Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Oklahoma city threatens to call FBI over 'renegade' Linux maker
The Register ^ | 24th March 2006 20:20 GMT | Ashlee Vance

Posted on 03/28/2006 9:07:54 AM PST by N3WBI3

Oklahoma city threatens to call FBI over 'renegade' Linux maker Our mistake is YOUR problem By Ashlee Vance in Mountain View Published Friday 24th March 2006 20:20 GMT New year, new job? Click here for thousands of tech vacancies.

The heartland turned vicious this week when an Oklahoma town threatened to call in the FBI because its web site was hacked by Linux maker Cent OS. Problem is CentOS didn't hack Tuttle's web site at all. The city's hosting provider had simply botched a web server.

This tale kicked off yesterday when Tuttle's city manager Jerry Taylor fired off an angry message to the CentOS staff. Taylor had popped onto the city's web site and found the standard Apache server configuration boilerplate that appears with a new web server installation. Taylor seemed to confuse this with a potential hack attack on the bustling town's IT infrastructure. SPONSORED LINKS

IT gurus seek Your counsel - Jobsite, The best people for the job

We answer 99.6% of all support calls within 5 seconds. Rackspace Managed Hosting with Fanatical Support

You inspire awe - Jobsite, The best people for the job

I-NET+ CERTIFICATION from the Register's training library

"Who gave you permission to invade my website and block me and anyone else from accessing it???," Taylor wrote to CentOS. "Please remove your software immediately before I report it to government officials!! I am the City Manager of Tuttle, Oklahoma."

Few people would initiate a tech support query like this, but these are dangerous times, and Taylor suspected the worst. (Er, but only the world's most boring hacker would break into a site and then throw up a boilerplate about how to fix the hack.)

CentOS developer Johnny Hughes jumped on the case and tried to explain the situation to Taylor.

"I feel sorry for your city," he replied in an e-mail. "CentOS is an operating system. It is probably installed on the computer that runs your website. . . . Please contact someone who does IT for you and show them the page so that they can configure your apache webserver correctly."

That response didn't go over so well.

"Get this web site off my home page!!!!! It is blocking access to my website!!!!~!," Taylor responded, clearly excited about the situation and sensing that Bin Laden was near.

Again, CentOS jumped in to try and explain some of the technical details behind the problem. It pointed Taylor to this page, saying it was the standard page for a web server and noted that it provides instructions on how to fix the problem. The CentOS staffer suggested that Taylor contact his service provider or have an administrator look into the issue.

That response didn't go over so well.

"Unless this software is removed I will file a complaint with the FBI," Taylor replied.

Later he added,

"I have four computers located at City Hall. All of these computers display the same CentOS page when attempting to bring up Tuttle-ok.gov. Now if your software is not causing this problem, how does it happen??? No one outside this building has complained about this problem. This is a block of public access to a city's website. Remove your software within the next 12 hours or an official complaint to the FBI is being filed!"

And later,

"I am computer literate! I have 22 years in computer systems engineering and operation. Now, can you tell me how to remove 'your software' that you acknowledge you provided free of charge? I consider this 'hacking.'"

After a few more exciting exchanges, CentOS managed to track down the problem for Taylor. It turns out that hosting provider Vidia Communications is running CentOS on some of its servers and had not configured the Tuttle web site properly. CentOS informed Taylor of the situation, and, a day later, Taylor had calmed down.

"The problem has been resolved by VIDIA who used to host the City website," he wrote. "They still provide cable service but do not host the website. The explanation was that they had a crash and during the rebuild they reinstalled the software that affected our website."

"I am sorry that we had to go through the process and accusations to get the problem resolved. It could have been resolved a lot quicker if the initial correspondence with you provided the helpful information that was transmitted in the last messages. My initial contact with VIDIA disallowed any knowledge of creating the problem."

Er, so despite the fact that CentOS went out of its way to figure out the problem for Tuttle, Taylor still places the blame on CentOS for not fixing the problem - that it didn't create - sooner. In addition, Taylor didn't really start off the whole process on the best foot despite Tuttle being a town "Where People Grow - Friendly!" Grow friendly, threaten to bring in the FBI at the drop of a hat - what's the difference?

As of this writing, one Tuttle web site still had not been fixed, although you can find the charming Tuttle man Taylor over here.

Taylor has yet to respond to our request for comment.

It seems that Tuttle has quite the hacking epidemic on its hands. The Tuttle Times newspaper's web site, for example, has had its Forum section cracked. Click at your own risk to see it or have a peek at our screen grab.

To see the full transcript of the web server war, travel over here. It's classic reading. ®


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Humor
KEYWORDS: buyaclue; centos; darwinaward; dumbass; lowiq; oklahoma; tuttle
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 261-275 next last
Comment #81 Removed by Moderator

To: distro.jihad
Please be sure and spell my name right! They hate it when you misspell it and htey have to look it up. Want me to spell it for you?"

Thats Oneill, with two L's

82 posted on 03/28/2006 2:48:04 PM PST by N3WBI3 (If SCO wants to go fishing they should buy a permit and find a lake like the rest of us..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: Golden Eagle
So now you're saying "nor would I ever" means "But I rarely if ever cite foreign websites at all"...

Gotta love the way you make this stuff up as you go along..

83 posted on 03/28/2006 2:49:07 PM PST by N3WBI3 (If SCO wants to go fishing they should buy a permit and find a lake like the rest of us..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 79 | View Replies]

Comment #84 Removed by Moderator

To: N3WBI3

Create a thread pushing this BS noobie, like you contstantly do. Why, do you have a link to a complete new thread I created that came from a foreign website? How many have you and Shadow done in the last couple of months alone?


85 posted on 03/28/2006 2:55:50 PM PST by Golden Eagle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 83 | View Replies]

To: Golden Eagle
Not me, nor would I ever.

Liar

Again, though this isn't quite so clear cut.

86 posted on 03/28/2006 2:58:21 PM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

Comment #87 Removed by Moderator

To: distro.jihad

distro.jihad
Since Mar 21, 2006

view home page, enter name:

Who are you, another one of the Linux cultists? Jihad, perfect name for latest clown.

88 posted on 03/28/2006 2:58:59 PM PST by Golden Eagle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies]

Comment #89 Removed by Moderator

To: Golden Eagle
The man's nationality is not the issue: his abject stupidity is the issue. All you have managed to do is prove Samuel Johnson right: "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."

Well you guys are the ones posting articles from foreign websites so you can laugh along at how dumb some Americans supposedly are. Not me, nor would I ever.

90 posted on 03/28/2006 3:15:11 PM PST by Salo (After you take a tuttle, wipe your golden eagle and wash your hands.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

To: ShadowAce
Liar

LOL, how so? Firefox isn't American, nor do I see any reference to anything American in that article. Firefox is the result of the culmination of the worldwide open source "community" right, as fully endorsed by the United Nations. That's supposed to be it's benefit, at least that's what I keep hearing, the fact that it's NOT American.

91 posted on 03/28/2006 3:20:09 PM PST by Golden Eagle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 86 | View Replies]

To: N3WBI3

bttt


92 posted on 03/28/2006 3:23:16 PM PST by dennisw (____A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject- W Churchill___)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: distro.jihad

Including OBL? He does get a free copy right?


93 posted on 03/28/2006 3:26:29 PM PST by Golden Eagle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]

Comment #94 Removed by Moderator

To: distro.jihad

That would be a violation of the license, so I really doubt that is true. Your first day here and you're already telling lies, LOL.


95 posted on 03/28/2006 3:35:12 PM PST by Golden Eagle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 94 | View Replies]

To: antiRepublicrat
Succinct!
96 posted on 03/28/2006 4:29:10 PM PST by rzeznikj at stout (1000 Posts or Bust -- by April 13!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: N3WBI3

"I am computer literate!"

97 posted on 03/28/2006 4:36:31 PM PST by Redcloak (WARNING: This post may irritate John McCain.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Golden Eagle
Yet you can't debunk it,

Dick Cheney hides invisible dead bodies in my sock drawer. Let's see you debunk that.

98 posted on 03/28/2006 4:40:01 PM PST by Redcloak (WARNING: This post may irritate John McCain.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: ShadowAce
It's possible to d/l RHEL source.

CentOS isn't the only one that does this--several distros are derived from RHEL.

There's White Box Enterprise Linux--originally based out of Louisiana. Heck, even the United States Department of Energy's Fermilab does this--this is where Scientific Linux (fka Fermi Linux) comes from.

As for the actual discs, the only legal way is to get them through Red Hat.

99 posted on 03/28/2006 4:40:44 PM PST by rzeznikj at stout (1000 Posts or Bust -- by April 13!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: kenth

Do you think that he reboots his laptop by holding it upside down over his head and shaking it?


100 posted on 03/28/2006 4:41:08 PM PST by Redcloak (WARNING: This post may irritate John McCain.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 261-275 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson