GNU bug report logs - #8069
23.2.94; auth-source should support ~/.netrc by default

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From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <lmi <at> gnus.org>
To: Reuben Thomas <rrt <at> sc3d.org>
Cc: 8069 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#8069: 23.2.94; auth-source should support ~/.netrc by default
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:37:24 -0800

Reuben Thomas <rrt <at> sc3d.org> writes:

> auth-source is trying to encourage users to use ~/.authinfo rather than
> ~/.netrc. This is fine. But many programs and libraries still use
> ~/.netrc (personally, until reading the auth-source manual I had not
> heard of ~/.authinfo).

I don't quite remember why we started using ~/.authinfo instead of
~/.netrc?  I think that change was done a long, long time ago.  (At
least for nntp.el.)  Anybody remember?  Was there a technical reason?

This was done in:

66292b12 lisp/nntp.el      (Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen 1998-03-07 16:19:30 +0000  243) (defcustom nntp-authinfo-file "~/.authinfo"

and the ChangeLog entry helpfully says

+	* nntp.el (nntp-authinforc-file): Changed default.

Yay me.

But, yes, I think ~/.netrc should be added to the list of auth sources
to consult.

> Carrot: Default to searching ~/.netrc (unencrypted), ~/.authinfo
> (unencrypted), and ~/.authinfo.gpg (encrypted). This means that users
> with an unencrypted file or old-name file are not annoyed.

Agreed.

> By all means create a symlink from ~/.authinfo to ~/.netrc if the
> former doesn’t already exist, and don’t actually search ~/.netrc. (But
> maybe that would create potential security problems of its own.)

Nah.  Symlinks shouldn't be necessary.

> Stick: Display a minibuffer warning message when an unencrypted file is
> found. Thus, the user is not actually interrupted (which breeds
> annoyance), but does receive a gentle reminder that encrypted is better.

No, I don't think any reminders are necessary.  It's perfectly
reasonable to keep your passwords (for services you don't consider to be
super-secret for you) unencrypted.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  larsi <at> gnus.org * Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen

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