[Tutor] hacking 101

[Rob McGee]

On Sat, Mar 30, 2002 at 08:18:47PM -0500, kirk Bailey wrote:
> OK, comes now before you an unuual question.

Not unusual at all. Quite ordinary. IIRC it's addressed somewhat in the
FAQ for the Tutor list. ;) :)

> I want to learn about hacking a computer.

I'll split a hair here and point out that the correct term is "cracking"
(hackers are honourable people who build systems, not destroy them.)

The answer varies WIDELY depending upon what OS and services are
running on your server. Common, good advice for Windows systems probably
doesn't apply to UNIX-like systems. For example, I'm not aware of any
serious anti-virus software for Linux. (Because of the underlying design
of UNIX, we're not vulnerable in the same way as Windows systems are.
No, I'm not a Linux bigot claiming that we're not vulnerable, but the
fact remains that an attacker has to look for specific holes on a Linux
box, rather than casting viral spores to the wind.)

If you're trying to secure a Win9x box, all I can say is "good luck". I
don't think it is possible. It's based on DOS, and DOS is insecure by
design. If you're trying to secure a WinNT/2K/XP box, it *may* be
possible, but you have to keep on top of all known vulnerabilities, and
apply all the patches as soon as they're announced. (That's pretty much
the right approach for UNIX systems too.)

There are many excellent sites for security of UNIX systems, and at
least to some extent those sites also address security concerns of the
NT family as well. See the "Miscellaneous Resources" links at LWN -- the
Security page for this week is at:
    http://lwn.net/2002/0328/security.php3
There are mailing lists which will keep you apprised of every security-
related development as soon as it is known.

Me, I'm just an amateur. By following the LWN Security news and
subscribing to the security mailing list for my distro (Slackware) I can
feel pretty secure. The bottom line is to consider your threat model and
act accordingly. A backbone server has more exposure than a home machine
on an intermittent dialup connection. :)

HTH,
    Rob - /dev/rob0