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Find PHP malware in Linux

Dave Farquhar security April 12, 2016October 15, 2023ASCII, malware, PHP, unix

A lot of people seem to be looking for help cleaning up hacked or infected web sites lately, so here’s a trick I used in the past to find PHP malware in Linux and clean up the infected files.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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Advantages and disadvantages of Windows 3.0

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing January 19, 2016February 28, 2021AMI, amiga, excel, Microsoft Office, new hardware, Once Windows, radio shack, unix, windows nt, Windows XP

I hear the question from time to time what the advantages and disadvantages of Windows 3.0 were. Windows 3.0, released in May 1990, is generally considered the first usable version of Microsoft Windows. The oft-repeated advice to always wait for Microsoft’s version 3 is a direct reference to Windows 3.0 that still gets repeated today, frequently.

Although Windows 3.0 is clumsy by today’s standards, in 1990 it had the right combination of everything to take the world by storm.

Dave Farquhar

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Happy 20th birthday to Windows 95

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Windows August 24, 2015October 1, 2021apple, best buy, IBM, intel, unix, Windows 9

It was on August 24, 1995 that Windows 95 was released, amidst much anticipation. It was the most widely anticipated Windows release of all time, and the runner up really isn’t close. The idea of people lining up for blocks for a Microsoft product sounds like a bit of a joke today, but in 1995 it happened.

I received a free copy of it because I worked at Best Buy in the summer of 1995 and I aced Microsoft’s test that demonstrated sufficient aptitude to sell it. A few weeks later I landed my first desktop support gig, ending my career in a blue shirt, which means I probably never actually talked anyone into buying a copy of it.

I got plenty of Win95 experience over the next couple of years though.

Dave Farquhar

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Tricks for giving presentations at work

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized May 5, 2015May 2, 20151990s, journalism, unix

One of my peers–he does exactly what I do at work, but for Unix machines while I cover Windows–asked me for some tips for giving presentations after he gave a presentation last week. I’ve presented a couple of times myself, and from the feedback I received, I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself, so he asked for my feedback.

I gave him a few tips that have served me well over the years.

Dave Farquhar

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Lenovo’s preinstalled Superfish spyware: A post-mortem

Dave Farquhar security February 20, 2015February 19, 2015CISO, lenovo, Packard Bell, PR, spyware, unix

So, if you haven’t heard by now, last year Lenovo experimented with preloading its cheapest laptops with spyware that subverts HTTPS, allowing a third party to inject ads on any web page, and providing a convenient place for an attacker to hide behind while messing with your secure transactions.

By the end of the day yesterday, Lenovo had apologized, sort of, and after several sites had provided removal instructions, Lenovo provided its own. After spending much of the day downplaying the security concerns, by the end of the day they were at least reluctantly acknowledging them.

This was really bad, and I’ll explain why in a second, and I’ll also try to explain why Lenovo did it.

Dave Farquhar

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Yes, we need to run vulnerability scans inside the firewall

Dave Farquhar security February 18, 2015February 15, 2015AIX, firewall, malware, old windows, unix, vulnerability, windows 2000, windows nt

I got an innocent question last week. We’d been scanning an AIX server with Nexpose, a vulnerability scanner made by Rapid7, and ran into some issues. The system owner then asked a question: The server is behind a firewall and has no direct connection to the Internet and no data itself, it’s just a front-end to two other servers. Is there any reason to scan a server like that?

In my sysadmin days, I asked a similar question. Nobody could give me an answer that was any better than “because reasons.” So I’ll answer the question and give the reasons.

Dave Farquhar

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How to become an Info Assurance Analyst

Dave Farquhar security February 11, 2015November 30, 2016CERT, certifications, CISO, cissp, cissp exam, excel, Information Assurance, information security, Liquid Matrix, podcast, trolls, unix, vulnerability

So, CNN/Money ran a story on the best 100 jobs in the United States, based on pay, projected job growth over the next 10 years, and quality of life ratings. And there was my job title, at #9. I think you should want to become one, so here’s how to become an Info Assurance Analyst.

The field desperately needs more of us, so I’m happy to share with you how to become someone like me. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Why every breach is different

Dave Farquhar security February 6, 2015February 5, 2015Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Flash, breach, Microsoft Office, unix, vulnerability, windows nt

I’ve grown used to being asked what unpatched vulnerability was used in the most recent breach, in an effort to make sure some other company is protected.

I appreciate the desire to learn from other companies’ mistakes and not repeat them. But there are several reasons why the answer to that question is complicated, and not necessarily helpful.

Dave Farquhar

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Why we can’t have nice things: The reaction to IBM’s big black and blue quarter

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized October 21, 2014October 20, 2014AIX, amd, datacenter, hp, IBM, lenovo, mainframe, proprietary unix, unix, warren buffett, x86

IBM announced yesterday that it had a terrible quarter. They missed earnings, the stock plunged, and Warren Buffett lost a billion dollars.

Everyone assumes Warren Buffett is worried, or livid, and selling off the stock like it’s on fire. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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CMD.EXE and its shellshock-like qualities

Dave Farquhar security October 9, 2014October 8, 2014CGI, cmd, commodore, unix, vulnerability, Windows Server

“So did you know there’s a Windows version of Shellshock?” a coworker asked the other day.

“What, Cygwin’s bash?” I asked.

“No, in CMD.EXE.”

I thought for a second, back to some really nasty batch files I’ve seen that do goofy stuff with variables and parenthesis and other reserved characters. Suddenly it made sense. Those cryptic batch files are exploiting the command interpreter to do things that shouldn’t be done. Then I smiled.

Dave Farquhar

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