Apparently – this is one of the ways that AOL deals with the spam issue.  Which brings to mind something I read before that security is inversely-proportional to usability (or something like that).  As the security of a system increases – the usability decreases.  

Now, why did this happen?  Again, this happened because people became unethical.  People took advantage of the open relays (before it was common to have this) to send out unsolicited e-mails.  People took the attitude that just because they can — they should do — damn if it isn't right.  The result?  We have things like this … whole domain(s) getting blocked because to combat spam — IP address blocking is done.

I'm expecting sooner or later for WIFI to have these stringent measures taken … damn the usability — security is more important ….

But then again, as I have said before … these issues is what makes my job – 

Bwahahahaaha … till then …

Hacking Tools

excerpt:

" … How do you use these tools?

First, find a network to hack. Wardriving is one way, using a wireless network detector. Or access an internet cafe. Launch a packet sniffer. Capture packets. Use password cracker to decipher passwords … "

War Driving Unethical/Illegal?

excerpt:

" … If a person sets up a wifi network and leaves it open, I think he is basically giving consent to others to use his internet connection (in legal terms, quantum meruit) …"
My Comments:

To the first one regarding "Hacking Tools". The author says " … First, find a network to hack. .." Yeah right. Go ahead – encourage potential script kiddies. It doesn't mean that just because you can – you should do it. I think for crackers (if we're going to really get our terms correct) out there have this philosophy — "Hey, you didn't secure your network, so its fair game for us – we can do anything we want to with it" But what about being ethical – doing the right thing? If you really want to learn these tools – do it in a lab environment – in your home network for example. But don't do it in your company's network, other people's network, etc. If memory serves me correctly, I think the author of the "Learning Perl" (the Llama book) got into trouble with Intel because he tried to do some hacking on their network (??) As a system/network admin, one of the things I hate having in my team is a person who does this sort of things on the company network – people who are too eager, too enthusiastic to try out so many things that they fail to realize the potential risks that it presents (and the potential headaches they may give to their teammates).

Now, regarding the "Wardriving" article — just because a WIFI network is open doesn't mean you should use it. Again, ethics is the key word here. WIFI is relatively speaking still a new technology – so understandably, there are still lots of people out there who don't know how to configure their WIFI routers correctly – resulting in lots of "open" WIFI networks from where we can piggy-back on. But, do you think they would want other people, strangers to piggy-back on their Internet connection? I don't think so. What happens if we piggy-back on their network? We take up some of their bandwidth – resulting in slower loading pages for them, etc. Do you think they would want this? Again, the keyword is ethics – doing the right thing. Aside from the technical expertise, one of the more important traits I look for in a systems/network admin is trustworthiness. And I think, in a way, its even more important than technical expertise. With the technical skills — I can train them (or send them to trainings) – but if a person is unethical – I think it would be hard to undo that – and nothing is more dangerous than having an unethical systems/network admin – believe me, I know – I've seen my share of them. There was this systems admin who worked in an ISP who ran his own ISP business (selling prepaid Internet cards) using his own company's resources – this happened for about a year until other system admins found it out.

** BUT **

I have to be realistic, and practical. Much as I rant about ethics – there are lots of unethical people in this world – and we have to be prepared for them. And thinking about it – these unethical people is one of the reasons for my job. Part of the job of a systems/network admin is securing their network. But what if all people were ethical? Then maybe, just maybe — I would be worth a little less But again, the reality is – lots of bad people out there — that's why maybe the infosec (information security) professionals out there are in demand (and I hear these guys are raking in the big bucks) Hmmm, thinking about it … maybe its about time I go for the CCSP and/or the CISSP?

Bwahahahhaah … till then …

But … hmm .. as of this moment …

Heheheh … I remember this former colleague:

"… Bro, ako – alam mo ayaw ko mag-abroad kasi easy-going ako eh … pa-easy-easy lang ako .. hilig ko petiks eh … dito Pinas magagawa ko yan .. ewan ko lang pag nag-abroad ako … malaki nga kita .. pero baka wala na petiks … "

Bwahahahaha … till then 

Who am I? I'm an IT Professional (hehehe – tell that to my boss and colleagues), a corporate slave, a worker (it's May 1st — workers of the world unite!), a distraught mind, etc. etc. I'm a Windows XP loving Unix professional who just created his own blog to contribute to the FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) out there.

 Bwahahahaha … till then ….