Security testing

Just performed security testing

[richlowe]

I've been working hard to ensure that my security on my web and email servers is solid, reading as much as possible about what to look for, what to do and how to change things to be secure.

I decided it was time to see how well I was doing, so asked a friend to hit myh defenses with a tool called Cybercop.

She did so with a passion, and my firewall logs filled up fast! Other than a couple of minor issues (server giving out too much information) my security passed with flying colors.

This test made something very clear to me: a good firewall in stealth mode only allowed through the specific ports to specific machines makes security a much, much easier task. It's simply amazing to how much the firewall is really doing.

Richard Lowe

[EliteWeb]

Firewall is just as effective as locking your computer up in a room, until someone finds the key to the room the person is safe.

Firewalls can fail for whatever reason, even the most expensive ones. And firewalls which are software based are even more holey.

Make sure you follow up on security and patch the system upgrade and update whenever possible.

[richlowe]

Of course. OS totally up to patch and I check every week. APplications up to patch. I review several security services and boards on a monthly basis for new hacks and vulnerabilities. I especially keep an eye on issues with CGI and ASP routines.

Richard Lowe

[keyplyr]

Reminds me of when (a couple years ago) I installed Norton Internet Security 2000 (software), set up firewall rules, hid unused ports and turned on stealth mode. Then I went to the Symantec website and ran their security check... said I was dangerously exposed to hacker threats and I should install their software! LOL

One of the reasons I use a hardware firewall now in combination with AV and virtual firewall programs.

[ggrot]

At least for websites, it seems to me that the most insecure part is custom scripts being used. For example I recently downloaded some free ad rotation scripts(I wont name it) that are being used on a number of large sites. I wanted to customize the scripts significantly, but thought it was a good starting point. As I was reading through the code to figure out where I needed to make changes, I realized 2 security holes in the software. One that let an attacker stop logging, and another that let them write arbitrary HTML on a web page. Nothing extremely dangerous, but it was there.

I've seen this all the time. Programmers don't consider users who would submit document requests other than simple interactions with the interface. Make sure that you walk through all these holes too, especially if you write your own code.