[Chicago-talk] Script creates bad file when not run as root

[Jim Jacobus]

Thanks to all for you for your comments and suggestions. You helped 
us resolve the problem. Ended up our system had been hacked. The bad 
binary files my Perl script was creating were a symptom. When the 
Perl's i/o subsystem creates a binary file, it buffers it in the 
Linux /tmp directory. /tmp is a really a virtual disk used as a 
scratch area. Because of the hack /tmp was 100% full. When perl's i/o 
subsystem creates a text file, it just opens it in the desired 
location as you'd expect. The perplexing part is that when you run as 
Root, the Perl I/o does not buffer in /tmp. I think it uses the local 
directory. This is the reason script ran as root, but not as a user. 
It was failing because /tmp was filled.
Our hacker had only managed to damage us and not compromise the 
operating system. By the way, if you are looking for an excellent 
company for managed hosting, take a look at Rackspace.com . Their 
"fanatical" support is the real deal.


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