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Anti-Censorship Efforts And Port Scanning
scubacuda writes "According to Wired, the University of Toronto's Internet Censorship Explorer permits people test the limits of national and organizational Internet-blocking schemes. Users enter a target URL (and a country), and the software then scans the ports of available servers in that country, looking for open ones to connect on from behind that country's firewall. Many consider port scanning a gray area, as it's often used by various hackers to find vulnerabilies that can be exploited."
"They're obviously using resources that would not normally be available. Using someone else's resources without their knowledge is abhorrent to us."
Of course, the people with the open proxies have provided a public service to the world. His argument would be similar to someone setting up a website, and then complain when someone uses it without their knowledge. Or putting a sign on your front door that says "Open for Business, please come in" and then complaining when people walk in.
If you don't want people using your computer, don't provide public services on it.
Travis
From the article:
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"This to me is no different than hacking," said Jon Asdourian, a computer forensics examiner with Stroz-Friedberg. "They're obviously using resources that would not normally be available. Using someone else's resources without their knowledge is abhorrent to us."
Thats just crap - if somebody leaves a proxy-server open to the world, they can hardly complain when *gasp* somebody uses it as a proxy server . .
And as somebody mentioned earlier, port scanning itself is not inherently wrong. Its people putting the information gained from port scanning to ill use that is wrong.
It strikes me that there's some analogy to gun control here - port scanning doesn't root computers, hax0rs root computers . . .
Too right. Why are they scanning for vulnerabilities? Because they know people don't fix them. Well.. tough shit. Fix them, or get hacked. Whats hard about that? There's certainly no grey area there. If you run an unpatched site, you should be held up to public ridicule as surely as if you allow yourself to be used by spammers. Too bad you get to lose your data. But blaming port scanning in general? I don't think so.
Put up or shut up!
Suppose I came to your house, found the door to be unlocked and decided to come in and take your stuff. Or if you object to me taking your stuff, let's say I just look around because I'm simply curious (i.e., the common "hacker who got caught" defense). I'll just rifle through your bank statements, pictures of your girlfriend, etc. No harm, no foul -- right?
Finally, don't tell me it the owner's fault for not locking the door. Yes, they did something stupid. But it hardly justifies the actions that the intruder takes to abuse them.
> If you come to my house and try all the doors to see what's open to the general
> public, you'll probably get shot or at least get to see how well your head is
> capable of decelerating a baseball bat.
Except your home isnt a public place.
Your home is a private place, for you.
So to extend that to computers.
Your PC behind a firewall is a private place.
Did anyone claim it was OK to attempt to break in through a firewall?
No. So please stop arguing that point.
A webserver is indeed a public place.
Its more compared to the general use lodge at the park down the street.
And let me tell you, if you attacked me while i was attempting to see if the doors were open on that public general use lodge, you would clearly be in the wrong for doing so.
When you run a webserver, you are allowing the general public. If you dont want the general public there, take measures, ANY MEASURES AT ALL, to stop them!
Leaving a webserver on a public network with no filters, firewall rules, IP access lists, or authentication, can not in any way be argued as taking measures to prevent access to it. You wouldnt have a leg to stand on.
Its akin to putting a tarp down on the ground, setting out your , no walls or screens or covers or anything, then complaining when people look at that is laying out in the open.
If you dont want that stuff being looked at, dont put it there in public.
Same difference with a webserver.
As for your comment of not polite. Inviting people into your home, then shooting them for tresspassing is what _I_ call impolite. That is basically what you are trying to justify being OK.