to give user the ability to change >their passwords. I think this is the original question and is a >challenge, and we want this process to be transparent(like changing >password on unix box), without modifying any application code or INI >files. Fortunately Informix_Net gives us this capability. How does Informix Net give you the ability to change a UNIX password without modifying any application code? >In your 2nd method, if several applications logon to the same server, >why don't you combine them into one application instead of logging off >and logging on the same server again and again. One server one ID and >password, is this reasonable? 2 reasons: first, the applications are big enough that they tax the PC as they are. Second, the apps are written by different groups and perform different functions, so there are significant logistical and management issues with combining them. Also, combining the apps doesn't entirely solve the problem since users routinely quit out of the app to run Word, Excel, etc. (mostly because of Win3.1's inability to walk and chew gum at the same time). >Of course you can do it differently based on your applications and >environment. >Weimin Yang >Aerotek Inc. -- --- - Derrek (dirk@xmission.com)