SELINUX - Why?

[taharka]

Mike McCarty wrote:

> I went and read the FAQ on selinux, especially the sections
> on FC2 since that is what I run. I have yet to read *why*
> one would want to run selinux on a machine like mine. The
> FAQ has a question which supposedly addresses this question,
> but there seem to be many presumptions about the system
> on which Linux is installed inherent in the answer, some
> or perhaps all of which do not seem to apply to my system.
>
> In short, they presume that there is some way that software
> gets onto my system without my being aware of it, but do
> not specify any means by which that might take place.
>
> Since the issue of how the "malware" gets onto my machine
> is completely bypassed, I consider the answer given in the
> FAQ to be, well, significantly incomplete.
>
> And augmenting the answer with "We don't know how it might
> get onto your machine" is, IMO, not an adequate answer. It
> begs the question.
>
> What I mean is, I ask "Why should I run selinux?" The answer
> then seems to be "We don't know, but if you don't bad things
> might happen to your system due to malicious programs."
>
> Mike

If you're interested, there's an excellent read on selinux, in the 
August issue of "Sys Admin Magazine". Fortunately, this article can be 
read online at: http://www.samag.com/documents/s=9820/sam0508a/0508a.htm 
:-) Might make things a little clearer for you ;-)

taharka

Lexington, Kentucky U.S.A.