Networking on Andrew Healey

Each attack surface deserves a defense-in-depth strategy

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 20:59:53 -0500

Each attack surface deserves a defense-in-depth strategy. For at least a decade, Cloudflare has given each domain 5 free WAF rules. I have yet to find a single business using them well. Did I mention they’re FREE?

Prompt: Configure Cloudflare WAF custom rules for a business website: block unused HTTP methods, common bot scanner paths and exploit patterns, Tor exit nodes, and traffic from non-existent or extremely low-population locations, then apply a Managed Challenge to everything that is not from the US, MX, or CA (exempt known good bots and well-known paths).

Wifi 8 is coming in 2028 with concepts coming out now

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:43:43 -0500

Wifi 8 is coming in 2028 with concepts coming out now. The IEEE is calling it “Ultra High Reliability,” something that’s a welcome shift, especially for those battling the usual challenges in manufacturing.

Anyone running a plant or warehouse knows the problem hasn’t been throughput since maybe the very earliest installs. Instead, it’s usually the scan gun that drops mid-pallet, the handheld that clings to a far access point instead of roaming, or the sensor that goes quiet behind a rack of steel. And on top of that, we keep adding devices (sensors, handhelds, IoT, displays) to these environments to feed our incessant thirst for more data.

IsConnectible: My vbScript Ping Method

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:23:52 -0500

Whenever I am doing large sweeps of the network that require connecting to a large number of workstations (e.g. file copy, wmi query, etc.), I prefer to check to see if I can even see the system. This avoids waiting for (WMI) timeouts and also aids in troubleshooting failures. If the file copy failed, why? Well, if I can’t ping it or it can’t be resolved, I would like to know right away and move on to the next host.

Part 3: Blocking Bad Hosts - Blocking Them, Easily (CLI Edition)

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:13:57 -0600

In part two, I showed you how to use the Local Security Policy GUI to block the bad guys. There were a lot of pretty pictures for those that prefer the GUI. In this version, I’ll show you how to accomplish the same thing from the command line. This is my preferred method. It is much simpler to automate and explain.

By following the steps below, you will be able to create a new policy and manage the filter lists and actions. The goal here will be to put all these pieces together into a nice tidy package that is fully automated.

Part 2: Blocking Bad Hosts - Blocking Them, Easily (GUI Edition)

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:13:58 -0600

In part two, I want to show how you can quickly setup an ipsec policy to block the bad hosts you identified in part one. While many methods can be used to block hosts, using the Local Security Policy (secpol.msc) and ipsec is a simple method which can be fully automated.

By following the steps below, you will be able to create a new policy and manage the filter lists and actions. In part three, I will explain how this can be done from the command line for all you CLI warriors. This tutorial should be accurate for: Windows XP, Vista, 7 and Server 2003, 2008, 2008R2 (possibly even 2000).

SNMP In A Windows Environment

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:57:55 -0500

The difficult part with managing SNMP via Group Policy is that SNMP is not installed by default. The first step is to install SNMP on all the machines you want to monitor via SNMP. This can be managed a couple ways. The simplest method that I have used is the one Zenoss recommends. If you only have a couple of machines to install SNMP on, it may be easier just to go into the Add/Remove Programs –> Add/Remove Windows Components –> Management and Monitoring Tools –> Simple Network Monitoring Protocol.

Finding Anonymous Proxies

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:56:37 -0600

I ran across a great cgi:perl script for running anonymous proxies. Its called CGIProxy. I have to find creative ways of getting around the different blocking mechanisms while I’m on more locked down networks. Having a little personal proxy running in a few places helps.

If you have trouble finding it, I’ve been successful locating builds through its alias: nph-proxy. There are some unsavory types running the code out there, so be cautious with what traffic you send through somebody else’s network/proxy.