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COMPUTER SECURITY TOOLBOX

List of mainly obscure security software geared more for the master pentester. These are mostly for unix, bsd, and mac and many are difficult to install and setup (require custom servers, inside access points, obscure libraries). Only programs that output data are included, so no actual exploits or anything. Most of these output extremely useful albeit extremely technical information.

Security

Hacking VLAN switched networks

Bypassing VLAN security on networked switchesThere isn't much vlan info on the net in terms of specifics and I had to learn all about it because I needed to log in to a switch that was on a different vlan. With the help of the Ettercap developers NaGA and ALoR I figured it out.

Originally Posted: 3/30/2004

Hacking

AskApache Password Protection, For WordPress

AskApache Password Protect ScreenShot 1AskApache Password Protect adds some serious password protection to your WordPress Blog. Not only does it protect your wp-admin directory, but also your wp-includes, wp-content, plugins, etc. plugins as well. Imagine a HUGE brick wall protecting your frail .php scripts from the endless attacks of automated web robots and password-guessing exploit-serving scripts.

WordPress

Mod_Security .htaccess tricks

Mod_Security rivals Mod_Rewrite in the amount of features it provides. I decided to go ahead and post what I learned about it today, even though its tough to give away such awesome htaccess and apache tricks.. Learn how to control spam once and for all, conditionally log/deny/allow/redirect requests based on IP, username, etc.. Mod_Security is so fine!

Htaccess

Hackers Declare Total War against Scientology

Hacker Group AnonymousFor the good of your followers,
for the good of mankind,
and for our own enjoyment,
we shall proceed to expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form.

Hacking

Referer Spoofing Using JavaScript

pseudo-flaw.netEven though at the moment I'm more into AJAX and simple behavioural unobtrusive javascript more than java, I still remember how excited I was back in 1995 when Sun released both beta and alpha Java versions to the public.. In fact I still have my Java 1.0 Unleashed book, which I'm looking at right now.

Javascript

Optimize a Website for Speed, Security, and Easy Management

Learn how to setup, configure, secure, optimize, and create a low-maintenance website the AskApache way. I'm piecing together all the hacks, tricks, methods, and ideas discussed throughout this blog and all across Netdom and glueing them all together to show you how to have the most optimized, crazy fastest, and best website setup I can think of.

Hosting

Make Windows XP Blazingly Fast

Here is the basic process that I use to speed up Windows. A lot of good tips and tricks I've picked up over the past 15+ years of crashing and burning Windows that can transform your PC to be much faster than its ever been. The process focuses on freeing up RAM/Memory, freeing up your CPU/Processor, and optimizing your Hard Drive for a permanent solution.

Make sure to check out the free software I recommend at the end, installing them after this optimization process will keep your machine fast for a long time.

Windows

Firefox Add-ons for Web Developers

askapache favorite addonsAdvanced Web Development by AskApache is a Firefox Collection I created since I'm always trying new Addons out and using multiple computers and I wanted a quick and easy way to install my favorite's and keep a running list. Firebug, YSlow, LastPass, and Web Developer are the only ones I always use regularly.

I like the idea of the last.fm but it's not as powerful as the site, which is awesome. Lately listening to Kings of Leon Radio...

Software

THE Ultimate Htaccess

htaccess file .htaccess is a very ancient configuration file for web servers, and is one of the most powerful configuration files most webmasters will ever come across. This htaccess guide shows off the very best of the best htaccess tricks and code snippets from hackers and server administrators.

You've come to the right place if you are looking to acquire mad skills for using .htaccess files!

Apache, Hosting, Htaccess, Optimization, Security, SEO, Web Development, WordPress

Advanced WordPress wp-config.php Tweaks

The bottom line for this article is that I want to make WordPress as fast, secure, and easy to install, run, and manage because I am using it more and more for client production sites, I will work for days in order to solve an issue so that I never have to spend time on that issue again. Time is money in this industry and that is ultimately (time) what there is to gain by tweaking WordPress.

Note: I spent no time on readability, this is primarily a read the code and figure it out article.. This is for advanced users looking for a reference or discussion and for those of you looking to advance. Feedback would be great if you make it that far..

WordPress

PortaPutty Auto-Reconnecting SSH Tunnels on an Encrypted TrueCrypt Portable USB Key w GPG

Ok I just came back up to write the intro.. I'm trying to keep it short to avoid getting bogged down by the coolness of each step. Here is what goes on. When I logon to my XP machine at work, I bring my usb key and plug it in first. On logging a window pops up first and it's a password prompt to mount my encrypted drive leonardo. It also checks a keyfile that is located on my usb key, but all I do now is type in my password. That causes my encrypted folder to be accessible to me like a normal drive, and it autoruns a startup batch file.

The batch file causes Portable versions of Firefox (all my bookmarks, my settings) to load, and launches Portable Mozilla Thunderbird (IMAP makes this work well), which is my favorite program (great GPG features and open-source!). Also Some Adobe CS4 software is loaded from the hard drive, like DreamWeaver. In the background, a service we created executes a PortaPuttY plink command to create forwarded tunnels from various remote servers and accounts, all using key-based encryption. These tunnels are automatically reconnected if they are disconnected, meaning you can use a socks 5 if you want or even better!

Hacking

Questions I Ask Web Hosting Companies, Before Buying

The following is a transcript of a chat I had with a company called tektonic, and at that time I was looking for a cheap linux host to use for some redundancy/failover operations. I generally contact a new hosting company like this every few months.. I like to have options available in case of some kind of failure or network attack, so it's always a good idea to have a few ace linux servers in your back pocket.

If you've read any other articles on AskApache, you can see a certain obsession towards optimization, speed, and security -- so that is the purpose of the following questions.

Hosting

I got hacked

p0wnedWell, not this sites server, which has never been hacked, but a server hosted with hostgator.

Interestingly, the hacker sent me an email and left me an mp3, which I've uploaded for your listening leisure.

Do real hackers exist? Yes. Can we coexist? Preferably!

Hacking

Advanced .htaccess Tricks for Securing Sites

This is all new, experimental, and very very cool. It literally uses .htaccess techniques to create several virtual "locked gates" that require a specific key to unlock, in a specific order that cannot be bypassed. It uses whitelisting .htaccess tricks to specify exactly what is allowed, instead of trying to specify everything that isn't allowed. Also, by setting specific cookies/tokens after successfully passing through a gate, we can then require the exact cookie/token from the previous gate, which stops an attacker from skipping or bypassing gates.

Htaccess

Security with Apache htaccess Tutorial

Apache Security tips and tricks for securing Apache Web Servers using htaccess, httpd.conf, and other built-in techniques to thwart attackers. This really should be required reading for any Apache admin or user because these little tricks are so easy to do.

Htaccess

SEO with Robots.txt

Very nice tutorial dealing with the robots.txt file. Shows examples for google and other search engines. Wordpress robots.txt and phpBB robots.txt sample files.

SEO

Custom PHP.ini with FastCGI on DreamHost

I'm really sorry but I had to disable the sites you had running under user $USER because that was the only way I could keep the associated processes from restarting themselves and making the server unstable. Please do not run these sites with a persistent php.cgi process with a php.ini file as an argument.

Shell Scripting

Upgrading to DreamHost Private Servers

DreamHost PS gives you your own "virtual machine", protecting your CPU and RAM on your physical machine for faster websites. Here's what I like and dislike about DreamHostPS, and some of the issues and solutions for migrating.

Hosting

30x Faster Cache and Site Speed with TMPFS

NOT a typo.. 30x is measurable, well-documented, and easily tested. This is what open-source is about. I haven’t had time to post much the past year, I'm always working! So I wanted to make up for that by publishing an article on a topic that would blow your mind and be something that you could actually start using and really get some benefit out of it. This is one of those articles that the majority of web hosting companies would love to see in paperback, so they could burn it.

Optimization