[H-GEN] Installing a website!

[Russell Stuart]

On Wed, 2005-08-10 at 09:31, Harry Phillips wrote:
> hmmm maybe I am *too* paranoid, but then is there such a thing as "too
> paranoid"? I have SMTP open but only to my web host IP, everything that
> goes into the catchall there gets forwarded to my static IP.

Yes, there is such a thing as being too paranoid.
Paranoia has its costs.  In this case we have
someone contemplating exposing his first Linux
box to the net.  The risk is that this play box
will get hacked.  The cost is that is he doesn't
do it, he is going to miss out on a great
learning experience, and probably a lot of fun
as well.

In fact, having a box hacked is in itself a great
learning  experience.  You get to see how a box 
behaves when it is hacked, and you get too feel 
the deep suspicion a sysadmin has toward a hacked
box - the the one that eventually causes him for 
format it.

It is not like there is much at risk.  The days of
a hacker or viruses destroying data are gone.
Providing you don't put anything confidential on 
the box all you are risking is a few hours work.

As for the odds of being hacked - for non-entities
like myself, it is only automated tools you have to
worry about.  No high powered black hat is going
to waste his time and energy trying to crack some
low profile web site.  So your first home grown
PHP creation, which may be as secure as a randy
prostitutes negligee, is still very unlikely to be
hacked - unless it by one of your mates.