Farewell

So here we are.  The end.  Too bad it wasn’t longer, the class and all.  5 weeks, its not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things.  Alas though, it is what it is, and here we are.  So, the question looms, what did we learn?

Me, myself and I, we learned that we need to have a better control of our time.  Time, it truly got away from me.  It has been getting away from me since I started this Journey.  I’ve tried to grab a hold of it, but it remains slippery at best.  Work, kid, wife, free time, school, socialization, etc..  All things we must try to control…  As best we can anyways.

Composition 101.  A fairly easy class in and of itself.  Write this, think about that, reflect on it, and write some more.  What is the point?  To get us to think.  Reflect on it, for just a minute now.  A quick side note here, my grammar…  It isn’t the best, nor is it perfect.  I try though, I really do.  Some of the posts/threads/papers that I have read in my time here at UAT, well, they upset me.  It’s almost like some folks aren’t really trying.  Their grammar and composition is horrid.  My writing isn’t always 100%, nor do I always complete the given assignments in a timely manner.   I’m not trying to point the finger here, I guess I’m venting somewhat.  Heck, maybe I am pointing the finger, I dunno really.

Here is hoping that I can do better as time goes on.

p.s.  For those that followed; base64 was the language I used when writing the convoluted titles and subject lines.  Due to the way in which wordpress would publish stuff, some of the lines were converted to all upper-case; this is what initially gave me the idea to have a puzzle of sorts.  If anybody is interested in the solution to run through all possible combinations of base64 converted to uppercase, let me know, we can invent it together =)

Cheers and salutations!

How About a Nice Game of Chess?

I have chosen the classic movie from 1983, WarGames.  It can be considered any of three genres: Drama,  Sci-Fi, and Thriller.  It is a Thriller and Drama in the sense that exciting and intense emotions are prevalent throughout the film.  It keeps the viewer on edge, not knowing what will happen next.  The futuristic (Sci-Fi) tone is relayed to the viewer in that the film was debuted in the year 1983; also the year of birth for TCP-IP.  Back then, few people used computers, let alone owned one.  The very thought that somebody could hack in “just like that” seemed crazy, but then again, it seemed plausible too.

The lead character, David, is trying to find upcoming video games on the Internet and he begins to War Dial in hopes of finding the computer hosting the games.  As the movie goes on, David eventually comes across a Department of Defense computer.  David, at the time does not know it is a Government computer, and he gains the assistance of his friends that give him ideas on various password techniques.  Once David acquires access into the “game” he starts a game of “Global Thermonuclear War”.  Him and the girl he is with at the time giggle merrily.  Later on the next evening or so, David realizes that upon watching the news, his “game” wasn’t a game, but real life.  Upon realizing the gravity of the situation he is in, he attempts to throw away all evidence linking him to the crime.  Next thing you know, the FBI arrests David and takes him to the command center.  He tries explaining to them what is going on, but they believe him to be a Russian Spy.  With the timer ticking down in the background he makes a harrowing escape.  I could go on, but I don’t want to ruin it for you on the off-chance you haven’t seen this wonderful movie.

In summation of the movie, I believe there are some wonderful things to be taken away.  Back in the early 80’s, the general population didn’t have access to computers; they were things of myth and legend back then.  The Red Threat was still a very real possibility.  I’d even wager to say that some readers of this article might have performed the nefarious “Duck and Cover” drills in their Elementary days.  This film majestically tied in a lot of the elements of the day; Soviets, Computers, Nuclear War, etc..  Some scholars even tilt towards the idea that the Computer Fraud and Abuse act was drafted in part, due to the popularity of the movie, and as a way to ease the publics growing fear that the US Nuclear Arsenal was “vulnerable”

If you have not seen WarGames, do yourself a favor; pop some corn, brew some tea, Google it, watch, laugh and be entertained.

Pushing for time and hurting…

So this week hit me like a ton of bricks. I got very far behind in my work and all of the sudden it is Sunday night with 20 minutes to go before midnight. Nobody’s fault but my own really. Now I’m hurting, only 15 minutes to go left really; pumpkin time a coming.

So, the point of the assignment was to do a roll-up. Hah, if I had read a little bit closer I would have realized my Professor wanted me to submit it to her before publishing; RTFM much?  Nope, guess I failed there.  Alright, enough babbling, here we go.

Shellshock Scanning, did it violate the CFAA?  Robert Graham, he is hated and both respected on the Internet.  He has a myriad of views, sometimes you agree with him, sometimes you loathe him.

When it comes to what he did with respect to shellshock, I admire him really.  If you read the text of the CFAA, you would be quite shocked actually.  That’s right, do you visit Google?  Did you receive explicit permission from them to do so?  No?  I need you to stay right where you are while the FBI kicks your door in.  You have just committed a felony, and ye shall be punished accordingly.More to follow, later…

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Role: John Q. Tire
Audience: Joe X. Driver
Format: Letter
Topic: Medical Attention

TO: Joe
FROM: J.Q.T
DATE: October 23, 2014
RE: Corpsman Up

Hello Joe,

My name is John. We’ve met before, sometime about 2 years ago. Occasionally we get a face to face meeting, but those are far and few in between. Thinking about it now, you meet with my brothers as well, all 3 of them. We never go anywhere without each other; we’re a regular team you might say. If one of us goes down, the whole thing stops. Yes that’s right; your car. It takes all four of us to carry you, to and fro.

The reason for this letter is that I’m worried. A couple days ago my brother Joel filled me in on the incident from last week. I have faint memories of it, but due to my limited field of vision, I was not able to witness it first hand. That day was somewhat of a blur really. It was about 9:30 in the morning. You were running late, next thing you know the whole car shakes. If I recall correctly you hopped out, ran around to the rear, cursed loudly and then got back in an off we went.

My brother Joel is a warrior you know… He has been there and done that, and he never complains. Well, last night I asked him about what was going on; lately I’ve heard him wailing out in pain every time we take the local speed bumps. Joel loves his privacy, and I hated to pry, but I had to; he is my brother after all. He filled me in on the details of that fateful morning. Little did I know, when you backed up that day; my brother was impaled! He took it like the true warrior he is; he didn’t even cry out.

Evidently, the whole reason for your cursing was that you had backed into a construction truck. Turns out there were some people doing work in the neighborhood, and you must have misjudged the distance. The truck you hit had a box of 10 penny nails on the tailgate and one of them must have rolled under Joel. Joel has been steadily losing air ever since.

By the time you read this, Joel will be down to 25 PSI. There isn’t much time left and he really needs a doctor. If he hits 5 PSI, he is done for. Please, if not for Joel, do it for me; take him to the doctor and give Joel the attention he deserves.

 

V/r,
John Q. Tire

My Way of Life

So, here I am.  I’m that trash can on the corner.  You know, the one you open every day on your way to work when you “take out the trash”.  I know all of your deepest darkest secrets.

I’m pretty well fed.  The neighbors feed me like the hungry, homeless, abandoned dog I am; yet they appreciate me too.  Everybody appreciates me really, its nice you know; being a trash can.  I sit there silently and patiently; arrogant in truth.  Why arrogant you ask?  If you knew what I knew, about Suzie next door; you’d be smug too.

I’m short on time, so I have to keep this brief; after all, trash cans don’t talk do we?  If Johnny from 5A walked up and heard me talking, well….  That would make the 6 o’clock news wouldn’t it?

I want you to think for just a moment now, time is short.  Why did you throw “that thing” away last week?  Did you think I would not look?  That it would not be found?  Common, you threw it away in the public domain.  That which has been seen, cannot be unseen.  So, what are you going to do now?  The secret is out.  Everybody is talking about it.  Well, my coworkers that is.  You know, Sally the Compactor and John the Recycler.  They know all your secrets too.  Funny thing is, we’re pretty good at keeping secrets.  We don’t really tell humans.  Occasionally somebody will snoop and take a peek at our innards, but thats mostly left to the Dumpster Divers of the inner city.  Rough world that is, I’m glad I live in the suburbs.  Peace and quiet is the norm here, ya know?

Anyways, just wanted to take a minute to say hello, and let you know; next time you throw something away, be sure you don’t intend for me to know.  You never know when somebody may violate me and take my food from me.  I’m hungry and I like to eat, but I have no teeth so I cannot bite the thieves to prevent them from robbing me of my possessions.  Once I’ve been robbed, there’s no telling what they’ll do with my food.  If it was tasty enough, it just might end up on the 6 o’clock news.

I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it…

So this is my “selfie”.  It represents me as a whole in the sense of who I am.  It’s my man purse (In the year 2014, a backpack is a little bit cooler than a fanny pack!  Plus, it also holds a whole lot more…).

Why did I post a picture of a backpack you might ask.  Let me begin by listing the contents of the pack, and we’ll go from there.

  • Alienware M11xR3.
  • My black book of things to do
  • Nokia N900
  • Various paperwork and such
  • Pandosilan Rapid Universal Charger
  • 2 ft. of CAT5
  • Alfa AWUS036H
  • Alfa AWUS036NEH
  • Assorted USB to USB adapters
  • USB OTG dongle
  • Micro and Mini USB cables
  • Rubber Ducky
  • Lockpick Set
  • MicroSD to SD plugin adaptor
  • Realtek SDR dongle
  • iomega portable DVD burner
  • 32-GB general purpose USB stick
  • 16-GB customized USB “skeleton key”

Whoa, that’s a lot of gear you might say.  Yes, I would reply; I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.  There are so many instances when my bag of tricks has come in handy, and as much as I hate lugging that thing around; it’s as much of a part of me as your smartphone might be to you.  I honestly feel naked without it.  On the flip-side, my friends know I’m always packin the “heat” and if they need something, they can call on me to make it happen.  Locked out of your laptop?  Done.  Left your keys at work?  No worries.  Want to wardrive and see what idiots are rockin’ WEP?  Let’s get it on!

So, there you go, a small peek into the things that make “me”.