Re: [Full-Disclosure] DCOM RPC exploit (dcom.c)

From: Paul Schmehl (pauls_at_utdallas.edu)
Date: 07/27/03

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    To: Jason <security@brvenik.com>
Date: 27 Jul 2003 15:18:13 -0500

    On Sun, 2003-07-27 at 14:24, Jason wrote:
    >
    > Ok:
    > In short it goes like this.
    >
    > Click Start->Run
    > Type "dcomcnfg.exe"
    > Turn it off

    Great! Now go click all 5000 computers we have to take care of. This
    is exactly what I'm talking about. You smugly criticize networks for
    not fixing problems, yet you completely ignore the fact that the tools
    to do this on an enterprise scale either don't exist, are far too
    expensive for the average network or require scripting expertise that
    most don't have. Not to mention the fact that for this to even work,
    the security context must be administrator and the concept of sudo
    hasn't entered the Windows world in a secure implementation (that I'm
    aware of).
    >
    > Please see references above for the counter to this statement.
    >
    > As to charging for the knowledge. Yeah, it is my time and my mind that
    > does the work, of course I am going to charge for it. Does UT provide an
    > education for free to everyone?
    >
    No, but we don't charge them an arm and leg either. Like most
    universities, the product we provide is bargain priced and available to
    almost anyone that's alive and breathing.
    >
    > Hardly hypocritical, the information is free for the taking and the
    > tools are readily available. Most of them already exist in the OS that
    > was paid for. It simply requires that the time be put in to do it.
    >
    > To the open source easy to use statement, since windows is pay to use
    > why would anyone expect to be able to manage it for free?

    I don't think it's unreasonable to expect an operating system to come
    with the tools to manage it on an enterprise level rather than having to
    spend extra dollars for that functionality. Do you?

    > I vote to
    > spend my time making the free things easier to use so I do not have to
    > buy windows.
    >
    Then don't criticize the Windows "community" for not having the tools to
    do the job. Criticize Microsoft.
    >
    > I live in the real world, it is harsh and brutal, it is in fact the same
    > world we all live in. Unfortunately the universities are half the
    > problem here. A fantasy world exists on every campus where the belief is
    > that everything should be free and you should be able to do what ever
    > you want.

    You're sadly mistaken. Unis don't expect to get everything for free.
    But they don't get enough funding to purchase a full set of commercial
    tools either. And where do you think a large chunk of the open source
    stuff comes from anyway? Who writes much of the code? Who provides the
    mirrors to the world, free of charge? Who does most of the research?

    > Only one catch, we charge to be here at university to have
    > access to our fantasy world where you get this information and do what
    > you want but we want you to give your information to us for free even if
    > you are not in our fantasy world. That is hypocritical.
    >
    It would be, if that were reality. The reality is that most people's
    education is highly subsidized by governments and private contributors.
    If students actually had to *pay* for their education (what it actually
    costs to provide it to them) there would be far fewer students, far
    fewer universities and a lot less open source programs.
    >
    > Here we go again with this fantasy stuff, the information is free, the
    > work to implement it is yours to do.

    Funny how you think *your* labor has value, but the IT admins' does not.

    > >
    > > IDSes don't protect anything. They merely tell you where the *** just
    > > hit the fan. IPSes are still in their infancy, and very few admins are
    > > going to trust them to stop bad stuff without also stopping important
    > > traffic.
    >
    > Some select quotes from any dictionary. They seem to apply to IDS in
    > this case.
    >
    > protect: To keep from being damaged, attacked, stolen, or injured; guard.
    >
    > guard: To protect from harm by or as if by watching over.
    > To supervise entry or exit through; keep watch at.
    >
    >
    Oh, I get it. You've never actually used an IDS. You just understand
    the dictionary definition of one. Try sitting in front of the console
    staring at a half a million alerts and see if the IDS *does* anything
    besides spewing information that *you* have to research, that *you*
    have to interpret and that *you* have to take action on. 

    -- 
Paul Schmehl (pauls@utdallas.edu)
Adjunct Information Security Officer
The University of Texas at Dallas
AVIEN Founding Member
http://www.utdallas.edu/~pauls/
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