Is webmin a good thing to have running, or does it allow for security issues, given that firewalls are setup etc?

well, if you don't need it, remove it. personally i don't think anyone needs it, as it only acts as a front endit to editing a handful of files, which anyone can do themselves, albeit with a little research.

without proper configuration, webmin can be a huge security risk, especially if it's acccessible to external interfaces...

Won't bother then, and good link in your sig.

Whereas, on another hand, can anyone remember ALL the config files you want to edit, all the log files you want to view and any of the user data we all have installed??

Webmin is as secure as any open socket, so, if you have services running and offer them to the outside world, get security wise before you open your machine to prying eyes.

Try Webmin and revel in the speed you can find things, make your own lists and customise the menus... To me it comes down to speed...

And please avoid easy passwords... they are SO EASY to break.
Rgds
Happy Webmin user.

yes, i can.

I don't run everything that webmin can interface with, but I feel much more secure and confident about my systems without something like webmin.

Very valid point, but many of us aren't near there yet.

We've got a lot of familiarising to do, so lists like Webmin are useful.

Long term??? We'll all get there. Steep learning curve sometimes.

I agree too, about unnecessary services, beckoning visitors.
Rgds

yeah there's a learnign curve of course, but it's how you erm.. climb that curve, you can either use an unreliable cable car, or you can make the effort to climb it yourself, with ropes and pickaxes.


rubbish analogy, but i prefer to make slower progress and understand things as i go along. gonna finally learn how to install a dhcpo server soon, and i'm buggered if i'm gonna let somethign else configure it thier way.. i wan't it my way.

I don't have it running, I don't even have it installed. I'd rather try to remember where files are when doing stuff, otherwise my poor old brain won't ever learn it well enough.
I don't really keep anything open to the outside, I might run apache now and then, even then I've got some stuff to block access...or try to

I like webmin, mostly for speed and sometimes because I just can't remember where all the darned config files etc. are.

What I do is have it installed but not running. Then (if I'm remote)I ssh into my machine and turn it on:

chkconfig --level 2345 webmin on

log into webmin, do what I need to do, then turn it off.

chkconfig --level 2345 webmin off

Easy peasy.

why do you use such a strange command to start it?

/etc/init.d/webmin start

or

service webmin start