For people who don't have a lot of room for a proper bench.
Via Lifehacker
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Wouxun KG-UV8D
BuyTwoWayRadios has a post about the Wouxun KG-UV8D:
"Billed as an upgrade version of the popular KG-UV6D, the new KG-UV8D will have some significant feature additions and improvements. One of the most exciting new features of this transceiver is duplex cross-band repeat operation, a standard feature on Wouxon's popular base/mobile radios (the KG-UV920P-A and KG-UV950P), but is a first on their handheld models. According to Wouxon, the KG-UV8D will also work in duplex, providing the ability to transmit on one band and receive on another simultaneously.
One feature that really stands out is the display. The KG-UV8D will sport a large, color LCD display that is more than double the size of its predecessor. The screen alone looks impressive, encompassing nearly half the front face of this handheld."They say it should arrive in mid April.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
The Internet of Everything
I love slideshows like this Business Insider presentation showing the state of the internet union.
I wasn't surprised by anything in particular as I've seen the trends at home (thermostats, locks, etc.) and at work. For example, we were installing a new manufacturing line and made our usual assumptions about how many network ports would be required. Unbeknownst to us, the engineers had bought new versions of devices (like scanners) that were all IP based. In the past, these devices would have been connected to the PLC. It more than doubled the number of Ethernet connections we saw on a line that size.
I wasn't surprised by anything in particular as I've seen the trends at home (thermostats, locks, etc.) and at work. For example, we were installing a new manufacturing line and made our usual assumptions about how many network ports would be required. Unbeknownst to us, the engineers had bought new versions of devices (like scanners) that were all IP based. In the past, these devices would have been connected to the PLC. It more than doubled the number of Ethernet connections we saw on a line that size.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Upgrade Cycle
Speaking of iPhones...
So my wife's car is almost 10 years old and my car is about 9. Does this mean we will need to start upgrading every two years?
So my wife's car is almost 10 years old and my car is about 9. Does this mean we will need to start upgrading every two years?
Cost of an iPhone
In the US, $707. In Brazil, about $1,200.
My company looked at doing business in Brazil. I learned about several complexities on the accounting side. I suspect these "complexities" explain the extra $500.
My company looked at doing business in Brazil. I learned about several complexities on the accounting side. I suspect these "complexities" explain the extra $500.
Life Expectancy and Healthcare Spending
jeffweiner Problem with U.S. health care costs summarized
in one chart via @conradhackett
lnkd.in/bE-nXKc
Sat, Mar 01 20:41:53 from LinkedIn
retweeted by msuster
Very interesting... I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but the US does not appear to be making a reasonable return on its investment in healthcare.
Sat, Mar 01 20:41:53 from LinkedIn
retweeted by msuster
Very interesting... I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but the US does not appear to be making a reasonable return on its investment in healthcare.
Puxing PX-UV973: Buddy's Tips And Hints For Eyes-Free Operation
bbrannan The first draft of the Puxing PX-UV973 Guide
For Eyes-Free Operation is available. bit.ly/1fSn8ZU
#hamradio
Note: The link is a direct download of the RTF file.
Note: The link is a direct download of the RTF file.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
A Technical Interview Tomorrow
So I was doing a little refresher...
[Application] All
[Presentation] People
[Session] Should
[Transport] Try
[Network] New
[Data Link] Dr
[Physical] Pepper
I've been asked about the OSI model more times than I care to think about. However, I don't ever recall using it at work. Maybe some people do.
[Application] All
[Presentation] People
[Session] Should
[Transport] Try
[Network] New
[Data Link] Dr
[Physical] Pepper
I've been asked about the OSI model more times than I care to think about. However, I don't ever recall using it at work. Maybe some people do.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Windows Defender Offline
Looks like a handy tool. I've used various recovery discs including those based on Windows PE.
From Mark Minasi's latest newsletter:
"You know Windows Defender. It's been built into Windows since (if memory serves) Vista. It fought spyware in Vista and Windows 7, and then Microsoft expanded its focus to include regular old virus-y malware in Windows 8/8.1. It's a perfectly nice in-the-box tool, but like all anti-malware tools, it hasn't a chance to detect the strains of malware designed to hide themselves in plain site, malware with a kind of "cloaking device" wherein the malware modifies the operating system so that scanning an infected file just turns up a "nope, no malware, nobody but us chickens in here!" report. And if you're on this mailing list, the chances are very good that you know that we call such hard-to-detect malware "rootkits."
Invisible malware like rootkits sounds dire, but given that they can only remain invisible while the infected OS is running, there's an obvious way to find them -- run the malware scanner under another, uninfected OS. One way to do that would be to physically remove the boot hard disk of the machine in question, plug it into an uninfected machine and scan the questionable drive, but that's a lot of work.
The better answer arrived a few years ago when Microsoft released a free, cut-down version of Windows that fits on a CD or a USB stick called "Windows PE" and I'm hoping that most of you are using it now for maintenance and deployment tasks. (Look at Newsletter 59 if you've never created a USB stick. I use it heavily in my free Steadier State tool as well as when trying to revive dead systems.) Anyway, WinPE's great, but there wasn't much in the way of anti-malware tools that could run atop WinPE. Microsoft fixed that by building and giving away a WinPE image that includes a version of Defender -- they call it "Windows Defender Offline -- built right in. Stick it on a USB stick or CD, cold boot a system with it and rootkits are revealed. Neat. You can find it here with download links at the bottom of the page:
http://windows.microsoft.com/
Permit me to offer a few notes on it:
1) This is NOT new, as Defender Offline's been around since December 2011. I'm telling you about it in February 2014, however, because I mention it a LOT when I do talks and invariably get totally blank looks from 98% of the crowd. (That's true even when I'm talking to security experts. Eek.) If you're on my mailing list, the chances are that you're Windows tech support for SOMEBODY, whether you're getting paid for it or not, and starting off with a rootkit check can save you a whole LOT of time. I recommend that everyone reading this put Offline Defender on a USB stick and keep it in their bag of tricks. (I've found that Sony's "Microvault" USB sticks are a nicely matte white, allowing me to write on them with a Sharpie to keep track of which USB stick is the Defender, which runs Clonezilla, and so on. If anyone out there knows a cheaper USB stick that you can write on, please drop me a line.)
2) As I mentioned before, this works perfectly well on Windows Server. We had a malware scare a few months ago and I tested my Server 2012 systems with it, and it didn't refuse to run on a Server SKU. Similarly, I've got an ISO of Defender Offline that I boot my Hyper-V VMs from when I need to test them for rootkits as well.)
3) I've just noticed that the Defender Offline page says that you need a newer version, a Windows Defender Offline beta, to run it on Windows 8.1 systems. I'm fairly certain that I've run Defender Offline on my 8.1 systems, but if Microsoft says you need the beta, I guess you should get it for 8.1 and presumably 2012R2."
From Mark Minasi's latest newsletter:
"You know Windows Defender. It's been built into Windows since (if memory serves) Vista. It fought spyware in Vista and Windows 7, and then Microsoft expanded its focus to include regular old virus-y malware in Windows 8/8.1. It's a perfectly nice in-the-box tool, but like all anti-malware tools, it hasn't a chance to detect the strains of malware designed to hide themselves in plain site, malware with a kind of "cloaking device" wherein the malware modifies the operating system so that scanning an infected file just turns up a "nope, no malware, nobody but us chickens in here!" report. And if you're on this mailing list, the chances are very good that you know that we call such hard-to-detect malware "rootkits."
Invisible malware like rootkits sounds dire, but given that they can only remain invisible while the infected OS is running, there's an obvious way to find them -- run the malware scanner under another, uninfected OS. One way to do that would be to physically remove the boot hard disk of the machine in question, plug it into an uninfected machine and scan the questionable drive, but that's a lot of work.
The better answer arrived a few years ago when Microsoft released a free, cut-down version of Windows that fits on a CD or a USB stick called "Windows PE" and I'm hoping that most of you are using it now for maintenance and deployment tasks. (Look at Newsletter 59 if you've never created a USB stick. I use it heavily in my free Steadier State tool as well as when trying to revive dead systems.) Anyway, WinPE's great, but there wasn't much in the way of anti-malware tools that could run atop WinPE. Microsoft fixed that by building and giving away a WinPE image that includes a version of Defender -- they call it "Windows Defender Offline -- built right in. Stick it on a USB stick or CD, cold boot a system with it and rootkits are revealed. Neat. You can find it here with download links at the bottom of the page:
http://windows.microsoft.com/
Permit me to offer a few notes on it:
1) This is NOT new, as Defender Offline's been around since December 2011. I'm telling you about it in February 2014, however, because I mention it a LOT when I do talks and invariably get totally blank looks from 98% of the crowd. (That's true even when I'm talking to security experts. Eek.) If you're on my mailing list, the chances are that you're Windows tech support for SOMEBODY, whether you're getting paid for it or not, and starting off with a rootkit check can save you a whole LOT of time. I recommend that everyone reading this put Offline Defender on a USB stick and keep it in their bag of tricks. (I've found that Sony's "Microvault" USB sticks are a nicely matte white, allowing me to write on them with a Sharpie to keep track of which USB stick is the Defender, which runs Clonezilla, and so on. If anyone out there knows a cheaper USB stick that you can write on, please drop me a line.)
2) As I mentioned before, this works perfectly well on Windows Server. We had a malware scare a few months ago and I tested my Server 2012 systems with it, and it didn't refuse to run on a Server SKU. Similarly, I've got an ISO of Defender Offline that I boot my Hyper-V VMs from when I need to test them for rootkits as well.)
3) I've just noticed that the Defender Offline page says that you need a newer version, a Windows Defender Offline beta, to run it on Windows 8.1 systems. I'm fairly certain that I've run Defender Offline on my 8.1 systems, but if Microsoft says you need the beta, I guess you should get it for 8.1 and presumably 2012R2."
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