To: TechRepublic Help Line
FROM: Your newsletter subscriber Rick Slobodian hammarlund@shaw.ca f0w1y0h3
I used to be a Data Network Analyzer back until 1997 I felt it my duty to run a quick scan of their website, for any potential security weaknesses.
I found 2 weaknesses out of 8 parameters; they are not catastrophic however a system administrator, or Webmaster should look them at
As techRepublic, what is your opinion about ports 79-110-143 being open, is there a safer alternative ????
OPEN PORTS
Port Description
-25 Simple Mail Transfer
-21 File Transfer [Control]
-43 Who Is
-79 Finger
-80 World Wide Web HTTP
-106 3COM-TSMUX
-110 Post Office Protocol – Version 3
–143 Internet Message Access Protocol
Port 79
Finger – User Information Protocol
Finger servers provide information about the users of their computers by opening and listening for incoming TCP connections on port 79. Remote users wishing to obtain information about the user of a specific computer could do so by querying their machine’s finger server listening on port 79. This information typically included the user’s full name, address, telephone number, title, job name, office location, telephone extension, and so on.
Port 110
Post Office Protocol – Version 3
Pop3 “post office protocol” is used by email clients for the retrieval of their email from designated email “post office” servers. Email Clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Netscape, Eudora, and many others, connect to port 110 of a remote email server, and then use the pop3 protocol to retrieve their email. They first identify and authenticate themselves by logging on to the remote email server using their email account information. After doing so they are permitted to view and download their waiting email.
Pop3 on port 110 is the older of the two popular protocols used to retrieve email from remote mail servers. (The newer protocol, imap, the Internet message access protocol, uses port 143.) End
