For those in the Vegas IT/InfoSec community and have heard the stories (or have firsthand experience) of their hiring/screening process, this was only a matter of time. If you are screening out the folks with the hacker/InfoSec mindset (those that think differently/outside the box), are you hiring the best folks for the InfoSec role?
Seems the 'cool kids club' at Zappo's was not enough to defeat the attackers.
First I will add a plug for https://www.bloglines.com/ â" RSS feeds where ever I can log in, via HTTPS. Great for those feeds I read whenever & everywhere; and for those I only check when waiting to board the airplane. In my bloglines collection I have around 400 feeds, which will grow after looking through these threads.:) Some selections that hopefully no one else has mentioned:
Common geek topics (those blogs that seem to hit all the topics days or weeks before you see them on Slashdot): Didnt You Hear... http://www.didntyouhear.com/feed/
FYI - LALA is still a CD trading site; though it is a bit hidden with the 3.0 site that is the subject of this article & thread.
I've been trading CDs since July 2006, and have scored some great finds that I have never seen anywhere else - for just under $2. Sadly, the 3.0 lala is pushing CD trading to the side. It is still there & definitely worth participating, but not a prominent as previous versions.
Which is a shame, becase there is/was some good folks in the SUX LUG... We always welcomed you folks when they made the trip town to Omaha for OLUG meetings, Installfests, and SIG-BEER events. The WiFi hunt you folks held in SUX was a blast.
Though, with the shutdown & merger of "junkway 2000" computers; what other tech industry is there left in the area to support such groups?
I have had some success scoring CDs that I have been hunting ages for from swapping them on http://www.lala.com/ - $2 per trade, and I am able to get rid of CDs I no longer want.
Dude, take advantage of the CCAF program while you are in. Have the AF pay for 75% of the classess, and then VA will pick up the other 25% from your GI Bill. Then you can get back to Illinois, and those 4 years of free college can get you even farther, perhaps even finishing (or close to) a Masters degree.
Also, there are training opportunities on the base. Search them out & take advantage of them. I did while I was in, and it was all worthwhile.:)
We are scraping for Computer Forensics, reverse engineers, & intrusion analysts for the contract I am currently on. Your Air Force security clearance is a big plus...:)
There is more to IT than just programmers, and more to IT than just CompSci degrees. With my technical AAS I went and finished my BS in MIS, and am one of the senior intrusion analysts for a Government contract. Fun stuff, and no CompSci!:) Sure, I could code back when I was working on my programming classes for school - but I hate coding. There is no way I could be a bit head.... But being a professional 'ethical hacker' aka being in the InfoSec world is where I wanted to be all along.
Leaning more towards Computer Forensics? Then get involved NOW - set up your own lap at home and learn. Read. Go to 2600 meetings, your local Linux User's group, local CERT gatherings. Attend InfoSec conferences aka hacker cons (Notacon, DEFCON, HOPE, etc). Get the Air Force to send you to the SANS courses.
Show some drive & determination, the 'hacker ethic', and you can get where you want to go in InfoSec/Computer Forensics.
Your observation is correct - but this was not always the case (from my experience). The fanatical push of religion happened in the 1990's. While I was a youth member in the Scouts in the 1980's, the Scout Troops I was with downplayed the religious overtones. I very much enjoyed the program & the opportunities; earned my Eagle in 1987.
As I became more involved as an adult, working with the regional and national "leadership" I became less enthusiastic. More and more of those regional and national "leadership" were more & more fanatical on the religion and "flowing the rules"; but allowing themselves to get away with what they wanted. Almost like the "leadership" in Washington DC - so similar it is scary. Then I found the large Mormon influence into Scouting in the Midwest and at the national level; which made me so sick to my stomach.
Frankly, at that point I realized it was not the same Scouting program I grew up on; and that I could no longer support the program (or rather, what the program has become). I boxed up all of my memorabilia - patches, uniforms, equipment, etc - and left the program; not turning back.
Thankfully, while I was overseas I had the opportunity to see what the real scouting program is all about. Which I think had a bearing on seeing what the program here has degenerated into.
So, a single council issues a badge Scouts can earn for Copyright? What a load of shit - but from my experiences does not surprise me in the least.
What about Friendster's Filipino problem? Search in many of the major US cities, and you will find hundreds of filipinos with profiles that list they live there, when in fact they are in the Philippines!
My Tribe experience was less then stellar - the off topic postings & spam was so rampant (more than anything I have gotten so far on Myspace); and most messages sent to the Tribe support were not answered; or were directed back to a community Moderator that was non-existent (or in some instances seemingly working with the spammer). It was like Tribe support was trying to find loopholes, reasons to not help remedy the situation & improve the site.
So I said screw it - set all my community memberships to no notification, and have ignored the site since.
At least Myspace support is now replying back to submitted spam reports, and taking action on the spammer accounts.
Question: Where is the music, arts, & culture is DSM? (And I am not asking about the state fair)
Sure, the Val-Air Ballroom brings in some bands (and is an awesome venue IMHO) - but what else is there?
IMHO, there is more to living & to consider about a city than traffic & cheal house prices - there is just 'existing' and then there is truly 'living'.
IAWTAC - It was a godsend to have the ability to take the PC I was installing Linux on to the local LUG installfest and have the fellows pinpoint the problem & the quick soultion. From that, I helped out at installfests, trying to troubleshoot others problems & bradening my Linux experience. Works well for all concerned.:)
YMMV - The local LUG here is worthless, a bunch of Micro$oft bashers that get together and BS for a Saturday afternoon. Zero motivation to have installfests, projects to promote Open Source/Linux, or even have organized meetings. They do have fun flaming people on their mailing list though.:(
It is quite a disappointment compared to the LUG I moved away from. Installfests twice a year, active in the community, active & on topic mailing list, well designed web site full of information, social events after the meetings and the 'Tux luncheon' - more than I can think to list at the moment. As a noob Luser to *nix, they were warm & welcoming while also being so eager to assist. I learned quite a bit from these folks, and when they asked I stepped up and help run many events and meetings for them - another opportunity for me to learn.
I usually suggest to new *nix users to find their local LUG, due to the superb experience I had - but I now preface my suggestion with a caution that not all LUGs are the same, or if they really act as a LUG.
Eh, and when more than 20 faxes are sent to your eFax account in a 30 day window; and eFax starts charging your for the increased load & account upgrade; how is this a good solution?
Sure, give out your efax number to all these folks, and let them start sending you junk faxes - you will be incuring the same (or more) costs than the paper & toner!
FWIIW, I have had a free eFax account for a few years now; only using it for those emergency 'I need to get something now' or the customer/client does not have the capability to send via any other means. I have not had any billing issues, but it was a PITA to find out that the area code for your fax number changed - after spending a bunch of time trying to figure out why the number was no longer working. Thankfully I usually only get one or two faxes a month, so I have been able to stay under the magic 20 number.
Slashdot Mirror
For those in the Vegas IT/InfoSec community and have heard the stories (or have firsthand experience) of their hiring/screening process, this was only a matter of time. If you are screening out the folks with the hacker/InfoSec mindset (those that think differently/outside the box), are you hiring the best folks for the InfoSec role?
Seems the 'cool kids club' at Zappo's was not enough to defeat the attackers.
First I will add a plug for https://www.bloglines.com/ â" RSS feeds where ever I can log in, via HTTPS. Great for those feeds I read whenever & everywhere; and for those I only check when waiting to board the airplane. In my bloglines collection I have around 400 feeds, which will grow after looking through these threads. :) Some selections that hopefully no one else has mentioned:
Amusement:
http://failblog.wordpress.com/feed/
All about the Fail
http://lolbots.com/?feed=rss2
Robots making the LOLz, though not updated often.
http://lolgeeks.com/?feed=rss2
Geeks making the LOLz, though not updated often.
The latest limerick database entries - http://peeron.com/tickers/limerickdb.xml
The Triumph of Bullshit - http://bullshit.tumblr.com/rss
Diesel Sweeties by R Stevens - http://www.dieselsweeties.com/ds-unifeed.xml
PHD Comics - http://www.phdcomics.com/gradfeed.php
Ever spent time in academia? You will relate to this web comic.
Unshelved - http://www.unshelved.com/rss.aspx
A web comic about a library. Ssssshhhuusshh!
Indexed - http://indexed.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Take two (or more) topics and compare them using graphs & charts â" full of insight & lolz.
Computerworld Shark Tank News - http://feeds.computerworld.com/Computerworld/Shark/Tank
Many stories, full of humor and face palm
Overheard in the Office - http://www.overheardintheoffice.com/atom.xml
Instead of what was overheard in New York, now worldwide and from your office.
Common geek topics (those blogs that seem to hit all the topics days or weeks before you see them on Slashdot):
Didnt You Hear... http://www.didntyouhear.com/feed/
The Daily WTF - http://thedailywtf.com/rss.aspx
Global Nerdy - http://globalnerdy.com/feed/
Shopping:
http://content.dealnews.com/dealnews/rss/todays-edition.xml
Many of those geek toys you need
Newegg.com daily deals: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=DailyDeals&nm_mc=OTC-RSS
Need I say more?
Slickdeals: http://www.slickdeals.net/rss.php
Need I say more?
Woot! http://www.woot.com/blog/rss.aspx
Dumb political stuff:
Homeland Stupidity: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HomelandStupidity
Government gaffes, bureaucratic blunders and incumbent incompetence
Groklaw: http://www.groklaw.net/backend/GrokLaw.rdf
Declan McCullagh's Politech http://www.politechbot.com/info/rss/politech.xml
Also not updated often, but on target when it is.
Cryptome: http://cryptome.org/cryptome.xml
You can get lost here for hours
Music:
House of Blues: http://hob.com/venues/clubvenues/lasvegas/
The RSS feed for the local House of B
FYI - LALA is still a CD trading site; though it is a bit hidden with the 3.0 site that is the subject of this article & thread.
I've been trading CDs since July 2006, and have scored some great finds that I have never seen anywhere else - for just under $2. Sadly, the 3.0 lala is pushing CD trading to the side. It is still there & definitely worth participating, but not a prominent as previous versions.
Which is a shame, becase there is/was some good folks in the SUX LUG... We always welcomed you folks when they made the trip town to Omaha for OLUG meetings, Installfests, and SIG-BEER events. The WiFi hunt you folks held in SUX was a blast.
Though, with the shutdown & merger of "junkway 2000" computers; what other tech industry is there left in the area to support such groups?
I have had some success scoring CDs that I have been hunting ages for from swapping them on http://www.lala.com/ - $2 per trade, and I am able to get rid of CDs I no longer want.
we need a 'Goodwin's Law' for the "Won't somebody think of the children?" argument
so why are you counting the hairs in her landing strip?
Because it is fun?
Christ, we'd all still be using telnet.
The goverment is still using Telnet!
From the Wikipedia page regarding Linux distros, the paragraph 'Choosing a Linux distribution' you will find the following helpful links:
+ chooser&btnG=Google+Search
Linux Distribution Chooser 0.4
http://www.tuxs.org/chooser/
Linux Distribution Chooser
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/
A good GTFG would have brought those same links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=linux+distro
[wink wink nudge nudge]
Dude, take advantage of the CCAF program while you are in. Have the AF pay for 75% of the classess, and then VA will pick up the other 25% from your GI Bill. Then you can get back to Illinois, and those 4 years of free college can get you even farther, perhaps even finishing (or close to) a Masters degree.
:)
Also, there are training opportunities on the base. Search them out & take advantage of them. I did while I was in, and it was all worthwhile.
... the public will lose confidence in law enforcement. ...
I would venture to guess that the public has already lost confidence in law enforcement.
We are scraping for Computer Forensics, reverse engineers, & intrusion analysts for the contract I am currently on. Your Air Force security clearance is a big plus... :)
:) Sure, I could code back when I was working on my programming classes for school - but I hate coding. There is no way I could be a bit head.... But being a professional 'ethical hacker' aka being in the InfoSec world is where I wanted to be all along.
There is more to IT than just programmers, and more to IT than just CompSci degrees. With my technical AAS I went and finished my BS in MIS, and am one of the senior intrusion analysts for a Government contract. Fun stuff, and no CompSci!
Leaning more towards Computer Forensics? Then get involved NOW - set up your own lap at home and learn. Read. Go to 2600 meetings, your local Linux User's group, local CERT gatherings. Attend InfoSec conferences aka hacker cons (Notacon, DEFCON, HOPE, etc). Get the Air Force to send you to the SANS courses.
Show some drive & determination, the 'hacker ethic', and you can get where you want to go in InfoSec/Computer Forensics.
Your observation is correct - but this was not always the case (from my experience). The fanatical push of religion happened in the 1990's. While I was a youth member in the Scouts in the 1980's, the Scout Troops I was with downplayed the religious overtones. I very much enjoyed the program & the opportunities; earned my Eagle in 1987.
As I became more involved as an adult, working with the regional and national "leadership" I became less enthusiastic. More and more of those regional and national "leadership" were more & more fanatical on the religion and "flowing the rules"; but allowing themselves to get away with what they wanted. Almost like the "leadership" in Washington DC - so similar it is scary. Then I found the large Mormon influence into Scouting in the Midwest and at the national level; which made me so sick to my stomach.
Frankly, at that point I realized it was not the same Scouting program I grew up on; and that I could no longer support the program (or rather, what the program has become). I boxed up all of my memorabilia - patches, uniforms, equipment, etc - and left the program; not turning back.
Thankfully, while I was overseas I had the opportunity to see what the real scouting program is all about. Which I think had a bearing on seeing what the program here has degenerated into.
So, a single council issues a badge Scouts can earn for Copyright? What a load of shit - but from my experiences does not surprise me in the least.
Yes, no one from Nebraska has mojo.
Portuguese isn't on your list, and finding a Filipino bride is not on mine....
What about Friendster's Filipino problem? Search in many of the major US cities, and you will find hundreds of filipinos with profiles that list they live there, when in fact they are in the Philippines!
When was the last time you reported one of those spammer accounts to Myspace support?
My Tribe experience was less then stellar - the off topic postings & spam was so rampant (more than anything I have gotten so far on Myspace); and most messages sent to the Tribe support were not answered; or were directed back to a community Moderator that was non-existent (or in some instances seemingly working with the spammer). It was like Tribe support was trying to find loopholes, reasons to not help remedy the situation & improve the site.
So I said screw it - set all my community memberships to no notification, and have ignored the site since.
At least Myspace support is now replying back to submitted spam reports, and taking action on the spammer accounts.
Disagree, when you are trying to access the site from a place that blocks all non standard ports.
Question: Where is the music, arts, & culture is DSM? (And I am not asking about the state fair) Sure, the Val-Air Ballroom brings in some bands (and is an awesome venue IMHO) - but what else is there? IMHO, there is more to living & to consider about a city than traffic & cheal house prices - there is just 'existing' and then there is truly 'living'.
IAWTAC - It was a godsend to have the ability to take the PC I was installing Linux on to the local LUG installfest and have the fellows pinpoint the problem & the quick soultion. From that, I helped out at installfests, trying to troubleshoot others problems & bradening my Linux experience. Works well for all concerned. :)
What, they could not find the guy's myspace page?
YMMV - The local LUG here is worthless, a bunch of Micro$oft bashers that get together and BS for a Saturday afternoon. Zero motivation to have installfests, projects to promote Open Source/Linux, or even have organized meetings. They do have fun flaming people on their mailing list though. :(
It is quite a disappointment compared to the LUG I moved away from. Installfests twice a year, active in the community, active & on topic mailing list, well designed web site full of information, social events after the meetings and the 'Tux luncheon' - more than I can think to list at the moment. As a noob Luser to *nix, they were warm & welcoming while also being so eager to assist. I learned quite a bit from these folks, and when they asked I stepped up and help run many events and meetings for them - another opportunity for me to learn.
I usually suggest to new *nix users to find their local LUG, due to the superb experience I had - but I now preface my suggestion with a caution that not all LUGs are the same, or if they really act as a LUG.
and I would have gotten away with it too, if it was not for you meddling kids!!!
Eh, and when more than 20 faxes are sent to your eFax account in a 30 day window; and eFax starts charging your for the increased load & account upgrade; how is this a good solution?
Sure, give out your efax number to all these folks, and let them start sending you junk faxes - you will be incuring the same (or more) costs than the paper & toner!
Not a good sugestion or solution, IMHO.
Links to background info on eFax:
Reviews & rating of eFax on epinions.com
Replacing eFax with MaxEmail on db.tidbits.com
Blog entry on sippey.typepad.com with details on eFax billing issues
And of course, just hit up Google for "eFax sucks" for more good & bad stories...
FWIIW, I have had a free eFax account for a few years now; only using it for those emergency 'I need to get something now' or the customer/client does not have the capability to send via any other means. I have not had any billing issues, but it was a PITA to find out that the area code for your fax number changed - after spending a bunch of time trying to figure out why the number was no longer working. Thankfully I usually only get one or two faxes a month, so I have been able to stay under the magic 20 number.
YMMV - IANAL....