Automatic replacement of files?

[R. David Whitlock]

Hey guys, maybe one of you can help me.  This is using Mandrake 6.0, a
distro that mirrors RH very closely, so answers will doubtless apply to
both...


If I replace things like my /etc/issue or /etc/issue.net (the files
displayed for login on local console and on connection remotely,
respectively) and reboot, the files get replaced somehow. The penguin
picture has a slight error because one of the lines of statistics wraps
over the next line (where does it get that info anyway?), so as root, I
make a backup version and then edit the file.  OK, so if I log out,
everything looks ok.  The initial screen (for non-XDM setups) is now my
edited /etc/issue.  Same goes for the /etc/issue.net (I edit it heavily
because I don't think people should receive that information from my box
without even logging in.  Looks like a security risk to me). Everything is
as it should be till I reboot.

When I reboot, the files get replaced. Both /etc/issue and /etc/issue.net
have been replaced by the origional files at some point in the boot-up.
 
I have noticed this effect on other files before, but this is the best
example I have found yet.  Where are the origionals, where in boot up does
it do this, and how do I either stop it, or replace its template?
 
Later,
 David