I am developing an NLM application and I...
Articles and Tips: qna
01 May 2002
Q.
I am developing an NLM application and I am creating one file from my NLM that should not be visible to the user using Windows Explorer (from the client).
As an example, the UINSTALL.NLM exists in the SYS:SYSTEM volume of NetWare server, but it is not visible to the user using Windows Explorer. If you type:
load uinstall.nlm <Enter>
at the NetWare server console prompt, the UNISTALL.NLM loads. Could you give me some information on how to do the same?
A.
One of the possibilities to hide a file is to create it on the DOS partition of the server. This will work if your users cannot load DOSFAT.NSS by accessing the server either physically or remotely.
In addition to putting it on the local drive, you may also use an inherited rights filter to hide it. However you can't filter out Admin rights with IRFs--this might be a desired or undesired effect.
Normal security controls should allow you to protect against all but users with Supervisor access to the volume. If required, you can place additional code on the server to stop access from users with Supervisor rights. The best example of something that does this would be Novell's own _Netware directory, which holds the NDS database.
The bad news is that Novell took a number of years to stop all the "leaks" as different tools used different access methods.
One solution that may work could be to use NetWare-based File System Hooks. These could allow you to monitor for access to the directory or files by a client and then return an error instead of allowing the client to open the file. The following link will provide more background regarding file system hooks: http://developer.novell.com/support/sample/tids/xfsh1a/fshook.htm
Lastly, you have the option to place that information not in a file but in eDirectory, especially if it does not change often.
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
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