UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I disagree. Intrusion detection doesn't prevent intrusion, just helps you close the barn door once it's already on fire. Proper security also means planning for the future, using effective tools, and using the right tools for the right job.

Your broken RCP executables might fix themselves with the next patch, or even stop a patch from going in. Breaking the binaries won't stop them anyway, as you said yourself. And if it's being done by a scripted attack it probably wouldn't even try to use them in the first place, they tend to bring their own for anything important.

So it's shortsighted, incorrect, and ineffective. Why bother? There's much better ways to stop it.

Removing the password from that library was a completely different problem. I don't think you had much alternative on that one!

The people who read the security audits want every item fixed. So, look for an OS distribution where they are packaged separately.

...or follow one of the earlier suggestions in this thread for dealing with it within the package manager.