[TUHS] Re: Unix install & "standalone" package

["Theodore Ts'o" <tytso@mit.edu>]

On Sat, Sep 09, 2023 at 01:38:54AM +0200, Steffen Nurpmeso wrote:
> You know, things change, and if you do not follow closely, you
> stand in the rain.  I am not a paid Linux engineer that follows
> this rapidly moving target in the end.
> For example the (no longer) new random developer chose to disable
> feeding entropy via /dev/urandom, here (distribution) still is
> 
>   # Load random seed
>   /bin/cat /var/lib/urandom/seed > /dev/urandom
> 
> for almost two decades (it is a rather young one), but the code
> path was mutilated (i read the kernel source once he had rewritten
> that to be blake2/some 32-byte block thing based), now one needs
> to use some ioctl interface fwiw.

Huh?  That's not correct.  You can still introduce entropy into the
random pool by writing to /dev/urandom or /dev/random.  It is true
that there has been some changes to the design of /dev/random, but I
assure you as the original /dev/random developer, was consulted and
involved in the design discussions.

Anyway, this is off-topic for TUHS, but if you have specific
questions/complaints, feel free to address them to me and Jason.  Your
comments do make me suspect that there are some fundamental
misunderstandings at work.

Cheers,

					- Ted