I have configured a microSD card with Raspian for Robots in preparation for a new GoPiGo3, and see in /var/log/syslog entries about some services called “freedesktop”.
What is the purpose of freedesktop in Raspbian for Robots?
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Man, this post made me smile! Glad to see someone actually poking there nose deep in stuff!
Great question. So basically it has something to do with the display. Yah I know it’s more complex than that! Lol… I will definitely look into it so I can explain it in full detail.
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The part that was disconcerting were the entries that seemed to say my Pi was checking some Internet URL for authorized freedesk users, but looking closer “org.freedesk.Accounts” is probably a local socket.
The reason I was even reading the logs was that clicking on the “vNC session” button, when browsing my Raspbian for Robot’s IP Apache2 landing page, went straight in without requesting a password; The default password is passed in the link… The “Terminal session” link did ask for my (changed) password. Probably, I just need to figure out how to change the vNC server password as part of my “robot set-up instructions”.
So do you still have questions?
I “think” I’m good. I don’t know how to assess if the freedesk display manager is a vulnerability, but it appears to be in the base Raspbian, not special with Raspbian for Robots.
I changed the tightvnc password (vncpasswd), which turns off the browser VNC access as desired.
( I use Mac Remote Desktop into the tightvnc server when I want to work with camera programs. )
After reading the research report: Scanning the Internet for ROS: A View of Security in Robotics Research I’m trying to remain cognizant of vulnerabilities.