Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » security

Data Backup and Recovery Solutions

Dmitry — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:52:08 +0000

Since the era of the computer came into full effect in the mid to late 20^th century, data is often considered to be one of the most important aspects of running any type of company. Because sensitive data is so valuable to all organizations in the current global marketplace, it has become a necessity from a business perspective for organizations of all shapes, sizes, and forms, to have the ability to use cloud backup services and other types of backup and recovery options, which make it possible to recover data in a timely fashion should disaster strike.

Backup and Recovery Basics

For many business owners, finding the most suitable backup options for their specific needs and organization can be a nightmare, without first knowing the basics, and inner workings that go in to the various options that are available to them. Thus, it goes without saying, that proper research and homework should be the first step any organization makes when even beginning to consider what type of service they want to use to protect their valuable data with. In the modern day world of IT, being in charge of backing up data generally implies two main tasks in particular: backup administrations and operations. A backup operator is in charge of completing daily tasks, such as ejecting tapes from a library and replacing them with scratch tapes or ensuring that all backups have been completed.

The most common types of backup services available include a full backup, differential backup and incremental backup. Other types may include cloud backup services, reverse incremental, mirroring, synthetic full backups, and continuous data protection. Virtual tape libraries also gained some traction in recent years due to an absence of new software and little reconfiguration required. However, this is not the best option for everybody.

Testing Backups

Testing and configuration is all too frequently the main missing link when it comes to making backups. Far too often, a company will take the time to back up their data with cloud backup services or other available options, only to find out that there was something wrong with the configuration. Backup reporting tools are designed specifically to analyze backups and report back on them, and these can help as a preventive measure to faulty backup recovery.

Such tools have evolved in recent years, so many now include additional analysis features, including trending features, in order to provide better planning for growth in backing up data – this is a valuable asset for companies who back their data onto tape, as well as to disk media.

Security for Data Backup

Whenever data backup enters the mainstream news, it often features stories regarding data breaches, and security holes. Thus, it is also very important to keep up to date with the latest solutions for backup security that are available at the time. Storage administrators are more frequently relying on tape encryption as a means of protecting highly sensitive data. Using encryption can affect the backup process in a number of different ways, depending on whether it is done with a host, tape, or appliance based scheme.

The question of how, where and when encryption should be employed is best only answered after first answering the most critical question: Why are you encrypting data?

VMware Backup and Data Protection

Data protection has been changing, and this is due in part to VMware virtualization. However, though there are a number of benefits provided by VMware, there still exist numerous challenges of backup and recovery services that must be addressed. In addition to being a costly and time consuming type of backup service to manage, desktops can create data recovery and security vulnerabilities as they are arguably one of the least protected assets of IT.

Virtual machine backup has always been a bit of an issue when it comes to backup administrators. However, VMware vSphere has offered a number of improvements for backup and recovery.

Data Deduplication

The technology known as data deduplication is perhaps one of the hottest topics with regard to backup services in today’s world. However, though global data deduplication offers many advantages, there still remain many different myths and misconceptions that surround data deduplication. There exist several different sorts of data deduplication technologies, which means it can be a bit difficult to figure out which one is the best suited for your particular organization.

Many backup administrators wind up so focused with backing up data that they lose sight of how important recovery is. After all, your backups do not mean anything if you cannot recover them – the same is true with deduped data. This means you must focus on having a good recovery setup whether you intend to go with data deduplication or not.

Online Data Backup

One popular alternative to tape-based backup is online data backup. There are numerous online cloud backup providers that allow companies to store their data online to avoid physical damage that could come with tapes used for backup; after all, tapes are a good means for backing up your library until the tapes are damaged along with your servers. Cloud services take this into consideration, storing them elsewhere and even allowing them to be accessed anywhere with the proper authorization.

Though a relatively new idea, there are a number of well-known companies which provide such services, like Box, Amazon, and Mozy.

As a final note, before you jump to any conclusions and make up your mind on what is the right type of backup and recovery system for your business, do make sure that you have done the proper research, and have at the very least consulted with a few third party sources, to know what you are getting into before it is too late to change your mind.

A guest post by: Gaelen Hallenbeck

Battle of the Giants: Linux and Windows Compared

Art — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:25:44 +0000

In the world of superior web hosting, there’s really only two main competitors as far as your operating system goes—unless you’re willing to be some kind of mad scientist, that is. Essentially, every webmaster must face the same battle during the earliest span of their career, staring at that blank server box while wondering, “Should I load this up with Windows, or will Linux get the job done?” We’re unabashedly pro-Linux, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t points for both. In fact, the uninitiated among us may quickly find themselves in over their heads without a little guidance. So with that in mind, we’d like to present our unbiased review of the major differences between a Windows-based and Linux-based server experience, starting from the ground up and arriving at the frilly stuff on top. And when putting the two head to head, there’s really no better place to start than with:

Security – Winner: Linux

In terms of raw security, it’s really quite hard to do better than any available Linux distribution. This has to do with the very way in which Linux is coded—including Unix branches of the operating system, if you were wondering. Unlike Windows, Linux has a superuser known simply as “root.” To access this level of control, a webmaster must have a direct connection to the server shell, as well as the password of the server itself. Once this link has been established, an administrator can do basically anything they’d like to the server, including the hacking and stealing of precious data. However, because this level of authority requires root access—and simply cannot be had any other way—it’s nearly impossible for an artificial-intelligence based virus to “hack” into a Linux system. The probe would first need to tunnel into the server, establishing itself as a secure connection. Next, it would need to know the master password, which theoretically could be hacked, though to little purpose. Once inside the server, the bug would still need to pass several security checks to access privileged folders, guaranteeing a much harder fight than with Windows.

Windows, it’s worth noting, features little to no administrative control, a la the “root” user. Rather, the server establishes a single account as its admin, and then ties a password to that user. However, because of the registry that lies at the heart of a Windows system, it’s relatively easy for a digital worm to wind its way into the heart of the hardware, accessing files as it pleases and relaying the found data back to another server: Or worse! All in all, Linux simply cannot be bested in terms of its superior security from outside threats.

Support – Winner: Windows

However, Windows does have the upper hand in terms of technical assistance and support. Because Windows is a proprietary operating system, it comes fully backed by a team of Microsoft specialists that will help and guide you through any unexpected errors or struggles. These lines and forums are available 24/7, 365 days a year, and can assist with any and all malfunctions. They will typically even perform some of the procedure for you, saving you the need to get your hands dirty with code.

Linux, on the other hand, historically comes with no dedicated technical assistance, save the community itself. And though the world of Linux troubleshooting is alive and well across hundreds of forums spread out across the globe, there’s simply no solid body to deal with the thousands of Linux variations and distributions that float freely in existence. Rather, it is ultimately the webmaster who must deal first-hand with technical complications, and if no quick solution is available, that webmaster’s server may be in real steep stuff.

Cost – Winner: Linux

That being said, Linux easily takes the cake in terms of raw overhead investment. Rare is a Linux distribution that costs anything, as most are available for free via the GNU public commons agreement. Furthermore, should some enterprising webmaster wish to create their own variation of the operating system, they’re fully licensed to do so, as Linux is typically available in its entirety for free redistribution. Windows, however, must be purchased with a server license, which can be quite expensive. Further, technical assistance and software come at a premium, where Linux is loaded to the gills with freeware packages optimized for the system. But as mentioned, this corner cutting in a budgetary sense also comes with a lack of dedicated problem solving support. The difference is really like buying a used car, as opposed to leasing one: Should a problem arise with the used automobile, you’re very likely up a certain creek without a means of locomotion. Should the leased vehicle fail, there’s always an helping hand nearby, ready to handle your needs.

Performance and Up-Time – Winner: Linux

Lastly, if you’re looking for the final word in performance and up-time, Linux is hands down your top pick. A Linux system absolutely never requires a reboot because of a software update, nor does it ever necessitate a restart to unclog the processes. The operating system has been designed from the ground up to create dedicated threads for each open application, activating these threads when needed and closing them when unneeded. This not only preserves processing power, but ensures that no program can “go rogue” behind the scenes, eating away at your server’s resources and potentially causing a meltdown. Windows, on the other hand, typically faults at the background level, leaving software doors open with the lights running. To keep a Windows server clean, a frequent tune-up and maintenance sweep is typically required, in addition to an occasional system reboot. Each of these requires down-time, and without a backup server on-hand to deal with the lost connectivity, you’re potentially facing irritated end-consumers. All in all, there’s simply no more efficient way to run your server for extended periods of time—Linux up-time is typically measured in years—than with a Linux distribution.

Avira Antivirus Features

Art — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:29:16 +0000

In the current economy, investing in software is something most end users try to avoid. This is why free software is wonderful for everyone who is on a budget or merely doesn’t think spending money on a variety of software is entirely worth it. However, when it comes to Windows, malware is one of users’ top concerns. Viruses in executable files are not the only threat your computer may be exposed to. Visiting websites can also put both your machine and privacy at risk. Adware, cookies, online scams – these can be more harmful than executable viruses, since you would have much more to lose than a computer (such as personal information and bank account details) if you fall for them.

Antiviruses offer real time protection against all types of malicious software. An antivirus license doesn’t cost that much, but many users have been wondering if there might be any free alternative that offers the same protection at no cost. Most antiviruses come in both free and premium versions, but rumor has it Avira antivirus is one of the top choices you would want to go for in order to avoid spending money, without necessarily compromising quality and security. Let’s talk about the most important features of Avira and see if it can be a valuable option for you.

Main advantages

At a first glance, Avira has a user friendly interface making it easy to understand and handle. Apart from this, there are several other features you can notice from the first day of use:

Simple installation process. It only takes a few minutes and several clicks!

Easy to set up. You don’t have to be a computer guru in order to understand the way it works and set it up according to your preferences and needs.

Excellent scanning technology and frequent updates. Avira uses up-to-date technologies and updates its virus signature database regularly in order to provide top notch virus protection in real time. Avira is one of the antiviruses that perform signature database updates most frequently.

Effective protection. This antivirus monitors every active process and acts immediately if any threat is found.

Includes all virus protection tools. Avira is fully equipped with Antivirus, Anti Spyware, Anti Adware, Anti Dialer, Anti Spam, Anti Bot, Anti Rootkit and Anti Phishing tools.

Game Mode. Avira won’t pester you with notifications while you play!

The WebGuard module. This is a recently added feature. It will protect you against threats while surfing the worldwide web or downloading from web pages.

Avira Premium license. If you purchase Avira Premium, the protection of three computers will be guaranteed.

What is the WebGuard module?

This element sounds a bit fancy, so you might have been wondering what it’s all about. The moment you access a web page, WebGuard will perform routine checks to determine whether the page is compromised or hosts malicious content. It can completely block and isolate the page if it poses a threat to the security of your computer. The WebGuard feature acts like a toolbar and is compatible with most of the well known web browsers.

Moreover, if a certain web page prompts you to download a dangerous file, WebGuard can recognize it before you download and install it on your computer. This is something most antiviruses can’t do!

Outstanding firewall

A firewall acts like a virtual barrier against online threats. A firewall blocks network ports suspected to be involved in malicious activity. For example, a firewall can offer effective protection against spyware or prevent “evil” cookies from sending over private information that would normally be stored in your computer (cookies are files containing information about your user identity and also about your computer). A weak firewall can make your computer vulnerable to attacks that can bring your system down to its knees and jeopardize your personal information or files.

Avira comes with a very powerful firewall. It is user friendly and easy to configure, since you can adjust its settings using slide controls. However, avoid setting it up to be too paranoid, you might end up facing useless restrictions that can be even more annoying!

Free vs. Premium

All these features sound amazing indeed, but we all know nothing is entirely free. Since Avira comes in both free and premium versions, the question is: where did its developers set the limit? From what point will you have to pay in order to benefit from complete protection? When we think about the fine line between a free license and a paid license, there are three common questions we tend to ask ourselves:

Which features are restricted in free versions?

Avira comes in three versions: Free, Premium and Internet Security. Avira Internet Security is the full version of the software, comprising all features. The free version does NOT include: AntiVirProActiv, RescueSystem, MailGuard, access to Fast Premium update server, Anti Spam, Firewall, Game Mode, Backup System, Anti Bot and Parental Control. The Premium version includes all features, except Anti Spam, Firewall, Backup System, Anti Bot and Parental Control

How much will it cost?

A full Antivira Internet Security license for one year costs about $52, whereas for a one-year Antivira Premium license you will have to pay $26.

The third common question – which is also the conclusion for today – is it worth it? Well, this is only up to you to decide. Avira is a powerful antivirus with 99.5% detection rate. It gained the first place in 2008 for speed, followed up by an “Advance+” distinction. Moreover, both antivirus and antispyware components are entirely compatible with the most common network technologies developed by Cisco Systems or Juniper Networks. This is what made Avira one of the first developers to receive an OESIS OK Gold Certification.

So the answer to our question is yes. It’s totally worth it, and given the above mentioned facts, it’s fair to say Avira is one of the most powerful antivirus programs on the market. So if you were thinking about getting protected, you now know what to choose!

Bit-Defender Internet Security Review

Art — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:34:06 +0000

It’s that time of year again, all of the various security suites are coming out with their 2012 versions and redoing interfaces and making it all bigger, stronger and faster. Of course, Bit-Defender is no exception to this rule. As we begin to evaluate our internet security options for this year, we can certainly see that this program, while a bit on the touchy side, may possibly be a way to turn.

Changes, Changes

The interface will be one of the places where you begin to see the wide host of differences that have been made with this year’s edition of Bit-Defender. Now showing a dark minimal interface that lacks the options of the past for their intermediate and advanced options panels, they have cut down on clutter and chaos by deciding for you which options you need available right at hand. You can, of course, change this in the options panel and make sure that you have your advanced tools there as well, but starting out, this is it. However, finding the menu to do so if you choose to change these options might prove a bit tedious and confusing.

While definitely lower priced than its competitors, the thing that their competitor has that this program lacks is the ability to install alongside or with other security programs also installed. Bit-Defender is so anti-social that it will refuse to install when there are even any remnants of other security sources installed. So it is recommended that you use an uninstall sweeper program to make sure that every last bit of your old security and anti-virus programs are gone first or install only on a fresh computer, otherwise it simply will not install.

Some of the new tools that have been added include:

Chat scanners
Phishing protection
Firewall
Parental Controls
File encryptions
System optimizer
Online backup

It is safe to say that while other programs offer these kinds of tools, they do so at a much higher price and a much longer installation time. With install time (and this includes registration) clocked at just under 2 minutes, Bit-Defender definitely has the market cornered on efficiency.

Interestingly enough, Bit-Defender now has an application that is also free for all FaceBook users: http://apps.facebook.com/bd-safego/. Having tried this little application, we definitely would have to say that it is non-invasive and trustworthy having caught and filtered out the infamous “Facebook Pornography Spam Attack” of last week. That little catch in and of itself was quite impressive!

Does not play well with others

Once installed, Bit-Defender does a preliminary scan and makes certain that it is not being put on an already infected machine (sorry, you folks who bought this as the answer to your virus problem, no go, here). Then, you can go into choosing one of many levels of scans available for your needs from the basic levels to the highly paranoid. Best to make sure you read the help files about the one you chose though. If you do not currently have time for a forced boot time scan, you need to choose full, not complete, or you will wind up having to do this tedious bit of work.

Once uninstalled, you’d think that a program so anti-social would make sure to clean up after itself, but unfortunately this is not the case with Bit-Defender and is perhaps our biggest issue with it. When the program is uninstalled it leaves behind traces in your registry that will need to be fixed in order to ensure proper running of your machine or of any other security program that you might choose to install. Once you uninstall the program, you should, to be safe, make sure that you use a registry fixing tool in order to ensure the health of your machine and its proper running.

All in all, if you can put up with the quirks of this program or you are installing it on a brand new, just built system, then you will be in heaven with this program and it’s relatively small cost. The tools that it offers are indeed extensive and will protect your computer from even the harshest of viruses and malware.7. However, if you are looking for help for an already infected machine, best to look elsewhere for the program that will best suit your needs.

A Dark Cloud: Anonymity and Privacy Fall Further Before a Cloud Computing Experiment

Dmitry — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:39:42 +0000

An ominous headline quietly passed through the electronic ether recently. Carnegie Mellon University published a paper entitled “Faces of Facebook: Privacy in the Age of Augmented Reality (PDF).” The paper details the results of a study they performed centering on their facial recognition technology software PittPatt, also developed at CMU. This study wasn’t designed to test a new level of sophistication with it, though.

The point of the study was to investigate how the emergence of multiple information technologies simultaneously combined to create a synergistic effect in information sharing. In other words, the study meant to ask this question: with all of the information that exists on the web, combined with the increasing power of artificial intelligence to decipher it, is there any privacy anymore?

Do you really want this answer?

While the study fell short of saying “no” outright, the results are sure to send a chill up the spine of any privacy advocate. The combination of all three parts of the study showed that, just using publicly accessible data, you can go from a picture of them to private information in a matter of minutes, assuming that the information they grabbed was already publicly accessible.

Let me repeat. If you are walking down the street, someone can take a picture of you using their cell phone and potentially know your Social Security number, sexual orientation, or home address in just a few minutes.

Why isn’t anyone saying anything?

If it seems like this should be major headlines and isn’t, there are two reasons for this, and neither of them have anything to do with the importance of the topic.

1. It’s not that new

No one single technological element of this study is new to us. Facial recognition technology goes back decades, and has been in more frequent open use in the last 10 years following post-9/11 security upgrades.

As for the other side of the equation, illusions of any real privacy on the internet have mostly disintegrated. FaceBook may make headlines now and then when they do something bone-headed with their accounts, but we’re well aware that they are far from the offenders, and this is likely to continue.

What’s new isn’t any one item, it’s what you get when you combine them all together, something which is much harder to notice until someone does a study like this one. In that sense, then, we might be the proverbial frog in the pot of water. Now that we’re starting to see where this is all going, we may be wondering if this is just a bit too toasty warm for us all.

2. Have too many of surrendered?

The other reason that you may not hear too much about this is that there are a lot of people who have assumed these types of developments are inevitable. Even before “World Wide Web” became a household term there were a number of pop culture fictional worlds in just the 1990′s alone that essentially told the viewer “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” “The X-Files,” “Enemy of the State,” “The Matrix,” even “The Truman Show” were among the onslaught of movies and TV shows that convinced the user that it didn’t matter what they did: Big Brother was moving in, so you might as well setup a bed for him. The fact that a TV show by that name (“Big Brother”) premiered in the 1990′s, and people tuned in without seeing or caring about the irony involved might be the strongest proof of this phenomenon imaginable.

So what do I do?

I hate to compound bad news with more bad news, but the simple truth is this: we don’t know. No one seems to.

Right on this very website are articles about how to get your information more publicly visible through various search engine optimization tricks. We talk all over the place about how important it is to make it easy for others to find you. Now suddenly we want to change course. Can we?

Here’s the problem: all of the advice we can give for you on this you’ve heard already. Use good passwords, don’t give out personal information when you don’t have to, all of this you’ve been beaten to death over. This also doesn’t do anything for the fact that your name and information will make it out there in all sorts of ways that you don’t think of.

Anything more secure than that starts to move you towards places where you simply reduce your electronic presence entirely. Is it that easy, though? If you are some web-based business, of course the answer is no. If you are just some artist trying to get by perhaps you can envision this, but that’s a lot easier than doing it. The internet is sort of like the mafia that way: once you’re a part of the family, trying to remove yourself later from it is a dubious proposition.

I’ll give a few quick tips that can maybe dull the danger a bit:

1. Don’t give out information needlessly

2. Use secure connections at all times

3. Always use your common sense

4. Find other privacy advocates. If you are really are diehard about trying to make yourself invisible again, there are movements based around this idea that can give you decent advice and support.

The best advice: Just be ready for it

Truthfully, though, I’m wary of giving too many tips because I don’t want to setup the impression that any of these things are magic shields. I’d rather in turn just get you used to the idea that this is how it is.

Here’s an exercise: when you do anything whatsoever online, start out with the assumption that the entire world is over your shoulder watching you. Pretty scary, huh? Let it sink in though. Once you accept this worst-case scenario, you realize that in the end this is something you can deal with. It’s a huge life lesson to work into what you probably thought was just a technical article, but it’s true: if you base less of your life and livelihood on secretiveness, and more of it on “things that can’t be taken from me”, you’ll have less to worry about.

19^th century theologian Søren Kierkegaard said as much, that the man who bases his safety on how secret is his life is doomed to failure. Maybe coming here for a sermon was not what you had in mind. As we start to realize that cyberspace is a monster that has long gotten out of our control, though, maybe a word or two from our wise men is not such a bad idea.

Clickjacking: What is it and How You Can Protect Yourself?

Art — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:08:46 +0000

Lately, there has been a lot on the news about this type of computer attack called “click-jacking” where, through the use of web pages, hackers are cheating people out of millions of dollars by setting them up with fraudulent purchases as well as data mining their personal information, such as credit card numbers. Unfortunately, this type of attack is extremely hard to trace because of the way it is built to make it seem as if the person who was attacked indeed intended the action taken or the information shared. Thankfully, there have finally been some breakthroughs in finding and arresting those who participate in this awful activity. On November 9th 2011, the FBI shut down a ring of click-jackers who collectively stole over 14 million dollars and affected well over 4 million computers individually.

How does it work?

Click jacking works by hackers creating a button on a web page that does something other than what it is saying it will do. For example, the button could be a simple submit button. However, instead of submitting the information for that newsletter you wanted, you just ordered a 4-year subscription to playboy magazine. It is the art of overlaying an invisible page over the page that you see and collecting information which is then used to defraud you. Some of the tricks that have been used are:

Tricking users to enable their web camera and audio through a flash pop-up (Adobe has fixed this);
Making users social networking profile information public if it was previously private;
Forcing someone to follow someone else on twitter. This is usually someone who posts bad pornography and other things found repulsive;
Forced link sharing on FaceBook and other link sharing networks.

Another way that it works is when hackers are paid for how many clicks on an advertisement that is found on their web pages, or how many times a particular ad is shown. They use a form of malware called “DnsChanger” which depends on subverted servers and a user becomes redirected through infected networks, putting money in the hackers’ pockets and opening up your computer for serious infection.

I have a Mac (Linux, UNIX or other OS). I’m not at risk, am I?

Yes, you are at risk. Because this kind of attack uses the browser as its carrier, anyone can be at risk no matter what operating system you run. Also, since the software that gets installed into your computer from clicking on an infected link or button prevents you from getting to anti-virus sites that would remove it, most users who are not paying close attention would never know that they were infected.

What can I do to protect myself?

There are a few things that you can do to keep yourself safe. First of all, making certain that you are keeping an eye open to the web pages that you get directed to when you click on any links. Make certain that they are within the domain that you expect them to be! For example, if you go to an iTunes website to buy some music, it should read something like store.itunes.com. If you have been click-jacked, it will read something similar enough that you may not notice it unless you read it carefully. So please, keep your eyes open! Also, there are add-ons for your browsers that you can use that, while taking some functionality away, will keep you safe. For Firefox there is NoScript which blocks all potentially dangerous scripts. If you want to see a You Tube video though, you will need to tell the add-on to let you through. It can be tedious, but it is worth it.

One other option that is a bit on the extreme end is to use a text only browser like Lynx. It is exactly what it sounds like it is, a browser that allows nothing but text through. This is a very extreme action and one that is sure to make less of your internet browsing experience, but if you are that worried it is a good idea. Just make sure that the instructions are read through carefully; many users have reported that the program is difficult to get up and running and the developer admits to not having the time to offer technical support.

What are my options for server side protection?

You can protect your website users from click-jacking attacks by using a bit of Java code called a Frame Killer. What this does is stops any of the triggered content from being showed within a frame, which prevents click-jackers from making their move. For those who wish to implement it, a good cross-browser code set is:

By using this, most click-jacking attempts will be thwarted as well as several other types of attacks that rely on frames being used within a website. While this can be reliable in almost all circumstances, it still pays to be as cautious as possible and to urge your website users to install things like NoScript and to use practical sense when browsing the Internet. Such words of caution will help both your readers and yourself by keeping attackers from your site.

What do I do if I think I’ve been affected?

The FBI website has an entire taskforce that is on just this issue. The project is called “Operation Ghost Click” and has materials on their site to help you determine if you have been infected. If after doing this simple test where you put your IP address into their searching box and it turns up that you have been affected, you will be given further instructions on how to file a report and assistance on gaining control over your IP again.

After you have made your report to the FBI, please bring your computer to a computer professional who you trust to remove such malware from your system. Because of the fairly new and complicated strategy that has been taken concerning this attack, users should not take their computer safety lightly. Have a professional help you.

It once again all comes down to being safe on the internet. Keeping an eye to your browser address window and not clicking on things that your gut may be telling you are not right in some way are things that you should follow through. Also, keeping good anti-virus software up to date on your system will help you to remain away from sites that are infected.

DARPA: The Internet’s Midwife

Art — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:12:32 +0000

In the late 1980’s, early 1990’s, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) of the US began to see how the Internet could become a significant player in the nation’s defense. These exact visionaries were so proud of their creation because the internet did exactly what it was supposed to. They were ahead of the rest of the world technologically speaking, and they celebrated the birth of their newest baby. Soon, various communications and activities began taking place within the internet. It was then found that this was by far a faster and more accurate way to work.

However, as with all children, the internet grew up. Other governments began implementing the code, began connecting themselves across the network of fiber optic cables that had now been laid and they “went online” doing many of the same things the US government did. Then, it was that the creators of this marvelous invention learned that, as a teenaged creation, it had many of the problems a normal human teen had.

The Internet and its Growing Pains

Fast forward to present time, the internet as we know it is about 20 years old right now and is experiencing the issues that many young adults do when they are given their first taste of freedom. They start letting in friends that their parents don’t like (Viruses). As people are taught to understand how to program and code for the military also for civilian causes, there was going to be those people who learned how to get around systems security and how to exploit weaknesses in code. In fact, there are hundreds of people hired annually by various governments that this is their only talent. They affect the system that has been created so that those who own the system can make it stronger. As was only expected though: there are those who do not put their skills to such use and, either through actual malicious intent or just idle curiosity, they begin to do things such as hack into satellites and take control of them. Perhaps they just wanted to peek in on the young women who are skinny dipping in the ocean. On the other hand, they might have been testing their ability to do so in order to go ahead and hack into one of the spy satellites and gather valuable classified information and use it against that country. Unfortunately, in this day and age we dare not take any chances when guessing the motives of the individuals in question.

Those are the Money Words, my friend.

The knowledge of an assault that occurred some years ago was finally released to the public last week, in which it was suspected that Chinese nationals hacked into 2 satellites and took total control of them. While china denies the allegations made, the fact remains that someone did. This means that, as a nation, we are vulnerable in a way that no one thought would happen. So it was that military and government agencies have begun to reach out to what they are calling the “visionary hackers” for assistance in the matter. A visionary hacker, from what I can conclude, is a hacker who is capable of doing all of these things but only does them in order to:

See if they can
To sell their knowledge to governments in order to secure paid positions

What better way to do combat in the world west than to hire those who would be outlawed by the rules of “more civilized society”?

The phrase of the time seems to be the desire to “converge with the threat” which can only be done by getting into the heads of those who are capable of launching these types of attacks.

Where did we go wrong?

After some advanced analysis, it was shown that the governments’ security systems are based off of huge banks of code, running into tens of thousands of lines. In comparison, most malware is only a negligible 125 lines. Short, clean, simple and to the point seems to be the key to their effectiveness. Most coders who choose to do this as a living, either legally or illegally, pride their ability to deliver what they call “elegant” code. This means that the code is well notated so that others can see exactly what the code is supposed to do. The longer that a program’s code is, the more chances for failure present themselves.

Unfortunately, it would not be the logical thing to totally disable nations system of protection protocol and software in order to clean up the system and to make it simpler. There is only one option left to those in power and that is to engage in those who can get into the base of the code and clean it up while it is still doing its job. This is not a simple task and presents its own dangers, of course, but at least it would not leave the entire nation unprotected while it was being worked on.

Where does this leave us as a country?

First, we need to make sure that we are not just looking at this as a one country only problem. We are actually experiencing the birth of a global community and global economy. Never before in our history have so many countries been interdependent for basic needs such as defense and economics; if one link fails, the whole house of cards will be tumbling down.

Once that viewpoint is strengthened and we are looking at the situation with those lenses, we can begin to work on the actual problem at hand. We have a need for simpler, more stringent code. We also need to make sure that we do not take so many human positions out of the picture that we leave ourselves open to attacks that were not possible before. When you replace a human soldier on a reconnaissance mission with an unmanned drone, you open yourself up to hack attacks and, potentially, will lose control of that drone. When that occurs, on whose head are the deaths caused by the drone firing on the people of the country that created and deployed the drone in the first place?

Simpler code, more human positions and common sense will be the answers to these problems, if ever those in power can come to see it.

Security Aspects to Watch for in Your Server Logs

Art — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:36:43 +0000

If you’ve started taking a closer eye on security for your web site then you’ve probably at some point started looking at the actual logs of users visiting your web site. These can go by a lot of different names: we’ll stick with the blunt “web logs” for this article. These are files that show you exactly who is doing, or trying to do, what with your web site, where they’re doing it from, and how they’re doing it (what browser they are using, often what operating system, and more information depending on your host’s web server software).

If you have a busy web site then it quickly becomes prohibitive to go through every line every day, and you want to be able to scan it for problems. This is a good idea, but to be able to do so, you will need to have some idea of what kinds of problems you’re looking for. Here is a summary of some of what you’re going to try to keep an eye out for:

Hits to non-existent pages

To scan your logs effectively you need to be able to know the names of the actual pages on your web site without looking, meaning that you also need to know immediately if you are looking at an attempted hit to a non-existent page. There are a few common pages that you’ll see from someone trying to infiltrate. “index.php” is one, and no, this won’t accomplish anything on their end if all you have is “index.html”: the “.html” extension does make it a completely separate page.

OK, we’ll then what’s the danger? Nothing, immediately. The reason that you’ll see these attempts is that some web design software packages have built-in bugs. These create pages with vulnerabilities that have predictable names. These hits are attempts to access those.

One important note about this, though, is that this isn’t always bad news. Search engine spiders often do the same auto-browsing, but in this case they are looking for pages that contain instructions for the search engine, like “robots.txt.”

Funny URLs

Not “ha ha” funny, either. There are two things you’re looking for here:

Lots of non-ASCII characters: These can either be control characters or other characters down the character set. You’ll recognize them by a syntax like “%056”. Again, these need some script on your end to do something with them (they send unauthorized instructions to said script), but it’s a sign that someone’s trying.

Attempted login information: Password protection is common. So are people who don’t realize that you need a password other than “password”. If you see a URL that is long, sent to a .cgi, .php or other executable page, and the URL contains in it what looks like a username/password combo, then that is what it probably is.

What to do

We’ve discussed elsewhere what to do when you see these things. The quick summary: block the IP addresses you need to, and don’t block any more than that, lest you risk filtering out legitimate traffic. Also don’t be afraid to ask your web host for an extra set of eyes if there’s something you’re suspicious of: not only do they have more experience, but if there’s an attack affecting multiple users, then they might recognize something about its footprint that you wouldn’t be able to. This is your web site, your livelihood: there’s nothing wrong with being as secure about it as you want to be.

Keep Your Site Safe – Learn What Not to Do

Art — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:09:52 +0000

Let’s face it: The Internet isn’t the golden playground it once was, where all could go and have their swing in peace. In fact, it’s now so overrun with bullies and miscreants that it’s a wonder we haven’t decided to swap school districts yet! That was a joke, but the idea remains the same. It’s a wild, wild world out there, and if you aren’t careful, your site may be a ripe melon just waiting to be cracked open.

However, there are steps you can take to safeguard your source of livelihood. First of all, simply admitting that you need to keep your server locked down is a good place to start. From there, it’s worth taking a look at the way you manage your site. If you’re doing any number of things wrong, you may be leaving your site exposed. With that in mind, take a look at the following common mistakes, any of which can drastically reduce the security of your site:

Is Your Password Strong?

Seriously, though, this is one we just can’t seem to convince people to consider. No matter how unique or quirky you may think your password is, if it’s a common phrase or word, it just ain’t strong enough to be your main horse. Most hackers use password guessing software to get at your goods, but a lot of the time they don’t even have to go that far. Be sure your password is long, has a few capital letters, and at least one number. There are too many permutations for even a computer to guess, and if you take advantage of this, you’re already close to home, as far as server security goes.

Keep To Your Roots!

There’s no reason at all that you should constantly be logging in as the root user. No matter how powerful it may make you feel, you just shouldn’t be doing it, because leaving your account access open like that is like tacking a sign to your site that says, “Hack me, please!” Likewise, if your SSH accounts offer direct root access, you’ll want to change that immediately. Having that level of control just laying around is in no way healthy, and will very quickly compromise your site.

Know Your Traffic

Lastly, don’t be oblivious to your traffic, and learn to watch your site’s flow. Know who and where your traffic usually comes from, and be aware of any sudden changes in this pattern. If you see a new user from a suspicious location, be on your toes. The best defense is to keep your eyes open!

How To Deal With A Possible Intruder On Your Server

Art — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:59:02 +0000

You’re cruising through your server’s inner network one fine day, when all of a sudden you notice an unfamiliar name accessing your files. This user may have come through SSH, or any other access method, but no matter the entry port, you certainly don’t want them accessing your files. Before panic sets in and you find yourself pulling the plug on your hard-earned hardware, use the following steps to first ensure that you do have a hacker onboard. Only when you’ve made certain should you blow the whistle—remember that neither customers nor colleagues appreciate a Boy Who Cries Wolf.

Did You Forget A User?

Think about it: Did you create a user with this designation, and then forget about it as the seasons rolled by? Perhaps you left a user behind a long time ago with a weak password, or just haven’t seen this user log-in for a while, and are now experiencing an uncomfortable case of deja vu.

Is This An Authorized Robot?

Remember that many of your other servers, such as your database server or your web server, operate within the system as “false” human users. There are also several different services running under the hood that do their jobs in this manner. Before freaking out about a human intruder, check the designation of the “hacker.” If it’s something similar to nobody, noname, sys, or apache, then you’ve not got a problem, just a working robot. If you’re unsure, but think the user might still be a script, do a quick Google search for the user’s name.

What Are They Doing In There?

The next step is to check what the user is actually doing: Are they running a script or program you’re familiar with? This is where things start to heat up, in a software sense: If the user is running a standard application like Apache, then don’t worry your pretty little head. However, if they’re operating a script you’ve never seen, it’s time to do a bit more digging—you may actually have a real intruder on your hands.

What To Do If Nothing Else Has Worked

If you’ve come this far, then you might genuinely have an intruder on your server. If so, the root user is the only one with the ability to create new accounts. With that in mind, check your root password and account for changes: Plug-ins and extras you have installed may also grant accidental access to the superuser. You may need to hire a security expert to check out your system, if there’s no obvious infiltration.

Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » security

Data Backup and Recovery Solutions

Related posts:

Battle of the Giants: Linux and Windows Compared

Security – Winner: Linux

Support – Winner: Windows

Cost – Winner: Linux

Performance and Up-Time – Winner: Linux

Related posts:

Avira Antivirus Features

Related posts:

Bit-Defender Internet Security Review

Related posts:

A Dark Cloud: Anonymity and Privacy Fall Further Before a Cloud Computing Experiment

Related posts:

Clickjacking: What is it and How You Can Protect Yourself?

Related posts:

DARPA: The Internet’s Midwife

Related posts:

Security Aspects to Watch for in Your Server Logs

Related posts:

Keep Your Site Safe – Learn What Not to Do

Related posts:

How To Deal With A Possible Intruder On Your Server

Related posts: