[Samba] Re: samba as a replacement for ftp

[mark]

On Tuesday 25 February 2003 15:50, Francis Lau wrote:
> As we do not have a very computer literate user base, we need to keep
> things simple.  I've looked at coupling samba with ssl or kerberos, but
> both techniques will require the user to install a client and/or other
> software on their end.  We are trying to avoid this and let the users save
> their files onto the server as though their share is on their local
> computer.  Are there currently any other methods (samba or not) that would
> allow us to achieve this?  (Samba's native encrypted passwords work great
> in this sense because the users do not have to do anything at all other
> than connecting to the server.  Of course, the encrypted passwords are not
> very safe to begin with...)
>

You are in between the proverbial rock and the proverbial hard place.  I don't 
know enough about other systems to really do this.  My personal inclination 
is to put security first and ease of user second.  Which probably explains 
all the yelling at my house when I tried to get my wife to use *nix.  She now 
uses windows and I provide the firewall on the *nix computer.  But I digress.  

I thought that setting up a vpn connection with windows didn't involve users 
adding different software.  I've never done it, though.I know it may require 
you to educate your users, but in my opinion you're going to be better off in 
the end.  

There may be software that will allow users to access their filesystem via 
https.  I vaguely remember something like that.  I might have been dreaming.  
Or seen it on bugtraq with an announcement of some massive security hole.

I'm hoping more technically adept people than myself chime in to give you 
suggestions that better fit your criteria.  

mark

ps  Have you checked the archives?  I know I've told people in the past flat 
out NOT to do what you are thinking of, but I can't remember the response 
from others.  Worth a shot.

mark