SecurityPortal.com: Care and Feeding of RPM

“Stuff”. That’s how every single one of my weekly articles
starts out — as one word. Then, I usually have an idea and write
down a few sentences that summarize it, sometimes along with URL’s.
It usually sits in my holding bin while I think about it, and when
I get energetic enough, or simply bored, I sit down and write the
article. Since I can’t find my lighter (or cigarettes), I guess
procrastinating is out of the question, so here goes.”

“I’m always amazed at the lack of articles on topics like
RPM and PAM. These are basic systems components and tools that
people use every day but which, generally speaking, are poorly
understood (if at all). Prepare to be educated.”

“RPM is “Red Hat Package Manager” and is currently the most
widely used package format for Linux (yes, I know about dpkg and
tar packages), with most vendors utilizing it. RPM allows you to
easily install, uninstall and query packages and the RPM database
for information. Generally speaking, RPM’s must be installed as
root, which means that RPM’s can do anything on your system:
install new files, overwrite files, reconfigure system settings,
add new users, etc.”

“Why is this important? Because many people download RPM’s
from semi-trusted or untrusted sources and blindly install
them.“

Complete
Story