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Port Knocking in Action

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the crazy-security-through-obscurity dept.

tyldis writes "There was something called "port knocking" mentioned on Slashdot earlier, and now an implementation has sprung to life. Is this something worth pursuing?" The page is to an application called knockd which is a simple proof of concept with hard coded knock sequences. Really interesting stuff.

24 of 430 comments (clear)

  1. How do you transcribe... by JesseL · · Score: 5, Funny

    "shave and a haircut" into port numbers?

    --
    "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
    1. Re:How do you transcribe... by winkydink · · Score: 4, Funny

      I dunno. How many ports can you knock on with two bits?

      --

      "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    2. Re:How do you transcribe... by nacturation · · Score: 2, Funny

      I dunno. How many ports can you knock on with two bits?

      Four, of course!

      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
    3. Re:How do you transcribe... by Hanji · · Score: 4, Funny
      $perl -e 'print join(",",unpack("s*","shave and a haircut"))."\n"'
      29544,24950,25888,24942,25632,24 864,26721,26994,25461
      Q-BASIC, BAH
      --
      A Minesweeper clone that doesn't suck
  2. Re:Is this something worth persuing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Is pursuing something worth spelling correctly? also 'Yes'.

  3. Knock Knock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    You can keep on knockin' but ya can't come in

  4. Port to MIDI interface by Black+Art · · Score: 3, Funny

    So how do we map musical notes to port numbers?

    I want to get "shave and a haircut" ported over to the new protocol.

    --
    "Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
    1. Re:Port to MIDI interface by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      The new chicken-powered iMacs have this already built in!

  5. old by ozric99 · · Score: 5, Funny
    When the server detects a specific sequence of port-hits, it runs a command defined in its configuration file. This can be used to open up holes in a firewall for quick access.

    pfft, XP has had this for ages....

  6. Port knocking not exactly a new idea.. by morelife · · Score: 3, Funny

    The port knocking idea is pretty old.. at least for months now all kinds of people are knocking my 135 1433 3127 and a bunch of others to DEATH, like hundreds a day, trying to get in..

    Oops, that's Microsoft port knocking.. never mind, sorry, I guess it is new to Unix..

  7. Knock Knock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who's there?

    Packet.

    Packet who?

    Packet up bitch, you've been hacked.

  8. If this box is rock'n... by stephenisu · · Score: 1, Funny

    Don't come a knockin'

    --
    Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
  9. Re:one of many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Actually I counted 11 other port knocking implementations. Really I did. Can I get modded +4 also?

  10. Re:one of many by jacquesm · · Score: 2, Funny

    port knocking is like having a deliberate hole in
    your carefully constructed secure zone.

    I'm going to stay a mile away from anything that
    brings on board a 'knocker'...

    I'd hate to get knocked up.

    --
    MP3 Search Engine
  11. sounds like... by beni1207 · · Score: 1, Funny

    is this at all related to fart knocking? Because I spent a good deal of my time in jr. high school learning all about that....

  12. Re:Great for warez... by gnu-generation-one · · Score: 2, Funny

    "I can see this being used quite extensively in the warez arena."

    Shhhh.... Don't mention the trojans.

  13. Re:one of many by PacoTaco · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, someone needs to come up with a better name. I feel like I should be saying "shut up Beavis" whenever somebody mentions it.

  14. So how do you 'start' this? by purduephotog · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do you type:

    >/etc/rc.d/rc3.d/s95Knock UP

    ?

  15. So there I was by ch-chuck · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd just scp'd a new file to my ISP, ssh'd in to edit index.html, checked email, and then when I refreshed the page in http, suddenly I has root access!

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  16. Re:Knock Knock by Dorothy+86 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I knock, knock, knocked on that Gibson's door!

    --
    Game Overdrive - Gaming News
  17. Re:Secrets are not security by Mr2cents · · Score: 2, Funny

    Secrets are not security. Give me your pin code.

    --
    "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
  18. Re:Sniffing only works when on that network. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Unless, of course, they've already installed a backdoor on your neighbor's unpatched windows box and are watching cable modem traffic on your subnet

    Or "they" might have drugged your coffee, stole your keys, broke into your house, installed cameras everywhere, put a tap on your phone line, installed key loggers on your computer, ....

  19. Re:Great for warez... by Ctrl-Z · · Score: 2, Funny

    Time to file a patent.

    --
    www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
  20. Security vs Obscurity by surstrmming · · Score: 2, Funny
    Most of you seem to miss the point. You do not get security through obscurity, but that does not mean obscurity isn't valuable in addition to security. It is.

    Compare this to real life. You have a stack of porn magazines locked in a drawer. The security is the lock, preventing your mother from ever getting access to the porn. That's fine. But surely you would feel much better if your mother didn't even know there was porn in the drawer! That's obscurity. It doesn't make the lock any more secure, but it is useful.