Have you ever been concerned about the privacy or security of a website and read their policies only to find statements like these  “we use military grade encryption”  or “we use the same encryption banks do” ?   Despite the reassuring boldness of the statements, they mean next to nothing and amount to weasel words.

They’re simply talking about a technology called Secure Sockets Layer – or “SSL” for short.  SSL has been around a long time, and is the accepted standard for encrypting network communications.   It is, generally speaking, a solid technology that really does do quite a bit to protect your data while it’s travelling over the internet.  Do banks use it ?  Absolutely.  Do military organizations ? Absolutely.    Does it make a computer system secure ? Absolutely NOT !   

It’s important to understand what Secure Sockets Layer does and doesn’t do, and how this all relates to computer security as a whole. Secure Sockets Layer is an encryption technology that can be implemented in many ways.  The most common by far, however, is to encrypt web traffic so that it can’t be read by eavesdroppers.  In fact, anytime your browser is pointing at a web address that starts with httpS://  (emphasis on the S) then you’re actually using SSL with that website.

As an example, let’s say you’re on a shared network (like in a hotel or cafe) with strangers on the network.  Whether you realized it or not, they can likely see all the traffic going between your computer and other computers (this used to be trivial for anyone to do, with the maturity of technology these days it can take a little effort to do, but is still a huge security concern).   If you visit a website without the S – just the regular http:// then the browser is sending information to and from the website unencrypted; and anyone on that hotel network or in the cafe could potentially eavesdrop on it.  With SSL however, the traffic is encrypted and reasonably protected from eavesdropping.   In fact, when properly implemented, SSL can even help you be sure that the website you’re communicating with is the website you expected it to be (and not, say, an imposter website pretending to be your bank).
Now SSL is an encryption technology, but not all encryption is created equal.  There are different types of encryption schemes, and strengths as well.  These are constantly changing and maturity to reflect growing needs.  Also, the actually SSL itself has different versions; there’s SSL version 1, SSL version 2, and SSL Version 3.0 (which usually goes by a slightly different name, but that’s unimportant to this article).  When a marketing weasel say they use “military grade” or “bank grade” encryption, they’re saying that they use the highest level of SSL – version 3.0 and specific ciphers with large keys – just like the big boys do.  And that’s a 100% truthful statement.  

The reason they are weasel statements, however, is because I’ve only described everything SSL does.  Don’t get me wrong; it’s a fundamental security requirement but it’s NOT the ONLY fundamental security requirement – the fact that a website uses SSL means next to nothing by itself.  Let’s look at some things SSL doesn’t do:

a) it doesn’t protect your data sitting on their server.  it only protects it from eavesdropping while it’s beng sent to the server.

b) it doesn’t prevent your information from being displayer to other users due to a programming error.

c) it doesn’t protect your data from an outside attack against the web application or web server.

d) it doesn’t help if the company has a “bad egg” working inside it.

e) it doesn’t ensure the company routinely patches their systems, routinely tests their systems, etc.

f) it doesn’t ensure that the company follows best practices for disposing of hard drives.  all the SSL in the world doesn’t help if they dump their old hard drives – with your data on themm – in the trash.

g) it doesn’t ensure they have any access controls on their systems, that they have strong password policies, that they run antivirus (and that it’s updated !) , that they have solid backups in place to prevent data loss,

h) it doesn’t ensure that your data isn’t housed overseas

Are you starting to get the picture ?  Oh, and by the way, I have witnessed every one of the above scenarios result in a breach – these aren’t fictional.

Computer and network security is a vastly large, complex and difficult challenge as proven by the countless organizations – big and small – technologies and non-technology companies alike- that get breached. Banks and governmental organizations spend millions to billions of dollars a year on it; it’s regulatedy by reams and reams of formal policy, technical guidelines and heaping spoonfuls of technical expertise … the use of SSL is but just one small checkbox amongst many standards, practices and ongoing operations.   

For a company to state “we use military grade encryption” as their sole security assertion is not only laughable, but insulting to one’s intelligence.   And with that, my rant is done

Just sayin’ … I remember when Norton software didn’t suck.

I quickly discovered that there are *many* ReadyNas products, and the differences between them can be subtle.  I really could have used an online “guide” or “wizard” to help me decided what I needed … after hours of research (including speaking to a VAR and Netgear pre-sales support) here’s what I’ve discovered.  These are just raw notes, and not meant to be an article or guide:

Comparison chart: http://www.readynas.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ReadyNAS_Comparison_Home.pdf

Drive Compatability list: http://www.readynas.com/?page_id=82

The “Ultra” line uses intel atoms.  The NV+ and non-ultra line uses Sparcs, which their pre-sales say is slower, use intels for better throughput and definitely for any media streaming.

The Ultra lines have the “normal” (ie 2 Ultra) and “Plus” (ie 2 Ultra Plus), the Plus is a dual-core atom processor, everything else is the same.

Software features appear to be the same across the line.

The X-Raid gives it theDrobo-like functionality of mish-mashing drive sizes.

Ultra line does not do AD integration.

Only the ultra 2 offers a usb 3.0 port for higher speed peripherals in case you wanted to plug a usb drive and share it via your nas.  Not sure why one would do that, or perhaps for faster initial loading ?

Of the Ultra’s, only Ultra 4 and Ultra 6 offer Raid 5.

The “2″, “4″ and “6″ in Ultra refer to bays.

Ultra 6 (and apparently only the 6 ?  ) can have an drives in chassis spec’d as a hot spare.  <— This can buy some time in case a drive fails while away from the NAS.  This becomes important when you’re on a trip and if a drive fails and you aren’t there to see it your storage could spend days or weeks in a situation where it has no additional fault tolerance.

They all use consumer grade drives, not “enterprise” (according to a review, haven’t looked at actual supplied drives)

Can buy diskless chassis and populate drives myself; be sure to read compatability chart.

Big question: with an existing 2 tb or data, how much capacity doI need for right now, and for future growth ?

More notes to come as I research more … I’m leaning heavily towards the Ultra 6 at thispoint, but it is pretty darn expensive, over a grand with 6tb of disks, and that may just be as a non-redundant volume.

First of all,let me state one thing: I make phenomenal barbecue. Better than you’ll get in any restaurant around here.  Better than Red Hot and Blue, Better than Famous Daves, and a hell of a lot better than that place in the Crystal City Underground.  I make Q so good I’ve converted vegetarians ( Shouts to Marcus !), and my kids do  a happy dance everytime I make it.  Yeah, seriously, it’s that damn good.  I literally gave away my gas grill after my second batch of barbecue – it was clear that I had no need for it anymore.

The best news is, there’s nothing special about me; it’s just that easy to make great BBQ at home if you’re willing to put in the effort. It’s simple see – making Q is really just a matter of how much effort you’re willing to put into it.  I put in levels of effort that aren’t commercially feasible, and it shows.  My Rib rub uses 24 different seasonings.  My brisket rub uses fresh Hatch Chile pepper from New Mexico – pepper that is vastly superiour from anything you’ll get in a local grocery store.  The last brisket I made weighed somewhere between 22 and 24 pounds, was so large I had to carry it on my shoulder, and smoked for 48 hours.  I hand selected it from a specific butcher and it had been chewing grass 2 days before I got it.  I rubbed it in a handmade rub using fresh Hatch chile’s, and smoked it with coal and hickory for 48 hours.   That’s effort, although dirt simple.   The good news is, this was a *massive* brisket and the longest smoke I’ve ever done. Most briskets will take an overnight, but I’ve never heard of one taking thatlong before. When it came out, I let it rest for a bit, then sliced into it,and it was magical.  The kids happy danced for it.  If you’re willing to put that kind of effort into it, then you can easily make great Q at home.

So here’s a few thing about smoking:

1. Get a smoker.  Don’t try to smoke on your Weber, no matter how much the sticker on that accessory waterpan says “makes great bbq”.  It ain’t bbq.  It’s a little smokeflavouring added to your direct heat grilling.

2. Smoking is about low and slow. If you’re inpatient, don’t bother.

3. It doesn’t take anything fancy.  I use a Silver Smoker – the cheapo entry model. I’ve done a few slight tweaks to it; there are many mods listed all over the internet for it,but frankly I don’t think it really requires any.

4.  The most important aspect is learning how to smoke correctly.  Rubs, sauces, all that stuff is second place to smoking correctly.  Google, read, try, be patient.

5. Most important rule when smoking is to be patient with temperature changes. Add some wood, wait a half hour  before checking temp.  Change a baffle vent, wait a half hour.

6.  I like any temp between 220 and 250.   My smoker definitely has a hot and cold spot, so I rotate the meat.

7.  Small (Costco) briskets take 12 to 15 hours easily.  Ribs take 6-8.  Large briskets take eons, but read 8.

8. It’s done when it’s done.  You can get rouch guidelines of how long it takes.  Every smoker, every cut of meat is different.   It’s done when it’s done.

9.  Use a thermometer for the meat, but also use your head.  Just cause it hits the safezone doesn’t mean you have to pull it. In fact brisket, unlike most cuts of beef, gets more tender the longer you cook it.

10. When doing a very long smoke,it does help to wrap the meat in foil  at some point. Most of the smoke entry into the meat is during the first and last several hours – in between is just cooking time.  wrapping it can help reduce the “charring” of the outside.

11. Go for smoke flavouring – don’t use so much wood that you have plumes coming out of the chimney.  Shoot for a thin streak.

12. I like to rub a day or two ahead of time, although I’ve also rubbed on the spot right at the smoker.

13. I find spareribs to be meatier, tastier, and generally more satisfying than back ribs.

14. I’ll rub q, but I never sauce it.  I’ll serve sauce as a condiment.  If your brisket is right, adults will eat it straight on a bun with no extras needed, although kids love to dump sauce over everything.  I personally like it on a bun with some sliced onion, a little “texas” style sauce, and some extra Tabasco on top.

15. Tabasco makes everything taste better.

16. you do NOT use Kingsford coal in your smoker. You MUST use coals that are safe for smoking with. Again, google, find a forum, learn.

17.  Yes, cheap thermometers are often wrong. However, better a cheap uncalibrated thermometer than none.  You MUST monitorin the meatbox temp !

18.  start off slow – it’s a lot easier to stoke up a cold firebox than let a hot one die down.

19. Yes, I grill on my smoker too, but everytime I do that an angel loses a wing.

20.  There is a temperature plateu in every piece of meat, where it seems like it stays at that temperature forever, and you may start having doubts.  Stick to your temp, don’t mess with nothin’, it will break that plateu then shoot up.

21. BE PATIENT. It’s done when it’s done. Don’t try to rush it.  Don’t try to meet a deadline with it. If it ain’t ready yet, but y’all are ready for dinner, order pizza.   Don’t suddenly stoke up the heat and try to cook the meat faster; you’ll end up ruining it and wasting your investment.

22. I like to reheat leftovers in a steamer.

So this is all I can think of right now.  Over  the last couple years I know some friends have gotten smokers at home because of me and swear by them now. If you have any questions give me a shout.

Now they’re taking it to a whole new level: CHANGING YOUR PASSWORD.  Yup, Verizon just updated their TOS to now include, among other things, the right to change your router admin password at will, with no constraints or requirements built into the TOS. 

To me this is completely unacceptable.  Updating MY GATEWAY WHICH SITS ON MY LAN without my permission was pushing it far enough, but now I have to firewall my gateway from my ISP.  That’s messed up.   Verizon, I DON’T NEED NOR WANT YOUR HELP.  Keep your hands off my router.

Here’s the whole clause:

“3. Home Router Password Changes. Section 10.4 was updated to clarify that Verizon may in limited instances modify administrative passwords for home routers in order to safeguard Internet security and our network, the security and privacy of subscriber information, to comply with the law, and/or to provide, upgrade and maintain service.  The administrative password for your home router is used to access the “administrative” controls for the router and to make changes to your router’s internal settings.  We will use reasonable means to notify Subscribers whose home router administrative passwords are changed, which may include email notice to your Primary Email Address and/or an announcement on the My Verizon portal.”

- One way is 38 miles, for a total of 76 miles a day.
- That’s 1,520 miles a typical work month (76*20).
- At 40 miles per gallon (of diesel ) that’s 38 gallons of fuel (1520/40), and at an example price of 3.99 per gallon that’s 151.62.
-Now that same commutte with low tire pressure at 37 milese per gallon (of diesel) consumes 41.08 (actually 41.08108 repetand 108) of fuel per month, which at the example price of 3.99 per gallon is 163.91.   That’s a difference of 12.29.  Not a lot of money, particulary given how many miles that’s spread over, but it’s 12 bucks all the same.  Multiply that times 6 months of not checking your tire pressure, and it adds up to 73 bucks.

What if you have multiple cars in your family ? That’s even more fuel and money wasted.

Keeping your tires properly inflated also yields better traction, better handling, and longer tire life.  When tires lose pressure they change their shape, and all of their traction and performance characterstics change. 

How often do you need to check your tire pressure ?  If you’re like me, and hauling lots of equipment (I’m in a band) then I estimate you need to check your tire pressure at least monthy.  At a minimum you need to check it with seasonal weather changes (this means at least 4 times a year), as well as before or after any long road trips.

Here’s a couple things you need to know though:

1. Don’t use the pressure gauge on any air compressor.  

 To properly maintain your tire pressure you need a couple cheap tools, namely a real pressure meter.  The meters on the pumps at gas stations are worthless, as are those little pen shaped gauges.  Go to a car store, a super-department store like walmart, and buy yourself a decent gauge like the one I have pictured.  They’ll cost you about ten bucks, but will give you a much more accurate reading.  Also buy a small compressor – the type that’s powered by your cigarette lighter and add that to your small bag of emergency tools and supplies you keep in your trunk (you DO keep a bag of emergency tools like jumpers and a flashlight in the trunk of your car, right ?!?).

This is the right kind of pressure gauge to use.

2.  Check your tire pressure first thing in the morning. 

The pressure of a tire changes as you drive it; the tires literaly warm up and the air inside them expands.  Tire pressure specifications are meant for COLD tires, so check the tire pressure first thing in the morning before you drive the car anywhere.

3. Open the driver’s door.   Why ? Because as you look down inside the door panel you’ll see a sticker that tells you what the right pressure for your tires is.  THIS IS THE ONLY SOURCE YOU USE !  Don’t use anything else, including stuff printed on the tire (because it’s the vehicle manufacturer that determines the correct pressure for the correct performance characteristics for their vehicle), don’t use anything in a Haynes manual, anything the sales rep told you.  Check the sticker.  It’s the authoritative source and there’s a reason they are placed in a uniform location on all vehicles.

4.  Always check all four tires.

 Don’t assume that they lose pressure evenly – they absolutely do not. This morning I checked both my vehicles and found a 10 psi difference between tires on the same vehicle.  Yes, it’s been too long since I checked the pressure if there was such a difference.  I’ve had a rough winter (haven’t we all !).  Point being though, actually check all four tires because there *will* be a difference between the front and back tires, and sometimes even left side versus the right side !   For example, my rear tires on the Jetta were around 20 psi (not good ! ) while my front were around 30 psi.  I think hauling band equipment accounts for that difference.  On our van however, which is less than one month old, one side of the van was at a solid 35 and needed no topping off, while the other side of it was around 32 psi.  Why was the left side pressure higher than the right side pressure ? I’m not sure, although possibly the sunrise had something to do with it.  Either way, all tires on both cars are now at the correct pressure, so we’ll save fuel and I can drive more confidently.

I hope this helps some.  If so, leave a comment.  Spam links will be deleted as always.

Yay, Kennedy Pumpkin

That’s what was texted back by a colleague after I couldn’t help but MMS around pic’s of my latest jack’o lantern. I made this at my sister’s house, with her husband’s permission ahead of time. Turned out, it actually makes a bit of a humour IQ test. My son and brother-in-law cracked up the second they saw it, but other members of the family were stumped. Oh well. Tell me what you think of it. Note that I was just storing it, when properly staged there wouldn’t be a paper plate …

edits are me playing with wordpress to get best photo format.  you should be able to click through for the full-sized original.  or not, i dunno.

The sad part is, despite this weather, getting into the office by driving only took a few minutes longer than if I had taken the metro, and still cost less.

Update: WordPress won’t let me directly upload vid’s, so the video will come after I figure out where to host it.  Sorry

 Update 2: And the video, thanks to SintixErr’s tip on using vimeo !

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/acrobatic_thieves_hit_nj_best.html
Cut hole, rappel down, stay on racks to avoid cameras and floor-based presence detectors.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1108521.ece
Cut hole, rappel down, load off 3,000 computers from a SOCOM contractor. Not pretty.  Very not pretty, particularly considering you can’t always trust these large defense contractors when it comes to information protection.

Are you aware of any more roof-based robberies ? Fill me in on it via the comments.