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Date:      Sun, 1 Aug 2004 03:29:36 +0300
From:      Giorgos Keramidas <keramida@ceid.upatras.gr>
To:        JJB <Barbish3@adelphia.net>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Firewall Rule Set not allowing access to DNS servers?
Message-ID:  <20040801002936.GA71845@gothmog.gr>
In-Reply-To: <MIEPLLIBMLEEABPDBIEGKEDGGIAA.Barbish3@adelphia.net>
References:  <20040731224313.GA1048@gothmog.gr> <MIEPLLIBMLEEABPDBIEGKEDGGIAA.Barbish3@adelphia.net>

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On 2004-07-31 20:07, JJB <Barbish3@adelphia.net> wrote:
> Now many home LAN environments have ms/windows boxes and that system
> is the target of all the adware and spyware programs. These
> unauthorized programs all most always use non-standard ports to
> phone home and report on your activity. The only way to defend
> against the 'report home action' is to block all outbound ports
> except for those explicitly allowed by firewall rules.

Ah, yes.  This makes much more sense.  I never thought of this because
the computers I have at home run only UNIX variants now.

In such cases, you're right that outbound traffic needs to be controlled
to in some way.

> New subject.
> I see from your post, what looks like you have an automated way to
> reformat MS/outlook top post to Unix Bottom post format.
>
> I sure would like to know how you are doing this. I have been on
> this list for 4 years and I have never seen this before. Would you
> please share with me and the other readers how you do this.

`Manually' is the short answer.

I don't usually spend the time to hit the right keys in Emacs to
reformat the message.  Your message is one of the few exceptions,
because I really wanted to reply.  Most of the time, when I see text
that Outlook has converted magically to garbage I hit DEL.

The tricks I use in Emacs are simple -- not really automated stuff.
`C-x .'  sets the fill-prefix and a few RET lines will quickly separate
the message in sections like these:

    > >>> When I use the rule set in question, I can ping and send mail
    > but
    > >>> I cannot access the DNS servers listed in resolv.conf.
    > >>
    > >> There are many ways in which your ruleset might break.  Two of
    > the
    > >> most important comments I wanted to make when I first saw the
    > posts
    > >> of this thread are: [...]

    > I've read a very detailed guide that you wrote, linked by one of
    > your
    > posts and available online at:

    > http://freebsd.a1poweruser.com:6088/FBSD_firewall/

    > This guide contains a great deal of useful information and it would
    > be
    > cool if it was somehow incorporated to the Handbook.  It's not yet,
    > but
    > I like most of the text so I hope it gets converted to SGML and
    > added to
    > the Handbook either in parts or as a whole.

Moving the pointer just past the "> " or "> >>> " text that I want to
use as the quotation mark and hitting `C-x .' sets the fill-prefix and
then `M-q' (or ESC-q) refills the paragraph.  Some lines like the ones
that Outlook has wrapped in weird ways, i.e. like this:

    > >>> When I use the rule set in question, I can ping and send mail
    > but

might need a bit of editing before M-q filling works correctly, but
these are usually very few after I've trimmed the text.

- Giorgos



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