Random Rattle of a Geek

Cyberstorm forcast

2005-10-26T20:03:00.000-04:00

Well it seems the cyber security exercise planned for DHS (Department of Homeland Security) will be postponed. This exercise was announced around July of this year as a means for the government to address their concerns for a wide spread cyber attack. This cybersecurity preparedness and response exercise has been pushed back thanks to Katrina, it's now scheduled for Feb 2006 since DHS is busy responding to real world problems at the moment.

Ok now it's time for me to give my 2 cents ........

Katrina showed problems in FEMA, finger pointing and other issues (local and federal), so I guess it's going to take a cyber-hurricane to cause an eye to be turned to our cyber security also. I mean come on, do you really think you shouldn't be tested because you are too busy? Does that mean if you pass the test (when it finally happens) you'll be ready to handle any cyber attack that may present itself as long as there aren't other "real world" crisis going on?

Sounds to me like it's time to dust off that resume, write your public apology speech for why the government wasn't ready for a cyber attack, and pick your least favorite person so you are sure to point your finger in the right direction....... you know, just in case one happens before you get a break from the "real world" and get around to testing your security.

btw I got my info from www.computerworld.com and Cnet News so don't blame me if the facts are wrong, I only take blame for my twisted opinion.

Mac Tip

2005-10-24T22:09:00.000-04:00

Here is a tip on how to take screen captures using Mac OS X. Hope you have nimble fingers, there are lots of key combinations on these things.

Shift-Command-3 will take a screen shot of the entire desktop
Shift-Command-4 will give you crosshairs so you can choose the region you want in your screen capture
Shift-Command-4 (once you see the crosshairs press your space bar) will let you take a screen shot of a window or even icons (with no background)

The above screen captures will save the image file to your desktop, but if you want to save it to the clipboard instead just add the Control key to your combination. So Shift-Control-Command-3 will take a screen shot of the entire desktop but put it on your clipboard for you to paste in your preferred application.

Have fun.

New Browser Emerging

2005-10-21T17:04:00.000-04:00

There is a new browser emerging and it's courtesy of regular people like you and me, well except they can program a browser. Flock is the name and it uses Web 2.0

It allows you to post to your blog (as I'm doing this post), share your favorites with others and see other users favorites to find your new favorite site. This is a beta version so there are bugs but it is very promising. It uses the Firefox engine.

Have fun.

Windows Tip

2005-10-21T16:46:00.000-04:00

Yes that Windows key is there for more than to annoy you by opening the start menu when you accidentally hit it.

Windows: Display the Start menu
Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F: Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R: Display Run dialog box
Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L: Lock the workstation
Windows + U: Open Utility Manager
Windows + Q: Quick switching of users (available with Powertoys only)
Windows + Q: Hold Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll through the different users

There you have it, there was a purpose in it afterall.

Patches fix things right?

2005-10-16T10:32:00.000-04:00

Well not if you are Microsoft. Ok that's wasnt' fair, but it was funny none the less. Anyway, the "critical" patch released by microsoft may cause problems for you if you have changed the default permissions of your Windows directory, it may 1. Lock you out of your computer 2. Keep the firewall from running or even 3. Disable certain application from running or being installed.

But hey, at least you won't get a worm ;)

The CNet story is here

Go to jail, go directly to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect $200

2005-10-16T10:17:00.000-04:00

Ok ok maybe that's a bit severe, but some genius has a bright idea and I can't help but to make fun of it. Howard Schmidt believes developers should be held accountable for the security of their code. Ok at first glance your reaction is probably something like "yeah, they write it, so they should make sure it's secured". But let's look at this, Developer A (yes his parents named him A) writes a program tests it and makes sure it's working correctly. Then he sells this program to some big shot company who sells it to you. Now, withought Developer A coming to your house and inspecting your computer and network, he would have no idea if you are 1. using this software behind a firewall (maybe as he intended), 2. Not already infected with a virus or worm of some sort 3. Using the software as it was meant to be used. So how can you blame Developer A if the software gets hacked because someone was hammering your computer looking for a way in because your dsl firewall didn't stop him since it's firmware hasn't been updated since the box was released.

Also one more thing, what are security guys for? Hmmmm maybe we should all just be developers that are security experts also, then we could roast marshmellows during our abundance of spare time and sing camp songs until the sun comes up.

One more thing, so if this passes, does that mean I can sue my car manufacturer if my vehicle is broken in to? I mean why not, they made the thing, they should have made it more secure. Or what about sue the construction crew that built my house because the windows were breakable and I got robbed? Yeah you see where I'm going. In a world where no one is responsible for their actions we sure do like to blame others for our own stupidity.

Afterall, if developers are held legally accountable for security flaws in their code who would be left to work at Redmond? (yeah I know, that was low, but I couldn't resist) Ok enough of the rambling (at least the page title warned you). Talk to you again soon.

Mac Tip

2005-10-16T10:07:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the lack of tips lately, I've just been swamped at work and haven't had much time for anything else. I will try to do better, I promise. Anyway, here is a tip for you Mac users for this week. It's one of those "this is cool" kinda things so it's not very productive.

Ever want to make your desktop background move? Or ever like a screensaver so much you wanted to see it even when you weren't away from your computer? Well obviously someone at Apple has, and now you can do it with this week's tip. Simply type in:

/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/
ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine - background

Note: The above command is one continuous line, I had to break it up since Blogger didn't automatically fit to the table.

and whatever screensaver you have set becomes your background. I put mine to the RSS screensaver but later changed it since I noticed I was looking at the background more than I was looking at my work.

Well, hope you enjoy this little piece of fun ........ see you next time.

Linspire for Free!!!

2005-09-02T12:02:00.000-04:00

Yep, you heard right, the $49.95 operating system called Linspire can be downloaded for FREE until Sept 6, 2005. In order to get it for free, you have to add the item to your cart, click on the apply coupon button and (this was the hard part for me to find) the coupon code is "freespire".

There ya go, now have fun.

Unix Tip

2005-09-01T12:47:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder how you can remove the ^M symbol from the end of lines when you transferred a file to a Unix/Linux machine? Well you are in luck. Just vi the file in question and type the following and press the key:

:1,$s/{Ctrl+V}{Ctrl+M}//

This will remove those annoying MS-DOS carriage-returns and make your file all Unixy (no that isn't a word).

Just in case you are wondering the : lets you run Ex commands, the (1,$) says to do it to the first through last lines, (s) is for substitute, and the rest is what you want to substitue with (/) seperating each value, so (/this/that/) will substitute "this" with "that". In this case we are substituting it with nothing, so getting rid of it all together.

Well have fun guys and gals. Also if you have any Unix, Windows, Linux or Mac OS X tips email them to me at jssims at gmail dot com (sorry for spelling it out, but gotta twart the spammers somehow). I'll review your submission and try to use it sometime.

Mac Tip

2005-08-22T15:41:00.000-04:00

Ok so you like Spotlight, well here is a command that will let you search for files with a word in the name, in the file contents or in the metadata of a file.

The man page for mdfind states:

The mdfind command consults the central metadata store and returns a list of files that match the given metadata query. The query can be a string or a query expression.

So for example you can issue the simple query of:

mdfind geek

and it will return all files that contain the word geek in one way or another. There is no need to stop there, you can also use the -onlyin argument to only search in a particular directory, and you can even use -live to update the number of files containing your query string (though it doesn't show you what the new files are, for that you have to reissue the query). So in review you can issue the command:

mdfind -live -onlyin /Users/username string

to list all files in the directory tree /Users/username that contain "string" and keep the command running to add to your total results if a file should happen to change. To exit this command you can type Ctrl-C and the command will terminate.

Ok go have fun and see what your spouse has been up to on your computer ;)

Unix Tip #2

2005-08-12T16:40:00.000-04:00

Ever want to set the permissions on all files in a certain directory to one set of permissions and the directories themselves to a different set of permissions? Yeah I know, that script was supposed to work and not mess up your file permissions, we've all been there. Well try this next time:

chmod 664 `find * -type f -print0` - to set the file permissions
chmod 664 `find * -type d -print0` - to set the directory permissions

There, good as new again. For now anyway.

Mac on your every day PC

2005-08-12T08:56:00.000-04:00

You knew it would happen when Apple announced their intentions to use Intel processors for newer MAC systems (I just didn't know it would happen so soon). Select attendees of the ADC (Apple Developers Conference) were given Mac systems with Intel processors running Mac OS X for testing and development efforts. These systems are beta systems only and were set to only be usable for a preestablished time period. However, due to some smart folks and curious minds it's now possible to download a hacked version of OS X and install it on your PC. The operating system is called OSX86 and aparently can be found on some Bittorrent clients for download. Though it isn't tested on all platforms there are images around the net which show the OS running on a standard PC without VMware or any emulation software. No, I haven't downloaded a copy and tried it yet, but I thought you might be interested in this news anyway.

The site OSX86 is a site dedicated with discussing issues of running OS X on standard PCs. This is undoubtedly where the hacked OS got it's name, but I don't think they are involved in this effort. They state pretty clearly in their FAQ section that OS X for Intel "is distributed with developer Intel Macs only and cannot be bought separately or legally downloaded."

Anyway, thought you might want to know.

Mac Desktop Manager

2005-08-09T09:09:00.000-04:00

If you (like me) are coming from Linux to use Mac OS X but you miss having multiple desktops to work with, well who woulda thunk it but here is one for Mac OS X Desktop Manager. Ok this may be old news to some of you, but for us new converts it's good news no matter how old it is.

Unix Tip

2005-08-08T19:56:00.000-04:00

du -h /var/*|sort -nr +2|more

List the disk usage for all files in /var/ and sort by the first field in
descending order

Give it a try, I tested this using Mac OS X but it should work with any unix flavor though your du options may be a bit different.

Direction this is headed

2005-08-03T20:14:00.000-04:00

Ok, I have been thinking for a while now as to what I can do to make this blog not only a way for me to discuss things of interest to me, but to make it useful to others too. Well ..... drum roll please ..... I decided to give a weekly tip. The tip will be of Windows, Unix or Mac OS X. I will post tips on Fridays but this week you get a bonus tip today. I may come up with other ideas to make this more useful for others too. But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the tips.

Tip #1 Mac OS X
Did you know you could make your Mac OS X computer into an external DVD drive using a firewire cable? Well you may have known it, but I didn't. You can visit this web page for all the details, but basically you connect a 6pin to 6pin firewire cable to both systems and boot the laptop (or system with a dvd drive) while holding the T key. This will boot the system to "Target Disk Mode" and you will now have access to the DVD drive. I found this very useful when installing my iMac with the new Tiger (10.4) OS since it didn't have it's own DVD drive. You can get a list of other boot keys for Mac OS X here. Enjoy!

Mighty Mouse

2005-08-02T16:56:00.000-04:00

Here I come to save the day ........ nah just kidding. Actaully Apple is releasing a new mouse. Yep, you guessed it, it's called Mighty Mouse. You can take a look at the Mighty Mouse by clicking here. So no more of the ctrl-click of the single button mouse that has accompanied Macs for years. The new mouse doesn't use buttons in the standard sense but uses pressure points to detect when the user is clicking. The most innovative part of the mouse is the 360 degree scroll bar to replace the scroll wheel.

Who knew the mouse could get better ....

Google comquers the Earth itself!

2005-08-01T20:20:00.000-04:00

Ok maybe this isnt' that new, but it's new to me. http://earth.google.com allows users to download an application to view not only maps, but imagery of the world as well. Select place has DTED (elevation) data to show you the contours of the surface. Check out the Grand Canyon when you get it downloaded. There are also 3D models of Las Vegas and New York city so you can visit there without ever leaving the comfort of your desk.

Google offers a free version of this software, or if you desire more features and have deeper pockets than us common folks you can purchase the plus, pro or even enterprise versions as well. It gives you directions from one location to another and will even fly the route for you. You can even create your own route to fly if you so desire. The possibilities are endless with the world at your fingertips.

It's definitely worth checking out if you have some spare time.

Possible 10th Planet

2005-08-01T20:13:00.000-04:00

Yeah yeah I know, this isn't technical news ...... but interesting none the less. It's possible there could be a 10th planet in our solar system. The news was released this weekend. I have read conflicting stories as to what prompted the press release since the person who discovered said planet did so in 2003. One story says the report was released once it was discovered a savvy web user could find information on it and claim the discover as their own (link). The other story says a hacker had hacked the computer storing the information and was threatening to expose it to the public (link). Believe what you want, it's still pretty interesting .... well to me anyway.

Enter the Tiger

2005-05-15T18:48:00.000-04:00

As I'm sure many of you have heard Mac OS X has a facelift and it's called Tiger. I recently picked up my copy of Tiger and actually and posting from it right now. I have to admit, I'm impressed. From the fun and convience of the Dashboard Widgets to the ease of finding files with Spotlight If you don't like the widgets available in Dashboard you can write your own. You can also use Automater to to take care of tedious tasks you consistently find yourself doing. Hey who among us hasn't wanted our very own robot?

In short, I'd recommend anyone check it out, it has something for all of us (the geeky and non-geeky alike). I'd say 10.4 is a well thought out operating system that will surely keep me hooked.

Gates gets Knighted

2005-03-03T22:55:00.000-05:00

No need to pinch yourself, you aren't sleeping, Bill Gates gets knighthood by the Queen herself. I'll let you take a look .

Scary isn't it?

Solaris another choice .....

2004-11-19T18:34:00.000-05:00

I guess most of you know (and if you don't, you will now) Sun released Solaris 10. It's a significant upgrade from their past OSes and aparently has many security enhancements. It's available for multiple platforms, yes your PC is one of them (x86). But the best part is .......... you ready? .........IT'S FREE!!!

That's right, it's free. Free as a bird, free as ..... well Solaris. (you can download it here)

I haven't had much time to play with it yet, I just got it installed last night (which was an easy event). I will start playing with it this weekend a little and post my opinions in more detail then.

By the way, there is an article from The Register talking about Sun staring down Red Hat. Read and enjoy.

Is there no "safe" OS anymore?!?

2004-11-08T14:15:00.000-05:00

Nope.

While Mac OS users have used their operating systems with little concern to the "outside world" they now have a concern. Mac OS users lived in their bubble long enough (yes I use Mac OS X also). Opener is a rootkit of sorts or so it seems. This malware will gather the passwords on your system, change a few commands and creates an invisible folder called .info and opens file sharing. Basically it opens your system. Take a look if you want more info.

By the way, welcome to reality Mac users :)

Google comes to your desktop

2004-10-14T13:53:00.000-04:00

With the addition of gmail, Google definitely picked up some steam in their strides to address the needs of the common user. Now they are on your desktop too. Google just announced desktop.google.com that allows you to search your aim chats, MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint & text files on your desktop.

So no longer so you have to use the Microsoft built-in search, you can use Google. I have to admit I abandoned other web search engines long ago when I discovered Google. Now it seems I finally get to abandon Microsoft's search as well.

Ahhhhhh the feeling of liberation!

New Position for Cyber Security

2004-10-14T13:36:00.000-04:00

Tom Ridge informed the white house there was going to be a new position of Assistant Secretary which would be responsible for cyber and telecommunications security. The story can be read here.

I don't know how you feel, but the white house lost the last head of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division (Amit Yoran) for not taking security seriously and basically making it impossible for him to do his job. Now they make a higher profile position for his replacement. I can't help but to wonder if this is because they are now ready to take cyber security seriously, or they hope with his new position and pay increase he just won't care if he is ignored.

As it did with the airport security, it will take a significant event to happen and jar the government into taking action in an area where the threat has always existed. It's sad to say it, but hey let's face it, until it happens to us ...... it only happens to other people.

10 "new" Security Flaws for Windows

2004-10-13T19:55:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you all have been flooded lately of news of vulnerabilities in this program or that, especially if you are a MS Windows user. Just yesterday (Oct 12) Microsoft announced 10 new vulnerabilities. One of these announcements was for the Windows Shell that would allow an attacker hosting a website (designed to exploit this vulnerability) to take control of the users computer with all the rights the user has. So if he has administrative privileges, you give him (or her, let's be politically correct on this) complete control of your system.

Oddly enough Windows XP with SP2 isn't listed as one of the affected systems. Sounds like MS has done some things right with SP2. I for one (who we all know I am not a fan of MS) have been quite impressed with the ease of installation of SP2 and the changes that were made. I know some people have had a few hardships, but that is to be expected from a patch as large as SP2. However if you look at the vulnerability reports, it seems to have done what it promised (at least for now anyway).

I'm sure with time our friendly hackers will know the ins and outs of SP2 and it will once again reign supreme on the vulnerabilities list, but for now I'll enjoy XP w/ SP2 missing from the "Affected Systems" list.

Howard to make the move to Sirius

2004-10-13T19:45:00.000-04:00

Howard Stern announced a few days ago he was making the move to Sirius satellite radio at the end of his contract (approximately 18 months). Were this anyone else I don't think it would be news worthy but let's face it, love him or hate him, Howard IS radio.

So what will radio become without Howard? Will it remain the same as it is today or grow in new ways? No one can say, but one thing can definitely be said, satellite radio will never be the same again. Even if only the dedicated Howard fan moves to satellite radio that is still going to be a huge growth to their current numbers. Howard reaches millions each morning and those are only in the markets he is allowed in. Imagine being able to get him anywhere, the numbers are potentially insane.

Well I for one am keeping my eye on Sirius and planning to make the move just before Howard does. What about you?

Let's get this started

2004-10-01T12:55:00.000-04:00

Well I haven't yet decided what exactly I want to use this blog for, so for now it will probably be floating from topic to topic. I am a man of many interests some of which include computer games (Dark Age of Camelot to be exact), Unix, Linux, Networking, Security (Network and Host Security) so I'm sure we will keep a technical edge here.

I look forward to spending time here and hopefully giving you some useful information as well as learn some useful information from you. Take care, I will do some checking and make my first real post soon.