Diary of a Network Geek

Hey, I upgraded to the latest version of WordPress, so if anything looks a little funky, it should correct itself shortly.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
   --George Elliot

Is it even possible?

Well, frankly, I don’t know that there really is such a thing as computer security at all any more in these days of ubiquitous network access. I mean, it used to be that you could install a simple anti-virus program and sit behind a firewall and be fairly safe, but not any more. Now, with botnets and phishing scams and junk e-mail, well, frankly, you just can’t get away from it any more. In fact, now, the “hackers” are becoming so dumbed down that they’re using Do-It-Yourself “kits” that build some of the attacks for them! Just the other day, I read an article on ZDNet about something floating around the shadowier corners of the Internet that the nasties are calling a “DIY Phishing Kit“. So, now, it’s not bad enough that these scum-sucking bottom-feeders are out there trying to rip me off from the safety of their own home, or country, but now they’re making it even easier for no-talent, mouth-breathing, inbred miscreants to scam people out of their hard-earned cash! (Of course, long-time readers will know that I’ve made things harder for at least one phisher.) Man, that pisses me off!

There are so many people out there both creating these hazards to our digital lives and fighting them, that someone has suggested a uniform naming convention for all the security vendors to use when they refer to this “malware“. That’s all well and good, but all I really care about is keeping my systems secure. And, I’m sure you all worry about that, too. The problem is, in this tight economy, not many of us have much money to fight against these invisible baddies, not even me. Don’t let the advertising fool you, what I take in from the ads on this site aren’t even enough to pay for it, much less anything else. So, what’s a poor computer geek to do? Use free software, naturally.

PC Magazine has an article reviewing their “Top Five” picks for free security software. Personally, I can recommend AVG and Spybot Search and Destroy, even though they say Spybot is out of date. Also, I’ll add in Lavasoft’s AdAware, which is also free and quite good. I generally use both Spybot and AdAware to get rid of spyware. What one misses, the other catches. And, AVG has been around for quite a long time. They’re amazingly good, especially for free software.
Naturally, there are no guaranties when you use free software, but, then again, most of the paid software has outs in their EULA (end user license agreement), too, so why pay all that money? Keep in mind, these are free for personal use only. So, home businesses should technically use the paid software. We’ve all got to do our part to fight against these dirty spammers, scammers and thieves. The best place to start is a clean system. If you don’t have an antivirus program installed, get one. Fast.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
You don't have to be a genius to succeed. You just have to be the cleverest monkey in the cage.

No, I’m not extra tired this week.

Long-time readers of this blog may recall that I occasionally obsess about things like alternative energy, in particular solar energy.  In fact, if I could afford the entry price for adding solar power to my house, even as an emergency backup system, I’d be on it like white on rice.  Seriously.
So, when I saw this article from ExtremeTech about one fellow geek’s experience going solar, I was thrilled and had to share it.  I don’t know how I missed the first article a month ago, where he announced that he was going to do this, but, well, this is the one that is really interesting anyway.

If you read the article, you’ll see that solar is far from a perfect solution, and we have yet to see how well it works for him in the winter months, but it’s still the best thing going, I think.  I mean, once you get through the initial install and take that first hit for the equipment, it seems like it would pay for itself very quickly, to me.  Especially in the Southern and Western states where we get more Sun and more uninterrupted Sun.  Also, in recent years solar panels have really improved their efficiency making it easier to generate more power with fewer panels, which, obviously, can make a huge difference.

So, I may be a ways off from doing something like this myself, unless I find a generous benefactor of some kind (haha!), but when I see good, even-handed articles like this, I’ll bring them to your attention.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"There is no pit so deep that Jesus is not deeper still."
   --Corrie Ten Boom

Okay, not quite the whole city…

Have you been reading about this network administrator in San Francisco who was keeping key passwords secret and holding the city’s fiber network hostage? Yeah, well, he gave them up to the mayor today. And, you know what? I bet there are a lot more companies in this situation than realize it.  Okay, maybe they don’t have to worry about being taken hostage by a disgruntled employee, but they may have someone who holds key information for their network that no one else has.  And, of course, if something happened to them, well, that company would be in a bad spot.

I, for one, always try to plan for being gone. You know, in case I were trapped under a rock, hit by a bus, or, oh, I don’t know, died of cancer.   And, I’m not the only one.  So, if you want to protect your business, plan for your network administrator to fall through a figurative manhole.
Don’t let what happened in San Francisco happen to you and your business!

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Happiness is a direction, not a place."
   --Sydney J. Harris

Brian Rothenberg of Wilco Computer Products is my new hero.

So, I’ve been having this issue at work with a FAX machine and a phone network. We’ve been wrestling with this for about six weeks. The problem, in a nutshell, is that the FAX machine we have is not playing well with the phone network since we joined our two PRIs together with some network equipment to “steal” unused bandwidth from the phone network for the data network. Mostly, it worked great. Mostly.
The problem is our FAX machine hasn’t been properly negotiating the connection speed with some older FAX machines since we added the VOIP component to our data/phone network. The result? I get yelled at on a regular basis because I can’t make a miracle happen.

My service provider told me that the solution is to make the default receive baud rate 14,400 instead of 33,600. That’s great, but I searched for days to find instructions for how to do it to no avail. I even got the people who supplied the FAX machine to us out to try and figure it out, but they came up empty.
Enter Brian. Brian Rothenberg called me looking to sell me computer equipment or printer supplies or, yes, FAX supplies. But, it turns out, he sells the devices, too. What mattered more to me, though, was that he took the time to go hunt down the super-secret service hot-line phone number for the manufacturer of the FAX machine that was giving me issues. Then, he called them and got the procedure on how to make the change and e-mailed it to me. Problem solved.
The next time I need a printer serviced, I’m calling Brian.

So, you know what? If you need someone in the Greater Houston Area that sells office equipment and supplies and goes the proverbial extra mile? Go to http://www.wilcocomputerproducts.com/ and ask for Brian. Tell him I sent you.
Thanks, Brian.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Man is the only kind of varmint that sets his own trap, baits it, and steps in it."
   --John Steinbeck

No, not really.

So, there’s obviously been quite a furor about this new law here in Texas that apparently requires anyone doing any kind of computer forensic work to get a Private Investigator’s License. Now, one of my favorite computer security bloggers, Security Monkey (aka The Chief) of A Day in the Life of an Information Security Investigator, has a blog entry about this. His sources in Texas have a different, more relaxed, take on this law. They seem to think that it’s only going to effect professionals doing investigative work for a third party. I think they’re wrong.
As at least one other commenter on A Day in the Life of a Computer Security Investigator pointed out, no matter what the lawyers think and say, only a judge sitting on a case can really interpret the law. And, only after that precedent is set can anyone say what the law covers and doesn’t.
Based on the Slashdot story about someone getting charged with a felony for using a fake name to sign up to MySpace, it seems like this is going to be an important step in the process. I mean, until that all important precedent is set, there’s no telling how people will try to use this new law.

As I wrote here the other day about this far-reaching law, I think it’s just another example of the sad state of our legal system. Laws like this have effects that are much, much further reaching than the bill’s author intended, and it’s ripe for abuse by our overly litigious society.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Between saying and doing many a pair of shoes is worn out."
   --Italian Proverb

On this day in 1776, more than 230 years ago, our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence.

It is a national holiday here in the States, in case that wasn’t clear to my non-US readers. I think, though, that a lot of people here have forgotten just why the day is so important. Oh, sure, it’s nice to have a day off. In fact, I’m enjoying it now, having gotten up late and not planning an overly taxing day. But, the Fourth of July, Independence Day, is about a lot more than hot dogs, BBQ, fireworks, parades, and apple pie.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
(You can read more at Wikipedia.)

These words, these ideas, are the basis of all the rest of our government. Oh, to be sure, these principals have not always been applied well or without bias, but the are what underlie all our political striving in this country. We are far from perfect, and certainly there are things wrong with our government, but it is still, I think, the best, most free, form of government we have. It’s something our forefathers fought and died to create for us. It’s something that many have fought and died for since then. I think it’s important to remember that. There was a time in our history, which only spans a little over 230 years, that Americans fought and died for their freedom, our freedom.

I think we all need to consider that as things like the Patriot Act and the pseudo-security invoked with claims of protecting us from terrorism. I’ve heard all the arguments, too, how people with nothing to hide have nothing to fear, how we must do anything within our power, no matter how heinous, to prevent further acts of terror. I’ve seen my fellow Americans dehumanize detainees in Guantanamo Bay based on their religion of choice or the region of their birth. Gentle readers, there is no excuse, no justification, for the erosion of our civil liberties. There is no argument strong enough to convince me that erasing hundreds of years of good work, sacrifice, and service that so many have given so that I can do something as simple as write a blog, take pictures of public spaces, or attend the religious institution of my choice. That, my friends, is what our founding fathers were securing for us on this day in 1776, these freedoms that we so take for granted.

So, enjoy your hot dogs, have a slice of apple pie, watch that parade and admire those amazing fireworks. But, let’s not forget that today is more than the Fourth of July, remember that today is Independence Day.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else."

How much money do you have saved in case of emergency?

No, I’m not asking you to tell me in the comments. But, it is a good question to be asking yourself. For instance, it would have been nice to have a fund to draw on for all those unexpected medical bills last year. It’s hard to stay out of debt when the doctors keep charging me to maintain my good health! Seriously, though, one of my goals in the next year or two is to get at least two paychecks worth of income set aside in case of emergency. Initially, I thought I’d keep it all in a single account, but after reading Use a Freedom Account to Prepare for the Unexpected on the Get Rich Slowly blog, maybe I’ll set up more than one “emergency fund”. Sure, it’ll take longer, but I’ll probably feel safer.
At any rate, the article itself is sure worth a read and gives you something to think about!

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities; an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties."
   --Reginald B. Mansell

I got this in a regular e-mail newsletter.

A recent study conducted by Harvard University found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year.
Another study by the American Medical Association found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.
This means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.

This thought brought to you by McGonigel’s Mucky Duck newsletter.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing."
   --Kingsley Amis

More specifically, five questions to ask a date.

It’s funny, I suppose, for me to think about these things so much just now, as I’ve really decided it’s easier, better, for me not to date for a while. But, I suppose it’s natural that as soon as I try to force such things from my thoughts, that’s all that bubbles up.

Well, for those of you navigating those treacherous waters of long term relations, perhaps these five questions will provide you waypoints by which you may find your way.
Good luck.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"As human beings, we all want to be happy and free from misery. We have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger and attachment, fear and suspicion, while love and compassion, a sense of universal responsibility, are the sources of peace and happiness."
   --Dalai Lama