[nycbug-talk] [Fwd: Security Threat Watch 028]

[Bob Ippolito]

On May 11, 2004, at 3:10 PM, Trish Lynch wrote:

>> If you're an OS X shop that forces everyone into using SMB, you're 
>> just
>> making your life more difficult.
>>
>> LDAP is a central directory for metadata, not files, what does that
>> have to do with anything?
>>
>> Apple has no obvious plans of moving to another filesharing protocol
>> for their default.  They currently support WebDAV, SMB, NFS, and AFP,
>> so the people who want cake can eat it too.
>>
>> By the way, AFP is a perfectly open technology.  There are open source
>> (cross-platform!) implementations, and UNLIKE SMB, the wire protocol 
>> is
>> publicly documented by the originator, Apple.  I'm not saying it's an
>> ideal protocol, but it does what it does well, and it supports the
>> platform you're using a whole hell of a lot better than SMB does, so 
>> it
>> would make your life easier if you used it.  None of the filesharing
>> protocols have a history of being secure, and in fact, I would say 
>> that
>> AFP has the most pristine record of the bunch, so security isn't a 
>> real
>> good reason either.
>>
>
> sure, but its also a very chatty protocol, which is enough to generally
> steer me away from it.

Are you sure you're not talking about AppleTalk, the network layer that 
AFP doesn't depend on or even typically use in OS X?

Even if it *were* particularly chatty, the protocol was originally 
designed a long time ago.  Could it even have a remotely possible 
chance of bogging down your 100mbit or faster ethernet?  Hell, I have 
gigabit ethernet in my apartment.  I really think this claim is 
unfounded.

-bob