Testing out Google 2 Step Verification

Not posted for a while

Just picked up an iPad which is a brilliant piece of kit. However, while it has all of the fine features of an ipod for filter and working with your music, books seemed to have been left out.

I would love to be able to rate books, organise them using different meta-tags and for these to actually make a different to the way they are presented on the ipad in iBook.

Lack of Wireless protection is again in the headlights of security scrutiny.

The line for acceptable wireless security controls is constantly moving. WEP was never considered secure. It arrived broken and just became “brokener”.

WPA is now replaced by WPA2 and that latest version is under attack by dictionary attacks. It is very impressive that a wireless secret key is now worth 34 dollars.

The easiest way to protect yourself from attacks on your wireless device is to work on the elements that go into the encryption process. For the WPA-PSK process that involves the password and the SSID. Having a non-default SSID was always a good idea since it tells the potential attacker nothing about the network that they are sniffing. it is easy to change and can reflect your personality. Since the SSID (and SSID length) are used to slat the algorithm changing these from the default is the first step in securing a wireless connection.

Secondly, you need to choose a passkey of a reasonable length. To avoid repetitive phrases, I tend to use GRC password generator for 63 character keys. This can be a bit of pain for devices where the key has to be entered by hand (sometimes with a wiimote).

These two tasks should leave your wireless access device fairly secure but the other side of the coin (detective controls) should also be in place. More on that later.

Brilliant resource for those moving from technical careers to more entrepreneurial ventures.

At some point you need to know this stuff. I have used the MIT Computer studies materials before but this Financial courseware fills in a lot of blanks.

Good to see the old alma mater in the news.

Logo carved onto human hair

Sharpening tools.

I started to get the tools I use in order. I updated the ipod, the N95 and got my toolsets setup for the laptop and USB keys.

I have also decided to revert back to an older format of the Moleskine Task book. I had changed it recently by adding context tabs in the book (Online, Home Etc) as described in the GTD system. But it simply created a log of sections I did not refer to. Tasks got lost in the several places that they could be stored. I am going to grab a new Plain Ruled Moleskine and try again. This time I will have one big section for Next Actions and Porjects with a bit of room at the back for new sections that come to mind. A blogging subjects area comes to mind.

I am currently going through the "joy" of renewing my Canadian Passport. Unlike the pampered Brits who get 10 years of use out of their passports, Canadians have to go through this every five years.

The passports gods have decided to add a couple new hoops to the process, including two referees and additional documentation. The guarantor must be providing his services free of charge, which means that your GP are out of the question (since they charge for everything)

Finally, there is the pain of trying to find a photographer who meets the criteria of the Canadian Passport Authorities (no photo booths allowed). Size requirmentsand the elusive stamp on the back with photographer's address and space for the guarantor's signature.

Thankfully, I found folks in Glasgow who do this - Venart Photography on Bath Street in Glasgow. So I have an appointment to get this done. Then it is just the Guarantor and getting the documentation together for mailing to London.