Install into /usr/local

[Christopher Weldon]

On Feb 12, 2007, at 12:26 PM, Richard Taubo wrote:

> Hi!
>
> When installing some software OS X into /usr/local and reading the  
> corresponding Linux manual, I see that OS X requires me to install  
> using sudo whereas Linux do not.
>
> Is there a reason for this difference, and should the OS X way  
> cause security concerns?
>
> I am e.g. thinking about as situation where you are installing  
> software that has many dependencies, and is impractical to scan all  
> the dependencies for the possibility of malware.
>
>
> Thanks for input!
>
>
> Best regards,
> Richard Taubo

Howdy Richard!

In any situation where you'll be installing into the operating  
system's folders (such as /usr or /usr/local) and are not doing the  
installation as root, you will have to use sudo at some point in time  
to install it. This is due to the nature of installing applications,  
libraries, etc. in these directories as only trusted users should  
have write access to write to it. Most users have at least read if  
not read & execute privileges.

If your Linux system is setup to where you don't have to use Sudo to  
install something in /usr/local, then your system is seriously  
compromised either due to insecure permission settings on system  
folders (/usr, /usr/local) or your user account having way too many  
privileges.
--
Christopher Weldon
President & CEO
Cerberus Interactive, Inc.
cweldon at cerberusonline.com
(866) 813-4603 x605