tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27576698063280959712024-02-02T14:29:25.965-06:00marshalgrahamRandom things that I find interesting...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-53774740199763700002016-03-07T09:40:00.002-06:002016-03-07T09:40:16.598-06:00SWMO Tech Geeks March Madness tournament pool
Welcome to the second annual SWMO Tech Geeks March Madness tournament pool. There are some great prizes available this year. Stronghold Data has graciously donated a $25 Mythos gift card, an external USB battery pack, and car charger. I'm also providing a $5 Starbucks gift card. The prizes are:
1st place; $25 Mythos card + external battery pack
2nd place: $5 Starbucks card + car charger
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-67888859086599591182013-09-23T12:34:00.001-05:002013-09-23T17:34:51.653-05:00Demystifying the Command Line
The command line can be a confusing place. There is lots of black space and no where to click. This post is my attempt to at least partially demystify the command line. I realize this can be an intimidating tool. Powerful tools will always seem more difficult when you first adopt them.
Let's start with a simple PowerShell example to create a user account.
New-ADUser clark.kent -surname "Kent" Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-66849432282453212192013-06-11T21:19:00.001-05:002013-06-11T21:19:54.333-05:00Review: Network Flow Analysis Network Flow Analysis by Michael Lucas My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is great if you are just getting started and not familiar with network flows. It walks you through all the steps you need from configuring your sensors and collectors to setting up a flow reporting system. I did give the book 4/5 stars because there are a few mistakes and shortcuts. It's nothing Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-45847024545877030542013-06-11T21:15:00.001-05:002013-06-11T21:15:29.981-05:00Review: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Pauline Baynes My rating: 0 of 5 stars I'm trying to catch up on some books I started. I glad I came back to this one. It's great, I can't wait to read the rest of the series! View all my reviews Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-34741976013023125252013-03-08T20:14:00.002-06:002013-03-08T20:41:38.030-06:00Downgrade VMware Virtual Hardware Version
Note: According to VMware documentation, downgrading the hardware version of your vSphere virtual machine is unsupported.
Mastering VMware vSphere 4 By Lowe, Scott (Google Affiliate Ad)
Recently, I found myself in a pinch and needing to quickly spin up a virtual guest on an ESXi 4.1 host. Unfortunately, the only template I had available for Windows Server 2008 R2 used virtual Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-15422181815704519392012-07-01T12:47:00.001-05:002012-07-01T12:47:35.053-05:00Review: The Wreckage: A Thriller The Wreckage: A Thriller by Michael Robotham My rating: 0 of 5 stars Michael Robotham is one of my favorite authors. These books engage you from the beginning and I find it difficult to put them down. The Wreckage is no different, filled with action and a complex story line. A late twist brings everything into focus.With all that said, I found The Wreckage to lack the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-59909967844340420732012-05-25T09:00:00.000-05:002012-05-25T09:00:09.663-05:00Fake Antivirus and Firefox Cache Tools
Firefox has some pretty nifty features. One of those is the ability to view the cache contents without any extra tools. This post covers an incident with a fake antivirus popup and how I used the built in Firefox tools to confirm my suspicions.
The Story
This all started when I got a text message from my wife earlier today. This is the image she sent me:
The story goes, our daughter was Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-24930106553987541802012-05-24T09:00:00.000-05:002013-03-11T18:32:10.623-05:00Installing Nmap 6 on BackTrack 5 R2
It turns out, getting Nmap 6 to run on BackTrack 5 R2 is actually quite simple. Follow the steps below and prepare to bask in the newness of Nmap 6.
Linux Security Cookbook by Barrett, Daniel J./ Silverman, Richard E./ (Google Affiliate Ad)
First, you need to get rid of the included Nmap which is version 5.61. Simply run this command:
apt-get -y autoremove nmap
This command should only Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-83682059035802056042012-05-23T20:57:00.000-05:002013-03-11T18:31:23.853-05:00Getting Started With NSE, The Nmap Scripting Engine
After talking with some friends last week, I realized that the Nmap Scripting Engine (NSE) is an unappreciated and underutilized Nmap component. That is unfortunate, since NSE has easily become my favorite Nmap feature. According to the Nmap 6 release notes, the number of available NSE scripts is nearly 350! This seems like a good time for a long overdue blog post. This post talks about using Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-34690934761073583402012-01-29T20:10:00.001-06:002012-01-29T20:10:42.627-06:00Review: It's Not All about Me: The Top Ten Techniques for Building Quick Rapport with Anyone It's Not All about Me: The Top Ten Techniques for Building Quick Rapport with Anyone by Robin Dreeke My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of my favorite books and I'm certain that I will read it again and again. It offers some great advice for quickly building relationships. The material is presented in a concise and easy to understand format. Even the most shy or Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-9963916775944783202012-01-07T20:45:00.001-06:002012-01-07T20:45:17.209-06:00Review: Freedom (TM) Freedom (TM) by Daniel Suarez My rating: 4 of 5 stars Freedom is a little too much science fiction for me. It is a good book; but the idea that large swaths of the population would be willing to supplant modern governments for what amounts to a real life MMORPG is a too far fetched for my tastes. I give it four stars because it is well written and has enough action andUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-25740865722665607512011-10-26T21:02:00.002-05:002013-03-11T18:33:32.145-05:00Install and Configure Snort IDS on Windows
I recently attended the BSidesMO conference in the Missouri Capitol building at Jefferson City, MO. I had the honor of doing a presentation on running Snort as a sysadmin. Even though I struggled through the presentation, it went pretty well. The audience was very responsive and had a lot of questions which I think is a good thing (at least I know they weren't sleeping). I probably forgot to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-82497161252052756462011-10-04T22:18:00.000-05:002011-10-04T22:25:47.399-05:00Remote Packet Captures With WiresharkHere's a Wireshark feature I just recently discovered. I don't know how long it's been available but I believe it's fairly new. It is listed as experimental in WinPcap so YMMV.
If you have ever needed to do a remote packet capture you know it can be painful. It usually requires that you to go to the remote system or switch. You probably have to configure a mirrored port or install a hub inline. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-36422415346683560112011-08-29T19:48:00.002-05:002011-08-29T20:02:23.059-05:00The Matrix Falling Code, Arduino LOL Shield StyleI got an Arduino over the weekend. I also picked up a LOL Shield from JimmiePRodgers.com. After what seemed like an eternity soldering LEDs, I finally got a chance to try out some code. There is nothing earth shattering here, just a fun little demo. Enjoy!
My code is below:----------------------------------------------------
// Matrix Falling Code LOL Shield DemoUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-57946943384464918152011-08-17T20:23:00.002-05:002011-08-17T20:27:41.274-05:00How Not to Restore Exchange 2007 MailboxesAs an Exchange 2007 admin, it seems like I am breaking Exchange all the time. This time it was forgetting to move some users mailboxes before I dismounted and removed the storage group. Here's my story of the not-the-best-way to migrate Exchange 2007 mailboxes to new storage. I would be moving the database and logs to a new storage array. I decided to create a new storage group and databaseUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-530317080459116072011-08-12T19:09:00.002-05:002011-08-13T22:17:20.317-05:00Why Password Reuse is a Bad IdeaPassword reuse is an issue that I seem to battle with constantly. Password reuse is, just as the name implies, using the same username and password combination for more than one website. I understand why people are prone to do this but I would like to take a few minutes to explain why it is a bad horrible idea.
It seems logical to reuse your password. After all, passwords are hard to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-19276475150770165162011-08-10T20:42:00.005-05:002011-08-11T21:30:33.994-05:00Google, Facebook, and 2FA
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to enhance the security of your Facebook and Google accounts? How about a way that makes it much more difficult for your Facebook or Google account to be hacked? What if it was easy to use?
Good news! The answer to all of the questions above is yes!
Recently, Google and Facebook rolled out two-factor authentication (2FA as we geeks like to call it). It’s Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-81531821590490530262011-08-03T20:06:00.000-05:002011-08-03T20:06:05.046-05:00The Undeletable File and a Bunch of Dots
Error Deleting File or Folder
Cannot delete file: Cannot read from the source file or disk.
This error message does not seem too scary. It looks similar to other error messages that Windows produces. Maybe it could be more descriptive but when I first saw this I had no idea what it would take to delete this file...
The other day I was doing my annual domain account and user directory clean Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-3678133824174574082011-07-31T22:34:00.000-05:002011-07-31T22:34:44.535-05:00Antisec Attacks Missouri Sheriff's AssociationFirst a little back story. On July 30, 2011, a hacker group (most likely Anonymous) using the antisec mantra attacked Missouri law enforcement personnel through a release of 7000+ username/passwords including some Social Security Numbers. The information was released through the website pastebin.com, http://pastebin.com/v1H455Na (post has been removed). Shortly after that, another pastebin post Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-56549970548380128152011-07-23T11:41:00.000-05:002011-07-23T11:41:39.136-05:00Caleb Spelled Out in DominoesThis is a short, fun video I made with my son on a day off of work and school.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-45667684247290302932011-05-20T21:26:00.000-05:002011-05-20T21:26:09.287-05:00Banish Sprint Activation Nag Screen On Samsung Galaxy TabIf you have seen the screen above and are annoyed by it then this blog post needs no further explanation. For the rest of the world here is the story, I have a Sprint Galaxy Tab. Every time I cold boot it, I am presented with the activation screen above. Since the Tab was purchased sans 3G contract, the activation fails. I have found the screen can be disabled by deleting an apk file, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-10512145703103516212011-05-20T19:29:00.000-05:002011-05-20T21:27:16.032-05:00How To Root The Samsung Galaxy Tab The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a 7" tablet running Android 2.2 (Froyo). There are different models produced by wireless carriers, including Sprint and Verizon. You can purchase these devices without a contract but you will pay a premium. That's enough of the small talk, lets get to rooting.
Previously, there was an app called z4root that would allow you to root the Galaxy Tab. Although z4root Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-88216586185532590452011-04-24T22:39:00.000-05:002011-04-24T22:39:39.906-05:00Removing PDF Metadata with PDF ToolkitI little while back, I wrote Fear the FOCA! This is a short write up on retrieving and analyzing metadata using FOCA Free. If you do not know what metadata is, you can think of it as data that describes data. Metadata can be simple information like the document title and the creation and modification dates of the file. It can also contain more sensitive information including names, usernames, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-91178324833423826592011-04-14T22:42:00.000-05:002011-04-14T22:42:01.705-05:00Install Android Market On Nook Honeycomb Tablet
In the last post, I walked through getting Deeper Blue's Honeycomb preview image running on the Barnes and Noble Nook Color. I've been using the Nook as a Honeycomb tablet for a couple of weeks and overall it works very well. There are a couple of bugs but that is to be expected from a preview image. There was one particular thing that bothered me though, there is no Android Market. If you look Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2757669806328095971.post-92100435065662944602011-04-11T22:09:00.000-05:002011-04-15T08:13:31.455-05:00Turn Your Nook Color Into A Honeycomb Android Tablet
The Barnes and Noble Nook Color is a great device for hackers. You can root the Nook software and run Android Market and your own apps. You can also turn your Nook Color into a Honeycomb Android tablet.
One of the neat features of the Nook Color is its ability to boot from a micro SD card. This feature is what allows you to root the device and it is also what allows you to run another Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4