>> I don't have enough experience to assess the security issues. Does >> anyone have an opinion on this? It would be simple and feasible to >> allocate another domain as suggested above. As was stated by others the compiler itself isn't any more of a security risk then any other tool. If a hacker can get root he can just as easily upload binary packages as he can compile source. That said, I'd still recommend running a second VM as a build environment. That way if for some reason an update to those custom packages somehow horribly breaks the entire OS (don't laugh, I've seen it happen) it's only the build environment you've trashed and not the production environment. -- Drew "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." --Marie Curie