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The management of updates has become an essential element in overseeing a computer network today.   Take the network that I manage for the school district I work for.  Being a Windows based network, our 90 servers and 5500 workstations rely on Microsoft update which are made available from Microsoft every  second Tuesday of the month for the most part.  Critical updates are made available on an as needed basis such as a hot fix or the plugging of a security hole that has been exposed. 

When I first entered the networking field, these updates had to be managed on an individual computer basis much like your home computer.  This of course was very labor intensive.  It also ate up a lot of your Internet bandwidth as each and every machine had to communicate directly to the Microsoft website.  Today, most windows based networks of any size utilize a Windows WSUS server, (Windows Software Update Services) which download s all available updates and then dispenses them throughout the network during off peak hours.  See the link for more information:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/wsus/bb466193.aspx 

The most common types of updates are for antivirus and anti spam applications.  Ensuring that these types of updates are downloaded and installed throughout the network is of the utmost importance.  Viruses can spread across the world in a matter of hours and can bring down critical servers or even an entire network unless AV applications are current. 

Like most schools and many other types of organizations we have a web filter.  Nearly every night, the filter downloads the latest site category updates.  To explain, a filter company constantly discovers new sites across the Internet for categorization and will return to previously visited sites to discern if the site needs to be recategorized.  

We have dozens of applications such as our backup software that regularly download updates as well.  In addition, all of our servers are from Dell, which periodically (about once a quarter) sends out a CD with hardware and BIOS updates for its machines.

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

             Thanks to David Cardoso for permission to use this Photo. 

Ten years ago the big upgrade in network speed was from 10 MB to 100 MB.  Organizations quickly began upgrading their LAN infrastructures to take advantage of this increase in performance.  This meant of course that CAT 3 cable had to be replaced with CAT 5 cable and all the switches and routers that couldn’t handle 100 MB had to be replaced.  Most organizations had to upgrade the NICs in all of their computers as well.  Five years ago, organizations started upgrading their datacenter structure to 1 Gig for all of their servers in order to enlarge the pipeline of data moving into and out of the datacenter from users. 

Although some organizations have provided 1 Gig throughput for their entire network, meaning that once again most switches, routers and NICs have to be replaced, many have not felt that the return on investment (ROI) is worth it.  Despite this, vendors are now touting the new 10 Gig Ethernet standard.   It will be interesting to see what type of demand for a speed that will most definitely require an organization to upgrade all involved switches and routers and NICS.  The cabling for 10 Gig is different as well.  

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

There are not many people who can seriously put into question the projected dominance of  Google search technology in the future evolution of the Internet.  Through his brilliantly engineered software architecture and conceptual maps of its' potential applications, supergenius Tim Berners-Lee, the acknowledged inventor of the World Wide Web, has for years been carrying his message of a "semantic web" that will make the current incarnation of the web seem look like your Dad's Rolodex by comparison. 

In Berners-Lee vision, the next generation of web technology will be semantic, i.e. all data will be interconnected and capable of communicating with other "information"  through a common language so speak.  The following article discusses the development of the semantic web alongside the related, but not parallel development of Google’s search, mapping, and tracking applications.  Berners-Lee is not anti-Google, but he is passionately against the centralization of web data and any form of proprietary control over Internet content. 

I also encourage you to check out this very insightful video presentation in which Berners-Lee takes you on a virtual tour of the Web from its’ beginnings into tomorrow.  This is fascinating stuff.   Please share your thoughts with the Ashworth Blog community after brainstorming on your own.   
 

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University    

                 Thanks to Dana Lee for permission to use this Photo.

Have you seen the recent commercials from Verizon Wireless touting their wireless service, contrasting their service with the seemingly restrictive confinement of WIFI.   This is part of a battle for wireless dominance.  WIFI is the current wireless standard leader.  If you have a laptop, chances are you have some sort of WIFI router device in your home to provide WIFI access for it and other devices in your house such as the newest IPOD release.  You have probably utilized the WIFI offerings of a local coffee shop or hotel (I couldn’t imagine staying in a hotel today that didn’t offer WIFI or at least Ethernet network access).  If you download a free program called NetStumbler and install it on a computer that has a wireless card, you can discover wireless access points wherever you are.  The program makes a sound every time a new WIFI point is discovered.   Driving around with your laptop running NetStumbler can make your computer sound like a video game as it will sound off repeatedly like a machine gun as it find the plethora of WIFE points in the area. 

The problem with WIFI is that it is spotty and not predictable.  WIFI has a limited range and many WIFI hotspots are now guarded with security such as WPA, disallowing public access.  This has created a demand for a more streamlined wireless standard that offers blanket coverage. 

One option is the cell phone companies such as Verizon.  These services can offer as much as much as 3.5 Gig of network throughput, putting WIFI to shame.  WIMAX is another option in which metropolitan areas can offer blanket coverage throughout the area with speeds up to 4 Gig.  Both of these offerings work on some sort of subscription plan which can cost as much as $60 a month.  Unlike WIFI, each and every device must have a separate subscription, making these alternatives very expensive.  Over a dozen metropolitan WIMAX projects have been dismantled over the past year due to higher than predicted costs and a shortage of willing subscribers.  WIFI has also fired back with the new 802.11n WIFI standard this year which offers greater throughput and coverage than its WIFI predecessors.  The battle has just begun for wireless dominance…

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

 
                     Thanks to NASA for permission to use this Photo.

If you are purchasing a PC today over $700, chances are the specs include a dual core processor.  Multi-core processors have been thetrend for several years.   A dual core processor is a CPU with twoseparate cores on the same die, each with its own cache. It’s the equivalent of getting two microprocessors in one.  A typical server today has at least two dual core processors.  Quad cores are also very popular too.  The organization that I work for typically uses dual quad core processors for any of the servers that will be carrying a processing load such as a database server, email server or a virtual host.  

But as you can surmise, it’s not stopping at quad core.  Intel will be releasing a six core processor later this year.  AMD will be releasing theirs early next year.  These will be strictly targeted at the server market since desktop software can barely fully utilize dual core processing.  And if 6 isn’t enough, both companies plan on releasing a 12 core processor sometime in 2010.

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

               Thanks to Nick Cueva for permission to use this Photo. 

There isn’t a profitable business segment today that isn’t competitive and that even includes the SPAMMING industry.  Two of the biggest Spamming organizations, Nugache and Storm are currently going at each other head to head to dominate the SPAM/malware market.  Yes, there is a market for SPAM and malware.  Surprised?  These organizations are not owned and operated by legitimate business people.  No in is yet sure who is behind Storm but many IT security experts feel that Nugache is linked to the Russian Mob, aka the Russian Business Network. 

Both of these organizations distribute SPAM through Zombie networks and both have been involved in highly criminal activities.  Zombie networks are composed of PC’s across the globe, which have been compromised by some type of Trojan Horse which allows the Zombie controllers to then use them to send SPAM, conduct phishing attacks or other types of illegal activities.   Each of these organizations control hundreds of thousands of computers.  Take Storm for example.  Some IT security experts have estimated that the Storm Zombie network, called the Storm Botnet, runs anywhere from one to fifty million computer systems.   Even the most conservative estimates place the size somewhere around 150,000 to one million.  The Storm Botnet in 2007 accounted for 8% of all malware on Microsoft Windows computers. 

This year, Storm has an extremely viable competitor, Nugache.  Although its zombie technology is not as sophisticated as Storm’s (for instance, Storm is somehow able to send SPAM in the native language of the receiver while Nugache cannot) Nugache has a big thing going for it right now, price.  In an attempt to unseat Storm from its botnet dominance, Nugache has initiated a price war.  Nugache will send one million emails for only $100.  For $800 you can send 10 million emails. 

It is because of the ridiculously meager amount of money that is required to SPAM a million people that SPAMMING is very profitable, even if the response rate to SPAM is only .01%.   It is the sophistication of these controllable zombie networks that worry IT security professionals.  Many fear that the current war for control of the malware market is only the beginning of this illegal destructive industry.

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

                  Thanks to conskeptical for permission to use this Photo. 

Have you ever wanted to revisit a link that was fifty or more characters long and was impossible to remember?  Have you tried to tell someone about a site with an extensively elongated URL?  A great example is the link for a specific link on YouTube. 

If you access such a site from the same computer all the time you can simply save that site as a favorite in your browser.  But what if you want to access the site from any computer you want?  Here is a great website to help you do just that,  

http://www.tinyurl.com  

For instance, let’s take a link to a book on Amazon about Windows 2008: 

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Server-Administrators-Pocket-Consultant/dp/0735624372/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209996637&sr=8-3 

This is a nasty link that only someone with a photographic memory could possibly remember.  Simply go to tinyurl.com and paste in the link.  Then assign it an easy to remember name such as 

win2008book_i_want 

And save it.  You would then access the link by simply typing 

http://www.tinyurl.com/win2008book_i_want 

You have to type in unique names that no one else has used before because each link has to be unique.  Most easy links such as www.tinyurl.com/Brad are already used. Of course, like most technological tools, this site poses a security risk to organizations as well as a great benefit.  People who use computers at organizations that utilize web filtering, such as schools and businesses, can create personal custom links for websites that are filtered by the organization, allowing them full access to these sites.  For this reason, Tiny Url is sometimes blocked by organizations to prevent this.  I recommend that you try it out for yourself…

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

 
                Thanks to Sherrie G. for permission to use this Photo.

A few days ago I purchased a new computer. The computer has a 4 gig hard drive — not much space for many programs. Well, I downloaded the updates or SP2 service pack the second day that I owned the computer. As we may see the hard drive is not built for that much data. Long story short; the hard drives capacity was reached.

Here is the solution: Re-install the software after a format and new partition. Well, the computer is small and has no CD drive. So, what to do? I thought that I could try to copy the software to a memory card and or an external hard drive and install from there. Guess what? The software was installed but the format was not in existence. The new installation files were copied right on top of the already full hard drive. Two other times the files were installed to the memory card and external hard drive.

After all this trouble the hard drive (c:/) did not register. Even better, the computer asked me what OS I wanted to load! I did make a selection but I had no luck. At that point I was without a functioning computer.

The problem: The programming or software on today’s memory cards and external hard drives are not always set to handle these installation problems. What we need is a solution to this problem. I have heard from other students that there is software for this situation, but it must not be an every day item. I have not seen much . . . to talk about.

Finally, I just paid for the external CD drive and I was back in business. Two things: 1. Attempting something new with available resources can lead to win, lose, or newly gained insight into a problematic situation. 2. Attempting something new can very much so be devistating to our equipment.

What did I gain, well; I understand that from a situation like this I can see what problems non-techs may have when they work with today’s computers. Although, I will be able to walk away from this task knowing that I can create software that is built for the common man or woman. I think it is a policy in today’s computer companies to think about the problems that can arise with software before it is sent out to the public. The main problem is the company that produced this computer did not realize that a 4 gig hard drive is not enough for today’s world. Solution: Do not allow the software to update, if it does the millions of customers out there will suffer the same fate that I did. Easy solutions for head-acking problemes!

Gabriel M.
Student
Ashworth University School Of Information Technology

The 2008 Global Information Security Workforce Study was recently released.  A total of 7,548 professionals in the field were surveyed.  The complete study can be downloaded at https://www.isc2.org/cgi-bin/content.cgi?category=510 

The most interesting headline from the study was the fact that 70 percent of all respondents reported that their own employees are the biggest threat to their organization’s security.  This is contrary to the common belief that organizations must throw most of their resources at the outside perimeter of the organization’s network to prevent outsiders from accessing their network.   

This premise is supported by a recent finding that email is now no longer the number one manner in which viruses access an organization’s network.  With the ease at which employers now bring in thumb drives, personal laptops and PDA’s.  Network security plans must focus on an umbrella approach that guards the entire network. 

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

 
                 Thanks to David K for permission to use this Photo.

Back in 2000, we were constantly told that the world was running out of IP addresses.  This was because IPV4, the IP standard we use for IP addresses only has so many mathematical combinations, thus there is a defined limit to the number of IP addresses that can be utilized.  Due to the wide spread use of IP in the world, a usage rate far beyond what the creators of IP ever visualized; the IT world was stressing out as to how to address the problem.  The solution was a new standard called IPV6 which introduced more bits into the addressing scheme.  In turn, millions of additional mathematical combinations were created, resulting in an equal number of additional IP addresses.   

Unfortunately, IPV6 is more complicated than its predecessor, requiring a degree of training for networking professionals.  We were told back then that IPV6 would be implemented by the middle of the decade and alleviate the crisis. 

Well guess what?  It’s 2008 and the world hasn’t run out of IP addresses which is why IPV6 is barely used in the industry today.  This is because of the wide popularity of NAT, Network Address Translation, which is used by most organizations that have a WAN presence.   

For those unfamiliar with NAT, Network Address Translation allows a single device, such as a router to act as an agent between the Internet (or “public network”) and a local (or “private”) network. This means that only a single, unique IP address is required to represent an entire group of computers.  This isn’t to say that IPV6 will wither on the vine.  As of right now, government offices are required to transition to IPV6 within the next couple of years and other organizations are planning such an implementation in the future, but IPV4 is and will continue to be alive and well for some time to come.

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University