Archive for October, 2005

The Impact of O’Reilly Media

Sunday, October 23rd, 2005

I’ve gained an admiration of tech publisher Tim O’Reilly from several interviews and speeches I’ve heard him give. I find Tim’s insights to be forward-thinking and yet very cogent and well-reasoned.

In the latest interview I read on NerdTV, Tim commented on how his company’s goal has been to create more value than they capture. After reviewing the history of O’Reilly, it is easy to see how this has been the case. Aside from their excellent books, O’Reilly helped evangelize the World Wide Web (and created the first Internet Portal, GNN), and has greatly raised the awareness and perceived legitimacy of open source software.

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TOR—Anonymous Internetworking

Tuesday, October 11th, 2005

I’ve recently discovered TOR (The Onion Router), an anonymous Internet communication system. The name references an onion’s multiple peel layers. In a TOR network, data sent from one router to the next is encrypted with an added layer of encryption. Using TOR, data sent or retrieved is untraceable. While this offers a substantial measure of anonymity to those who wish to communicate freely, it also posses several security concerns (this technology seems tailor made for terrorism).

For an example of the power of TOR, install TOR and check out the Hidden Wiki. This web server resides in an unknown site and is nearly impossible to locate. At this site, TOR users can post information and files without fear of being sued. For example, someone posted Mike Lynn’s recent Cisco router vulnerability presentation and pictures. Other sites have been forced by Cisco legal to remove the information, but because the Hidden Wiki is untraceable, Cisco lawyers have no one to sue. Definitely a two-edged sword.

Posted in open source, security | 1 Comment »