xhost +localhost

[Loren M. Lang]

On Sun, Feb 06, 2005 at 01:31:13PM +0100, Gert Cuykens wrote:
> On Sun, 6 Feb 2005 02:05:00 -0800, Loren M. Lang <lorenl at alzatex.com> wrote:
> > > PS is the x cookie in anyway related to the user passwd ?
> > 
> > Completely unrelated, it's just a random number basicly.
> > 
> 
> If it is a random number how can the xserver it user x random number
> and not user y random number ?

When the X server is first started a 128 bit binary number is generated
and stored in a file .Xauthority which is created in a users home
directory and made to be readable only by that user.  The X server read
the file on startup and, by default, only allows clients to connect that
know that magic number.  You can give that magic number to other people
and allow them to connect using the xauth program.  Every time the X
server is started a new number is generated and it used instead so
knowing what number was used last time the user logged in won't be
useful anymore.  It's pure chance that two users won't have the same
magic number at the same time, AFAIK, but with 2^128 possibilities, it's
EXTREMELY unlikely.

-- 
I sense much NT in you.
NT leads to Bluescreen.
Bluescreen leads to downtime.
Downtime leads to suffering.
NT is the path to the darkside.
Powerful Unix is.

Public Key: ftp://ftp.tallye.com/pub/lorenl_pubkey.asc
Fingerprint: B3B9 D669 69C9 09EC 1BCD  835A FAF3 7A46 E4A3 280C