Ed Smiley's Blog

• Online Video Lectures (Class, Lessons) on Computer Networking
  Slides and Videos for various Networking classes from RPI
  (tags: networking network video reference learning tcp/ip)

• EvilGrade Demo Video
  (tags: dns hacking security)

Just downloaded the WordPress app for the Iphone. Looks pretty nice and it allows you to post photos straight from the camera or phone library. Good stuff!

• TaoSecurity: Vulnerabilities in Perspective
  At the end of the day, those of us working in production networks have to make choices about how we prioritize our actions. Evidence-based decision-making is superior to reacting to the latest sensationalist news story. If our monitoring efforts demonstra
  (tags: security DNS Vulnerability securabit)

• Schneier on Security: Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
  Last week’s dramatic rescue of 15 hostages held by the guerrilla organization FARC was the result of months of intricate deception on the part of the Colombian government. At the center was a classic man-in-the-middle attack.
  (tags: security MITM phone)
• Unpatched Windows PCs own3d in less than four minutes | The Register
  The ISC maintains a survival time graph that gives an indication of how long a system might last on the internet before stumbling into the crosshairs of hackers, who routinely use automated tools to scan and commandeer vulnerable systems. Survival time, t
  (tags: microsoft security windows securabit)
• Iphone 2.0: Set Up Push Email, Contacts, and Calendar on Your iPhone for Free
  One of the coolest features available in the new iPhone 2.0 software update is the ability to get new email messages, contacts, and calendar events pushed to your device automatically. The catch: If you don’t want to shell out $100 for MobileMe and you do
  (tags: apple iphone server mail free)
• VMware Infrastructure 3.5 Security Hardening
  This paper provides recommendations for steps you can take to ensure that your VMware Infrastructure 3 environment is properly secured. It also explains in detail the security-related configuration options of the components of VMware Infrastructure 3 and
  (tags: security vmware)
• Adeona: A Free, Open Source System for Helping Track and Recover Lost and Stolen Laptops
  Adeona is the first Open Source system for tracking the location of your lost or stolen laptop that does not rely on a proprietary, central service. This means that you can install Adeona on your laptop and go � there’s no need to rely on a single third
  (tags: security laptops free monitoring)

So, after discussing with Lisa, I decided to get the new Iphone 3G. Her Nokia N75 has incredibly battery life, suffers from random mic malfunctions (but speakerphone works), and has already been replaced because the outside LCD failed.

So Chris, Jeff and I figured we would head to lunch at the lovely [sic] Nittany Mall. Twitter was an excellent resource for keeping up with what was going on locally. First, Dan said he heard there were 75 people outside the AT&T store downtown. Also, it was Arts Fest which is why we decided to avoid that area all together. Later, to my dismay, I found out that the last Iphones at the Mall were sold to a PSU colleague Chris (damn you! ).

We decided to call around to see if we could find out anything. We initially began calling in the morning and found that stores would ring 2 to 4 times and just hang up. Called the Apple Store in Pittsburgh. They said they had some but their was a huge line and it was like a mob scene. Figuring I was not getting an Iphone 3g on Friday, we went to lunch. After lunch, we decided to call around again. I called the store in Altoona, they had one back 16gb left. Too bad we needed three. Finally, Chris got a hold of the DuBois store (pronounced Du-Boyz, no I am not kidding) and they had many 8gb’s, but 2 black and 2 white 16gb Iphone 3Gs. The store is about an hour and 15 minutes away so we debating on going. The sales rep told Chris that they have not had anyone buy an Iphone in over 2 hours, so our chances were good. Off we went.

After parking at the wrong end of the DuBois Mall, we wound our way through the oddly maze-like mall and landed at the AT&T store to find that they sold one of the black 16gb’s but had 1 black and 2 white left. We roshambo’ed for them and I ended up with a black one. You think that is the happy ending, not even close!

Jeff went first with his activation. One line conversion, easy 5 minute process. They also started Chris’ activation (even though the rep wanted the commission for it and wanted to do each one of us 1 at a time). Chris had a similar setup I had, family plan and “handing down” his old (hehe, less than a year old) Iphone to his other line. This seemed to be a huge problem as they could not do this with the family plan and the new $30 Iphone data add on. The process they figured out (after about 2.5 hours of calling and waiting on the phone) was to make the plan an individual plan, activate the new Iphone, then go back to the family plan and credit back roll-over. Fine, just get it working I thought! Jeff has been waiting with an activated phone for over 2 hours.

In the end, they could not get the $20 old Iphone data plan to add to the handed-down Iphone on Chris’ account. On my account they could not get the new $30 Iphone added to mine line but was able to get the $20 added to Lisa’s line. So they had to fill out at ‘IT’ ticket. The rep told me to call back the next day and check on it. So we walked out with 1 complete working setup (lucky Jeff) and ours not working. Well, if you combine ours then we would have 1 working setup.

My big worry was getting data billed by the KB, but was assured I would be cleared of any of that if it exisited on my account. So I called AT&T on Saturday. The rep seemed fairly knowledgeable and after about 30 minutes on hold he said he was able to get the Iphone 3G data plan added. Great! He said the problem was that the check box was not clicked that I agreed to the terms and conditions. So I was feeling rather confident that was was finished. However, I started to feel worse when the rep launched into a story about not being able to install his printer because he did not put in the driver software CD!

So a few hours later I check my account to see if everything looked copacetic, and did not see that 3G data plan. Curious, I looked at Lisa’s line and sure enough, he removed her $20 Iphone data plan and added a $35 Iphone 3G plan with 1500 SMS. WTF! I went backwards from having 1 correct and 1 incorrect setup to having 2 incorrect setups.

Today, I call AT&T yet again. Found out the IT trouble tickets take 7 to 10 days to resolve. So I am sure at the end of the month I will have a $1000 bill from using a few gigs of data. However, was able to get Lisa’s $20 Iphone Data plan back. So after a ~4 hour process in store and over an hour on the phone, still have issues. Oh well, at least I have the new phone, right??

Interesting enough that the store manager was in a conference call with AT&T about the launch and he said AT&T told managers that this years launch was much better than last years. Somehow I have my doubts…

• solve dns, get on stage with dan! (terminal23)
  If I were an ISP, I would do this against my own DNS and then watch the wire to see exactly what tests Dan is probing my server with. Some further reading by Joe Stewart on DNS cache poisoning and Dan J. Bernstein on various DNS challenges. And yet mor
  (tags: security dns poisoning)
• Auto lock your Mac when you walk away – /sys/admin/blog
  We geeks all have some sort of bluetooth device on us like your Blackberry or your new iPhone (which I just got and LOVE) so why not take advantage of one of these as a beacon to your computer. With a small application you can set your computer to detect
  (tags: iphone proximity bluetooth)

• Justice Breyer Is Among Victims in Data Breach Caused by File Sharing – washingtonpost.com
  ometime late last year, an employee of a McLean investment firm decided to trade some music, or maybe a movie, with like-minded users of the online file-sharing network LimeWire while using a company computer. In doing so, he inadvertently opened the priv
  (tags: breach security p2p securabit)

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Some pictures of the sunset on June 30th, 2008 at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin Florida.

Found an interesting article on DarkReading this past week. Ponemon Institute and Dell Computer did a study on business travelers and found some interesting things:

1. 12,000 laptops per week are lost at US Airports
2. Between 65 and 70 percent of lost laptops are never reclaimed and disposed of
3. 42 percent of respondents say they do not back up their data

All I have to say is WOW. Losing 12,000 laptops per week is one thing, but 8,000 laptops never being reclaimed is preposterous. Have laptops become disposable? Where is the line where your time is worth more than your laptop, or your data? Read the full report here.