Liskula Cohen case reminder: Consider the source

August 31, 2009 by Kurt · Comments
Filed under: commenting, social media 
Liskula Cohen

Liskula Cohen

Recent developments in the Liskula Cohen/anonymous blogger/”skank” case have launched a round of comment in traditional and new media sites over the value of anonymous comment, whether the right to be anonymous is under attack and even whether courts should somehow tame the Internet.

Ultimately, I see the case as a reminder that increasingly, the web means readers must be discerning about the source. That doesn’t mean anonymous speech should be dismissed, ignored or banned.

In my own newsroom, at least one reporter has engaged me in discussions over the case, forwarding me “The Moral of the Story” blogger’s take on the case in The New York Times, which calls the kind of vile anonymous commenting we’re all familiar with a malignancy.

The importance of anonymous speech in our democracy has already been widely discussed. That the right to be anonymous would ever be at issue is ridiculous, though I will confess this right now: It’s very easy for me to don the rose-colored glasses on the subject. I’ve never been the victim of an anonymous attack on my character or my livelihood. I’ve not been denied business or opportunity because, unknown to me, someone made a flawed judgment of me based on a scurrilous, anonymous attack.

So anonymity isn’t going away. The fact that anonymous speakers can be help liable for their violations of law isn’t going to change; anonymous speakers always risk being exposed. That’s why John Doe cases are filed.

It seems to me that the biggest value of this case for the rest of us is a reminder to consider the source. When readers are faced with an anonymous comments, they have two choices. Read more

Interesting stuff I saw online, Aug. 22 to Aug. 25

August 25, 2009 by · Comments
Filed under: What I've Read 

Here’s some of the stuff I thought was interesting while stomping through the Internet from Aug. 22 through Aug. 25:

4 security links: Why you better secure your blog

August 24, 2009 by Kurt · Comments
Filed under: general 

no_hackingHackers are trying to break into my blog. I know this because months ago, I heeded the advice of other bloggers and boosted my security measures. That included installing the “Limit Login Attempts” plugin. Within days, I started getting WordPress notices when someone was locked out of my blog. I’m the only authorized user.

Since then, I get one or two WordPress alerts every week. Yeah, I was surprised, too. But this is a story about a small success.

Last week, I checked the logs and noticed that the same IP address had been locked out 64 times. I checked and found it came back to a site hosted by Amazon Web Services. I e-mailed their abuse address. They asked for a little more information; a few days later, I got a nice reply.

We have completed an initial investigation of the issue and learned that the activity you noticed did indeed originate from an Amazon EC2 instance. These intrusion attempts that you report were not, however, initiated by Amazon…

That said, we do take reports of unauthorized network activity from our environment very seriously. It is specifically forbidden in our terms of use. We’ve already contacted the Amazon EC2 customer who controlled the instance in question and informed them that they are required to terminate their unauthorized interaction with your network, failing which we will terminate their instance. In cases of egregious abuse or as we otherwise deem appropriate, we will immediately terminate all their instances and suspend their account.

That made me happy.

The lesson here: If you haven’t already secured your blog, do it. I’m not going to go into detail about what I’ve done, but I’ve included links to some of the sites I consulted. Alas, since I’m using WordPress, I’m not sure what the best resources would be for you users of TypePad, Movable Type, Blogger, Drupal….whatever.

And I’m not naive enough to think that my blog is impervious to a determined hacker. Consider this my “knock on wood.” Here’s the links.

10 Tips To Make WordPress Hack-Proof. The Ultimate Guide
guvnr.com | February 24, 2009
This is a must-read for keeping your blog safe, especially if you’re blogging in WordPress. I followed this one almost point-by-point. Complete with videos.

10 Steps To Protect The Admin Area In WordPress
Smashing Magazine | January 26, 2009
Once again, a must-read, but this one is also for WordPress users only. Some of it is a little technical, so you have to be comfy getting under the hood of your installation.

Blog Security – Tips on Keeping Your Blog from being Hacked
ProBlogger | September 7, 2006
ProBlogger is always good. This one is pretty straightforward and doesn’t have a lot of “wow, didn’t think of that” advice, but it’s worth a look.

How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords
One Man’s Blog | March 26, 2007
Good advice on figuring out a password that works for you, and not the hackers.

Interesting stuff I saw online, Aug. 12 to Aug. 14

August 14, 2009 by · Comments
Filed under: What I've Read 

Here’s some of the stuff I thought was interesting while stomping through the Internet from Aug. 12 through Aug. 14:

Interesting stuff I saw online, Jun. 1 to Jun. 8

June 8, 2009 by · Comments
Filed under: What I've Read 

Here’s some of the stuff I thought was interesting while stomping through the Internet from Jun. 1 through Jun. 8:

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