Cron has existed in Unix and Linux environments for decades, handling backups, cleanup scripts, patching jobs, log rotation, monitoring tasks, and other maintenance work that administrators do not want to run manually. Most Linux servers rely on it c...
The overwhelming number of open source Web sites and the widespread use of OpenSSL to secure connections create a tremendous problem when vulnerabilities emerge. Case in point: In October 2005, the OpenSSL.org Project released a patch to fix a vulnerability in all previously released versions of OpenSSL. Get the details about this vulnerability, and get Mike Mullins' take on the overall challenges of patch management.
If cars were sold in the same way as software, you would have to hook your Mondeo to the internet and download the latest code update before you left the garage.
Managing software patches across an organisation can be one of the biggest headaches for IT departments, but luckily there are products to help.
If your organization depends on tape backup, it's time to think about tapering off. Here are five ways to improve data protection and backup with less tape. IT architects are talking a lot these days about getting rid of tape, and for a multitude of reasons--it's too slow and hard to use, hard disks have gotten cheaper, certain databases and applications require faster recoveries, and so on. According to consulting firm TheInfoPro, 90 percent of companies plan to move from tape to Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) disk drives as part of their backup/recovery and data lifecycle management plans by 2006
Hardening Linux, by James Turnbull, stands out as an important text that clearly lays out how to make your Linux boxes as secure as possible. Mr. Turnbull has done a noteworthy job in delineating many potential vulnerabilities, and how to mitigate them. Each chapter covers a particular area in depth, with carefully worded and easy-to-follow examples. In the cases where you need to install some other piece of software to provide extra security, Turnbull gives you the step-by-step details, removing the chance of misinterpretation. As you finish each chapter, you will want to apply your newfound knowledge to the machines at your disposal.
Opinion: Yes, Linux will be attacked more often in the days ahead, but far fewer attacks will get through than do on Windows. My colleague Larry Seltzer thinks that we may be on the verge of an age of Linux worms that might rival the endless trouble that Windows users find themselves in.
What's Federated Identity Management (FIM)?
Actually, we should be asking how important is FIM. It's the linchpin of digital convergence and probably one of the most important technologies of the modern era. Soon, we will begin to swim in digital television, multifunctional phones, devices of all kinds, and at the core of making all these things work together with our computer networks and the Internet lies identity management. At the core of identity management lies federation.
A new patch is out for a prior version of open source scripting language PHP, which addresses a recently-discovered security issue in version 4.
But the current version of PHP 5 (define) may also be at risk from vulnerabilities that aren't currently patched in that version.
In an earlier look at LDAP, we set up a simple LDAP-based authentication system. We configured client machines to retrieve authentication information from a server running OpenLDAP. Now let's go further by enabling encryption and looking at how to make user modifications through LDAP.
If a recent Evans Data Corp. survey is any indication, IT administrators are increasingly worried about security holes in mainstream database products and are looking at open source alternatives. But John Andrews, president of the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based research firm, said that doesn't mean open source is necessarily better.
Linux is an amazing operating system considering how it was originally created. It was a modest program written for one person as a hobby - Linus Torvald of Finland. It has grown into a full-fledge 32-bit operating system. It is solid, stable and provides support for an incredible number of applications. It has very powerful capabilities and runs very fast and rarely crashes.
Paquet: I don't care if you can back my data up or not. I only care if you can recover it. Backup doesn't matter.
IT Architect: How do you recover if you don't have any backup?
Paquet: I replicate it, I copy it. I cluster it, I use WAFS, I use continuous data protection. Backup doesn't have to be the answer. There are all sorts of things I can do, and sometimes it is backup, but the key is that backup is just a means for recovery, and it's recovery that matters.
After years of narrow focus on fighting spam, messaging security vendors are branching out in new directions as corporate customers demand more from them than filtering unwanted e-mail. At the same time, this crowded industry is overripe for consolidation, and experts believe only those companies with the technology and deep pockets to satisfy growing customer demands will be left standing.
In this article, I show you how to use the scp (secure copy) command without needing to use passwords. I then show you how to use this command in two scripts. One script lets you copy a file to multiple Linux boxes on your network, and the other allows you to back up all of your Linux boxes easily.
The ink is barely dry on all of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 materials, and the company is already gearing up for the launch of RHEL 5. While Red Hat is not being terribly specific about what is in RHEL 5 just yet, the company did announce last week that it is working with server maker IBM and security expert Trusted Computer Solutions to begin the Common Criteria security certification for the forthcoming RHEL 5, which is due in late 2006.
I know Linux has a firewall. I know about iptables.
I know Linux has fewer viruses targeting it than Windows does.
But I strongly believe that Linux users badly need the kind of automated anti-viral patch management service that Windows users now take for granted. The present approach, in my view, just won't scale.
Linux vendor has made plans to put its operating system through the paces of a US evaluation program to create the first "trusted" Linux operating system.
Red Hat, with help from IBM and Trusted Computing Solutions, said it would put its operating system through the paces of the National Information Assurance Partnership's Common Criteria evaluation program to create the first "trusted" Linux operating system.
Deep underground somewhere in south-east England, security experts have built a data hosting center almost entirely based on open source operating systems.
The cryptologists at the Bunker, an ex-Nato anti-nuclear hideout owned by a data hosting group also known as the Bunker, are so confident of good security, that they say they have no need for firewalls – the tools commonly used for keeping hackers away.
As many systems administrators will tell you, attacks from automated login scripts specifically targeting common account names with weak passwords have become a substantial threat to system security, especially via SSH (a popular program that allows remote users to log in to a Linux computer and execute commands locally). Here are some common-sense rules to follow that can greatly improve security, as well as several scripts to cut down on the computing resources wasted by these attacks.
The battle between Linux and Windows for server-side dominance is continuing to play out in data centers worldwide.
While some are drawn to Microsoft due to Windows' ease-of-use, manageability and application availability, others feel that low cost, high stability and the freedom of being able to tweak and analyze source code makes Linux the only choice.
