The following was posted to comp.os.linux.admin in late July by Cor Bosman:It has come to my attention that there is something bad going on with the /etc/gateways file on a lot of Linux machines. In an attempt to set up routed on machines all over the world. After some investigating these seemed to be all Linux machines. I was then told by someone on comp.os.linux.admin that the /etc/gateways file on most Linux distributions (at least all the way since the first SLS distribution) have the following information in /etc/gateways as an “example”:

> net        microwalt       gateway metallica       passive
> net        hacktic         gateway 193.78.33.42    passive
> net        default         gateway 193.78.33.42    active

193.78.33.42 is one of our Suns. I have never given permission to include this in any Linux distribution. Since our domain pays for incoming traffic also, this is costing me a lot of money for no reason. I would therefore like to ask everyone running routed to check their /etc/gateways, and remove both lines mentioning 193.78.33.42. Even if you don't run routed, I'd appreciate it if you remove those entries. I would also ask that this be removed from all future Linux distributions. Knowing who is responsible for the questionable act is also something I'd be happy to hear.

So: Please check your /etc/gateways file! There is a big chance it will have illegal entries since I did not give permission to use those defaults. This may cause unnecessary traffic for both you and me. —Cor Bosman