nanog mailing list archives

Re: Worms versus Bots


From: Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu
Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 11:08:42 -0400

On Thu, 06 May 2004 11:45:23 +0200, Iljitsch van Beijnum said:
I object to the idea that requiring a software firewall inside a host 
is a reasonable thing to do. Why on earth would I want to run an 
insecure service and then have a filter to keep it from being used?

You object to it, I object to it... but the fact remains that 95% of the
user-accessible CPUs (not counting the embedded market) are running software
that you have to do unreasonable things in order to make it anywhere near safe
to use....

Either I really want to run the service, and then the firewall gets in 
the way, or I don't need the service to be reachable, so I shouldn't 
run it. System services should only be available over the loopback 
address. Now obviously this is way too simple for some OS builders, but 
we shouldn't accept their ugly hacks as best current practice.

"Best Current Practice" is *so* divergent from "Currently Deployed Practice"
that there's little or no common ground.


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