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List:       eros-arch
Subject:    [eros-arch] The banner issue
From:       Joerg Bornschein <joerg () zilium ! de>
Date:       2003-11-11 14:09:44
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Hello,


I'd like to recapitulate the actual state of affairs:

Problem:

 The user MUST easily determine whether his screen is rendered
 by his[1] graphical shell, or by a malicous fullscreen application.


Boundary condition:

 IMHO it would be nice if the same mechanism could inidicate some
 kind of trust metric when NOT in fullscreen mode. 



There are three common output channels to reach the user:
  audio hardware, the screen and (sometimes) Keyboard LEDs.


1) Lets forget about audio hardware -- sounds like a really bad idea.

2) Using the screen:

    Either there IS something on screen when IN fullscreen
    mode or there is some secret icon or tartan the fullscreen
    app may not know. This secret icon/pattern is always dispayed
    when NOT in fullscreen mode.

    There is no other way to indicate full screen status other
    than theese two.

3) Using keyboard LEDs

    A flashing external LED might be a reasonable indicator.



IMHO a flashing LED is a good solution when available. It may
be used in combination with other indicators. Local policy may allow
to diable other indicators when a LED is available.



Using screen banners when IN fullscreen mode:

 Takes away some screen space. Is this a problem? 

 Using a eye-catching banner is the most secure solution, but
 sounds daunting in some situations. 
 Local policy decision?

 Using a small portion of the screen to draw a unobtrusive color
 when in fullscreen mode does not make any sense!



So we are stuck with the secret pattern/icon/whatever solution. This
does not sound too bad since there needs to be a place on the screen
to display the current applications trust status.



 j. 



 [1] shall the same mechanism allow him to determine whether it is
     his account running the gaphical shell, or some other users
     account running a instance of the same shell?




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