CertDoctor

Very Interesting Investigative Journalism by Brian Krebs:

LINK
Interesting development in the SSL/ TLS certificate space.
LINK

“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
-Sun Tzu

QUESTION:
Anyone know about a biometric identification system that can work for all? I read somewhere that Iris detection can’t properly identify certain individuals with eye disorders or who are blind?

ANSWER:
I haven’t researched this but as a rule any biometric security device is dependent on individuals having those parts to measure or scan for unique characteristics. If your disabled or in some way an can’t use that kind of device then I guess that’s an obvious downside but then again the nature of biometrics. I’d just implement a token system for those that couldn’t use a a biometric scanner (such as the one linked below) which is an OTP (One Time Token) system.

PS- A good biometric solution does not violate privacy in any way the unique characters that are scanned are turned into a quantifiable data or code that is run through a hash witch is non-reversible. And the hash is stored not any photo or any thing like that.

By the way I’m a disabled IT Security Professional.
Source(s):
https://store.yubico.com/

QUESTION:
Anyone know what a shared secret is when using a VPN on Mac?

ANSWER:
Not entirely sure. I assume if its like a shared key on a Wifi router. In such a case a shared key or secret is a code or password that is used to generate the symmetric encryption key. The key or secret is shared offline generally although you could share it some other way.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_secret

QUESTION:
What is the quickest way to move files from one hard disk to another – it tells me it will take 1078 hours to transfer 27GB – sounds wrong. (What to do?)

ANSWER:
If that’s the Microsoft copy tool built into windows then yes its probably wrong. I use TeraCopy for big copy routines especially since Windows is known for skipping files or hitting a road block and not telling you what caused the problem or where to resume. TeraCopy was recommended on the TWIT podcast network by Windows Weekly. Links below and I beleve you can find the file on CNET downloads as well.

With this said if your trying to copy a drive that you boot off as a whole that won’t work. Some of the files for Windows are active. You’d have to boot of something else like your second drive and start the copy routine from there.

Fastest Option: Drive imaging is the fastest option or drive cloning. This for what you stipulated would take 20-45 minutes. (Norton Ghost can image not sure about cloning)
Source(s):
http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.php
http://www.winsupersite.com/paul/podcast.asp

Unless I get a lot of comments or Red Bulls I’m probably not going to update the Network+ Notes at this time and instead focus on presenting my notes and insights on the CTT+ exam first. I could however probably be talked into releasing my old Network+ notes. Thanks for the feed back and below is a sample of my old notes.

Sample of Notes: (Outline Components come from the Original Outline from CompTIA)

I.1.3 Associate IPX, IP, and NetBEUI with their functions.
IPX- (Internetworking Packet Exchange) Is part of the SPX/IPX protocol suite designed by Novell. It is a routable and connectionless oriented protocol. This protocol operates at the Networking layer of the OSI model and is responsible for addressing for nodes using SPX/IPX suite. IPX addressing is always dynamic and can not be manually configured because the address is partly composed based on the NIC’s (Network Interface Card) MAC (Media Access Control) number, the network number, and the socket number. When conflicts arise due to MAC address duplication on the network the network card will need to have its MAC address reconfigured. Contact the manufacture.
IP- (Internet Protocol) is part of the TCP/IP suite. This to is a connectionless oriented protocol.

I.1.4 Define the following terms and explain how each relates to fault tolerance or high availability:
• Mirroring
Mirroring- is duplication of a drive namely from one to another. This allows for one drive to fail and for the other mirrored drive to take over. Keep in mind mirroring only uses one disk controller so if the controller burns out you have a problem. First supported by RAID(Redundant Ray of Independent Disks) 1. (RAID will be explained shortly.)
• Duplexing
Duplexing- Simply put it is mirroring with a second disk controller. So that not only do you have fault tolerance on your drives but also for your controllers. Supported first by RAID level 1.
• Striping
Striping- This process only improves performance by itself. Striping allows for a volume of data to be spread out across multiple drives in by breaking it. Until striping a volume across multiple drives meant that each drive had to be filled up in order. So only one set of Read/write heads was active at one time, but with striping all read/write heads are active which improves overall speed. This striping only helps with fault tolerance when used with parity. RAID level 2 first supported data striping with a drive dedicated to parity information. (A brief explanation of
• Volumes
Volumes- Is a defined section of disk space. This can include a portion of a disk, the entire disk, or multiple disks. These are then given logical names for your convience such as (C,D.E drives and etc.).
• Tape backup
Tape backup- Oldest and most common form of removable backup media. Pros- simple to use, inexpensive, and high capacity. The following is a list of common types of tapes used and there storage capacity.
QIC 100MB+
DOS Cartridges for DAT drives 1GB+
DLT 35GB+
AIT 25GB,50GB
Types of backups are as follows with an explanation.
*Full- Simply backups up all data on a drive(s) specified. Note: takes the longest period of time to backup or restore. If multiple tapes are going to be needed an autoloader(such as a DAT autoloader) that loads to tapes after each is filled could be useful. Verse, having someone come by the station every few hours and see if a new tape is needed.
*Differential- This is used in conjunction with a full backup. A differential backup simply backups all files that have modified since the last full backup. The archive bit is utilized by the NOS to indicate the appropriate files to be backed up. During a full backup all files have their archive bit cleared.
*Incremental- This is used in conjunction with a full backup. A incremental backup backups all files that have changed since the preceeding full backup or incremental backup. Thus it backups all files that have changed then it clears those files archive bit.
***Usually all three methods are used together but they can be.
For simplicity here is what your would do if you needed to restore a server. Left to right indicates which to to restore first.
/Full Restore while using (full & incremental backups)
Full + All Incrementals up to the date of crash = Full Restore
/Full Restore while using (full & differential backups)
Full + Most recent Differential = Full Restore
/Full Restore while using (full, differential, & incremental backups)
Full + All incrementals + differential if it was the most recent backup = Full Restore

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“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.”
-Pablo Picasso

This exam has changed since I took it but I plan on incorporating the new objectives into my FREE training. Here’s the basics.

This certification is for IT Professionals who want to specialize in networking technologies. It basically certifies you as a network technician and a entry level network admin. You’ll learn cabling, protocols, server layouts, security implementations, and much more. Check out more about the cert.

http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed/network.aspx