linux.. securing it against rogue programs?

[Mike Coleman]

Aravind Gottipati <slttg at cc.usu.edu> writes:
> A short little program like this could be written by any user that konws
> a little C. It is scary to me that any one using a typical unix box can
> run this and bring a whole box to a halt. How do I protect my boxes
> against such mishaps? Are there programs/scripts that would protect
> boxes against things like this or even better not let any processes use
> 100% of the memory just in case there are any suck problems..

As per Tony's comments, a 'ulimit -u' in /etc/profile would probably work, and
the kernel change idea sounds right, too.

If you're interested in controlling a small set of possibly misbehaving
programs, SUBTERFUGUE might well work for you.  (see subterfugue.org)

--Mike

-- 
[O]ne of the features of the Internet [...] is that small groups of people can
greatly disturb large organizations.  --Charles C. Mann