Accokeek Computers

The Road To CISSP, Part II

2009-11-03T06:24:33-08:00

Just passed the 3 week mark and no exam results. OK, "Officially" ISC2 says 6 weeks. But all the books say "4 days to 2 weeks". I scoured the internet and found that most receive their results within 2 weeks, or sooner. Of course, I made the fatal error of following the suggestion of another blogger who sent an email to the ISC2 register's office and promptly got his results. I got an email back that said my "exam had not been graded as yet and to wait 6 weeks before notifying" ISC2.

It's such torture to wait this long. My career plans and future training rest on the outcome of this exam. More than that, it will be a major shot in the arm if I pass (or it cold bring on some sever depression if I fail... ha ha).

So the wait continues. Words of encouragement are invited.

Regards
John Crawford

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The Road To CISSP

2009-10-18T10:29:36-07:00

About four months ago, I embarked on a mission to become a CISSP. The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is a daunting task for anyone, regardless of their background. While conventional thinking says this certification is achieved easier by technical people, the CISSP is a management certification. After being a Microsoft (and Unix/Solaris at one time) Systems Administrator for the past 11 years, I felt it was time to un-box those management skills I had learned and honed in the Army.

I've had several CISSP mentors over the years, most have moved on to greener pastures. One particular mentor would always tell me that everything is relative to how you think about a given circumstance or situation. My workday, for example, is chock-full of stressful issues as I deal one-on-one with end-users. When combined with the lack of direction, and the lack of policies and standards, a simple fix can turn into a nightmare. The mentor would ask why I was stressing about it. And I didn't get it, I couldn't make the connection, I was all about saving and fixing everything. The funny thing was, my boss wasn't stressing about any of it, so why should I? My stress was all in how I was thinking about the situation. A really nice benefit of going through the ~~bootcamp~~ Seminar is how they change ones way of thinking, at least for us technicians.

The training and exam are just the first step. I haven't even received my exam results, that usually takes a few weeks. Nonetheless, I am planning my next steps in transitioning from a technician to a manager, from the nuts and bolts of windows and PC's to information assurance and information management. My real barrier will be the thought process.

I developed a study plan to learn the ten domains, allocating one week for each. I scheduled to attend the ~~bootcamp~~ Seminar, and scheduled the exam. Scheduling the exam is probably the most important item in getting the brain into the learning mode. If you've attended an IT bootcamp, you know this is true. The psychology is something akin to a buffer overflow, or rather avoiding a buffer overflow.

My main source of reading was CISSP ALL-In-One Certification Guide by Shon Harris. Some current CISSP's and candidates find her book a bit too flamboyant with it's real life stories and her humor. I found it refreshing and inviting to the way I think.

Eighteen months ago when I finished my MCSE, the MCSE bootcamp was held at the same location as the CISSP ~~bootcamp~~ Seminar, co-located with the (ISC)² office in Vienna, VA. (ISC)² is the governing organization for the CISSP and several other Information Systems Security certification. It was then that I first decided to someday be a CISSP. At their recommendation, I purchased the "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK". That was OK as a reference, but it reads like an encyclopedia, it's not for us folks with ADHD.

So earlier this year, I purchased CISSP ALL-In-One Certification Guide and CISSP For Dummies. These are good for getting the brain going in the thought process. Each also come with a CD and their own test engine.

During the last four months I carried the Shon Harris book with me when I wasn't at home studying. Allot of people noticed and asked questions. One particular gentlemen who happened to be a CISSP, recommended that I get The CISSP Prep Guide by Krutz and Vines. So I did. I found it to be a nice compliment to my studies with its unique view and a new pool of practice questions.

(ISC)² uses their own specialized curriculum during the seminar that accelerates the learning process I purchased the evening and Saturday review sessions from TrainingCamp which provided much needed practice questions and 16 additional hours of training. It's well worth the money for sure.

Regards
John Crawford

CISSP and (ISC)² registered certification marks of (ISC)², Inc.

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Many Computer Users Skip Routine Maintenance - HotHardware

2009-06-30T19:18:40-07:00

The article sites some of the crazy things that can and do crawl inside a computer, and take nest. In my personal experience, I was asked to look at a computer that wouldn't boot, then would shut off. What I found was bugs and roaches living inside. I actually had to spray the computer with RAID, then seal it in garbage bags (so I could leave it outside for a few days). I took these pictures after I did most of the cleaning. But as you can see there is "bug" remnants, even rust and corrosion from something spilled inside the computer.

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Many Computer Users Skip Routine Maintenance - HotHardware

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John Crawford

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Windows 7: Are You Ready?

2009-06-27T15:19:58-07:00

Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 will be available October 22. Let us hope with two short betas that Microsoft has worked out the kinks, and overcome the issues that has plagued Vista users. Here's an article that talks about 10 gee-wiz-wow-bang features found in Windows 7. Windows 7 Illustrated: 10 Cool Desktop Features

Here's is another good article on Windows 7. This one outlines how you can determine if Windows 7 will run on your existing computer, it's very straight forward. Will my computer run Windows 7?

Last, here is an article that compares Windows 7 and XP. If you were part of the majority of us that just didn't see the WOW of Vista, and refused to switch, read this article. It's not one of those Microsoft pie-in-the-sky commercials. This is a common sense approach that explains what advantages you will get with Windows 7. Benefits of Windows 7 over Windows XP

Pre-order Windows 7 Now

Regards
John Crawford

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Warning - Presto Tune-up is a Rogue Anti-Spyware Application

2009-06-22T12:31:02-07:00

Warning - Presto Tune-up is a Rogue Anti-Spyware Application. It will try to make you believe you have been infected. See link for article and screenshots.

Presto TuneUp | Freetosupport.com

What is Hard Refresh? How is it different from Refresh?

2009-06-22T12:31:59-07:00

What is Hard Refresh? How is it different from Refresh?

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Active Directory Password Expiry Reminder Email

2009-06-22T12:35:39-07:00

This handy little script could prove invaluable to many organizations by saving dozens of man-hours each month with account lockouts and regular password resets.

Active Directory Password Expiry Reminder Email

WARNING: Fake Twitter Invites Carry Malicious Worm

2009-06-21T18:13:39-07:00

WARNING: Fake Twitter Invites Carry Malicious Worm

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Response to "Why Enterprises Shouldn't Limit Web Traffic"

2009-06-21T14:57:58-07:00

I don't really agree with the writer on this. I think it sounds good in theory, to transfer the problem to the "education" of the user. But that's assuming that all computer users know and understand all the things that can cause problems on a network. There's a few flaws in their reasoning.

First and foremost, most end-users are just that, users. They really don't know or care to know all the dangers of being on the internet. That's what they pay people like me to do, that is, to implement and enforce measures to allow businesses to include government agencies to go about their daily business. It's all about the bottom line. To a business, profit is the driving force. And they pay specialized people to make sure their enterprise is safe. I can tell you that to allow uninhibited use of the internet with no filtering would be disastrous. Hello!! Go back just a few years when the concept of computer and network security was non-existent. Users could go anywhere, download and install anything. They had root access to their boxes. It was pandemonium. It's much easier to stop a threat at a firewall, proxy server, or gateway, then to have it spread to thousands of workstations, servers, and other hosts in an enterprise. The author obviously lacks any formal computer or network security education, such as CISSP or even Security+.

The second reason is that employees are getting paid to do a job, not surf the web. That is unless it is their job or part of their job. Without rules or restrictions, employees will see it as a free ride, and an excuse not to get their work done. The author called this idea a "red herring". What???? Can someone explain that one?

The third reason goes into the legal and ethical issue. Do you want to allow users on a corporate network to gamble? To go to porn or sexually oriented sites? Hacking sites (and I don't mean ethical hacking)? To use their internet connection at work for any and all imaginable personal uses? Imagine how the taxpayers would react if users were permitted to do all that on government assets?

The author says "Employees are spending more time trying to find ways around the firewalls than working. If they had access to the sites they wanted to see, they'd go there and get back to work sooner." I got news for this gentleman, you do that where I work and they will toss you out on your ear. We all know the government and military enterprises are tightly locked down. Any attempt to circumvent security measures is considered malicious and or seditious behavior, and you will be shown the door and maybe criminal charges. You better hope you can get used to that irritating beep at McDonalds when the fries are done, because at that point you need a new career. In fact, many corporate networks are even tighter than government, sometimes they have NO internet access, just intranet. And their tolerenace is limited.

Lastly, the author has no concept of security, of any kind. He does not understand the role of the IT staff. Here's a quote:

"Companies don't need to limit the amount of access employees have to the Web -- they need to learn how to more effectively deal with the threats."

What the author is either forgetting (by now I thing he just doesn't know) that in many cases, the ONLY way to prevent a threat is to NOT GO THERE. That might be hard to swallow, but it's true.

"And that's the biggest issue with the enterprise blocking Websites. It might make sense at first glance, but if we take a rational look at things, it's actually clear that it's quite the opposite -- firewalls cause more headaches."

I will openly admit that making life easier for us IT people is NOT the first consideration of any implementation. Sometimes it's not a consideration at all. Sometimes it is a delightful benefit when it does make life easier. In any case, security is integrated into everything we do. It may be a headache, but it's our job. Those headaches are the challenges that drive us to be better, and to make our respective enterprise better.

The bottom-line is encouraging though. Companies nor government will ever relinquish that much control of their network resources to the employees. Even the recent U.S. Army decision to allow it's users access to social web sites, is not a major thing like is proposed in this article.

Shon Harris would have a field day with the author.

Why Enterprises Shouldn't Limit Web Traffic

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Original Source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Why-Enterprises-Shouldnt-Limit-Web-Traffic-376995/

Regards
John Crawford

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Windows 7 Features on a Vista or XP System

2009-06-21T14:21:44-07:00

Some of this stuff is OK, but some I wouldn't touch. Media streaming is kool, if you're into that. ISO Burning is a great utility if you do not have third party software for your CD/DVD burner. I rarely use Windows Paint, but if it's your thing, go for it. The new Calculator looks very kool, and could have a wide range of uses.

I don't like the interface for the new Windows Search, but to each their own. I also found the the new Search was using up far too many system resources for my liking. Not to mention it takes up room on the task bar. I just found it to be worthless.

The Windows XP mode will be a great option for those of us that just will not or cannot afford to upgrade or buy software made for Windows 7. As for Internet Explorer 8, don't bother. The older your system is, the SLOWER IE8 will be. I had it for a few weeks, and it royally sucks. I use Firefox exclusively. I only use IE if it's a link in Outlook or a desktop shortcut. I suppose if you have a newer (or very new) system with lots of system resources, then IE8 may be a good upgrade.

Windows 7 Features on a Vista or XP System

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http://digg.com/d1uRJz

Original source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/166935/windows_7_features_on_a_vista_or_xp_system.html

Regards
John Crawford

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Researcher demonstrates SSL attack

2009-02-22T12:34:15-08:00

A security researcher has demonstrated a way to hijack Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) sessions to intercept login data.This is very disturbing. Our dependence on secure computing to access our banks, pay our bills, and shop online just became very insecure. While I know next to nothing about hacking, I know this is a very bad thing. When you take into account the free and open availability of these hacking tools, it won't take a professional hacker to steal your information.

Moxie Marlinspike, who spoke at the Black Hat security conference on Wednesday, explained how to subvert an SSL session by performing a man-in-the-middle attack. The anarchist researcher explained in...

read more | digg story

Life of a Geek [PIC]

2008-11-21T14:48:39-08:00

This is self-explanatory.

read more | digg story

AMD Sneak Peeks Phenom II, Overclocks To 5+GHz

2008-11-21T14:34:58-08:00

We’ve been spending some quality time with the folks at AMD today in sunny Austin, TX today. The team here has been giving us a run-down on their upcoming Phenom II processor along with the enthusiast platform they’re calling “Dragon”. In short, the Dragon platform is a combination of an AMD Phenom II X4 processor, Radeon 4800 Graphics cards...

read more | digg story

Will IE6 screw Microsoft?

2008-11-21T14:14:00-08:00

There's an interesting thought: Lots of browser market share is still stuck in IE6, according to this article about 8%. Total IE6 share is 24%. What if Mozilla can pick that up over time and Microsoft can't? Is it just me or does this look like IE6 (well, and a bad IE8) could screw Microsoft???

read more | digg story

Samsung Starts Mass Production of 256GB SSDs

2008-11-21T14:09:43-08:00

Samsung Electronics has started mass production of 256G-byte solid-state drives, which could make their way into laptops in a few months, the company announced Thursday.

read more | digg story

And You Thought Your IT Department Was Bad [PIC]

2008-11-20T14:06:30-08:00

Words just don't do it justice. But I think my wife and kids would say it looks like something they've seen in our house.

read more | digg story

How To Secure a Linksys WRT54G Router

2008-11-16T17:05:14-08:00

Many Windows XP users have home networks which utilize a router which allows several computers to share the same Internet connection. It is important to know that perimeter security is just as important as keeping your PC locked down. Doing so will prevent successful attacks from the outside world. This article covers how to secure a Linksys WRT54G Router.

How To Secure a Linksys WRT54G Router | digg story

Major source of Internet spam pulled off the Web

2008-11-16T16:22:53-08:00

There is a good chance that the spam volume hitting your email inbox could drop drastically. A web hosting firm was identified earlier in the week by the computer security community as a major host of organizations that were engaging in spam activity. The web hosting firm was pulled from the Web.

read more | digg story

Take this Linux: Windows Boot Sequence Visualized

2008-11-15T14:36:20-08:00

A response to the cool Linux boot sequence visualization.

read more | digg story

AVG update cripples some Windows XP systems - CNET News

2008-11-15T07:30:36-08:00

A false positive tags a Windows system file as malware, leaving some versions of Windows XP unable to reboot.

read more | digg story

Under the Hood, Windows 7 Is Vista's Twin

2008-11-12T15:33:43-08:00

Bottom line: So far, Windows 7 looks, behaves, and performs almost exactly like Windows Vista.

read more | digg story

IT administrator delivers networks to spammers

2008-11-04T17:07:04-08:00

An IT manager who logged onto to his former employer's computer network five months after being fired and opened the email server up to spammers has been sentenced to one year in prison.

read more | digg story

More on the Windows 7 UI: new taskbar will be mandatory

2008-10-30T20:07:53-07:00

While we haven't yet gotten our hands on a Windows 7 build with the new taskbar, we did talk to Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky about the various UI changes and what we can expect at release time.

read more | digg story

Understanding Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Functiona

2008-10-30T20:01:40-07:00

After you remove domain controllers that are running older versions of Windows Server or you upgrade them to Windows Server 2008, you can raise the domain or forest functional level. In this article, MVP Daniel Petri will explain the changes in Windows Server 2008 domain and forest level functions.

read more | digg story

MY MCITP Bootcamp Experience

2008-09-05T19:12:57-07:00

Last week I ventured to Dulles, VA to attend the Microsoft Certified IT Professional enterprise Administrator bootcamp. The bootcamp was hosted by Vigilar. I've attended bootcamps before, but this was my first with Vigilar.

It was only a short ride of 45 minutes or so to the Hampton Inn where we were housed. The hotel is located just across the parking lot from the Executive Conference and Training Center where the classroom was. The hotel was top notch, and provided a nice quiet and comfortable place to sleep, relax, and of course, study. And they have free internet access (wired and wireless), so that was a nice extra.

This bootcamp is an upgrade from MCSE 2003. It covers 3 exams, 70-620, 70-647, and 70-649. It is crammed into 5 days.

Monday morning at 8:30 we delved right into Windows Vista (70-620), after a few lectures, the instructor cut us loose to do labs, and study for the exam which was set for 4:00PM. Lunch came at about 11:30, and it was good. they get an "A" for the food.

We continued to cram into the afternoon. Just before 4:00 the test proctor (who was also the class manager) had us leave the room, remove all personal items, and he set-up the computers for testing. We came back into the room and tried to start the exam, but we were all booted out of the Prometric application. UGH!!! The class manager worked with Prometric for more then an hour, but to no avail.

We were released and tentatively set to take the test at 0800 the next morning. The class manager stayed through the night rebuilding the server and updating the workstations. We all arrived the next morning ready to test, but still a no-go. It was after 10:00 when Prometric finally fixed the issue, and we got to the exam.

As you know I cannot talk about the test, but it was not too difficult with the proper preparation. I passed, that's what matters. For passing this exam I was awarded the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Vista Configuration certification. One down, two to go.

After the exam, we had lunch (more good food), and dived head first into Windows Server 2008, the 70-647 portion. To be honest it gets blurry from this point, the pace is so fast. While the instructor is lecturing, you are working on the labs, and trying to do what he is talking about. It's brutal at some points, but it's only 5 days, so it's over before you really run out of breathe.

Tuesday and Wednesday, and most of Thursday are lectures and labs and studying the course ware. On Thursday evening 7PM, we took the 70-647 exam. All that cramming paid off, I did very well. Two down, one to go.

More studying for the 70-649 exam that night, and Friday morning, more practice on the labs. At Noon, I took the 70-649 exam, and I was done. I successfully completed the course, and subsequently awarded the Microsoft Certified IT Professional Enterprise Administrator certification.

Regards
John Crawford

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