Tag Archives: networking

Bad Xbox Customer Support, Bad!

Microsoft, you have ONCE AGAIN proven that your ability to grind my gears is truly infinite.

grinds-my-gears1

Submitted for your approval…one Xbox 360 with a defective wired NIC.  I knew this fact as soon as I began troubleshooting his console, because, great gaming consoles though they may be, the quality with which they are assembled (as well as the parts used therein) is abysmal.

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That Apache-HTTP-DoS Thing.

This month marks the beginning of weeks of boredom for millions of  pasty teenagers everywhere. To mark this event, some a-hole released an easy-to-use script that makes it trivially easy to bring down an Apache-based website. This script, called “Slowloris,” takes advantage of a fundamental mechanic of Apache. This is not a hack. When run, it opens as many HTTP connections as possible.  Apache servers limit the number of possible connections to prevent runaway usage of system resources. This tool opens as many connections as possible, preventing legitimate users from connecting.
apache

Note: Not IIS :-(

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3rd Party Router Firmware: A Brief Guide

There is a point in many a nerds’ life where he or she finds themselves constrained by their home router. For the confused, it probably looks like this:
Look familiar?

Look familiar?

This little devices sits between your cable modem and your computer. It basically is your “network.” Most people just plug them in, and configure only as much as it takes for it to work. These devices are, at a basic level, computers themselves, and as such have an “operating system” that provides a interfaces for you to tell the hardware what to do (like all operating systems.) Usually, you are stuck with the OS that shipped with the device.

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