Questions tagged [network]

Security of network infrastructure and network traffic. For questions about security of network equipment, topology, protocols, traffic, administration, and configuration. Related tags: [packet], [firewall], [network-scanners], [network-access-control].

The provisions and policies to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of the computer network and network-accessible resources.

This tag applies to any aspect of network security, from hardware and equipment up to software and configuration.

In the future we may want to re-tag some questions if we create tags for , , etc.

2793 questions
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What is the difference between SSL vs SSH? Which is more secure?

What is the difference between SSH and SSL? Which one is more secure, if you can compare them together? Which has more potential vulnerabilities?
Am1rr3zA
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Are "man in the middle" attacks extremely rare?

In "Some thoughts on the iPhone contact list controversy and app security", cdixon blog Chris Dixon makes a statement about web security Many commentators have suggested that a primary security risk is the fact that the data is transmitted in plain…
Jeff Atwood
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Can my employer see what I do on the internet when I am connected to the company network?

This is an attempt at a canonical question following this discussion on Meta. The aim is to produce basic answers that can be understood by the general audience. Let's say I browse the web and use different apps while connected to the network at…
INV3NT3D
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Is it a bad idea for a firewall to block ICMP?

This question was inspired by this answer which states in part: The generic firewall manifest file finishes off by dropping everything I didn't otherwise allow (besides ICMP. Don't turn off ICMP). But, is it truly a good practice for a firewall to…
Justin Ethier
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Should SSL be terminated at a load balancer?

When hosting a cluster of web application servers it’s common to have a reverse proxy (HAProxy, Nginx, F5, etc.) in between the cluster and the public internet to load balance traffic among app servers. In order to perform deep packet inspection,…
Matt Goforth
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Is there a legitimate reason I should be required to use my company's computer? (BYOD prohibited)

I just got a new job at a medium-sized (~100 employees) company and one of the first things I was told is that I cannot use my own computer, because I need to be able to connect to their network, access files, etc. I didn't think that made much…
Marcus McLean
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How can mom monitor my internet history from a distance?

This might sound like a funny question from a twelve-year-old. The less funny part is that I am 21 and currently studying at university (I don't live at University, although I am 15 minutes away. I do not use university network). You might or…
Azerty
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Landlord will be watching my data traffic, as mentioned in the lease agreement

I am moving to Germany, and in the contract I signed I had to accept that all my data traffic can/will be checked by the apartment owner. The contract states: Flatrate, aber hinter 30GB Tarif priorisiert, aslo etwas langsamer Ja ich weiss, daß…
Olba12
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How can I protect my internet-connected devices from discovery by Shodan?

There's been a lot of buzz around this recent CNN article about Shodan, a search engine that can find and allow access to unsecured internet-connected devices. Shodan runs 24/7 and collects information on about 500 million connected devices and…
Aarthi
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Why do people tell me not to use VLANs for security?

I have a network, where a have a couple of VLANS. There is a firewall between the 2 VLANs. I am using HP Procurve switches and have made sure that switch-to-switch links accept tagged frames only and that host ports don't accept tagged frames (They…
jtnire
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Is it possible to "fake" being connected to a router?

A friend of mine is taking a UNIX systems class and mentioned to me that when they take exams they do so on their computers. That is all students are using their own computer/laptop. Students are not being provided a computer by the professor. In…
Ryan
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82
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7 answers

Company claims hardwire connections are a security issue

Someone to whom I am related is at a study camp for their desired profession. This person, let's call her Jane, is supposed to be studying rigorously for two months. The housing provided offers wireless internet connections, which are spotty and…
Erin B
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How is no password more secure than username+password?

Context: I have a laptop supplied by my organisation. I am trying to connect to eduroam, but I cannot do it using my organisation's laptop. When I use a personal computer, it asks me for a username and password, just as a standard wifi network asks…
luchonacho
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What is this kind of low-intensity, non-hacking attack on a web service?

I am seeing for about 10 days now a bunch of EC2 machines (about 30, distributed in all regions) which are attacking a server of mine. The interesting (or uninteresting, I do not know yet) fact is that they target an open web service on a…
WoJ
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What techniques do advanced firewalls use to protect againt DoS/DDoS?

It is hard to protect a server against Denial of Service attacks, DoS/DDoS. The two simple ways I can think of is to use a server with much resources (e.g. CPU and memory), and to build the server application to scale-up very well. Other protection…
Jonas
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