Hello Friends:
 
Several people on this list have noted they operate NT servers along with
their HP 3000 systems, so this security note might benefit them. I consider
it a comment on the relative security of the operating systems in play on
the PA-RISC playground.
 
In this week's Infoworld, columnist Robert Cringely has found a gaping hole
in Windows NT security. The details are available on page 138, but it
sounds like the default User Policies settings let Everyone "access this
computer from the network." Cringley goes on to say that "the NT world is
wide open, which means anonymous or guest FTP clients by default have full
file access rights, unlike in Unix, where access is usually limited." The
problem was discovered at HP, where 9 of 10 NT workstations checked had the
access door open.
 
I read the NT story right after a rumor crossed my desk that HP is poised
to  embrace NT as a PA-RISC OS in the coming year, much to the dismay of
the Unix advocates at HP. From the looks of the Infoworld report, it
appears those Unix advocates are doing their best to identify the holes in
NT that their beloved HP-UX has plugged. Expect the Unix fans at HP to be
looking over their shoulder at NT during 1996 -- especially now that Rick
Belluzzo has mandated that the GSY and PCO groups have to work together
better. Everybody has a newcomer to fret over, and now HP-UX has one, too.
Instead of searching for the next silver bullet OS, HP ought to look toward
its most secure operating system, MPE/iX.
 
Ron Seybold, Editor In Chief
The 3000 News/Wire
Independent Information to Maximize Your HP3000
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