Server Administration Course

Spring 2013 semester at Metro State University, I am enrolled in CIS 4030, the Server Administration course. This covers all admin tasks associated with Windows Server 2010 and Apache Servers, from installation to security. This will build on my knowledge of websites, HTML, and other web-related technologies.

Professors Dr. Janos Fustos is great! Born in Hungry, I took his CIS 3030 course in Business Web Page development. Next semester I will probably enroll in CIS 3145, Programming in Visual Basic 2010.

SharePoint 2007

SharePoint 2007

I am working with SharePoint 2007 while at the BLM architectural & Engineering Division. Creating Document Libraries to house scanned documents of past projects from several western states, including Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Utah, etc. I am utilizing my own custom designed Document Library with a number of columns for specific metadata, ranging from single-line text to columns for page numbers and file size. Mostly employing web part pages with a content editor web part, I also utilize the Content Query Web Part alongside the Image Web Part.

This is a fun project that I hope will last into May, but could get cut short due to the congressional budget fiasco. If they don’t get their act together, funding will be cut off and I’ll be pounding the streets again 😦

Check out the links to the PDFs for examples of the SharePoint site I’m working on.

colorado-map, Document Library Workflow, home-page, Montana, montana-map, SharePoint Document Library Columns, SharePoint Document Library Views, Utah, utah-map, Alaska, alaska-map, Colorado

Raspberry PI

I just got my new Raspberry PI. http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Now onto setting it up. I want to use it as a media center to stream content from the Internet. Hopefully it will be suitable as a Cable replacement. I want to use the Raspbian “wheezy” image for my OS. I’ll load XBMC (XBox Music Center) to get media to play. I’ve been looking at some HDMI monitors and TVs but haven’t decided which way to go.

 

Computer Security Threats

I was reading an article the other day on PC World.com about new and old PC security threats that will rear their ugly heads in 2012. These are new and even old versions of malware that can hijack or ransom your system.

There are also new threats to SSL certificates, although it’s not really to the SSL certificate encryption, but rather it hijacks your user name and password before it gets encrypted.

There are Malware that will target certain websites, such as banking and retail sites. These are out to grab specific information such as credit card or bank login informaiton.

Another type of Malware will bury itself deep within your system. This will run in the background, not affecting PC performance, so it is rarely noticed. Zero Access is a rootkit used for multiple malicious purposes. One goal is to disable any anti-virus programs from working. This allows the rootkit harder to remove.

Ransomware is computer malware which holds a computer system, or the data it contains, hostage against its user by demanding a ransom to return the system to working order. Ransomware typically enters a system as a conventional computer worm, through a vulnerability in a network service or an e-mail attachment.

Older malware have been appearing lately affecting MS Windows systems. Storm Worm is a backdoor Trojan Horse that when an attachment is opened, the malware installs the wincom32 service, and injects a payload, passing on packets to destinations encoded within the malware itself.

Mobile is the latest threat to electronic devices. Last year saw an unprecedented rise in attacks on Android devices. This is expected to rise even more in 2012.

All this points to the importance of keeping your system’s anti-virus protection updated and keeping your PC updated with the latest service packs. I’ve been going through this cycle for years. I always point out that I don’t really have to do this for my Linux system.

I have a dual-boot MS XP/Linux Ubuntu box. I keep the MS side of it virus protected, but don’t really have yo worry about the Linux side of the box. Way to go Linux!!!

Is this the Future of Computers?

Tags

Computers, Technology

I was reading about the launch of the Raspberry PI, a new credit card-size PC with a 10/100 LAN port, two USB ports and an SD card port for memory and is powered by a standard USB mobile charger.
http://www.element14.com

I am only starting to imagine the possibilities! A fully functioning computer that can be placed almost anywhere? Imbed this tiny PC in a kitchen appliance and think of the possibilities 😉

I can’t wait to get my hands on one!!!

The Future of Search Engines?

Tags

Search Engines, Technology

Is Google’s new ‘Knowledge Graph’ a new paradigm or just another re-hash of what’s already out there? Search Google for “10 largest cities in the united states” and you will likely get a substantive and authoritative list of results. The problem is that Google does not really understand your query.  Google wants to change that with their ‘Knowledge Graph’.

A recent Google acquisition, Freebase, is a community-built knowledge base packed with some 12 million entities. Combine that with Google’s own KB and those entries now total more than 200 million. Searches based on a collective knowledge base will be a complete shift in how they are accomplished now. More power and complexity with be the standard. A knowledge base is far more refined and advanced than a word index, typically found in the back of a book.

Other search engines have been doing similar searches. WolfRam Alpha http://www.wolframalpha.com/, Bing from MS http://www.bing.com/, Lexxee http://www.lexxe.com

This type of searching throws all prior website search optimization tricks out the window. No more loading pages with Keyword and Description metatags. No more duplicating links on your site to gain a more favorable Google site ranking. It’s back to the drawing board for SEO.

Database Security

Tags

Databases, Technology

The matter of database security hit close to home last November. My teenage son has a Steam account for online gaming. I just read that their database was hacked end of last year and may have exposed customers credit card info to the infiltrators.

I am not entirely positive, but it seems to me that most databases are somehow connected to the internet. Whether it be an E-commerce website or a corporate database on their internal Intranet, both are still connected to the Internet. Of course the internal database would be better protected as it should be behind a firewall(s), could be both hardware and software types.

The most important step in securing a database is data encryption. There are 3 levels of data encryption; column-level, database level, and file-level. Of these 3, file-level encrypts not only the data, but also any output from the database, reports, spreadsheets generated from the database, emails, as well as the database configuration files.

This should be top priority for all DBAs!

JSTOR Conundrum

Tags

Computers, Technology

I read a news story yesterday about Aaron Swartz and the indictment in the JSTOR case.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/21/aaron-swartz-indicted-hacking-charges

This guy downloaded more than 4 million academic articles from JSTOR, an online academic repository. Is this a case of merely copying information from publically available databases as his defenders proclaim or a matter of outright stealing as the U.S. Attorney maintains?

The ALA Linkedin group discussion on the matter
http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&srchtype=discussedNews&gid=40592&item=92648377&type=member&trk=eml-anet_dig-b_pd-ttl-cn&ut=05ou7RN2UtXB41

Not only did he download an inordinate amount of articles, he also went as far to bypass MIT’s security system so he could continue downloading more articles.

Another point is that JSTOR did not press charges, since they were returned the stolen materials.

I contend that what he did was stealing. Academic authors utilize JSTOR to protect their intellectual property. Most of these articles are not yet in the public domain.

My First SQL Database

Tags

Computers, Databases, Technology

Started to create a database completely in SQL. This example creates the MealType table and inserts values:

CREATE TABLE MEALTYPE (
MEAL_TYPE int,
MEAL_TYPE_NAME varchar(10)
);
INSERT INTO MEALTYPE VALUES(‘1′,’Breakfast’);
INSERT INTO MEALTYPE VALUES(‘2′,’Brunch’);
INSERT INTO MEALTYPE VALUES(‘3′,’Lunch’);
INSERT INTO MEALTYPE VALUES(‘4′,’Dinner’);
INSERT INTO MEALTYPE VALUES(‘2′,’Supper’);
INSERT INTO MEALTYPE VALUES(‘2′,’Snack’);

/* — */

This is just one entity in my recipe database. Of course this is just the start. I have several other tables I need to create and then I need to learn how to establish the relationships between the entities/tables.

And so the fun begins 🙂

Information Systems Analyst

Tags

Systems Design, Technology

Metro State college has a Certificate Program for “Information Systems Analyst“.
http://www.mscd.edu/~cis/programs/certificate.shtml#ISA

This will enhance my database knowledge. My wide range of skills and abilities are useful in this field. Bringing a diverse range of technology together to provide solutions to business problems is a focus of mine.