Speaking of which, is anyone going to implement traceroute for UNIX which using icmp echo requests, instead of (semi-)random udp packets, as the ammo? This is one way which I think Microsoft out did the old UNIX implementations.
They're not semi (or quasi) random udp packets. They're sequential packets. Secondly, current router vendors' decisions to prioritize ICMP echo request as dung-level packets means that traceroute's UDP packets actually get through at times when pings don't. Third, I'd be happy to implement it... but I'm not sure this would be a win. I can see the loss (see paragraph 2), but WHAT is the big win??? E p.s. The original question was based on Vadim's rhetorical query as to router vendors. Learn to differentiate between WISHFUL THINKING and routing reality. When router vendors pledge to not drop, and properly route lsrr icmp echo request/reply that code will be online within 24 hours.
The combination of the above and the below would give us the usefulness we want and the security we want. (I don't think the below would work with Van Jacobsen's traceroute 1.2)
On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, Vadim Antonov wrote:
On itself, LSRR is a godsend to hackers (i can think of about a dozen of very nasty attacks using general LSRR). The only useful application for it is traceroute.
Why don't router vendors provide an option to turn it off for everything but ICMP ECHO?
--vadim