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Interview with NMAP Creator Fyodor
An anonymous reader writes "Whitedust has an interview with Fyodor, creator of NMAP. The interview covers a broad range of topics from Fyodor's roots and motivations in the security world to his newer projects and even mentions Fyodor's forthcoming book on NMAP network scanning."
Could it be that the motivation was... root?
Quid festinatio swallonis est aetherfuga inonusti?
Africus aut Europaeus?
[...] Fyodor's roots [...]
... roots?
Har har. Get it? Port scanner? His
I thought it was funny.
- dshaw
If anyone is wondering what his last name is, 'Fyodor' is a pseudonym (a.k.a. a "handle"). So there is no last name to go with it.
This handle was partly inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky, who was perhaps the second greatest writer of all time.
...forgo those fancy tools and port scan from Vim
Mongrel News all the news that fits and froths
for network assesment. It's the best free tool out there, and IMHO better than the commercial apps as well.
SecureThe.Net - Practical Resources for Securing Systems
I was going to ask what he thought of nmap porn, but then I realized the link I was using was from nmap's own site! Apparently they condone this sort of thing.
Come on, Fydor, admit it. Like most of us, you don't really care about coding, you just do it to get girls.
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
In the second Matrix film, Trinity uses nmap to find a vulnerability in an old SSH version that she then exploits. Probably the first realistic hacking depiction in a major film. Fyodor said something along the lines of
"It was so awesome, my jaw dropped when I saw it in the theaters. A sexy woman uses my program. I think that means we are married."
Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die
WD> Have you ever been concerned that Nmap is used for blackhat purposes? :). But ...
....I just hope the WD guys didn't interview someone logged in to an IRC channel and claiming himself as being Fyodor.....
Fyodor> I doubt that Nmap has ever been used for blackhat purposes. OK, maybe once or twice
The Nmap Network Scanning book isn't yet complete, but I have decided to release one of the most important chapters in advance online. That is this Nmap Reference Guide, which will become the new man page. It is rewritten from scratch to be much more comprehensive and detailed than the previous version, and better organized as well. It can be read top to bottom or used as a quick reference to look up that obscure scan type you are considering. Let me know if you have any suggestions for improving it. I'm also looking for translators (the previous man page is available in nine languages. If you are interested, send me mail with your target language. That way I can send you the source file (DocBook XML) to translate rather than the HTML/Nroff which is auto-generated. That will also prevent the case of several people duplicating effort by translating to the same language. I was planning to announce this tomorrow, but since the book seems to be mentioned at the top of Slashdot right now anyway, I just scrambled to put it up.
And now for the goods. Here is the HTML Nmap Reference Guide. Or you can download the Nroff (man page) form here. Enjoy!
-Fyodor
Not that there's anything wrong with pushing a book you've written, but it being mentioned is hardly a surprise.
From: Fyodor
Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 02:17:19 -0700
Hi Everyone. There is a disturbance in the force! You may recall a couple weeks ago that MS started recommending Nmap on some of their web pages. That was strange, but I did not foresee the anomalous omens that would ensue.
Like almost any self-respecting geek, I bought tickets to 'Matrix: Reloaded' several weeks back (no spoilers, I promise). After all, who can resist the combination of philosophical mind games and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) in that tight leather bodysuit?
So after waiting an hour in a line snaking out of the theatre to the parking lot, I finally got in to my 10pm Wednesday showing. All was going well until Trinity needed to do some hacking. Oh, no! I was sure we'd see a silly "Hackers"-esque 3D animated "hacking scene". Not so! Trinity is as smart as she is seductive! She whips out Nmap (!!!), scans her target, finds 22/tcp open, and proceeds with an ber ssh technique! I was so surprised, I almost jumped out of my seat and did the "r00t dance" right there in the theatre!
There can be only one explanation: Carie-Anne has the hots for me! [...]
Perhaps no one cares? Fyodor is a security legend. Deal with it.
Do you use it?
She has the current working directory in $PATH.
My point is it didn't come from books, a class or even man pages (that's a given), but toolin' around with the tools epitomized by nmap. Seeing this article touched a nerve in me to say thanks as the readers of this, in my estimation, is a group most densely populated by people who coded wares that got me to wherever I am today, which apparently is a very low-level pron tycoon, who's all about the high res.
Thanks.
I guess it's clear that certain editors and mods don't want this issue creeping into the discussion, but it's important. It sits at zero despite being relevent and raising disturbing issues surrounding fyodor's legitimacy.
what kind of useless bastard reposts old old trolls like this one. what a crock of shit.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
> > Could it be that the motivation was... root?
/. reader; taking a shower is easier, and probably more effective.)
> Not in Australia.
Well, psychologists would say that all this work is ultimately done to impress women and get laid.
On second thoughts, is writing code likely to get you laid? (Hint for the stereotype
(BTW, since parent didn't make it clear, 'root' is slang for sexual intercourse in Australian English)
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
How do you write a book on NMAP?
Is it how the networks operate and how NMAP plays with it? Or is this an NMAP manual? I mean it ain't exactly hard to use. I can't imagine a book on how to use NMAP being more than 50 pages or so...
Of course I haven't read any TFA if there is one...
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
I've found you one :)
e ker/jobseeker_jobs_more_detail.asp?client_job_id=9 978
Playboy TV is looking for a person experienced in viewing programmes for television broadcast for compliance with Ofcom regulations
http://www.grapevinejobs.com/index.asp?Page=jobse
That's exactly what I thought when I started writing a short tutorial on nmap. 200 pages later(!), it's a comprehensive guide to the operation and inner-workings of nmap.
I've documented, graphically displayed, and captured network traffic for every nmap ping type, scan method, and nmap option. Not every nmap option works exactly the way one might expect, so I've also documented the "gotchas" when using nmap. I also wrote a chapter that outlines some practical uses of nmap for ongoing security needs.
I've released the book with a Creative Commons license, and posted the entire book to the web for free! My goal was to give something back to the security community that could be used to make networks more secure and to help network professionals understand what happens when these scans are active on their network.
Secrets of Network Cartography: A Comprehensive Guide to nmap is available at:
http://www.networkuptime.com/nmap/index.shtml
I'm working on the next version now, and I'm open for suggestions and comments. Please let me know what you think!
James Messer
you can't. AFAIK, you can't run the command line version w/ full functionality as non-root either.
LDS = Latter Day Saints = Mormons
I now ask you, gentle sirs and madams, would you use a tool written by a known criminal
Yes.
Next question?
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
This undeserved bashing of MS and BG has got to stop.
There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
not much of a "troll" to "debunk" now is it? He broke the law and some kids took note. Its no big deal, we've all made mistakes, but still it has to be said that this individual is not above breaking into other folks computers, indeed, its a skill he has honed through years of practice and if he can personally gain from it, he will break the law again. Thats only common sense.
Mod parent up
Read, refresh, repeat.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040223103236/http://w ww.insecure.org/nmap/nmap_haxxxor.html
http://hoghole.com/videos/
Reminds me about the once CEO of Axciom. I read a book about the company which created the tools the police forces all over america, including the fbi and ss use to basically look up any info on anyone and their neighbors and dogs. The guy that created the program was reputedly involved in the Iran-Contra scandal among other things. This struck some of the heads of gov't as a bad thing, but not bad enough to not use his brilliant tools.
You're nothing; like me.