> 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. It is still a wise decision to not have the compiler installed if it can be avoided. Any hacker that is not at a senior/high end intermediate level of expertise will not have all the different versions of his rootkit and other tools easily available for all the different OS distros and kernels that he'll find on the Internet.. so I'd say that most hackers cannot just as easily upload binary packages because of the wide array of support that he'd need. Admittedly since Centos/RHEL is such a big presence there is a higher degree of likelihood that he'd have the right tools in a binary package at hand, but he'll still have to expend more time and effort, not to mention that the uploads are more likely to be noticed. Making the bar higher, even in little increments, is a basic tenant of systems security. Never dismiss the power of baby steps. -geoff --------------------------------- Geoff Galitz Blankenheim NRW, Germany http://www.galitz.org/ http://german-way.com/blog/