From: Aleph One <aleph1@dfw.net>
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 14:37:35 +0800
To: don@cs.byu.edu
Subject: Re: Linux security issues
In-Reply-To: <199510260304.VAA00205@wero.byu.edu>
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.90.951026011633.3314A-100000@dfw.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


	 I dont see what this has to do with Linux. The question should
be does the PGP pass phrase ever apper in a swap partition/file.
Well the swap space is an extention of memory, forming part of the 
virtual memory system. Obisouly PGP needs to read the passphrase into memory.
And Iam sure is goes out of it way to not keep it there for long. But on 
a loaded system PGP might get swaped out the moment it reads the passphrase.
Further more if the system happens to crash at that instant the 
passphrase will be keept in the swap space. But this is true for any piece 
of memory, PGP passphrase, or not.

Aleph One / aleph1@dfw.net
http://underground.org/
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On Wed, 25 Oct 1995 don@cs.byu.edu wrote:

> Has anyone heard of any information on the Linux swap partition,
> for example, if it does me the favor of storing my pgp passphrase?
>  
> Anyone who's interested in compiling PGP under ELF, add ASMDEF="-DSYSV"
> to the end of their linux make line.
> 
> Don
>