Re: [gentoo-user] Can't block pop3 attack

[Robin Atwood <robin.atwood@attglobal.net>]

On Saturday 24 October 2009, Alan McKinnon wrote:
> On Friday 23 October 2009 21:49:42 Robin Atwood wrote:
> > My syslog is showing zillions of messages:
> >
> > Oct 24 02:25:58 opal xinetd[8054]: START: pop-3 pid=16534
> >  from=61.134.64.199 Oct 24 02:25:59 opal xinetd[16534]: warning:
> >  /etc/hosts.allow, line 7: can't verify hostname:
> >  gethostbyname(199.64.134.61.broad.gs.dynamic.163data.com.cn) failed
> > Oct 24 02:26:09 opal xinetd[8054]: EXIT: pop-3 status=0 pid=16534
> > duration=11(sec)
> >
> > I run denyhosts but don't trap pop3 messages so I manually added the IP
> > address to /etc/hosts.deny and..., it made absolutely no difference. I
> > run qpopper which is compiled with xinetd support and xinetd uses tcpd,
> > so I assumed the address would be blocked. Apparently not so. Any ideas?
> 
> You have allow ALL ALL early in hosts.allow, or
> you have allow pop3 all earlier in hosts.allow
 
The second! I had forgotten about that. The trouble I set it up that way so I 
could pick up email from arbitrary locations while travelling. It seems the 
price of that is allowing idiots to spam your logs. 

Thanks for the pointer.
-Robin
-- 
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Robin Atwood.

"Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
 Where there ain't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst"
         from "Mandalay" by Rudyard Kipling
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