Author: Alexander Mamchenkov

LVM and rescue

I was avoiding using LVM for the past time without even understanding why. I was thinking that without LVM things are more simple, just plain partitions. Few days ago I understood why – systems which use LVM for the root partition are kinda harder to recover with different rescue cds. Instead of just plainly mounting the /dev/hd?? to somewhere on /mnt/??? one have to do lots of tricky operations.

I think I will continue sticking to non-LVM installations for the time being since now I even now at least one exact reason why – easier recovery if needed :)

SSH Attacks and DenyHosts

Today I got fed up with SSH attacks on my server and I decided to set up DenyHosts app to deal with all those attacks. The idea is simple enough, the app scans the /var/log/secure (or any other log file if not in default location) to find the unsuccessful login attempts to ssh. Then it decides if the failed attempts from the same ip repeats too much and if yes – puts that IP in the /etc/hosts.deny file to prevent a connection for the future.

In addition there are some other features like checking the ip against the database on the web to see it this ip is known for the attacks and so on, but I decided to make only basic processing now. We\’ll see how it will go.

Getting started with Cisco

For the past few months I am seeing more and more Cisco devices around me and so I decided to study Cisco a bit. I am not looking forward to pass any certification regarding the subject but I just want to be more familiar with Cisco devices.

I have found some PDFs on CCNA and stated reading them. I was just wondering if anyone can give an advice on how to make the process of studying of the subject easier and faster.

WiFi Home

In the previous post I have mentioned that I managed to connect to the wifi from the field near my home and I failed to find the WiFi at home.

Occasionally I had to check for WiFi at home at different locations of my flat! I found one with an excellent connectivity and unprotected :) Now I have internet at home.

Wireless rules!

As I have probably already mentioned, I do not have any internet connection at home which makes me feel bored during the weekends.

Few days ago I got a laptop, which had wireless card in it. I checked if I can access any wireless from inside of my home, but unfortunately there are no access points around :(

Today I decided to go for walk on the field near by my place and I took the laptop with me check if any connections are available there. Guess what – I found 3 of them and I managed to connect to one of them. I am currently writing this post through that connection. I will try to find better place to sit here and will spend some time on internet during the weekends here :)