Centauri's Thoughts

Its been brought to my attention that even unix users can launch attachments from e-mail if they are using a graphical environment (which, I suspect, is most, these days). This is because if something is on the desktop in KDE or Gnome, clicking it can invoke a program called a “launcher”.

Of course, all the standard rules SHOULD apply: you dont execute programs when you dont know what they are. Even if you receive something from a friend, what if they were somehow infected, and it was sent from their system, without their knowledge? you shouldnt run programs you get without expecting to receive THAT program, end of story.

Its also been brought up that while you cannot easily obtain root on a unix system, enough damage can be caused by the primary user of a system, that this doesnt matter too much. The average unix user has the ability to e-mail and do other functions, and this is not something you want a rogue program doing from your name.

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