On Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:42:57 -0400 Ringo <2600denver@gmail.com> wrote:

I posted a while ago saying I was making a how-to manual for newbies on how to set up (reasonably) secure hidden services. I'm almost done but I want to release my server for testing to see if I missed anything obvious. This is a pretty standard LAMP install running in a virtual machine. The OS is Ubuntu on both.

The site is at http://76jejbkd7gtm5jbb.onion

I trust that, once you have figured out how to make it work properly, you will generate new keys for your currently not-so-very-hidden service, now that you've identified the connection between the URL above and yourself. :-) For that matter, it's probably best *not* to run most kinds of hidden services on tor relays precisely because tor relays are well known through the directory. Running a hidden service on a client-only tor would be the safest way because clients are not listed anywhere as such. There might be a place for running a hidden service on a bridge, but it would have to be for something not terribly dangerous to the hidden service operator because bridges *are* known to the bridge authorities and thus must be considered to be listed somewhere. Something like a web service that is also accessible directly and publicly and that presents no known danger to its operator (e.g., the various tor status pages) can reasonably be run on a tor relay node, a bridge, or a client.

There's a drupal install at /drupal and a wordpress install (currently not working due to forwarding issues) at /wordpress.

Feel free to poke around all you want, just please don't do anything that would stop other users from accessing the machine such as DoS attacks. If you somehow break through, please stay off my home network ; )

Best you learn how to protect your butt *before* opening it up to the world, no? Have you thought about running your service inside a jail or a virtual machine? That would make it much easier to wall it off from the rest of your computer and home network.

I haven't allowed users to add content because... well.. you know what would happen with that in onionland. If you want to add content just throw me an email and I'll make you an account. I figure that way I have somebody to blame if stuff goes horribly wrong. My PGP key is included

Again, a jail or a VM would help you contain any damage, and a backup of the jail's or VM's environment would make it very easy and fast to restore it to the way you set it up.

if you roll that way.

I'm also interested to hear people's ideas on how exactly to test the security of this server without handing out shell logins (or is that exactly what I should do?).

A jail or a VM can certainly help you there by limiting the ability of shell accounts to access the world at large, especially when combined with the application of a decent packet filter on the host system. Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG ********************************************************************** * Internet: bennett at cs.niu.edu * *--------------------------------------------------------------------* * "A well regulated and disciplined militia, is at all times a good * * objection to the introduction of that bane of all free governments * * -- a standing army." * * -- Gov. John Hancock, New York Journal, 28 January 1790 * ********************************************************************** ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE