[2003-03-31] Connecting to the Internet
Connecting to the Internet
This article is a basic overview to get you started. There are other articles here that cover certain details in more depth. You may also want to read:
[2003-03-28] Don't Take Code Red Lightly
In confronting malware, there is nothing innovative about the new strains of Klez, Yaha, SirCam and Code Red. Yet all of these worms have demonstrated unprecedented staying power on the Internet despite the existence of patches, anti-virus signatures, personal firewall protection and Intrusion Detection technology. Why are these threats so prolific, and why do new threats gain traction so quickly if all they amount to are retread malicious code?
This paper analyzes the patterns of emerging malware and presents a strategy to assist network and security administrators in addressing "new" yet old threats.
[2003-03-26] Backlinks (http_referrers)
When a web page is accessed by a link from some other page, the address of the other page (the "referring page") is made available to the web server. We can pick that information up from logs or as the page is being displayed. For example, if we have Server Side Includes or php, we can pickup the referring page from an environment variable. Here's a snippet of Perl code that does that:
$frompage=$ENV{HTTP_REFERER};
$thispage=$ENV{REQUEST_URI};
Yes, there's a missing R in HTTP_REFERER. Yes, that's wrong, but that's what the variable is so that's what you use.
[2003-03-25] Why run your own mail server?
Disclaimer
First, The Consultant
Recently I was working with another "consultant". I've deliberately put that in quotes because this person really lacked the skills to do the job he was doing, but for political reasons I had to refrain from pushing him out of the way and taking over. His lack of basic knowledge was frustrating, but I gritted my teeth and kept my comments friendly. It wasn't easy.
Anyway, part of what he was doing was configuring a router. I had to hold my breath as he explained that he always left the default password unchanged because "it's easy to remember". After he left, and with the permission of the owner, I changed that. It's just this funny idea I have that a router sitting on the Internet ought not to have a password that is known by a few million people and published on hundreds of websites. I'm funny like that.
[2003-03-24] AMD claims Intel chipsets cause system crashes
CHIP FIRM AMD has quietly dissed its much bigger competitor Intel by claiming that the latter's 845G/GL chipset crashes peoples' machines. According to a competitive notice on its website, aimed at its resellers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Intel's "extreme graphics" technology "struggles and even fails" to run some popular software packages.
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