Re: CONFIG_RANDOM option for 1.99.2

Aaron Ucko (UCKO@vax1.rockhurst.edu)
Wed, 15 May 1996 18:01:45 -0600 (CST)

>What if someone's running in very tight memory (2-4 MB) and for one
>reason or another doesn't care about crackers (isn't on the net, or
>just doesn't care about security)? The only feasible thing that the
>kernel needs good random numbers for is security, and people should
>have the option to turn that off if the memory and CPU cycles are too
>critical.

Yes, but nonsecurity-related userspace programs might also want good random
numbers. Consider a simulation using the Monte Carlo method--pseudorandom
numbers might produce misleading results.

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