howto autologin (yes, I know, risky...)

[Matthew Seaman]

Steve Franks wrote:
> I know it's a shockingly bad idea from a security perspective, but I'm
> giving a system to a family member that's not going to be spending
> much time on the net, so I think it's an acceptable risk.  It's an
> isolated desktop/user system, and I'd like it to boot straight to
> xfce, just like the OLPC I just got....

The key to this is the 'al' capability described in gettytab(5).

Basically you set up a special terminal type in /etc/gettytab which
includes auto-login as whatever user you require (ie. copy the 'Pc'
entry and add an 'al=username' field).  Then in /etc/ttys
you tell the system to use that particular terminal type on either
the console or a particular vty.  init will detect when the login
session ends and respawn it, exactly as it does the usual login process.

So long as the console is in a location where only approved people can
get to it, it's not even hugely insecure.  You certainly should take
pains to ensure that you cannot access the account remotely by eg. ftp(1)
or ssh(1) though.

	Cheers,

	Matthew

This has been a rehash of a post I originall made in 2004: http://groups.google.co.uk/group/mailing.freebsd.questions/msg/84e4bc1b8f27e428?dmode=source

-- 
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil.                   7 Priory Courtyard
                                                  Flat 3
PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey     Ramsgate
                                                  Kent, CT11 9PW

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