Affiliate marketing and security

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oknetwork

oknetwork

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Jan 27, 2008
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A lot of posts appear lately with questions about security.
From "I'm traveling, is it save to use my laptop in hotspots, hotels etc?
to "How do I secure my servers (prosper) ?"

Suggestions like don't use hotspots, have dedicated PC and allow login only from it's ip to your prosper server is not and option when you traveling. (we all are stats checking maniacs:) ).
Suggestions like : Make sure you latest updates, av, pc software firewall, disable filesharing etc when using public networks are valid but protect your PC from being tempered but you network connection is not and anyone who owns network "potentialy and teoreticly" can see what you
are doing , websites you going , get your usernames etc

Solution :
Hardware firewall with VPN
Here you have several options.
1. For those who have colocation/dedicated servers you can get your own firewall(not that expensive) or rent from your collacation provider. Block all the ports ,besides http/https (based on waht you are doing you may need to open some more) externally and allow to login to your server only from internal network.( You can block ftp as well)
Now you will install cisco VPN client on you PC/ laptop. VPN in and you will get IP of your internal network, now you can use your prosper, copy files from your PC to servers ( see you don't need ftp anymore), remote desktop to your servers etc.
Also when using hotspots , "vpn in" as well (make sure to setup firewall the way that internet traffic goes thru vpn). Now you have secure vpn tunnel, so even people who own that network will not know what are you doing, sites you are going to etc.

2.Now to folks who don't have colocation,dedicates etc. and are worried about ckecking their accounts from hotspots.
You can setup firewall/VPN in your house. You may want to get static IP from your internet provider, but sometimes it's not an option ( they want you to upgrade to business account). No worries your IP stays the same all the time (usually) unless you reboot your modem.
So remotely you will VPN in from your laptop to your home network and connect to internet thru vpn tunnel as well.

Iphone lovers:
Iphone has build in vpn client, nothing to install
So connect to your vpn on iphone and you have your stats on the go , secure way. Plus Iphone has remote desktop/VNC apps to download.

I tried to explain in non-tech terms as much as I could.
Should anyone have questions, post it or PM
 


All file transfers and communication w/ your remote servers should be done on SSH/SFTP. In this case revision control is essential but may be a hassle if it's not something you use on a regular basis anyway.

p202 shouldn't be centralized. It doesn't need to be. Should your server get compromised, the data should (in theory) be meaningless (just linked together by numerical IDs). It would only be meaningful to you, after you have the recorded data on your PC (since the p202 setup would not be tied with the actual tracking data). This would make it inconvenient to check stats often though.

SSL support would be a good start (though it wouldn't help if your server is compromised). Namecheap offers SSL certs free for a year with each domain, so p202 just needs the functionality.. hell, even a self-signed cert would be alright.
 
Uh... recommended brand name for hardware firewall? Anyplace to get it cheap? (Ebay?)
 
Except for communications security, be sure to encrypt any data you might want to keep for yourself. For instance, if your laptop gets stolen, the thieves won't get anything out of it anyway. You can also encrypt tracker data and your whole tracking system such as prosper202 (the webfiles + the database information). I really recommend TrueCrypt for this. You can use flawlessly on both Windows and GNU/Linux. Hell, you can even run your complete operating system encrypted if you'd like. I have been using TrueCrypt for years now.
 
Use Linux LiveCDs for everything (malware can't install itself on a CD), encrypt HD with TrueCrypt, remote communications through SSL, and if you think your government or ISP may be snooping you use TOR (The Onion Router). If you want your physical presence to remain undetected go wardriving around some office spaces (law firms, storehouses, anything that's not an IT company). You can usually crack their wireless in under half an hour, and they don't have stringent admins (unlike IT companies). Remeber to spoof your MAC address. Another good option is to use University wireless, but those are getting pretty high security these days. For anonymous payments use Visa gift cards, pay for them in cash, remember to wear gloves and conceal your face in the store if you're really paranoid (security cams).
 
If you're familiar enough with Linux you can use a combination of iptables (the firewall), with squid as a reverse proxy/filter and ClamAV to build a really tight security appliance. If you build in Spamassassin you could also eliminate a lot of spam too.
 
I don't know why you would go thru all this if a $100 hardware firewall is a lot easier and does better job...
 
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