Monday, April 13, 2009

My Nerdy Firefox Post

I know, I know, I have not posted in a LONG time. I have been somewhat busy, and too be fair, I hardly post on my Twitter account either. Since I am finally back at my SysAdmin position, I thought I would post something that has happened to me in the past week that has forced me to work with what I am allowed to and do my job.

Last Monday I was talking with some guys at the office while we waited for changes to their Web site to get uploaded. I went to one site, Failblog.org, whom with I have an RSS feed, so I pulled up their site to let the video load. Now I know I may have gotten the following malware/trojan installer from some other site on the Web, I just do not surf that often. Before I knew it, I had AntiSpy 2009 on my system, which installs trojan.vundo, at the very least.

So I then re-imaged my PC, and decided that I would finally run my browser in a great little program called Sandboxie from here on out. I will not get into the technical specifics, if you are curious here is their home on the Web - http://www.sandboxie.com/. Now my browser is running in a sandbox environment, and I can still use all of my Firefox extensions, which I will list momentarily. Not to mention I can download files and move them out of the sandbox, at my request!

I used this program in the past to look at Web sites if I had to reprimand someone for looking at obscene material, or check out Phishing sites. I feel safe to browse and have even gotten some people here at work to use it all the time. It does work with any software, so check it out!

I am finally starting to use Firefox for more than just my browsing needs, so I thought I would list what add-ons I use, just in case anyone out there is interested:

TwitterFox - just a nice add-on that will check for posts to people I subscribe to, and my own, and also keeps my replies, DM's, and everything in a nice to read and easy to manage interface.

Xmarks - I got really tired of saving my bookmarks to an HTML file and keeping it on a flash drive all the time. I have been using Xmarks for several months now, and I could not be happier. Everything is uploaded to an Xmark server which I have a FREE account with, and I can upload, download, sync, and everything with no issues. I still keep one HTML file for backup purposes, but having all my bookmarks at the ready on any machine I have the add-on installed is absolutely brilliant.

McAfee Site Advisor - I cannot stand their Anti-Virus software, same goes for Norton, but I do enjoy Site Advisor, which I use exclusively at work. At home I have AVG Anti-Virus installed, light weight and free mind you, and they have their own version of this software. Basically, it checks sites you search for in Google, Yahoo!, etc, and places a green check mark, red 'x', or '?' to let you know whether it is safe, unsafe, or unknown. Very handy if you are searching for anything really.

No Script - A nice add-on that lets you control what scripts, Java, etc. are executed, by giving you the option to allow certain sites access or blocking them outright. I had to modify some settings so I could hide all the pop-up questions this generated, and once you have your trusted site base built up it really is not as bothersome. This one you will have to install from their site, I at least did not find it in the Mozilla add-on search - http://noscript.net/

Firekeeper - This one I learned about at www.hackthissite.org, and I will just post what the Firekeeper site has to say about it, "Firekeeper is an Intrusion Detection and Prevention System for Firefox. It is able to detect, block and warn the user about malicious sites. Firekeeper uses flexible rules similar to Snort ones to describe browser based attack attempts. Rules can also be used to effectively filter different kinds of unwanted content." Head there to check out what you can and cannot do with this add-on - http://firekeeper.mozdev.org/ . This one you have to install manually as well, as you will not find it in the add-on search that Mozilla provides.

So for you Firefox fans out there I hope this helps you some. I am still not a big fan of IE, but here at work most sites the University makes is designed for IE. At least now when I browse with IE I use Sandboxie, that makes me feel a little better anyway.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Why not to do LSD

I found out about Mark Gormley at holytaco and that video blew my mind. I did a youtube search for him and found Little Wings...and then this gem, Beginnings. I think one of the things I love most about Mark is how he always looks like he just got off of work at Office Depot. He almost looks like the crazy uncle you don't want to be in the room alone with on Christmas, but hey, far be it for me to ruin what this guys loves doing. Oh, and he is Canadian! Enjoy!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Happy Holidays and ramblings

Happy Holidays everyone! I know Christmas has passed, but I hope you had a good one if you celebrate it.

I had a pretty good Christmas, with the exception of being sick, but I had some nice time off and had many surprises (including the stomach flu). Next up is New Years with the Wargos and Dio (and Kat of course), then Kat's birthday.

The lack of posting on my part is due to lack of creativity (or just being lazy) and work. The office tends to be where I blog, if it is a slow day or I just need to shift my focus. At the moment I am the interim head of support, so I am looking after the department I used to be a member of. It is different, but it is getting me some more experience with upper management.

The most exciting news I really have to report is that Kat and I should finally get the house we have been in battle to get since September. It needs some work done, but I am ready to get started on it. Hopefully this week or next we should have all the paperwork in and then I can start crying over not having any money.

Again, I will make empty promises of hopefully posting more, and I have an idea of reviewing some games I have been playing for the few of you who read this and play computer and video games. Just a thought I had, especially since so many games are cross platforms nowadays. I hope you have a safe and happy New Year! ABRUPT ENDING!!!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

My biased douchebag outlook

This is going to be short and sweet as I get ready to do some things for work...but I am so glad Obama won. I know what it is like to not have your candidate win, because it happened to me in the election prior...but you Republican voters will get over it (and if you do not...sucks to be you). I do not vote straight ticket, but in this election I voted for who I (and I cannot stress the 'I' enough) thought was the best candidate.

Now it does not come down to who lost, because he lost, and who feels they got shafted. This is our (again, I need to point out the stress of 'our') president, our future, and we just have to hope things change for the better. We were rooting for politicians after all...

It was great seeing Indiana make a change though...actually seeing a lot of states make changes, it has too at least make you realize that the nation wanted change...and we actually DO need change. Again, you may not agree with my thoughts on the election...however if you feel the need to argue with me in the comment section feel free, but I would just move to a different site and begin the healing process (try avoiding CNN and other news sources as they will only exacerbate your feelings of sadness).

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Weight Loss (Without Much Effort)

Now, I am no weight loss guru by any means. I am far from a healthy being in general, but that comes with my nerdy territory. Over the last few months (maybe weeks, I really have not paid much attention), I have managed to lose 13 pounds. I am pretty happy about this, but I haven't put a lot of effort into anything. At least, I will explain what I have been doing.

The first thing I did was cut back on my portions. I no longer go for seconds, unless I am absolutely starving. I have not cut back on what food I eat, which I really want to do. I am quite tired of pizza...I just wish I did not like it so much. The portion control helped, and cutting out snacks after 8 PM has added to that.

The biggest problem I have with snacking is, I just get bored and convince myself that I am hungry. Last night, for example, I was just watching tv and I got bored. So I went into the kitchen and was looking at cookies and other snacks, when I realized I really did not want any of them. I went over to the table and grabbed an apple instead. It actually hit the spot and I felt better for choosing the apple over a cookie.

The point is, I am 25 now, I am not 15. I need to start eating like an adult, and not some teenage garbage disposal. At 15 I weighed around 120 pounds, and I could eat anything in any quantity. After I hit 19, the weight gain started, especially since my diet did not change. I was still a kid, even if I was considered an adult, and I did not want to put much effort into watching what I ate. Of course, I have been paying for that even since. I am using different notches on my belt now,
and I do not cringe so much when I see myself in the mirror with no shirt on. It is probably in my best interest that I never like beer, because then I would really hate my gut.

My next goal, is to start some form of exercise, with the ambition to tone up and get in better health. For the last three weeks or so, I have been stretching at night. This is more for my lower back pains than anything, but it still is a form of activity. Hopefully I can start heading to the fancy gym attached to the high school I went to with my friend Chris. I need to do something, and since Kat and I are at my parents, it is not like I have a lot of things to keep me busy. It would be nice to have some home projects to do...but alas I will be waiting a while on that.

Kat and I have decided to not get cable tv when we do get a house. We are going to just stick with watching programs online or watch movies. We will probably get NetFlix which should help. I have a bad problem with channel surfing, and when I should be doing something useful or going to bed, I will channel surf. It is a habit I have always had. Which is why we do not want a tv in the bed room. We can still watch shows we want to watch, but we do not have to get sucked into to all the other BS you pay for when you get a television subscription to whatever.

On one last note, I will keep everyone (the two of you who read this blog :) posted about the house as I get information. Unfortunately, I doubt I hear anything this week or next.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

New Job, Day 2

So I started my new job yesterday. They have thrown me into the fire if you will. I am already setting up servers, something I have not done in almost a year. I still have the initial first job jitters and nervousness. It is even worse when you are moved to an area where you know everyone, definitely worse. At least if you do not know them, if you screw up who cares. All-in-all I think I am going to enjoy this new position and I will have a lot of learning and challenges ahead.

I was told today that we have to wait 2 to 3 more weeks on whether or not we get a counter or get a house. This sucks, because since I know it will take 3 weeks, that makes it November. If Winter comes early, that gives me NO time to do any outside work. It also means I will be paying for heat when I am not living in the house. While I am not thrilled to wait any longer, I will. If I can get this house for cheap, it will really be worth it in the end.

On a completely different note, and something I have been meaning to blog about. A good friend of mine whom I do not get to see very often, John, has asked me to be in his wedding. This really means a lot to me, and I am honored to be asked to be a part of the wedding. John has been with his fiance, Ann, for a while now and I could not be happier for the two of them. Hopefully, if time and job permits, I will make a point to see him long before his wedding. Unfortunately, while not incredibly far away from each other, it has been rather difficult for us to make any plans to get together. Again...I hope to remedy that in the next month or so :) shhhhh....He doesn't know that yet.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Long time, no blog

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted. I have been really busy and with the exception of some major things occurring in my life, there has not been much for me to blog about.

I got a promotion, in a sense. I applied for a job in our System Administrator department, and by some stroke of luck I got on. This means a pay raise, a raise in security clearance, and I finally get out of doing support. Now I do not mind support, I have done it for a very long time. However, it has really worn me down. I am usually bombarded by the same things over and over again. I will miss being in the same room with the Support team and goofing off with them, but I think this is the next step in my career with computers and I am looking forward to it.

Since my last post we have bid on a house. We bid on this house three weeks ago, and have barely heard a word on it since. Now, I know they are running the numbers, I at least know that much. We will see if we hear anything by end of day tomorrow. It has Katherine and I both in knots, we would just like to know if they even want our offer or not.

Well I will try to do better at posting, it is just easier for me to do so at work, when it is a little quiet. Unfortunately, for the Support team, it has been far from quiet the last several weeks, hence no posts. I doubt I'll be able to blog much from my new desk, but I will see what I can do.