Transferred Influx - Daniel Suarez' next adventure

Daniel Suarez has always had my interest with the technological thrillers that he's written.  When I first was introduced to Daemon, it was an adventure that caused me to read the book in a very short period of time.

In all his books, there's always been a hint of bleeding edge technology driving the story line, with "humanity" as a topic in tow.  And this book is no exception, however Arthur C. Clarke's third law seems to apply here.

As a person reads this book, the first couple of chapters really sets up a situation where someone would have to take the information as a leap of faith.  The real story doesnt really occur until maybe 30% into the book.  This has deterred some people in the reviews, and I dont fully disagree with them.  But now that I've read the whole book, I wouldnt really change a word.

The use of "magical" science dictates the need for an explanation of the science, which means.... a dry first 1/3 of the book.  The beginning really sets the book up to be more of a sci-fi novel than a thriller, but the key to this book is the turn and the finish.

Unlike the beginning, the middle and end of the book is the rest of the roller coaster ride.  The book can, in no way, be described as anything other than a thriller.  And a fun one to boot.

So my advice to anyone who starts to read Influx, start and push through.  And you'll eventually feel drawn in, like gravity.

Enjoy the ride. :-)

Information Security Introduction

Hey Cisco, I wanted to ask you some questions about your job. I mite be interested in doing something in that industry like information security but i'm not sure yet. I talked with someone today about shadowing someone to see if I would like it and even tried to look up youtube videos but i can't find anything.

When it comes to the Information Security industry, it’s mostly about protecting corporate information.   Every corporation or government agency has information they wouldn’t like getting out.  My uncle worked for the Navy as a civilian contractor, and he talked about how some guys were getting information out through a rewritable CD that was disguised as a normal country album.  Or sometimes you want to control if people can use a USB flash drive or not on their workstations, or you can block them from going to certain sites, or even just allow specific white listed sites.

Watch all of these, then let me know how lost you get J

Funny Hackers Stories:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4oB28ksiIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqKafI7Amd8

Information Security Career:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsUb3P8Eceg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFB34YGK1U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ6xoAtdF3o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV7rYsTy_sY

Information Security Tools:

Wireshark : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X5TwvGXHP0

Symantec Endpoint Protection : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk36nLZmID0

Nexpose / Metasploit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6gRKGo3Iv8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0x_O75tRAU

Farewell Sony Vaio, nail in Windows coffin

This is the end.

Yep, that's right.  This is the end of Sony's relationship with Windows for the near future.  They quietly removed the ability to buy Vaio computers from their site.

Tech Can Be A Life Saver and also a Life Hinderer

The realization that technology has made our lives easier and harder at the same time.

I drive my car to a mechanic out in the middle of nowhere. And drop car off. I use my Nokia phone city lens to find breakfast out beyond where I can see. I walk in that direction trusting my tech. I find the breakfast place around the corner. I order my food. And except for telling my order, I speak to no... one.

I realize... Tech makes life easier by not having to rely on chance. The chance that someone will come by, the chance that the person is willing to talk to a stranger... the chance that they will know anything about the area. But I also realize it's by those chances that we could have made the best friendships and memories we've ever had.

The generations following will have less chances ...

UPDATE:
Though, you can also say... less chances of meeting a stranger and getting mugged.... lol. As future generations use technology to get around the useless questions, we have to teach them that, now more than ever, we have to focus and put more effort in interacting face to face with those we DO want in our lives.

Strangers are one source of friends, but not the only source. There's always friends of friends, classmates, etc.... Don't get rid of your tech, just know that it's not the only part of living in this world.

Transferred Ready Player One (Book Review)

Book Series: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline

Once having heard this book being described as Willie Wonka meets World of Warcraft, the description seemed very attractive.  And in no way does the description not ring true.  Ernest Cline had a lot of fun writing this novel as he did marketing it.

Beyond the book, he even tied a three month "easter egg" hunt to enhance the experience of reading the book. Readers of the first edition hard cover were treated with having to find a riddle in the book, answering it led to a website. At this website they'd have to beat a video game , then repeat all steps tree times. Ultimately at the end , the winning reader won a delorean with a built in flux capacitor.

All of this ties to a novel that has the joys of an online video game adventure combined with a fun childish mystery.  At the beginning , readers will be introduced to a world where the eighties are everything and the people with the most knowledge will have the greatest advantage.

The protagonist seems too be a character that might not seem worthy of the readers cheers, but as the story picks up, they'll suddenly find themselves rooting for him out loud.

This isn't meant to be the most believable book. Its requirement of disbelief extends as far as any Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings or Percy Jackson.  But beyond that disbelief, there are some references to the eighties that might be too obscure for some younger readers.  Those readers should be prepared to read along side the Internet, just in case the occasional Google search is required.

~FZver

Transferred Kill Decision (Book Review)

Book Series: Kill Decision
Author: Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez continues his love for studying the bleeding edge of technology with this next book in his collection of thrillers that have yet to disappoint.  Before, with his book series Daemon and Freedom, he dipped his toes into all aspects of humanity's extension through techologies tying themselves to the Internet and even to thoughts of the outer edges of the Singularity.  Here in Kill Decision, Mr. Suarez leaves the global focus of the web and human communication, and continues through the more dangerous and scary thoughts of directed self directed killing machines.

As the title hints, the book covers the idea of the "kill decision".  The question is, who is in control of whether a person lives or dies?  In the eyes of where we are, it's in some form of human.... could be a judge, a jury, or even that moment when a soldier is pulling the trigger, fighting for his life.   But the book covers the idea of, what if the robots that we have created were given the decision?

Mr. Suarez did his due diligence, once again showing that he always has the pulse of technology under his fingers.  And with that knowledge at hand, he weaves a story that scratches an itch within the reader that lingers even after putting the book down.

The swarming technology, the robot technology, the technology brought through this book can really REALLY scare.

~F.Zver

Transferred Daemon + Freedom (Book Review)

Book Series: Daemon + Freedom
Author: Daniel Suarez

Everyone wonders what can be done with the technology at hand.  What that next massively multi player online will be that takes over the youth of the world?  What is that next technology that will have us interact with our world a little differently?  Or maybe what can be done to cheat death?

With the series, Mr. Suarez does his due diligence and gathers all the information needed to bring to life, a world where one person with enough influence, knowledge, and willpower can pull back the curtain and play with the strings tied to all the puppets of this world.  Part of the fun of enjoying this thrillride is to read and be introduced into the beautiful technology that is today's bleeding edge.

This is a grand vision, brought to us by an author who writes with a passion for the technology that he represents.  Like a prophet, he weaves a tale, a vision, or maybe a prophecy that the technology in this world can be used with a dark precision, driven by a mind who can use them like a surgeon with a scalpel.

Any reader who enjoys technology and who wants to curl up reading a thriller, 'would enjoy this series.  Even today, the technology is still being shown to the world.  All readers will continue to enjoy discovering the technology in real life, as the rest of the world catches up to Daniel Suarez vision.

~F.Zver

Transferred Enders Game + Shadow Series (Book Review)

Book Series: Enders Game + Shadow Series
Author: Orson Scott Card

Enders Game is soon to be a movie, so this review needs to be published.  :-)

Enders Game doesnt appeal to everyone.  There's no question about that.  Everyone can find something in the book, but some people cannot suspend their disbelief.

Lets start from the beginning.  Ender's game is a book about a child named Ender.  And part of the book is from this child's point of view.  This is where readers differ on how they react or take in this main character Ender.  Some can call him cold hearted, some can call him efficient.  But that seems to be what the author intends.

These questions are questions that people dont normally think about.  How far is too far?   It would be an injustice to give too many details since further generations will be reading this book and this series.   However, we can cover the greater topics.

Enders Game covers the idea of controlled births, one world government, alien attack, and children trained to fight.  It covers friendship, sibling relationship, parent/child relationship, and even mentor/student relationships.  Maybe the book reaches too far, but Enders Game isnt a story about humanity's survival, it isnt a story about some kid growing up.  It's the story about the relationship people can have with each other.

You can get attached to any one of the characters in the series.  Interestingly enough, I got attached to "Bean" a minor character in Ender's Game but a really major character in Ender's Shadow.

Enders Shadow isnt an original  idea.  We have other books that cover minor characters as main characters, for example Rosencrantz And Guildenstern are Dead.
But here, Orson has taken the idea to a further extereme.  He's taken Bean, the character that has a pretty minor role in Ender's Game, and has created whole new point of view and essentially, world.  Especially as the series continues, it leaves the world of Ender behind and brings about the world of Bean.

The interesting paths that Scott Card takes in his books are facilitated by the great fan base the books have generated.  When a reader reads Ender's Game, Scott Card provides a base.  From there, a reader can follow Ender through the universe, with a more philosophical understanding through the Speaker of the Dead book series.  A reader also has the possibilty of going through the political path with the Shadow series.   Bean's world is a world of political intrigue and a world full of international powerplays by whole countries.  Thriller readers would love it.

In the end, Scott Card has written a scifi thriller without the tech fluff.  He doesnt beat you over the head.  He lets the relationships between the characters do the talking.

No matter what you've heard, it's still worth the time to read both of these books (Enders Game and Enders Shadow).  Think about the questions that they inspire.  Maybe you'll learn something about yourself that you never dared question...

~F.Zver

Transfered ... Zero Day + Trojan Horse (Book Review)

Book Series: Zero Day + Trojan Horse
Author: Mark Russinovich


Mark Russinovich has provided an immeasurable difference in the industry.  With gifts as Sysinternals and Windows Internals, its hard to imagine that Mark has more to give, but with these two books, he once again has given another positive to the people of this industry.

It goes without saying that media and entertainment avenues struggle sometimes to compromise technological realism with entertainment, but Mark has provided a series that seems to be tailored specifically for the geek in all of us.

In both books, the pacing is key.  The first half of the book works more as setup, instead of moving the story on a faster pace.  Most thrillers get you with a hook, but Mark's style is more of slow burn.  The story simmers and gives the readers time to breathe and take in the technology.  Part of this pace is due to Mark's none forgiving attention to detail.  Traditional thriller readers might get turned away, but techies will enjoy the extra information.

These books are a great pickup and a great pair of books as part of any techies library.

~F.Zver

Cluttered Life = Cluttered Mind

Look into LifeHacker Clutter article

fail early! fail often! Closing before you start.

How Your Web Experience with Selenium...

Have you ever wondered why it is that you have to do the same things over and over on the internet?  Maybe you want to just have your computer automatically do everything?  With Selenium you can actually do that...

Efficiency Through Controlled Distraction

Learning and Skillset is a priority. 
Distraction and Fun, needed for Creativity
However, you need to learn something as well.

http://lifehacker.com/how-clutter-affects-your-brain-and-what-you-can-do-abo-662647035

PRISM... Safety vs. Security

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/prism-collection-documents/

http://twit.tv/show/this-week-in-law/214

http://twit.tv/show/this-week-in-law/215

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-408.txt

Consumer Responsibility Gone.

Consumer responsibility gone and autodrive cars will be subscription only.  List article about http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/what-will-happen-when-your-driverless-car-crashes-510549375

Passives, The Devil's in the Details

Passive

"Accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance."


The word passive can both be used for the user victim and the type of attack that makes them the victim.  If a person doesn't attempt to protect themselves, then they are by definition, passive to the threats all around.  The threats themselves are also passive, because they aren't directed.

What can only be described as wide spread chaos, the Internet is a thriving center of both directed and not directed threats.  A virus can be written both to attack particular people, or just attack anyone who touches it.

Lets walk in the shoes of a malicious person, who wants to take advantage of people who don't know any better.  Just like a normal person, he or she doesn't want to do anything too complicated.  You see, a good hacker, whether white hat, black hat, a threat or a good guy, likes the elegant type of solution.  The simplest answer is the best one.  In the case of our malicious person, lets say that he or she creates a picture file, with a virus in it, and emails it out.  And that email is forwarded by people because they thought the picture was funny.

You can say that this email was not directed to anybody in particular, but people still got infected.

Not all hackers are out to get you directly...  they fish.  They fish to see who would bite.  Who would take their bait?   Sometimes people don't even know that clicking that picture and looking at it is the equivalent of taking the bait.

Now passive threats can come in many different ways... it could be because a site has threats in their ads, you don't even have to click those.  It could be because you got an email from your "bank" but it linked to a page that wasn't really their page.  It could be just as simple as giving your computer access to the internet and visiting just one website.


Passives are dangerous, but they're sadly a part of the risk of surfing the Web.  In later posts we'll cover ways to try to make your journey through the Internet as safe as possible.  Remember, there is no such thing as 100% safety when it comes to computers.



~F.Zver

Tone deaf Theories

1. Tone deaf could be through the input
2. Tone deaf could be through the output
3. Actors can imitate through practice
4. Would inductive skull listening help tone deaf output since they are not using regular input?

Dont Blame the Internet.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/1/4279674/im-still-here-back-online-after-a-year-without-the-internet

The internet is a tool.  No soul.  Just like how the old samurai would say that they felt a connection with their swords, you can connect with the internet, but it doesnt mold you.   It'll definitely reveal what exists in you, but it doesnt change you.   It's a dumb tool with no aspirations or evil goals to change humanity.  Humanity will always be as it always has been.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/1/4279674/im-still-here-back-online-after-a-year-without-the-internet

Dog Raising... from new parent

Just off topic, non technological post.

I have a young pup

Heard a story from a coworker bout how his dog died.

Liver failure

no filtered water

and industrial strength cleaner.

notice your dog cleaning itself too much

be careful about the dogs health.