Paranoid(3pm)						User Contributed Perl Documentation					     Paranoid(3pm)

NAME

       Paranoid - Paranoia support for safer programs

VERSION

       $Id: Paranoid.pm,v 0.34 2012/05/29 21:40:51 acorliss Exp $

SYNOPSIS

	 use Paranoid;

	 $errMsg = Paranoid::ERROR;

	 psecureEnv("/bin:/usr/bin");

DESCRIPTION

       This collection of modules started out as modules which perform things (debatably) in a safer and taint-safe manner.  Since then it's also
       grown to include functionality that fit into the same framework and conventions of the original modules, including keeping the debug hooks
       for command-line debugging.

       All the modules below are intended to be used directly in your programs if you need the functionality they provide.

       This module does provide one function meant to secure your environment enough to satisfy taint-enabled programs, and as a container which
       holds the last reported error from any code in the Paranoid framework.

SUBROUTINES
/METHODS
   psecureEnv
	 psecureEnv("/bin:/usr/bin");

       This function deletes some of the dangerous environment variables that can be used to subvert perl when being run in setuid applications.
       It also sets the path, either to the passed argument (if passed) or a default of "/bin:/usr/bin".

   Paranoid::ERROR
	 $errMsg = Paranoid::ERROR;
	 Paranoid::ERROR = $errMsg;

       This lvalue function is not exported and must be referenced via the Paranoid namespace.

TAINT NOTES

       Taint-mode programming can be somewhat of an adventure until you know all the places considered dangerous under perl's taint mode.  The
       following functions should generally have their arguments detainted before using:

	 exec	     system	 open	     glob
	 unlink      mkdir	 chdir	     rmdir
	 chown	     chmod	 umask	     utime
	 link	     symlink	 kill	     eval
	 truncate    ioctl	 fcntl	     chroot
	 setpgrp     setpriority syscall     socket
	 socketpair  bind	 connect

DEPENDENCIES

       While this module itself doesn't have any external dependencies various child modules do.  Please check their documentation for any
       particulars should you use them.

SEE ALSO

       The following modules are available for use.  You should check their POD for specifics on use:

       o   Paranoid::Args: Command-line argument parsing functions

       o   Paranoid::BerkeleyDB: OO-oriented BerkelyDB access with concurrent access capabilities

       o   Paranoid::Data: Misc. data manipulation functions

       o   Paranoid::Debug: Command-line debugging framework and functions

       o   Paranoid::Filesystem: Filesystem operation functions

       o   Paranoid::Glob: Paranoid Glob objects

       o   Paranoid::Input: Input-related functions (file reading, detainting)

       o   Paranoid::Lockfile: Lockfile support

       o   Paranoid::Log: Unified logging framework and functions

       o   Paranoid::Module: Run-time module loading functions

       o   Paranoid::Network: Network-related functions

       o   Paranoid::Network::IPv4: General IPv4-related functions

       o   Paranoid::Network::IPv6: General IPv6-related functions

       o   Paranoid::Network::Socket: Wrapper module for Socket & Socket6

       o   Paranoid::Process: Process management functions

BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

       If your application is sensitive to performance issues then you may be better off not using these modules.  The primary focus was on
       security, robustness, and diagnostics.  That said, there's probably a lot of room for improvement on the performance front.

AUTHOR

       Arthur Corliss (corliss@digitalmages.com)

LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT

       This software is licensed under the same terms as Perl, itself.	Please see http://dev.perl.org/licenses/ for more information.

       (c) 2005, Arthur Corliss (corliss@digitalmages.com)

perl v5.14.2							    2012-05-29							     Paranoid(3pm)