RE: [Full-Disclosure] Dcom.c - (Shutting it down on 5,000 systems) - a Paul Schmehl Post

From: Admin GSecur (admin_at_governmentsecurity.org)
Date: 07/29/03

  • Next message: Jonathan Rickman: "Re: [Full-Disclosure] OT but related." 
    To: <full-disclosure@lists.netsys.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 16:23:41 -0400

    I have to say I agree with the previous statement if not with the
    format. As admin we need to sometimes just suck it up and spend the
    hours to correct a problem.

    Now we are all busy especially the enterprise admins' who are over
    worked and under manned. But remember in today's job market there are a
    million other people who won't mind spending the late nights at the job.

    -----Original Message-----
    From: full-disclosure-admin@lists.netsys.com
    [mailto:full-disclosure-admin@lists.netsys.com] On Behalf Of Andy Wood
    Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 3:22 PM
    To: full-disclosure@lists.netsys.com
    Subject: [Full-Disclosure] Dcom.c - (Shutting it down on 5,000 systems)
    - a Paul Schmehl Post

            Some may have gotten this, sorry.  I sent it from the wrong
    acct:
    Users:
            There are inexpensive tools to take care of this for you, not
    that MS lacks the free ones...oh yes, they do exist.  Dameware NT
    utilities is one great 3rd party tool.  If you're an admin and haven't
    touched this one you're missing out.  A few click of the mouse and all
    you can hope for can come true.  It also can be used on both sides of
    the fence....it is one of my main utilities for working my way into
    networks.  Now, be warned all, it may not have a button to do the exact
    function you're looking for, but rather has the ability to perform batch
    functions...even across domains and standalones (given the correct
    creds), and that's really the issue here, right.  If'n one has been
    blessed with "Creativity" then that person may just be able to use it
    beyond the help, faq and user files....but don't assume you have it
    (creativity), most don't.
            (Now that I see the rest of the orig post I'll comment on the
    IDS part):
            Weak-ass admins ONLY complain that IDS' make work for them AND
    that they are worthless.....Boo hoo, *we* have to research, *we* have to
    interpret and *we* have to take action....WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. 
            So, some joe-hacker that has intelligence so far beyond most
    any-type admin (especially Windows), and he wants into your
    network.....the complaint is that ya might have to do some analysis? 
    Just like in the Navy...Officers don't know ***!  That's why they're
    called Security Analysts, clown...cause they analyze security threats
    and take actions.  Hell, I don't know ANY OS that I would trust to make
    an informed decision on taking action.  And if yer staring at a 1/2
    million alerts then perhaps you need to hire someone competent to tune
    your IDS....and if you have, perhaps you should FIRE THEM!
            I'm not surprised to hear it though...especially from an edu,
    you guys are your biggest enemies.  If ya want easy access, take a
    university.....easy targets.....lamer admins.
            5,000 system changes, such as disabling DCOM.....about 30mins of
    work and I'm off to bed.....which is a good thing, cause I'm friggin'
    fallin' asleep ova hea. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
            Oh, BTW...Secure your *STUFF* man.  I mean a denial of service
    without even entering a password??  What kinda security does
    ut-Steers-n-queers have.  I mean 129.110.8.140, 9.96, 11.30 all allow
    changing the IP information and resetting the device thus causing a DoS
    (Not to mention dozens of others).  I could go on and on with others,
    but that wouldn't be nice.  Betcha there aren't any alarms on the IDS
    for that huh?  What kinda  University allows there users to use Kazaa
    (129.110.19.223 - User:sinc, 15.46 - User:Butt40, 27.59 - User:kimbom,
    27.149 - User:kingfuhampster....I guess we know what the FU in kungfu
    really means)??  Isn't the RIAA getting up yer pooper for that?  Should
    you use time sync?  How can you tell when an attack acutally occured, to
    the second, and on which systems.  I'm not even going to ask about
    129.110.94.181.
            Be careful man, or all your holes might cause AVIEN to mean
    'Another Virus Infected Enterprise Network'        
    Andy

    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 
HYPERLINK http://www.utdallas.edu/~pauls/
http://www.utdallas.edu/~pauls/ 
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