January 12, 2016

There were 5 posts published on January 12, 2016 (this is page 1 of 1).

Adaptive firewall rules with the react module

I’ve been fighting off hackers to MT.Net for several years now. My traditional way of doing this has been to manually flag the IP address of the attacker and add it to a block list. This used to be very effective, but then attackers began enlisting bot networks with dozens of IPs per attack. It because impossible to block them all without making it a full-time job.

About three years ago I implemented adaptive firewall rules which will track URL requests and only allow a certain number of those requests before blocking further ones. I blogged about their success and then … promptly stopped using it for some reason!

Today I noticed I was no longer using these amazing rules and promptly put them back into place. Like magic, the huge load I had seen on my webserver promptly disappeared. Now it doesn’t matter how many IPs an attack originates from, it will be blocked! That IP will not be able to launch any further attacks for 5 more minutes.

I love using smart approaches to problems. Just wish I remembered to keep them around next time!

Planting flags around Dix Park is so 17th century

Raleigh Planning Commission member Matt Tomasulo recently planted thousands of survey flags to lead people around the Dix Park property.

Dude, planting flags is sooooo 17th century. There are apps for this. Create a Google Map with landmarks at the sites worth seeing. Include links to photographs and, more importantly, open up comments for others to say why these sites are meaningful. I’m all for bringing people out to Dix but they should be out there seeing the beauty of the park and not thousands of plastic flags.

With help from thousands of pink survey flags, one city planning commission member is hoping to bring more people to the former Dix hospital site near downtown.

On Tuesday afternoon, Matt Tomasulo and five volunteers planted 4,399 pink survey flags throughout Dorothea Dix Park, creating small trails that will lead visitors around city-owned portions of the property. Tomasulo called it a simple gesture to say thanks to Mayor Nancy McFarlane and Gov. Pat McCrory for making possible Raleigh’s purchase of the former psychiatric hospital campus.

Source: Raleigh Planning Commission member installs hundreds of flags at Dix Park | News & Observer

Bowie bonds: Ziggy Stardust’s adventures on Wall Street

Sure, David Bowie was the most inventive rock star of his era. And yes, he matured gracefully (more or less) into an elder statesman of pop, working with younger independent acts and capping his late career with a pair of moving, reflective LPs.But did you know he also left his mark on the world of asset-backed securities? OK, so the achievement doesn’t quite rank up there with albums like Low and Ziggy Stardust. But in 1997, Bowie, who passed away from cancer Sunday at 69, did manage to kick off a brief financial craze after becoming the first musician to sell bonds backed by the royalties on his catalog.

Source: Bowie bonds: Ziggy Stardust’s adventures on Wall Street

David Bowie utterly humiliated Ricky Gervais on Extras · Great Job, Internet! · The A.V. Club

This bit David Bowie did on Ricky Gervais’s Extras is hilarious, as is his explanation for doing the show.

Fans and critics will undoubtedly spend the upcoming days debating which of David Bowie’s many memorable songs should be considered his very greatest contributions to the canon of Western Music. While titles like “Life On Mars?,” “Changes,” and “The Man Who Sold The World” will be bandied about, some consideration should also go to “The Little Fat Man With The Pug-Nosed Face,” an impromptu ditty with which the erstwhile Ziggy Stardust joyously serenaded Ricky Gervais on a memorable 2006 episode of Extras. In the episode, actually titled “David Bowie,” Gervais’ character, self-involved actor Andy Millman, is already starting to chafe from the notoriety he’s gained from starring in a hacky, catchphrase-laden BBC sitcom called When The Whistle Blows. Spotting Bowie in the supposed “VIP” section of a bar, Gervais’ character makes the spectacularly ill-considered decision to accost the musical legend. Then, with no prompting whatsoever, he proceeds to spill his guts to this unwitting stranger. A gentleman to the last, Bowie actually listens politely as Gervais whinges about his own, hopelessly trivial “problems.”

Source: David Bowie utterly humiliated Ricky Gervais on Extras · Great Job, Internet! · The A.V. Club