Archive for the ‘sysadmin’ Category
2011
02.08
Tags: code, upgrade, wordpress
Posted in code, php, security, sysadmin, wordpress | 1 Comment »
The upgrade to 3.0.5 was resleased yesterday. From the release notes:
Two moderate security issues were fixed that could have allowed a Contributor- or Author-level user to gain further access to the site.
One information disclosure issue was addressed that could have allowed an Author-level user to view contents of posts they should not be able to see, such as draft or private posts.
Two security enhancements were added. One improved the security of any plugins which were not properly leveraging our security API. The other offers additional defense in depth against a vulnerability that was fixed in previous release.
Download and upgrade now!
2011
02.03
Tags: 8ta, afrihost, cell c, cellphone, is, mail server, mtn, neotel, outgoing, settings, smtp, telkom, vodacom
Posted in Did you know, mobile, sysadmin | No Comments »
On 3G and outgoing mail not sending? Chances are, you need to set the SMTP server specific to your network. Here’s the list that may grow over time: (more…)
2011
01.11
Posted in code, Did you know, firefox, security | No Comments »
A new product over at x-pire.net (which redirects to x-pire.de) was unveiled in Germany today, with the aim of embedding expiry times and information into images so that they cannot be viewed after a certain time. In that way there should be a maximum lifespan to digital images on the web to prevent future embarassment, usage etc. At this stage, the prototype is available as plug-in for Firefox (as well as some other browsers in future), and expounds the idea of a ‘forgetful internet’ so that information is not immortal on the web. (more…)
2010
12.09
Tags: remote publishing, upgrade, wordpress
Posted in code, php, sysadmin | No Comments »
… it’s time to go 0-3, I think — WordPress 3.0.3 is out – but the update is really only applicable to remote publishing-enabled systems…
WordPress 3.0.3 is available and is a security update for all previous WordPress versions.
This release fixes issues in the remote publishing interface, which under certain circumstances allowed Author- and Contributor-level users to improperly edit, publish, or delete posts.
2010
11.27
Tags: best practice, security, stuxnet, virus
Posted in code, security, sysadmin | No Comments »
Just a quick grouping of resources relating to Stuxnet resources and analysis after the targeted infections of the frequency converters of the Vaasa, Finland based Vacon (though Vacon publicly denies this) and Iranian company Fararo Paya.
The bottomline takeaway – never use default passwords (partical attack vector of the PLCs and SCADAs), and keep systems patched (4 zero-day Windows-based attacks). And don’t allow USB devices on a production network (the entry point of the 0.5Mb virus written in C and C++)… (more…)
2010
10.22
Tags: apt, apt-get, environment, export, linux, proxy, ubuntu, web traffic
Posted in bash, code, linux, security, sysadmin | 1 Comment »
So that it’s documented… I’m using port 8080 as the default port as the likelyhood of your upstream proxy being on 8080 is high – else, typical proxy ports are, of course, 80, 800 (transpartent), 8000, 3128 (squid)
To force your server to force web traffic via a proxy, just two quick things to set – in /etc/environment, export one (or two) variables: (more…)
2010
10.21
Tags: bash, gzip, search, zcat, zgrep
Posted in bash, code, linux, sysadmin | No Comments »
You knew it already – but I keep forgetting – the power of zgrep and zcat both of which behave as their z-less counterparts.
So, to search a gzip’d file, you can simply zgrep <term> <filename.gz>, or to cat/view it, zcat <filename.gz>
Good to come back to in case of impending forgetfulness…
2010
10.21
Tags: drivers, kernel, linux, server linux
Posted in bash, code, linux, sysadmin | No Comments »
For self-reference, mainly:
For the Intel Corporation 82574L Gigabit Network Connection on an old kernel that doesn’t have the drivers compiled into it – get the driver and
make install
it on the platform you’re on, and to be sure (if it doesn’t get done for you) to copy to /lib/modules/2.4.36/kernel/drivers/net/ (your kernel may vary, this is an example only) (more…)
2010
09.28
Tags: azw, books, calibre, conversion, ebook, epub, format, kindle, mobipocker, nook, pdf, reader
Posted in Did you know, sysadmin | No Comments »
There are two irritations when it comes to the Kindle. First of those is your collection of PDFs you bought or own that you’d like to read as a ‘book’ on the Kindle (without going through the whole long USER@[free.]kindle.com) email and Whispernet delivery process. The other is the EPUB Sony Book reader format files that you have — but that the Kindle doesn’t interpret. Here’s how to get around this. (more…)
2010
09.10
Posted in code, Did you know, firefox, javascript, sysadmin | No Comments »
Here’s something fun: use Firefox 3.6.9 to have a set of Javascript code in a child frame append HTML code to a text box in the parent frame, and content of the string is modified:
what was
<img src="foo.jpg" alt="bar" width="1" height="1" />
becomes
<img alt="bar" width="1" height="1" />
which is pretty pointless… (more…)
2010
08.30
Tags: business, connectivity, crash, datacentre, lines down, mtn, offline, outage
Posted in Did you know, security, sysadmin | No Comments »
Last time, generator maintenance in Johannesburg took everything offline.
There was just notification with the subject line “unknown” (referring to the categorisation of the issue) at 14h22:
SYMPTOMS EXPERIENCED: Intermittent Degradation in Service
SEVERITY: Critical (more...)
2010
08.28
Tags: adsl, advertising, afrihost, bandwidth, dsl, is, speed, throttle, uncapped
Posted in Did you know, sysadmin | 2 Comments »
So – Afrihost ADSL uncapped… the promise of “Pure Internet Joy” is part of the offering’s headline.
On a 4Mbps line, the offering of the uncapped account is quite good. Then came the warnings — throtteling may occur based on usage patterns. Then came the notification that there would be an hour-to-hour usage analysis to control the access to consistent line speeds for the “other 93%” of users using the IS-resold Afrihost bandwidth.
To my mind, that’s understandable – if someone’s pulling 210GB a month on an “uncapped” account, they should be throttled as that can be seen as excessive. (more…)
2010
07.25
Tags: collections, facebook, firmware, fonts, kindle, password, pdf, security, twitter, upgrade
Posted in Did you know, mobile, Other, security, sysadmin | 1 Comment »
Remember to upgrade your Kindle from Amazon – there’s a new firmware upgrade available, taking the system to version 2.5.2 (24.3MB – you may want to transfer via USB…) (more…)
2010
07.25
Tags: bandwidth, capacity, congestion, down, downtime, eta, router, seacom, stm4, website
Posted in Did you know, seacom, sysadmin | No Comments »
Notification at 20:04 on 23 July 2010 read that the link was back up and stable.
For now. (more…)
2010
07.22
Tags: bandwidth, capacity, congestion, down, downtime, eta, router, seacom, stm4, website
Posted in Did you know, seacom, sysadmin | 1 Comment »
SEACOM expects all connectivity to be restored to full pre-crash conditions by 23 July 2010. The repairs are not complete yet, but, officially, “in the final stages of completion”, with only testing to go before the cable goes back down into the water.
(more…)