JamminJoeyB
02-04-2003, 03:59 PM
The other day I had a friend come over to help work on the car. We took a break and as we were walking by my computer area. I noticed the activity light on the cable modem flashing like a strobe in a night club. I told him hold on a minute I need to check the router log to see who is scanning my IP. He also has a cable modem and never realized that when there is a ton of activity that he is not generating it's a scan of his ip for open ports. So I power up the monitor to the text based login of Evil Entity. My friend as dangerous as one can be around computers asks, "What the He** is that?" So I point out the obvious. "It's a login screen, if you use linux you have to login." The next couple of minutes is a short discussion on the differences between Linux and Windows. I wont bother with the details. So I startx and get to my nice Enlightenment wm(I really like Enlightenment). Bring up mozilla and long into the router. The router has a web based config. Just wish it had telnet option also. I could probably set up a script to download the logs on a daily basis then. I show him in the log files of all the IPs that have scanned my router and been dropped because of rules set up in the firewall of the router. Now this generates a small conversation on general security and need for atleast a software firewall in M$ if you don't have an external device like a router with firewall to help defend your system. I told him to call me later with his IP and I would scan it for him. Turns out he had a bunch of ports wide open with commonly know exploits. I pointed him in the direction of zone alarm to protect his MS system. Nothing is fool proof, but something is better then nothing. He is now curious about Linux and I plan on helping him set up a dual boot on the box he is building. He just doesn't know it yet. I figure he is going to call me to help with the install of M$, so I may as well use up a couple gigs on his new 100gb hd to set up a linux partician. I'll probably stick mandrake 9 on there since I feel it's a good cross over distro.