CSS Drop Shadows II: Fuzzy Shadows: A List Apart
Drop shadows are always a good puzzle for a webdesigner to solve. I have seen many techniques from simple to 'pain in the @ss' complex. Here is an article about a technique or two somewhere in between.
CSS Drop Shadows II: Fuzzy Shadows: A List Apart
CSS Drop Shadows II: Fuzzy Shadows: A List Apart
Overcaffeinated
I need to bookmark this site because I like the color scheme. No, I will not steal it for my own, I will just borrow the hex color codes for a few months.
Overcaffeinated
Overcaffeinated
Satisfying IT customers may be a bad idea
One of the most intriguing points made in this article (Satisfying IT customers may be a bad idea) is the difference between clients and customers.
A customer is looking to make a single purchase, like buying a camcorder at a local electronics store. A client is more like an ongoing partnership, and the experience of the relationship is more important than the quality of the product. I would be cautious about misinterpreting that the quality doesn't matter, it absolutely does. But I think that in a client relationship there is a certain trust that the deliverer is the expert.
The value of a client relationship is based on the two parties knowing different things and trusting each other's advice. If you want to turn customers into clients, don't just tell the client what they want to hear. You have to have confidence enough in your convictions to know when you are the expert and you know more about what they really want than they do.
As the saying goes, you don't know what you don't know.
A customer is looking to make a single purchase, like buying a camcorder at a local electronics store. A client is more like an ongoing partnership, and the experience of the relationship is more important than the quality of the product. I would be cautious about misinterpreting that the quality doesn't matter, it absolutely does. But I think that in a client relationship there is a certain trust that the deliverer is the expert.
The value of a client relationship is based on the two parties knowing different things and trusting each other's advice. If you want to turn customers into clients, don't just tell the client what they want to hear. You have to have confidence enough in your convictions to know when you are the expert and you know more about what they really want than they do.
As the saying goes, you don't know what you don't know.
Virtual Server 2005 Administrator's Guide
Running VPCs are not just for lab environments anymore. Although there are some unique considerations to running production machines this way, it is an idea worth keeping an eye on.
Virtual Server 2005 Administrator's Guide
Virtual Server 2005 Administrator's Guide
Linspire releases free LiveCD of "Five-0"
Linspire (formally known as Lindows) is one of my favorite distros. Though many of the more 'hardcore' linux types see fault with it, I think Linspire has done a great job with their distribution. Consider these points:
They have enhanced the desktop product with many features other Distros don't have. Let them explain it to you, I won't post the list here.
Linspire is the most successful of any distro I have tried in running an all the hardware I own. Mepis linux is the only other distro that has done this for me, it's likely it will work as well for you.
They charge for "click 'n run" - But they have not disabled Apt-get so if you don't want to pay for CnR you don't have to. BTW, there is nothing wrong with charging money for something.
Linspire has done as much or more than anyone to battle the 'borg' and their monopoly on desktop operating systems. For that matter Michael Robertson, founder of both Linspire and mp3.com, has made great contributions toward the worthy battle for better distribution and availability of digital media.
Download the torrent for Linspire 5.0 here. Give it a try!
They have enhanced the desktop product with many features other Distros don't have. Let them explain it to you, I won't post the list here.
Linspire is the most successful of any distro I have tried in running an all the hardware I own. Mepis linux is the only other distro that has done this for me, it's likely it will work as well for you.
They charge for "click 'n run" - But they have not disabled Apt-get so if you don't want to pay for CnR you don't have to. BTW, there is nothing wrong with charging money for something.
Linspire has done as much or more than anyone to battle the 'borg' and their monopoly on desktop operating systems. For that matter Michael Robertson, founder of both Linspire and mp3.com, has made great contributions toward the worthy battle for better distribution and availability of digital media.
Download the torrent for Linspire 5.0 here. Give it a try!
DNA Key to Decrypting Evidence
In this context, DNA stands for "Distributed Network Attack" which is a product from AccessData that can be used to create a distributed password cracking network.
This article (DNA Key to Decoding Human Factor (washingtonpost.com) ) brings up a good point. In looking to forensic evidence on a machine, parsing the emails, chat sessions, and any other documents for word lists often yields passwords. No matter how hard we try, we usually do not choose random values, we choose familiar values, even if subconciously.
This article (DNA Key to Decoding Human Factor (washingtonpost.com) ) brings up a good point. In looking to forensic evidence on a machine, parsing the emails, chat sessions, and any other documents for word lists often yields passwords. No matter how hard we try, we usually do not choose random values, we choose familiar values, even if subconciously.
Reading Email Headers
Reading email headers is an imprtant part of trobleshooting email probems.Most of the time, the source of spam and other attacks is spoofed. But the headers can still tell you something about the path the message took.
Reading Email Headers
Reading Email Headers
Know your Enemy: Tracking Botnets
Most of the information out there about botnets and using IRC as an attack tool is underground. You have to endure hiding out in a chatroom and getting in good with a crowd that is willing to share some inside info. Its not a bad exercise if you think about it, but few of us in the whitehat group really have the time for it.
The Honeynet Project is stepping up to help us out. They have realeased a terrific paper entitled "Know your Enemy: Tracking Botnets and its a good 30 minute read, longer if you want to study the code examples.
The Honeynet Project is stepping up to help us out. They have realeased a terrific paper entitled "Know your Enemy: Tracking Botnets and its a good 30 minute read, longer if you want to study the code examples.
Think the "keyboard" on a cellphone is useless?
Why not weight yourself down with a contraption that projects a keyboard onto a flat surface such as these fine products:
There is a 'cool factor' to this. And as an Instructor I can think of many things I can do with a cell phone projector. I guess I have to admit to having a little bit bitterness due to what I call "mobile immobility". I have so many batteries to charge, wires to connect, and adapters to not lose, that the whole concept of portable computing seems like a bit of a farce.
There is a 'cool factor' to this. And as an Instructor I can think of many things I can do with a cell phone projector. I guess I have to admit to having a little bit bitterness due to what I call "mobile immobility". I have so many batteries to charge, wires to connect, and adapters to not lose, that the whole concept of portable computing seems like a bit of a farce.
I am not giving away any free iPods.
I am trying to figure out what is more and more a website design commandment: "Thou shalt deprive users of much welcomed whitespace by cramming Google Adsense into it" or "One shalt promise free iPods and every home page."
If I could afford an iPod.....I am still not sure I would by one. I think portable multimedia devices are basically PDAs without productivity tools. I actually like being productive, like being able to read .pdf files when I am standing in line at the DMV. And my Dell Axim plays MP3s just fine.
If I could afford an iPod.....I am still not sure I would by one. I think portable multimedia devices are basically PDAs without productivity tools. I actually like being productive, like being able to read .pdf files when I am standing in line at the DMV. And my Dell Axim plays MP3s just fine.
Cool flash toy - Animate yourself drawing
Draw things, them watch an animation of those things being drawn. Its cool, trust me. art.com artPad
A new experiment
I finally had to give in and start using blogger instead of thingamablog. I think the later is a great application and I recommend it. The trouble is that it is not connvenient if you find yourself at several different computers throughout the day.
Hopefully I will stick with this one and start the posts happening with more regularity. One thing I no longer have are catagories. Whatever I blog goes into the same pile of posts. As a refresher, the topics I cover will mostly be Information Security, but web design is an old hobby, and I am also mroe skilled as a Project Manager than as an Admin or Programmer anyway, so that topic will work its way in there too.
Since blogger supports comments, I may throw in a post here and there of just some thought, making this blog a little more personal than just a collection of links and interesting resources. If I can make the time.
As for the old blog, I will occasionaly repost some of the better resources here. Call it rehash if you want, but classics are classics and if I get questions from students that remind of those postings I would rather bring them back to the top then make you dig down for them.
Thanks again for reading.
Hopefully I will stick with this one and start the posts happening with more regularity. One thing I no longer have are catagories. Whatever I blog goes into the same pile of posts. As a refresher, the topics I cover will mostly be Information Security, but web design is an old hobby, and I am also mroe skilled as a Project Manager than as an Admin or Programmer anyway, so that topic will work its way in there too.
Since blogger supports comments, I may throw in a post here and there of just some thought, making this blog a little more personal than just a collection of links and interesting resources. If I can make the time.
As for the old blog, I will occasionaly repost some of the better resources here. Call it rehash if you want, but classics are classics and if I get questions from students that remind of those postings I would rather bring them back to the top then make you dig down for them.
Thanks again for reading.
Ride along with a Verizon Wireless test man
Here is an interesting article about a testing procedure used by a wireless company to map thier coverage area. At the bottom of the page are some pictures of the equipment used in the drill.
I wish I had this setup so I could figure out why I get great reception out in the dessert yet I can't make a reliable call from my own front porch.
Ride along with a Verizon Wireless test man - MobileTracker
I wish I had this setup so I could figure out why I get great reception out in the dessert yet I can't make a reliable call from my own front porch.
Ride along with a Verizon Wireless test man - MobileTracker
SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator
Random content generators come in handy when you need to design a website or document management system. These tools are a lot more fun than banging on your keyboard for 3.5 hours too.
Even better, try to submit one at a conference (as they suggest) or to your boss and see find out if most of the paperwork you submit ever gets read at all. My theory is that about 91% of the data we generate in the workplace would never be noticed if it didn't exist. Blank paper would suffice in most cases. Anyway, try it out.
SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator
Even better, try to submit one at a conference (as they suggest) or to your boss and see find out if most of the paperwork you submit ever gets read at all. My theory is that about 91% of the data we generate in the workplace would never be noticed if it didn't exist. Blank paper would suffice in most cases. Anyway, try it out.
SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator
Web tool: Brilliant Button Maker
80x15 buttons have a certain charm to them. They are like mini ads. They are not as intrusive or annoying as the large ads we train ourselves to ignore. This web site (Brilliant Button Maker by LucaZappa.com) has a web-based tool for making these buttons easily. Its a very cool gadget for your website.
If your prefer to use imageless standards compliant antipixel buttons, here (www.jschreiber.com)is a strightforward article on how to do it.
If your prefer to use imageless standards compliant antipixel buttons, here (www.jschreiber.com)is a strightforward article on how to do it.
Student question: Change the name change the hash?
I was asked a good question yesterday. "If I change the name of a file in Linux, will the hash change?"
According to (Design and Implementation of the Second Extended Filesystem) the name of a file is stored in a directory along with its inode number. A directory is simply a file that is a list of contents, and an inode number is the way in which data on a disk is referenced.
When a file is called, the kernel looks in the directory for this name and gets the inode from there. Then the kernel can get to the data where it is stored. This would mean that changing the name of a file should not at all affect the file itself, because the name is not a part of the data.
This also helps explain the concept of hard links. If the location of a file is merely a mapping to an inode number listed in a directory, one path might be /home/ethyl/foo and another might be /home/fred/fuu but when the directories are consulted foo and fuu can point to the same inode number and it would be the same data on the disk. That is a hard link.
So changing the name of a file would change the hash of the directory in which it is stored, but not the file itself.
According to (Design and Implementation of the Second Extended Filesystem) the name of a file is stored in a directory along with its inode number. A directory is simply a file that is a list of contents, and an inode number is the way in which data on a disk is referenced.
When a file is called, the kernel looks in the directory for this name and gets the inode from there. Then the kernel can get to the data where it is stored. This would mean that changing the name of a file should not at all affect the file itself, because the name is not a part of the data.
This also helps explain the concept of hard links. If the location of a file is merely a mapping to an inode number listed in a directory, one path might be /home/ethyl/foo and another might be /home/fred/fuu but when the directories are consulted foo and fuu can point to the same inode number and it would be the same data on the disk. That is a hard link.
So changing the name of a file would change the hash of the directory in which it is stored, but not the file itself.
Book Recommend: Mind Wide Open
I am a sucker for books that describe how the brain works in a practical context. This is not a 'self help' type of psychology book, although I have no problem with those either since what 'self help' means is so difficult to really define.
Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life is a clearly written, thought provoking read that describes how the human brain interacts with the world it exists in. The points are made from a neuroscience perspective, lending scientific evidence for some of those things the rest of us are more familiar with as having "a gut feeling", or "I just know"
Really?
Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life is a clearly written, thought provoking read that describes how the human brain interacts with the world it exists in. The points are made from a neuroscience perspective, lending scientific evidence for some of those things the rest of us are more familiar with as having "a gut feeling", or "I just know"
Really?
Wireless Network Security For The Home
Securing a home wireless network boils down to this checklist:
The owners manual of any product will guide you through these things. Its a small hassle, but generally you only have to do it once, although for extra security, you may want to change your passwords and WEP key (if used) once a month.
Most importantly, just because you are behind a firewall does not mean you don't still have to secure your individual PCs. The entire phishing, spyware, and trojan horse 'industry' exists to overcome firewalls. Follow this checklist
Wait !! ........This is ridiculous. Computers are not supposed to be this much of a hassle right? Well, to be frank about it, they are. The best way to avoid computer security issues to not have a computer. Sad fact of the industry at this point to be sure.
For more information on securing a wireless network for the home, follow this article:
Wireless Network Security For The Home
- Change the default settings for passwords, SSID, and Internal subnet range
- Use encryption. Use WPA if supported, otherwise use WEP.
- Do not broadcast your SSID
- Use MAC filtering
The owners manual of any product will guide you through these things. Its a small hassle, but generally you only have to do it once, although for extra security, you may want to change your passwords and WEP key (if used) once a month.
Most importantly, just because you are behind a firewall does not mean you don't still have to secure your individual PCs. The entire phishing, spyware, and trojan horse 'industry' exists to overcome firewalls. Follow this checklist
- Use anti-virus
- Use anti-spyware (this is not the same as anti-virus)
- Update your OS and your applications for patches
Wait !! ........This is ridiculous. Computers are not supposed to be this much of a hassle right? Well, to be frank about it, they are. The best way to avoid computer security issues to not have a computer. Sad fact of the industry at this point to be sure.
For more information on securing a wireless network for the home, follow this article:
Wireless Network Security For The Home
Wired News: Surprises Lurk in Satellite Snaps
Using Google to spy on the world is an addicting activity. The maps service they offer has satallite imagery can turn up suprising results. In our predictable vouyeristic nature, many have given the term "people watching" a whole new spin.
Wired News: Surprises Lurk in Satellite Snaps
Wired News: Surprises Lurk in Satellite Snaps
What Works and What Doesn't in Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
I knew a list like this would come up sooner or later. Before trying that obscure version of some old OS in virutal PC, check out this site. Then try it anyway, in case you manage to make it work.
What Works and What Doesn't in Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
What Works and What Doesn't in Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
