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Host.conf Hardening Does Little for Server Security
Posted by Jeff H. on April 09, 2009
If you've ever looked at Linux "server management":http://www.rackaid.com/services/management/ companies, you often find a laundry list of "security" items that they apply to your servers. Many of these items are nothing more than standard practices while others are simply popular items gleamed from forums. Many of these "tweaks" have no real testing behind them; they are often applied with no real information as to why they are done.
Forwarded Emails May Cause Backscatter Spam Complaints
Posted by Jeff H. on April 03, 2009
Email backscatter is when your server bounces and email to an unknown user. Since the reply-to fields can be spoofed, this allows spammers to bounce emails off of your server, thus getting their spam delivered. Instead of sending these non-delivery reports (NDRs), you can set your server to reject email to unknown user. While this may sound similar, rejects send a 500 series email error to the senders server. Rejects do not send emails. As a result, the backscatter problem is stopped.
Zoho: The Future of SMB IT Services?
Posted by Jeff H. on March 19, 2009
A few weeks ago, I stumbled onto Zoho. Zoho is a SaaS provider delivering many business targeted applications. Since we provide "linux server management":http://www.rackaid.com/services/management/ services, you would think we would just fire up our own software on any number of the servers we own. However, sometimes it is quicker just to outsource a function rather than deal with setting up software.
10 Immutable Laws of Security Administration Revisited
Posted by Jeff H. on March 16, 2009
Over eight years ago, Scot Culp of Microsoft, published two white papers that get tossed around in security circles over and over. The 10 Immutable Laws of Security Administration and the 10 Immutable Laws of Security are often referenced in introductory security classes. Though these rules are dated, they are still relevant today. Just want to comment on a few of them and how we see them impacting our clients today.
DSBL Defunct
Posted by Jeff H. on March 10, 2009
The DSBL real-time blacklist was shutdown almost a year ago. However, their nameservers continued to answer requests until yesterday.
How To Determine CentOS or Red Hat Version
Posted by Jeff H. on March 10, 2009
Versions. Versions. Versions. Understanding versioning for Linux systems is not as easy as one may expect. The numerous Linux distributions combined with differing practices by control panel vendors produces dizzying array of versions, releases, hot fixes, errata, bug fixes, patches, updates, and workarounds. Learn how to find the version on your system.
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