inetd...What is it?,Do I need it?,What happens if I disable it?

2GNUBY · 10-12-2006, 09:08 AM

Hi all, In reading about hardening a system I saw a recommendation to alter or disable inetd and would like to know exactly what it does and why I may or may not need it. I am concerned because when I searched the contents of my inetd I found some entries that look very suspicious to me as if they are there to allow someone to bypass my security stuff and allow remote login. Any input on this is appreciated. Thanks, 2GNUBY

acid_kewpie · 10-12-2006, 09:11 AM

inetd is a superserver thing. essentially it controls smaller serivces like tftp, which do not deserve their own full service control. stop it if you want, unliekly to do any harm. you can see what it's runnign from the /etc/inetd.conf file.