On 1/27/2015 we were notified by our software vendors of a critical flaw in the Linux glibc library CVE-2015-0235 affecting all Centos, Redhat and Cloudlinux servers. After our vendors released OS patches we patched all servers immediately after. This includes all clients on our bi monthly patching service. What is glibc? The glibc library is a core part of […]
We receive a number of phone calls and emails for requests for quotes and for proposals as a SoftLayer Certified Partner.
One may ask what does a SoftLayer Certified Partner do?
While SoftLayer has a variety of Certified Partners, Dynamic Net, Inc. is a SoftLayer Certified Partner that specializes in server security and server administration.
Imagine reading Service Suspension - Ongoing unanswered abuse complaints thinking to yourself, the person is in a jamb.... I hope they get someone who can really help them (maybe we could, not sure), then later on reading the person who initiated the post also runs a "All you can Eat" (i.e. unlimited support tickets, unlimited labor time) server administration business where they advertise a long list of what they can do for you for just $15.00 per month. I guess, they are so packed with work they could not solve their own problems.
Imagine, for just $15.00 per month you "24/7/365 USA-Based Technical Support" plus "24/7/365 Server Monitoring (5 Minute Intervals)" of your servers plus "Guaranteed 15 Minute Response On Monitoring Alerts" and so much more... sounds like a great deal? Right?
Repeat after me, “hackers most often target vulnerabilities, not specific people or companies.” Now, say that over and over again.. and shortly you should come to the conclusion that every single device and application typically has vulnerabilities which makes everyone a target. That’s right, everyone is a potential target — not just the big names, […]
If you asked me from September 2012 forward, the answer would change dramatically with WordPress Brute Force Attacks now exceeding 50% of all attacks being reported.
If you review your or your hosting provider reviews your web site's access logs on a regular basis, you can tell if there are Brute Force attacks being attempted on your WordPress site by seeing multiple requests to access the file wp-login.php from the same IP address over and over again. Sometimes it might be a single request every x period of time; other times it might be scores of requests from the same IP address. By the way, are you or your provider regularly checking your web site access logs for abuse?
How can you protect yourself against WordPress Brute Force attacks?
How do you know what type of hosting -- cloud, dedicated, shared, or vps -- will fit you best?
Let me share some guidelines.
Linux Socket Monitor by R-fx Networks is a good, automated, tool to let you know if an application is creating TCP and UDP sockets.
The caveat we’ve experienced over the years is that when you receive an LSM alert that might involve malicious malware or hacker activity on the server running LSM, you sometimes have milliseconds to log onto the server to hopefully catch the application opening sockets red handed. If you are delayed or the application just runs that fast, by the time you are on the server, the port closed and the application is now in hiding.
I often agree necessity is the mother of invention, and I would like to share what we’ve done to extend the Linux Socket Monitor (LSM) to provide running process information, not just the netstat lines.
If the Internet is the super information highway, then what other analogies can we make?
I would like to share with a recent, real life, story of what happens to small businesses when there is little to no documentation.
I'm hoping to encourage you to review the documentation standards you have set forth for your small business; and potentially to do an in-house audit to ensure critical areas are covered.
Fiduciary is not a word you hear or read often as a small to medium business (SMB) owner.
Yet if you are the steward of any size business, fiduciary should be an active word in how you manage your business.
How does this relate to trust, security, and your business on the Internet? Let's see.