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Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

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Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#61
post #2

This sounds amazing, and Id love if Apple allowed touchid for regular account-password prompts in macOS 10.13 (or a Sierra point update but let's be realistic) If they integrated this down to the built in sudo/su that would be even more amazing, but I imagine that's much less likely.

They've probably implemented TouchID support using PAM. If so, using with sudo/su is just a matter of configuration.

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#62

You two are both doing the "ATM machine" thing. (PAM = Pluggable Authentication Module) "Written as a PAM" sure feels wrong on the lips, though.

It's not as if every 3 letter acronym has one canonical definition. Googling a 3 letter acronym is almost impossible without adding at least one of the full words. The "ATM machine" pattern seems to me to be the most concise way of removing that ambiguity. It's interesting how language evolves.

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#63

You two are both doing the "ATM machine" thing. (PAM = Pluggable Authentication Module) "Written as a PAM" sure feels wrong on the lips, though.

Except PAM stands for "Pluggable Authentication Modules" (as in "PAM Library") - plural.

You then write a module for the PAM library, so it makes the most sense to call it a "PAM Module", even if there is some redundancy in the acronym.

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#64

You two are both doing the "ATM machine" thing. (PAM = Pluggable Authentication Module) "Written as a PAM" sure feels wrong on the lips, though.

Except PAM stands for "Pluggable Authentication Modules" (as in "PAM Library") - plural. You then write a module for the PAM library, so it makes the most sense to call it a "PAM Module", even if there is some redundancy in the acronym.

minitech already said that?

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#65
post #2

This sounds amazing, and Id love if Apple allowed touchid for regular account-password prompts in macOS 10.13 (or a Sierra point update but let's be realistic) If they integrated this down to the built in sudo/su that would be even more amazing, but I imagine that's much less likely.

It is already the case. In the keynote, they demoed Fast User Switch with a touch of finger. If multiple people share a single computer, switching to the right user account is a touch away.

Yeah i saw that, but FUS needs a password to login, just like if you use the regular login screen.

I was talking about "X needs your password to Y", e.g. unlocking sys preferences panels, keychain stuff, etc.

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#66
post #25
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a "something you are" authentication factor, since it is presumed that the cost of faking a fingerprint is too high to be worth it in those cases.

I guess I like the trade-offs of something-you-have/something-you-know even if the cost of faking them is actually lower. I am probably in a minority.

Could you setup your system to still need "something you know" when logging in, but use your TouchID for additional authentication (like sudo) once already in the system?

That seems like the best of both worlds there.

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#67
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isolate your concerns and risks. There's no reason to drop into an interactive root shell for a single command, and your chances of forgetting your current privilege level and running the wrong thing are not insignificant.

What special "wrong thing" can root do? There might os level files that only root can edit or delete. I don't care about those. I can reinstall the os anytime if I should ever mess it up. All the value is in my data.

Worse than destruction is undetected malicious modification. Say you decompress a specially crafted archieve which overwrites certain parts of the system enabling a backdoor. As a common user this would be blocked, but as root you'd probably not notice the malicious sideeffect.

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#68

You two are both doing the "ATM machine" thing. (PAM = Pluggable Authentication Module) "Written as a PAM" sure feels wrong on the lips, though.

The original PAM RFC defines PAM as Pluggable Authentication Modules (plural – it’s the name of the framework and not one of its components), so it’s fine and more natural to say “PAM module”.

How about a pluggable PAM module?

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lift the thumbprint off of the TouchID sensor itself? That is, assuming the premise of the grandparent comment is valid and fingerprints lifted off of the keyboard would be enough.

Slide, rather than raise, your thumb off the sensor.

When I hold my phone, I use my opposable thumb to hold the front of the phone. Anyone can lift it off there.

Re: Show HN: A fork of sudo with Touch ID support

#70
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TouchID sensor isn't that easy to fool with replicated fingerprints. If you are afraid that some one will cut off your finger to unlock your computer don't use the touchID, that said if some one is willing to do that to unlock it i wouldn't want to imagine what they'll do to you to get the password. ;)

You don't really need to cut their finger off. Just get them drunk enough to pass out.

Or take a picture or find their photo on a social network http://www.geek.com/apple/bypassing-touch-id-with-a-phony-fi...
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