How to determine if a SQL Server backup is compressed?
Compressed SQL Server backups can be verified in PowerShell using a handy PowerShell function. This comes in handy when you need to verify if existing SQL Server backups are compressed.
Continue readingHow to turn off the TLS default in FileZilla?
A short post for my colleagues at the customer support and anyone else wondering the same: how to turn off the FTP over TLS default in FileZilla?
Continue readingHow to: Protect WordPress from brute-force XML-RPC attacks
The WordPress XML-RPC API has been under attack for many years now. Back in August 2014, WordPress released version 3.9.2, fixing a possible denial of service issue in PHP’s XML processing. There are brute-force amplification attacks, reported by Sucuri, and so on. So, how do you protect WordPress from xmlrpc.php attacks, but still being able to use (some of) its functionality like Jetpack? This post […]
Continue readingWsusPool keeps crashing: stops again and again
Sometimes you find your WSUS server keeps crashing over and over again. WSUS is unavailable and/or the WSUS management console hangs. When you start to investigate as to why Windows Server Update Services crashes, you’ll notice the following error message being logged in the HTTPErr log files:
Continue readingRemove Jetpack email sharing service
Recently the WordPress Jetpack email sharing service is often abused by spammers. They use the Send to Email Address for sending spam. All these kind of “Tell a Friend” scripts are abused a lot. Here is how to disable email share service in WordPress Jetpack.
Continue readingMerge multiple files into one new file in Windows
A quicky: if you need to merge multiple text files into one new file in Windows, you can use the copy command in cmd.exe, and here is how:
Continue reading3 Important security measurements for Windows Server & IIS
Windows Server security: When you have just installed your new Windows Server, with or without IIS as web server, it is important to take a few extra security measurements. Securing your (web) server is important to keep hackers out and your data safe. Here are some steps you can take to secure and harden your Windows Server (IIS) web or file server.
Continue readingHow to disable SMBv1 in Windows 10 and Windows Server
Disable SMBv1 to prevent prevent Petya/NotPetya, WannaCry/WanaCrypt0r ransomware spreading on your network. These worm viruses exploit a vulnerability in Windows Server Message Block (SMB) version 1 (SMBv1), and spread like wildfire. It is urged you disable SMBv1 in your Windows variant (Windows 10, 8.1, Server 2016, 2012 R2), and here is how if you haven’t done so yet.
Continue readingHow to detect ethernet network speed in Windows
Ideal for Windows Server Core or Nano: Detect the ethernet network speed using PowerShell or WMI is ideal for Windows Server Core or Nano. If you ever need to lookup the speed of your ethernet network card in Windows on the command-line, use one of the following WMIC commands on your PowerShell prompt:
Continue readingVulnerabilities in .NET Core, ASP.NET Core Could Allow Elevation of Privilege
Microsoft Security Advisory 4021279: Microsoft is releasing this security advisory to provide information about vulnerabilities in public .NET Core and ASP.NET Core. This advisory also provides guidance on what developers can do to update their applications correctly.
Continue readingDisableNSRecordsAutoCreation with Dnscmd
This post explains how to restrict automatic NS resource record registration in Windows Server DNS using Dnscmd. This prevents Windows Server DNS to automatically create NS records for zones that it hosts on the server.
Continue readingPenetration Testers’ Guide to Windows 10 Privacy & Security
Andrew Douma, a vendor-neutral consultant, writes in Penetration Testers’ Guide to Windows 10 Privacy & Security:
Continue readingCheck WordPress Core files integrity
Check the md5 checksum of WordPress Core files against WordPress’ checksums API, using this standalone PHP file. I chose to use a standalone PHP script to check the md5sum of WordPress Core files against the API so you’re not dependent on a possibly hacked WordPress installation. This kind of guarantees the result can be trusted, as opposed to using a WordPress plugin. I think this […]
Continue readingQuiet WordPress 4.7 RC2 available
Helen Hou-Sandi writes on Make WordPress Core that there is a quiet RC2 now available – it is a fair number of commits (50+), so please take a look through those and test as you can.
Continue readingJoomla! (< 3.6.4) Account Creation/Elevated Privileges write-up and exploit
Yesterday, Melvin Lammerts wrote an article on the account creation with elevated privileges vulnerability in Joomla! < 3.6.4. And included a PoC exploit. This Joomla! vulnerability makes it easy for an attacker to create an user account, even when user registration is turned off. Yikes!
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