Re: Java, Netscape, OpenDoc, and Babel

[Ray Cromwell <rjc@clark.net>]

> 
> I suspect that the java-like methodology of downloading small apps to
> users can be done securely, but the java model doesn't feel like the
> right way to do it, at least to me.
> 

  I agree with you. However, I think the only way to get a handle on
what the security issues are of such a methodology, is to deploy one
and see what happens. Then you can build a second generation 
environment based on that knowledge. There's also the issue that
even if the environment is secure on paper, with an application as
large as a browser and an execution environment, you can never
know if it was implemented properly. Sendmail-like bugs could haunt
the system for years. That's why its good to deploy it early, fix all
the big holes discovered as fast as possible. At minimum though, I think
Java should atleast run chroot()ed on Unix systems. Instead, their 
approach is to define a "writable" directory on disk that apps can write 
too. This does make me nervous because I can see the potential to send 
over a program to be compiled and executed. I don't know what you would do
under the MacOS and Win95 to make it secure. There is also security
at the meta-applet level. Even if you chroot() Java to some directory
where applets can write to, one applet can destroy another's data. If
the data saved by one applet is valuable to you, like hotlist settings
gathered over months, a rogue applet can trash them. But sometimes
applets need to be able to read/write each others data so you can't
just disallow it. So HotJava should have a access protocol for applets
too. The Java team could learn a lot from the experience LambdaMOO.

-Ray