comp.security.unix and comp.security.misc FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions on comp.security.unix and comp.security.misc.
This FAQ about comp.security.unix and comp.security.misc was compiled and written by Alan J Rosenthal flaps@dgp.toronto.edu with numerous contributions by others.
01 This faq (comp.security.unix and comp.security.misc)- This is not supposed to be a statement of group consensus. This is ...
- 02 Can anyone here tell me how to exploit the [whatever] bug? or Can anyone here tell me how to break in to my ISP?
- No. We're security professionals. We try to secure systems. We think ...
- 03 What do the "identd" lines in my syslog mean? Is this a security exposure? Can I turn off identd?
- Discarding the timestamp and hostname, the lines look something like this:...
- 04 I just noticed that [something]. Has my machine been compromised?
- Maybe. You probably don't know whether it always was like this. You ...
- 05 What does port number [whatever] mean?
- RFC 1700 is obsolete. The standard current reference ...
- 06 Here's new, unbreakable encryption software.
- It's probably not substantially new, and I'm sure it's not unbreakable....
- 07 What should I read to learn how to secure my computers? What should I read to learn about computer security?
- The number one thing to do is to install all of your vendor's ...
- 08 Is there a newer version of cops?
- No. Version 1.04+ is a bit old but performs some functions which are still ...
- 09 Tripwire fails the self-test, dumps core when building the database, and dumps core when verifying.
- Fails the self-test (on fast machines):...
- 10 Cops won't "make" in some versions of linux (GNU).
- Remove the '#' from BRAINDEADFLAGS in the makefile....
- 11 Various problems with building anything under Solaris, especially "/usr/ucb/cc: language optional software package not installed".
- This is not a security question. Please ask in a solaris newsgroup instead,...
- 12 What's that weird URL with SATAN/SAINT? I'm not running a web server! or SATAN says "Can't find my own hostname".
- SATAN acts as a web server so that it can use HTML conveniently. The ...
- 13 SATAN doesn't display right in my web browser; it asks me to save the file.
- Newer web browsers seem to use different algorithms in guessing mime ...
- 14 How do I find all setuid and setgid files?
- find / -local -type f \( -perm -4000 -o -perm -2000 \) -...
- 15 Tcp wrappers (tcpd) thinks all hosts are 0.0.0.0 in Solaris 8 or in some versions of AIX.
- This is because the line for that service in inetd.conf still says tcp6....
- 16 I can't get .rhosts/.shosts to work with ssh.
- If ssh doesn't do what you want, the output of ssh -v may be helpful....
- 17 Should I block all ICMP at my firewall/router?
- No. You need to allow the can't fragment message through or you will ...
- 18 How do I prevent my machine from announcing OS version, daemon version, etc in the banner message?
- In unix, find the daemon in question, possibly by finding its ...
- 19 How do I recover from forgetting my root password? (Similarly: I messed up the root line in /etc/passwd and can't su or login as root; what do I do?)
- Basically, you want to boot from CD/floppy or in single-user mode....
- 20 Is a portscan of a machine malicious/illegal/unfriendly?
- This is included here because it's a recurring flamefest. Please ...
- 21 Can my ISP/employer monitor [various things I'm doing]?
- Do they have the technical ability? Yes. Your packets go through ...
- 22 Why do some people get so upset when system penetration is called "hacking"?
- The word hacker has a long and honourable tradition of referring to ...
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