Diary of a Network Geek

They’ve been waiting for me.
I can tell that the folks at my company have been waiting for a guy like me to show up. Today, I had three different persona PCs from three different employees in my cube. Mind, I mean three machines that they brought from home to have me look at for them, not machines from the office. Mostly, they just needed to be defragged and have their anti-virus files updated, but, c’mon, three? Obviously, these people have just been waiting for a “real” computer person to show up so that they can get me to do basic maintenance for them. Actually, come to think of it, I need to update my anti-virus signatures myself!
But, that doesn’t mean I have any less work that’s work related, either. Just this morning I was setting up a PC for yet another person from New Orleans. Which is a good thing, I guess, when you consider some of the alternatives. Of course, it would have been nice if they hadn’t promised that same cube to two different people without telling anyone. I was about to try and move his e-mail from the Windows 2000 machine he had in the office to his G4 Powerbook, but then we decided to take a “wait-and-see” stance instead. With all the miscommunication flying back and forth, we thought that was better. The chaos from Katrina has everyone sort of “runnin’ and gunnin'”, if you take my meaning, and that makes things extra challenging sometimes.
So, with all this craziness going on at the office, I find myself asking, “Should I be doing all this for people?” I mean, it’s not really my job, but the folks asking me to do this for them are the top-level managers. Should I be telling them “no”? I’d really rather not do that, since everyone seems to like me and the work I do for them. Granted, I’m not sure that most of them have any idea what I actually do on a day-to-day basis, but still, they seem pleased, so I’d rather not rock the boat.
Oh, and in recent updates, I did finally manage to get the satellite phone working, but now, since it took so long, we’re trying to return one. Not sure if we can do that at this point, but we’re trying. And, I’ve been messing around with all kinds of Windows 2000, NT and XP issues on the network. Getting all the folks from both offices working has been a bit of a challenge. In fact, if not for the DMZ port on my firewall, I’m not sure I could have had the two domains working together, since they’re named the same. I’m sure that would have caused problems if they’d seen each other on the network.
And, I really should be looking more closely at the version of Linux I want to run on that mythical server that I should be getting spec on. I’m leaning toward either Red Hat or SuSE, possibly even SuSE with all the Novell Open Enterprise Server stuff on it. I have to admit, if I were to get good install media, that could be really cool. All the stability and flexibility of Linux with the way cool administration tools from Novell. Those tools are, after all, what they’re known for developing. It’s the best “value added” product for Linux that I’ve seen so far.
Well, I guess I have some time before we’re really ready to do all that, so, while I wait, I’ll probably just read Sams Teach Yourself UNIX System Administration in 24 Hours, so that my skills are sharp when the time comes. But, now, I’m tired, so I think I’ll just go to bed.

In 60 Minutes!
Yeah, I know that sounds a little crazy, but, according to this PDF from the NSA, it can be done. No joke. The National Security Agency doe NOT joke about computer security. Trust me, I would not lie to you about something like that. (Not that I know from personal experience, and that’s the story I’m sticking to!)
In fact, these folks have a bunch of security guides that are freely available on the ‘net. I’m sure the idea here is that computer security is important to Homeland Security which is the biggest buzzword since “synergy”. Whatver the reason, when the NSA offers me security guides for free, I just thank my new governmental overlords and welcome them to my network!

Well, it’s clever, I’ll give them that!
Spammimic is a web-based application for doing some really low-level e-mail encryption. In fact, they even tell you right off that they use old, weak encryption. So, why am I mentioning them on my website? Simple. It’s a clever idea. In their explanation of what Spammimic does and how it works, they tell us that, basically, the idea behind hiding e-mail in spam is that spam has become so ubiquitous that it’s virtually invisible. So, in essence, they’re hiding in plain sight. The perfect social engineering hack on an enourmas scale. Very clever, I think, though I wouldn’t want to use it on anything concerning national security, if you catch my drift.
This site has been around for quite some time, actually, but I somehow neglected to write about
them. Well, I have now. Go have fun!

The only thing I hate worse than spammers are stupid spammers.
Does anyone test their code besides me anymore? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve gotten what are obvious spam e-mails filled with variables that were never correctly processed. It’s ridiculous!
On another note, I would like to take a moment to send the blog comment spammers the following message:
Yes, I like my site design, too. I’m glad it helped you with your homework, but I can’t imagine what you’d be studying that anything I’ve written could possibly have helped you with. I will keep posting similar information, not because you like it, but because, well, it’s part of what I do for hobbies. I’m glad you liked it so much you’ll tell all your friends, but, if you don’t mind, let’s not include the spammers. And, while I’m very happy that you find my site “a refreshing change” from the majority of sites you have visited, not to mention how excited you are by the “potential of the internet as a resource” and, presumably, my site in particular, I’m almost sorry that I have restored your enthusiasm. I mean, as a spammer, I don’t think I want you to be enthusiastic. But, you are welcome and I’m glad you think my “efforts to share insights” will “help the world become a better place.”

Sometime, I’ll have to take the same time to thank all the nice folks who send me unsolicited e-mail, too. Though, I have to admit, I’m not sure how I feel about them offering me discounts on breast augmentation…

I never trust Microsoft.
According to this news story, brought to us by BoingBoing, Microsoft has not only purchased a spyware company but defaulted their AntiSpyware program to Ignore said spyware. Can you guess who they used to be? Gator, the most notorious and prolific of the bottom-feeding spyware companies. (Actually, the company is Claria but they’re known for their spyware product, Gator.)
Now you know why I didn’t bother to install this.

Address unknown!
Not only is that a great Elvis tune, but also the new plan that Microsoft is trying to force down our throats. At least, according to this article on CNet News.com. And, when I say “force”, I do mean force. According to the article, not only is Microsoft’s Sender ID a not fully adopted “standard”, but it’s also not quite ready for prime time. Seems that there are some issues with it and that’s one of the reason it hasn’t been adopted as readily as Redmond would like. Also, according to the article “Sometime around November, Hotmail and MSN will flag as potential spam those messages that do not have the tag to verify the sender”. So, it’s not catastrophic, but it has the potential for trouble. I mean, do we really need Microsoft, the company most notoriously bad at security in the entire computer software industry, setting an e-mail security standard? I don’t think so.
Well, let’s hope this one withers on the vine. But, if it doesn’t, be sure to check those “spam” e-mails before deleting them. Some may be ones you want to keep!

Oh, how I could have used this at other jobs…
Okay, now, I haven’t been writing about it, but I’ve been wrestling with worms. No, not earth worms, or heart worms or even tape worms. Windows Worms. Well, I guess they’re actually “e-mail worms”, but I’ve never heard of one that occurs on any other operating system other than Windows. Unless, of course, you count the infamous Internet, or Morris, Worm. In any case, since most of my workstations are Windows-based, I have worms. Not as many as I did, but it’s still something that keeps me awake at night.
So, imagine my joy when I finally found the Symantec Security Response Worm Removal Tool page.
Go forth and infect no more.

Just a random collection of thoughts.
Earlier this week, Frank Gorshin, the original “Riddler” died. He was always my favorite character. So wild, so creative, and always the mad genius who seemed one step ahead of the Batman. Yet, somehow, the writers always managed to make him trip up in the end. Never did figure that part out. And, interestingly enough, the Batman cartoon, which is the only reason I wake up before noon on Saturdays, featured a new villian today. You guessed it, the Riddler. He was good, but, he was no Frank Gorshin.

Thanks to a faithful reader, BleuCube, I took a quiz this morning. (My apologies, incidentally, for not spelling your site’s name correctly all this time! My very English oriented mind simply “corrected” the exotic French spelling on the fly.)

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. Cultural Creative 94% Idealist 75% Romanticist 56% Postmodernist 56% Existentialist 50% Fundamentalist 38% Materialist 31% Modernist 6%

What is Your World View? (corrected…again)
created with QuizFarm.com

And, finally, in security geek news, there’s a new version of nmap. The new version is not only faster, but uses a less invasive technique for scanning networks that leaves no trace. In other words, for you WinDoze admins who leave IIS out on the network, exposed, this bad boy can do a port scan on your network and you wouldn’t know it by reading the logs. Oh, but good news for you, there is a WinDoze version, so you can test your own network and try to plug the holes. If you can manage it between applying patchs, fixes and anti-virus updates. I’m so glad we’ll be moving to Linux soon at my office!

Well, it’s time to go play with my dog. It’s a nice sunny day here in Houston, and the grass seed I planted is starting to grow, so I’m off to water, feed the fish, and play some fetch with Hilda. Maybe I can finally get her to drop the ball when she brings it back…

Well, I survived the daytrip to New Orleans.
Barely. Not that the flight was bad, because my boss is actually an excellent pilot and the weather was good. In fact, it was better than most commercial flights I’ve taken, except for the fact that I felt like I couldn’t take a nap. I learned a long time ago to work hard while I was on-site and sleep on the plane.
No, the problem was the “little” problem I thought I was going to fix. See, what I thought was a little problem with some spam e-mail turned into virus hell. Of course, I prepared for that and I brought a copy of our Symantec Corporate Anti-Virus to install. No problem, right? Wrong. When I installed it an old version of Norton Anti-Virus was still installed and the resulting conflict led to the dreaded Blue Screen of Death on the server. Not good. So, I finally get that worked out and discover that the machines are all in a workgroup. None of them sign into the Domain on the server. That meant going from machine to machine and installing the anti-virus program by hand on each one, which, of course, I did. All day long, until about 6:00pm when a break in the weather sent us scooting home.
We got in about 8:30pm, which got me to my door at about 9:15pm, or so to find a puppy with her little legs crossed! I sent a friend who has a key, in case of emergencies, over to let her out, but she was afraid of him and wouldn’t do anything. Silly dog. Just like always, she’s daddy’s girl and wouldn’t do anything for anyone but him. Gotta’ admire that loyalty, even if it’s a little co-dependant.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"There's more than one way to do it"
   --Unofficial PERL Coder's Motto

Actually, I think it’s a prop plane, but, you get the idea.
Well, the boss told me we’re off to the New Orleans office tomorrow to work out some of their computer issues. Mainly, it seems like they need to get their anti-virus software automatic update more, er, automated. And, of course, they need to get all their machines cleaned of spyware. And, while I’m there, I’ll do a bit of inventory. Since they seem to have a Windows 2000 server, I have a script that claims it will gather all the information on all the machines in the domain. We’ll see. If it works, I’ll post about that tomorrow.
So, it’s off to bed with me, since it’s an early morning tomorrow flying with the boss. Oh, didn’t I mention? The boss has his own plane. I’ll be flying in a single-engine prop plane and my boss is the pilot.
Pray for me.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
   --Buddha