How much work would it take to use KaZaA to get BT files?
Its not hard at all. You go on Kazaa, and type in ".torrent", "bittorrent", etc and you will get some results. Of course alot of the crap that will also show up in the results are full-sized movies, etc. that have the key-word that you are searching for in the file description, but what isn't like that on Kazaa? I know this doesn't answer your question completely, but it does work to a limited degree.
OTOH, they're the same people that'll open the "I love you" virus, despite being warned, in case someone loves them. So I suppose that them having a network share and an email account is a security issues too.
These are also the same people who will continue to share their entire C drive after getting repeated warnings from other users on the network. They take the personal messages coming in from other users warning them as stupid hackers trying to get into their system.
"Note that to exploit this vulnerability, a potential attacker would have to trick the client into contacting a fake server rather than the actual SETI@home server. To our knowledge, no SETI@home client has ever been attacked in this manner.
So it's unlikely you're owned from this. Some general tips to check your box's health: On linux, run `lsof -i` as root to see what kind of connections your box is listening for/has established. On windows, run `netstat -an` to see much the same. As always, monitor log files and bandwidth usage for suspicious activity or traffic spikes you didn't initiate."
Another thing to check out if you think your box might be compromised, is your hosts file. Make sure you dont have a dummy hosts file that was put in your system that might redirect you to a different SETI@home server. Also if you run your own DNS server (or access one that is run by a friend, etc.) make sure all the security updates/precautions are in place to not allow someone to either poison your DNS cache (essentially rerouting your seti client to wherever they want). Or even easier, just use your ISPs DNS. Of course its not impossible that the same could happen to the ISPs DNS server, but I'm sure its much less likely.
The best firewall I have found so far for Windows is Kerio Personal Firewall.
http://www.kerio.com
It is not open source, but it is free for personal use, and as far as I can tell has no restrictions. I have used it on Win2k and WinXP and it works perfectly. You can even limit IP/ports to a specific application. Check it out if you need a good firewall.
"Instead of someone buying a 2.4GHz processor, for example, they'll get a 1.8 and overclock it to 2.4 (or whatever the exact numbers are). Basically Intel is wanting to ensure people buy the more expensive processor instead of overclocking a cheaper one. But what percentage of people actually overclock? 0.1%?"
I think you're also forgetting the percentage of people who go into a small computer store, think they are buying a 2.4ghz, but then later realize its just a 1.8ghz overclocked by the shop - and they paid for 2.4ghz. Piss you off, wouldnt it?
I think they just didn't want to put too much lingo into the article. Plus they got Roger Ham taking care of their wireless project, sounds like they are set. Is it just me, or does Roger Ham sound like it belongs to a man who is deputy chief of wireless communications?
Re:Advice from my extensive experience in this are
on
Family Tech Support
·
· Score: 1
"- Use NT/Win2K: Win98 seems to attract all the garbage that can be thrown at it, and not hold up well. Win2K is much more resilient."
My parents were both still running Win98SE on their machines up until recently. My mom still runs 98SE, which definitely sucks for the most part (although it gets the basic tasks done).
I just upgraded to XP for my dad though, and it is a good improvement even over 2000. It is just as stable, and the desktop is alot easier to navigate for the 50 year old parents who require 3 different types of glasses (1 for using the computer, 1 for driving, etc..). The entire desktop is alot cleaner (atleast in classic style, I dont use the new XP look) and it was alot easier for my Dad to navigate around vs 2000, especially when I was on the phone with him trying to have him click here-there to fix something.
Remember when every few years there's a big jump required to upgrade because of new technology?
Not any worse now than it ever was. Infact I see it as better because with fast processors and such, there isn't much of a requirement to upgrade, unless you feel you have to run the new Doom3 Alpha at more than 25 FPS
Who cares what he's paying for, he just went out and bought 15 120GB drives. I'm sure finances are the least of his worries. Now all he needs to worry about is when he wants to move his computer - or an earthquake.
Reading your comment about concerned mothers not approving made me laugh. My friend was able to borrow a copy of GTA from a family friend for awhile, and when he brought it back to them, he found out that the family friend was a mother who had bought it for her *9 YEAR OLD*. Those concerned mothers really need to spend their time hunting down the other unconcerned parents;)
I use traffic shaping on my DSL to limit outgoing transfers (no not stuff owned by RIAA - live music) and aside from the pesky transfers that might use different ports, I am able to limit them directly from a machine. This is with a low end Cisco device (1605r Router). I would imagine some of these universities have Cisco equipment (or other stuff that has the same features). How about just limiting the total bandwidth a dorm (or IP address, or mac address, etc.) could use. I know alot of university networks are BIG, but I would imagine a university would limit the bandwidth student(s) can use anyways, its just hard to believe they will let their network get hammered by file sharing. Now I know not the same IP addresses, ports, etc. are always sharing but you know its going into a pool (DHCP possibly) and it would not be hard to atleast limit bandwidth on a specific subnet, etc. at certain times like the above poster mentioned.
PS not saying anything bad about PacketHound, just thinking existing equipment can do the job in some cases.
You forgot one other difference between the US and France.
They haven't had a few planes flown into their skyscrapers which killed a few thousand people. Its obviously known that Iraq didn't commit this crime, but there have been traces of people coordinating this who have fleed into Iraq because they known jack shit is gonna be done once they get in there. The situation could (and is) obviously similiar in other countries, but given our history in the past 10 years with Iraq, they seem to have become a priority.
I don't think some people realize that a simulator can be used for alot of different things. Yes simulators can simulate nuclear explosions, etc. etc.. but simulating flying a helicopter is not directly related to U.S. "war on terrorism". Yes it will be used if our troops are flying choppers into Iraq..
BUT, you would want our troops to be well trained flying a helicopter if the U.S. or an ally were attacked some day, and needed it for defense eh?
After seeing the first picture on their webpage, it made me start dreaming of some sort of contraption where you can have your bong work out of your computer !!! That would rule!
No man!! It all depends on passion involved. Just try to use that as an excuse when you are in the court room. Say passion caused you to hack!
I mean that lady in Texas ran her husband over *3* times while the man's daughter was in the car screaming into that crazy bitches ear, but it didnt stop her from backing up a few times to make sure he was dead. Although throughout the whole trial she seemed to be defending herself like she was not guilty. Hmm, now the case goes back to the jury, and even though she murdered someone, under Texas law if the murder was done under "passion", she might get PROBATION. So someone like Kevin Mitnick gets 3 years of buttraming prison while she might get PROBATION for running over her husband a few times.
First of all, for some reason I dont think a man would get probation for running over a woman 3 times. And secondly, I dont think a woman would get anywhere near 3 years for hacking at the level Mitnick did.
So that gives you an idea of how the sentences are generally made.
But regardless of that, they really do need to lower the sentencing for hacking crimes. Regardless of how much man-time or money they might cost to fix the holes, or track the hacker down, I dont think someone sitting at their computer should get more time in prison than someone who might do rape or assault.
Of course every case has their own situations, but in general they really need to lower the MAXIMUM amount of time a hacker can get.
I also have DSL through SBC (Pacbell). I have had it since it became available in my area a few years ago (northern cali). Since SBC started working with Yahoo I have only gotten one piece of mail from them, just giving instructions on how to switch over my mail to Yahoo. Since I haven't had access to my primary mailbox in about 1-2 years, I jumped on it quickly. Was able to chat with someone online to help me get my password reset and access all my mailboxes again in about 10 minutes. So far I am happy with the partnership, it has definitely helped out customers (atleast SBC ones) in respect to e-mail support and such. Pacbell/SBC was always horrible at supporting that side of the business. Now if I start getting SBC/Yahoo discs in the mail then that will be another story - I guess I might have to add them to my Wall O' AOL.
Comcast does infact have problems with VPNs on home connections. I'm not sure if they actually state it on their webpage, but when I had their service in N. Calif (before they swapped areas with AT&T), I ordered the cable modem service. I requested a static IP since I was connecting to work occasionally, and needed the IP static so they could allow only my IP access into their system. I did not need *ANY* support whatsoever with their product other than just to give me an IP address.
Well they said that they do not support VPN's on home connections ( I never even said I was trying to setup a VPN ). Eventually I just wanted with my DHCP address (which ended up NEVER changing anyways - bah). Come to find later on that a friend from work contact Comcast within a week of me, and he was able to get the static IP address without a fuss. I think they were either maybe in the middle of changing their policies or my friend got a clueless rep to give him a static IP address.
You might want to try running Norton Systemworks (Windoctor). It scans the registry and can remove or fix messed up registry entries. Fixed alot of registry problems I have seen, although not all of them.
Re:It all seemed so clear the first time through..
on
Brian West Update
·
· Score: 1
So if you were to leave your house and forget to lock your front door, and I walk by and notice your door unlocked, then all your furniture and computer equipment is gifted to me? Hell, since it was poorly protected, it must be considered public right?
Too bad they dont let you donate more than $50. I tried to donate $100 but it said I couldnt donate that much. That still did not stop me from donating the $50 which I hope can help in dealing with this tragic event.
If proven guilty in a court of law, I think it would be good to have these individuals hung on national television (ABC, CBS, NBC, live internet feed, etc..) and left to rott in a public place.
Slashdot Mirror
How much work would it take to use KaZaA to get BT files?
Its not hard at all. You go on Kazaa, and type in ".torrent", "bittorrent", etc and you will get some results. Of course alot of the crap that will also show up in the results are full-sized movies, etc. that have the key-word that you are searching for in the file description, but what isn't like that on Kazaa? I know this doesn't answer your question completely, but it does work to a limited degree.
OTOH, they're the same people that'll open the "I love you" virus, despite being warned, in case someone loves them. So I suppose that them having a network share and an email account is a security issues too.
These are also the same people who will continue to share their entire C drive after getting repeated warnings from other users on the network. They take the personal messages coming in from other users warning them as stupid hackers trying to get into their system.
Little do they know. Haha.
"By using closed source binary codecs stolen from proprietary closed source programs?"
Come on man, you know you shouldn't be bringing that kinda shit up.
No one around here cares unless its stolen from the zealots in violation of the GPL!
"Note that to exploit this vulnerability, a potential attacker would have to trick the client into contacting a fake server rather than the actual SETI@home server. To our knowledge, no SETI@home client has ever been attacked in this manner.
So it's unlikely you're owned from this. Some general tips to check your box's health:
On linux, run `lsof -i` as root to see what kind of connections your box is listening for/has established.
On windows, run `netstat -an` to see much the same.
As always, monitor log files and bandwidth usage for suspicious activity or traffic spikes you didn't initiate."
Another thing to check out if you think your box might be compromised, is your hosts file. Make sure you dont have a dummy hosts file that was put in your system that might redirect you to a different SETI@home server. Also if you run your own DNS server (or access one that is run by a friend, etc.) make sure all the security updates/precautions are in place to not allow someone to either poison your DNS cache (essentially rerouting your seti client to wherever they want). Or even easier, just use your ISPs DNS. Of course its not impossible that the same could happen to the ISPs DNS server, but I'm sure its much less likely.
The best firewall I have found so far for Windows is Kerio Personal Firewall.
http://www.kerio.com
It is not open source, but it is free for personal use, and as far as I can tell has no restrictions. I have used it on Win2k and WinXP and it works perfectly. You can even limit IP/ports to a specific application. Check it out if you need a good firewall.
"Instead of someone buying a 2.4GHz processor, for example, they'll get a 1.8 and overclock it to 2.4 (or whatever the exact numbers are). Basically Intel is wanting to ensure people buy the more expensive processor instead of overclocking a cheaper one. But what percentage of people actually overclock? 0.1%?"
I think you're also forgetting the percentage of people who go into a small computer store, think they are buying a 2.4ghz, but then later realize its just a 1.8ghz overclocked by the shop - and they paid for 2.4ghz. Piss you off, wouldnt it?
I think they just didn't want to put too much lingo into the article. Plus they got Roger Ham taking care of their wireless project, sounds like they are set. Is it just me, or does Roger Ham sound like it belongs to a man who is deputy chief of wireless communications?
"- Use NT/Win2K: Win98 seems to attract all the garbage that can be thrown at it, and not hold up well. Win2K is much more resilient."
My parents were both still running Win98SE on their machines up until recently. My mom still runs 98SE, which definitely sucks for the most part (although it gets the basic tasks done).
I just upgraded to XP for my dad though, and it is a good improvement even over 2000. It is just as stable, and the desktop is alot easier to navigate for the 50 year old parents who require 3 different types of glasses (1 for using the computer, 1 for driving, etc..). The entire desktop is alot cleaner (atleast in classic style, I dont use the new XP look) and it was alot easier for my Dad to navigate around vs 2000, especially when I was on the phone with him trying to have him click here-there to fix something.
Remember when every few years there's a big jump required to upgrade because of new technology?
Not any worse now than it ever was. Infact I see it as better because with fast processors and such, there isn't much of a requirement to upgrade, unless you feel you have to run the new Doom3 Alpha at more than 25 FPS
Atleast you know SOMEONE out there will be able to afford it as long as they are dropping $300-400 on a video card.
Who cares what he's paying for, he just went out and bought 15 120GB drives. I'm sure finances are the least of his worries. Now all he needs to worry about is when he wants to move his computer - or an earthquake.
Reading your comment about concerned mothers not approving made me laugh. My friend was able to borrow a copy of GTA from a family friend for awhile, and when he brought it back to them, he found out that the family friend was a mother who had bought it for her *9 YEAR OLD*. Those concerned mothers really need to spend their time hunting down the other unconcerned parents ;)
I think it would be great if you hold the 'carriers' accountable for the content that flows across them!
Atleast you could hold RIAA accountable for releasing a shitty album, or MPAA for releasing a shitty movie..
Joking.
How about traffic shaping?
I use traffic shaping on my DSL to limit outgoing transfers (no not stuff owned by RIAA - live music) and aside from the pesky transfers that might use different ports, I am able to limit them directly from a machine. This is with a low end Cisco device (1605r Router). I would imagine some of these universities have Cisco equipment (or other stuff that has the same features). How about just limiting the total bandwidth a dorm (or IP address, or mac address, etc.) could use. I know alot of university networks are BIG, but I would imagine a university would limit the bandwidth student(s) can use anyways, its just hard to believe they will let their network get hammered by file sharing. Now I know not the same IP addresses, ports, etc. are always sharing but you know its going into a pool (DHCP possibly) and it would not be hard to atleast limit bandwidth on a specific subnet, etc. at certain times like the above poster mentioned.
PS not saying anything bad about PacketHound, just thinking existing equipment can do the job in some cases.
You forgot one other difference between the US and France.
They haven't had a few planes flown into their skyscrapers which killed a few thousand people. Its obviously known that Iraq didn't commit this crime, but there have been traces of people coordinating this who have fleed into Iraq because they known jack shit is gonna be done once they get in there. The situation could (and is) obviously similiar in other countries, but given our history in the past 10 years with Iraq, they seem to have become a priority.
I don't think some people realize that a simulator can be used for alot of different things. Yes simulators can simulate nuclear explosions, etc. etc.. but simulating flying a helicopter is not directly related to U.S. "war on terrorism". Yes it will be used if our troops are flying choppers into Iraq..
BUT, you would want our troops to be well trained flying a helicopter if the U.S. or an ally were attacked some day, and needed it for defense eh?
After seeing the first picture on their webpage, it made me start dreaming of some sort of contraption where you can have your bong work out of your computer !!! That would rule!
Still wouldn't stop their Californian singer from annoyingly sounding like he's from England.
No man!! It all depends on passion involved. Just try to use that as an excuse when you are in the court room. Say passion caused you to hack!
I mean that lady in Texas ran her husband over *3* times while the man's daughter was in the car screaming into that crazy bitches ear, but it didnt stop her from backing up a few times to make sure he was dead. Although throughout the whole trial she seemed to be defending herself like she was not guilty. Hmm, now the case goes back to the jury, and even though she murdered someone, under Texas law if the murder was done under "passion", she might get PROBATION. So someone like Kevin Mitnick gets 3 years of buttraming prison while she might get PROBATION for running over her husband a few times.
First of all, for some reason I dont think a man would get probation for running over a woman 3 times. And secondly, I dont think a woman would get anywhere near 3 years for hacking at the level Mitnick did.
So that gives you an idea of how the sentences are generally made.
But regardless of that, they really do need to lower the sentencing for hacking crimes. Regardless of how much man-time or money they might cost to fix the holes, or track the hacker down, I dont think someone sitting at their computer should get more time in prison than someone who might do rape or assault.
Of course every case has their own situations, but in general they really need to lower the MAXIMUM amount of time a hacker can get.
I also have DSL through SBC (Pacbell). I have had it since it became available in my area a few years ago (northern cali). Since SBC started working with Yahoo I have only gotten one piece of mail from them, just giving instructions on how to switch over my mail to Yahoo. Since I haven't had access to my primary mailbox in about 1-2 years, I jumped on it quickly. Was able to chat with someone online to help me get my password reset and access all my mailboxes again in about 10 minutes. So far I am happy with the partnership, it has definitely helped out customers (atleast SBC ones) in respect to e-mail support and such. Pacbell/SBC was always horrible at supporting that side of the business. Now if I start getting SBC/Yahoo discs in the mail then that will be another story - I guess I might have to add them to my Wall O' AOL.
Comcast does infact have problems with VPNs on home connections. I'm not sure if they actually state it on their webpage, but when I had their service in N. Calif (before they swapped areas with AT&T), I ordered the cable modem service. I requested a static IP since I was connecting to work occasionally, and needed the IP static so they could allow only my IP access into their system. I did not need *ANY* support whatsoever with their product other than just to give me an IP address.
Well they said that they do not support VPN's on home connections ( I never even said I was trying to setup a VPN ). Eventually I just wanted with my DHCP address (which ended up NEVER changing anyways - bah). Come to find later on that a friend from work contact Comcast within a week of me, and he was able to get the static IP address without a fuss. I think they were either maybe in the middle of changing their policies or my friend got a clueless rep to give him a static IP address.
You might want to try running Norton Systemworks (Windoctor). It scans the registry and can remove or fix messed up registry entries. Fixed alot of registry problems I have seen, although not all of them.
So if you were to leave your house and forget to lock your front door, and I walk by and notice your door unlocked, then all your furniture and computer equipment is gifted to me? Hell, since it was poorly protected, it must be considered public right?
Too bad they dont let you donate more than $50. I tried to donate $100 but it said I couldnt donate that much. That still did not stop me from donating the $50 which I hope can help in dealing with this tragic event.
JD
If proven guilty in a court of law, I think it would be good to have these individuals hung on national television (ABC, CBS, NBC, live internet feed, etc..) and left to rott in a public place.