> ( i looked into NIS and i cannot use shadow and MD5 with NIS, maybe in > NIS+ ) Well, I'm not sure how hard you looked or where you looked, but this is absolutely not true. NIS can use shadow passwds and MD5 without problem. There are sum advantages to NIS+ (the default on Slackware, IIRC), but the administrative complexity far outways them, IMHO. In most cases, you'll be fine using NIS. Many people don't like it because it's _possible_ for someone to ypxfer your maps from your server, but in order for them to do it, they need to find a way onto your network (physically) and be able to spoof one of your NIS clients. It's easy for someone to get your maps if they get on one of your NIS clients, either as root or as a user, which is a pretty large disad considering many users pick terrible, brute-forcable passwds. I've never had a problem with NIS though. Yes, it's not the most security conscious system, but it's very standard and very convenient. SCPing maps around isn't a bad solution though, and it gives you at least some authentication (as does NIS+ w/kerberos). My $.02 Gabe -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gabe Turner | X-President, UNIX Systems Administrator, | Assoc. for Computing Machinery U of M Supercomputing Institute for | University of Minnesohta Digital Simulation and Advanced Computation | dopp at acm.cs.umn.edu "If a god of love and life ever did exist, he's long since dead... Someone, some _thing_, rules in his place." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------