iptables and denyhost

If you have a Linux server exposed to the Internet, then you may be aware of the constant authorization attempts from all over the world. If you are not aware, then you just have not looked at your log files to see all the failed attempts.

This is where denyhost comes into play. It will monitor these attempts and after a number of failed attempts add an iptables entry to block that IP. I typically allow 3 attempts before adding the IP to be blacklisted. This has worked nicely for me. I proactively block huge blocks of IP addresses with a simple script that gets all the IP addresses for certain countries and blocks them all. This has been the single most effective measure to eliminate a huge percentage of the auth guessing attempts.

Digital Noise

I used the term "digital noise" several years ago to describe people distracted by their cell phones or Blackberry. I just returned from a vacation with my family where we were completely disconnected from any "connected" devices. I had my iPad, but I literally used it to only read books as I lounged on the deck by the pool. I observed the behaviors of people throughout the week. I'd see an entire family or group of friends sitting in close proximity of each with their gaze constantly on their smartphone. On the cruise ship, it wasn't as common. I suspect that was due to the excessive prices that they'd be subject to for using the ship's data connection. However, traveling back through airports where people are connected via their data plan or free wifi the number of people gazing into their smartphone increased by at least an order of magnitude.

I'm not one to judge people for excessively using their smartphones, but it looks like there is some addictive strain driving people to be constantly checking social media.