"I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code." - Blogging RockStar
Archive for the ‘Reference’ Category
IT Security 101 Resources
August 4th, 2007 by Blogging Rock Star
Below are many books, websites and other resources that will help you get started in Information Technology security:
Recommended Reading
- CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide by Shon Harris
- TCP/IP Illustrated by Richard Stevens
- Building Internet Firewalls by Elizabeth Zwicky
- Securing Windows NT/2000 Servers for the Internet by Stefan Norberg
- Hardening Windows Systems by Roberta Bragg
Recommended Tools
- WireShark – Examine packets (use with “TCP/IP Illustrated”, above)
- Superscan - Powerful TCP port scanner, pinger, resolver.
- Nessus and/or Nmap – Vulnerability scanners
Additional Tools
- Sysinternals – Variety of utilities
- PGP – Encryption, documentation is highly recommended, basically a primer on encryption.
Regulations and Standards
Vulnerability Lists
Local Chapter Organizations
Training Organizations
While the above list is by no means comprehensive, it should serve to give you some idea of the sorts of things involved with Information Technology Security.
Constructive comments, suggestions and additions are always welcome.
Posted in Internet Security + Reference + Tips & Tricks | 
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Make Your Own Google Cell
July 12th, 2007 by Sean
Google’s mobile offerings have grown significantly in the past year in the form of both Java-based clients and mobile versions of pages.
Most of the apps or mobile sites are Google-built (like Gmail Mobile and Google Maps Mobile), with the exception of a couple of applications from Shozu that let you post to your Blogger account and upload pics to your Picasa Web Album.
If you’re a Google nut on your desktop, why not take advantage of the same apps on the go?
An excellent place to start your online mobile adventures. You can select which modules you’d like in your mobile homepage based on your desktop homepage at google.com/ig/cp
2. Google Maps (and local search) Java client:
A Java client that shows map or satellite view of most of the world using Google Maps. Includes local search, driving directions and for select cities even traffic info. Confirmed to work in US, UK, Europe, and Australia – but it should work for any location that Google Maps supports.
The Google mobile calendar site will let you view your Google calendars in agenda mode. It lets you select which calendars you want to include as well as specific event details and adding new events but lacks the ability to modify or delete events.
Picasa has a mobile version that lets you view your albums. To upload images, Shozu provide an excellent free Java applet that’s available for most Java enabled phones.
5. Gmail mobile:
What’s a smart phone without email? The Java client is excellent – very fast and supports most Gmail functions. The web interface is good but lacks the bells, whistles and speed of the Java client. The POP3 settings lose all your Gmail features (like tags, stars) but work natively with your phone’s email program.
6. Google Reader mobile (RSS Feed Reader):
An optimized mobile UI for Google Reader. You have to set up your feeds in the desktop version but then you can read and filter (by star, tag or feed).
Shows Google News formatted for your phone. Lets you customize which news sections are visible, then you can expand or collapse whole sections at a time.
Newly updated, provides comprehensive mobile search that remembers your location to provide intelligent results for local businesses, movies and weather.
So there you go, eight Google applications for turning your current mobile phone into a “Google Phone”. Enjoy.
Posted in Google + Reference + Wireless | No Comments »
What is a Content Management System?
August 11th, 2006 by Sean
A content management system is a computer software system for organizing and facilitating collaborative creation of documents and other content.
A content management system is sometimes a web application used for managing websites and web content, though in many cases, content management systems require special client software for editing and constructing articles.
They can also be used for storage and single sourcing of documentation for a firm including but not limited to operators’ manuals, technical manuals, sales guides, etc. The market for content management systems remains fragmented, with many open-source and proprietary solutions available.
The term was originally used for website publishing and management systems. Early content management systems were developed internally at organizations which were doing a lot of content publishing.
In 1995, CNET spun out its internal development offerings into a separate company called Vignette, which opened up the market for commercial systems.
As the market evolved, the scope of content management systems broadened, and the term is now used to refer to a range of technologies and techniques, including portal systems, wiki systems, and web-based groupware.
Posted in Content Management + Reference | No Comments »
Useful Links: Search Engine Optimization
August 10th, 2006 by Sean
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a bit of a tricky topic. Good site design and content is the best SEO method there is. That said, there are many sources offering advice on SEO. Some of these SEO sites sell services, others just talk about the issues.
Wikipedia SEO article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEO
SEO Today, described as a community of search engine optimization professionals:
www.seotoday.com
Google’s view on SEO services:
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291
A good site on various SEO topics which includes an extensive collection of user tools related to SEO:
www.seochat.com
Checks Keywords against competition:
www.webuildpages.com/cool-seo-tool/
Tells you the address of backlinks:
www.webuildpages.com/neat-o
Checks when pages are cached:
www.webuildpages.com/cache/cachetoolpublic.pl
Table of all inbound links:
www.marketleap.com/publinkpop
Great tool to find out how high in the rankings for MSN, Google and Yahoo:
www.prsearch.biz
Sandbox Checker and other tools:
www.seomoz.org/tools
Silktide Site Tester:
www.silktide.com
Free Google Sitemap Generator:
www.freesitemapgenerator.com
About Google Sitemaps:
www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/about.html
Google’s List of Sitemap tools:
http://code.google.com/sm_thirdparty.html
SEO Consultants Directory:
www.seoconsultants.com
Please note a listing above does not endorse a site in any way, it merely provides you the opportunity to check out the site and decide for yourself.
Posted in Reference + SEO | No Comments »
Safeguard Your Passwords
August 4th, 2006 by Sean
Today’s hack post… how to create hack-proof passwords so you can feel safe about your computer.
Tips to create hack-proof passwords:
1. Never, ever use whole words. If the word exists in the dictionary, it can be easily hacked.
2. Combine special symbols with numbers and upper and lowercase characters. Examples: n$iK@07 or 8*neB#kc.
3. Make sure your passwords are at least six to eight characters.
You’ve followed my tips, and now you have a hack-proof password. The problem is that your cryptic passwords are hard to remember. Seriously, are you really going to remember “n$iK@07″? I’m not. You need somewhere to store your passwords.
Password management:
If you’re like me, you have a dozen or so passwords for various websites, applications, networks, and so on. Now that you’ve changed each password using my tips, you need someplace to store them. Safely.
I recommend and use the following: Password Safe. This is an open-source project, a database that encrypts each individual password.
The Pros: Since it’s an open-source project, anyone can look at the source code of the application (there are no hidden backdoors), based on strong Blowfish encryption, auto-generates strong passwords, free.
The Cons: Interface needs work
Posted in Internet Security + Reference | No Comments »
