NAME

Apache::AuthChecker - mod_perl based authentication module used to prevent brute force attacks via HTTP authorization.

SYNOPSIS

See README section.

README

Apache::AuthChecker - mod_perl based authentication module used to prevent brute force attacks via HTTP authorization. It remembers IP addresses of any user trying to authenticate for certain period of time. If user runs out limit of failed attempts to authenticate - all his authentication requests will be redirected to some URI (like this: /you_are_blocked.html).

Requirements:

 1. Apache 1.3.x (2.x) with mod_perl 1.2x (2.x) enabled 
 2. IPC::Shareable perl module version 0.60 by BSUGARS. Probably it
    should work with other versions, but I did not test.

Installation:

 -from the directory where this file is located, type:
     perl Makefile.PL
     make && make test && make install
                                  

!!! For RedHat users !!! 1. You need httpd-devel rpm package installed. 2. If 'make' fails, try to type: export LANG=en_US and restart installation process FROM BEGINNING. There is a known bug in RedHat distributions.

Apache configuration process:

 1. Add directives to httpd.conf below directives LoadModule and AddModule:
    <IfDefine MODPERL2>
        PerlModule Apache2
        PerlLoadModule Apache::AuthChecker
    </IfDefine>
    <IfDefine !MODPERL2>
        PerlModule Apache::AuthChecker
    </IfDefine>
    PerlAuthCheckerMaxUsers 1450           
    PerlSecondsToExpire     3600           

 Note: parameter PerlAuthCheckerMaxUsers affects amount of shared memory 
  allocated. Rule to estimate: every IP record eats 45 bytes. It means if you 
  set 1000 users - 45Kbytes of shared memory will be allocated. Default
  setting is 64KByte which gives us about 1450 records.
  Exact value depends on PerlSecondsToExpire parameter.
  !!! It does not store ALL logins info, ONLY FAILED ONES BY IP.
      I see no need to make it big.
  Max limit depends on your OS settings.
  
 PerlSecondsToExpire - how long will we store data about authentication 
  failures.
   

 2. Use .htaccess or <Directory> or <Location> mechanisms with the 
  following directives (default values):

    AuthName "My secret area"
    PerlAuthenHandler Apache::AuthChecker
    PerlSetVar      AuthUserFile /path/to/my/.htpasswd
    PerlSetVar      MaxFailedAttempts 10
    PerlSetVar      RedirectURI /
    require valid-user
    
 Example. 
    Your old .htaccess file looks like:
    
    AuthName "My secret area"
    AuthType Basic
    AuthUserFile /path/to/my/.htpasswd
    require valid-user
        
    The new one:
    
    AuthName "My secret area"
    #AuthType Basic
    PerlAuthenHandler Apache::AuthChecker
    PerlSetVar    AuthUserFile /path/to/my/.htpasswd
    require valid-user
                

 Parameters:

 AuthUserFile       - path to your passwords htpasswd-made file (REQUIRED).
 MaxFailedAttempts  - Maximum attempts we give user to mistype password 
                      (OPTIONAL, default - 8).
 RedirectURI        - URI (not URL!) to redirect attacker then he runs out 
                      attempts limit ((OPTIONAL, default - /). 
                      For example: /you_are_blocked.html

DESCRIPTION

Apache::AuthChecker - mod_perl based authentication module used to prevent brute force attacks via HTTP authorization. It remembers IP addresses of any user trying to authenticate for certain period of time. If user from this IP runs out limit of failed attempts to authenticate - all his authentication requests will be redirected to some URI (like this: /you_are_blocked.html).

PREREQUISITES

 1. Apache 1.3.x with mod_perl 1.2x enabled 
 2. IPC::Shareable perl module version 0.60 by BSUGARS. Probably it
    should work with other versions, but I did not test.

AUTHOR

Andre Yelistratov E-mail: andre@sundale.net ICQ: 9138065