FCC to publish weekly list of robocallers and robotexters

Don’t you hate it when you receive a spammy text message or an unwanted robocall or telemarketing call? The FCC said it received over 215,000 complaints from consumers last year, which averages out to about 590 per day. Last week, in its newest efforts to bring down the hammer on spammers, the FCC started releasing robocall and telemarketing consumer complaint data which will be updated every week; the purpose of such name/blame/shame weekly lists is “to help developers build and improve ‘do-not-disturb’ technologies that allow consumers to block or filter unwanted calls and texts.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FCC to publish weekly name-shame-blame list of robocallers and robotexters

Don’t you hate it when you receive a spammy text message or an unwanted robocall or telemarketing call? The FCC said it received over 215,000 complaints from consumers last year, which averages out to about 590 per day. Last week, in its newest efforts to bring down the hammer on spammers, the FCC started releasing robocall and telemarketing consumer complaint data which will be updated every week; the purpose of such name/blame/shame weekly lists is “to help developers build and improve ‘do-not-disturb’ technologies that allow consumers to block or filter unwanted calls and texts.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Transport Protocols

One of the early refinements in the Internet protocol model was the splitting of the original Internet protocol from a single monolithic protocol specification into the Internet Protocol (IP) and a pair of transport protocols. The Internet Protocol layer is intended to be used by the internal switches within the network to forward the packet to its intended destination, while the Transport Protocol layer is intended to be used by the source and destination systems. In this article I’d like to look at what we’ve been doing since then with these transport protocols.

Someone just bought your smart home. Did they get your data, too?

It's move-in day, and you finally have the papers and the keys for your new home. But do you have the passwords?That's one of the questions homebuyers and renters should be asking themselves now that connected devices like locks, lights and thermostats are growing more common, according to the Online Trust Alliance. The industry group joined up with the U.S. National Association of Realtors to compile a checklist for anyone moving in or out of a connected home.Built-in Internet of Things gear can make a new residence like a gadget you'd buy from an electronics store, with the added complication that someone else configured and used it before you did. Access to connected-home devices can mean a view into intimate information about how someone lives, or how they lived before they moved out: Door locks and thermostats might record when you're home, lights note what rooms you spend your time in, and security cameras keep an eye on you.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dumb, dumber, and cybersecurity

The reason you got hacked is because you listen to dumbasses about cybersecurity, like Microsoft.

An illustrative example is this article on "10 steps to protect" yourself. The vast majority of cyber threats to a small business are phishing, password reuse, and OWASP threats like SQL injection. That article addressed none of these threats.


But it gets better.

At the bottom of that article is a link to this "Cyber Security IQ" quiz at Microsoft's small-business website. The first question asks about password sharing. I show their "right" answer here:


Their correct answer is "None of the above", meaning that it's not okay to share your passwords with anybody. But this is nonsense. For your work account, of course it's okay to share your password with your boss. In fact, it's often necessary.

There have been several court cases where IT administrators have been fired, where the companies later found that the fired employee is the only one with passwords to certain critical systems. The (former) administrators were prosecuted for refusing to give their former bosses the passwords.

If your boss demands your password to your corporate accounts, of course you must give them your password.


But it Continue reading

Ethics of killing Hitler

The NYTimes asks us: if we could go back in time and kill Hitler as a baby, would we do it? There's actually several questions here: emotional, moral, and ethical. Consider a rephrasing of the question to focus on the emotional question: could you kill a baby, even if you knew it would grow up and become Hitler?


But it's the ethical question that comes up the most often, and it has real-world use. It's pretty much the question Edward Snowden faced: should he break his oath and disclose the NSA's mass surveillance of Americans?

I point this out because my ethical response is "yes, and go to jail". The added "and go to jail" makes it a rare response -- lots of people are willing to kill Hitler if they don't suffer any repercussions.

For me, the hypothetical question is "If you went back in time and killed Hitler, would you go to jail for murder?". My answer is "yes". I'd still do my best to lessen the punishment. I'd hire the best lawyer to defend me. It's just that I would put judgement of my crime or heroism in the hands of others. I would pay Continue reading

MikroTik – CCR1072-1G-8S+ – PPPoE testing preview – 30,000 connections and queues.

 

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Why we chose PPPoE as the next test

First of all, thanks to everyone for all the positive feedback, comments and questions about the CCR1072-1G-8S+ testing we have been posting in the last few months.  Even MikroTik has taken an interest in this testing and we have gotten some great feedback from them as well.

We received more questions about the PPPoE capabilities of the CCR1072-1G-8S+  than any other type of request. Since we have already published the testing on BGP, throughput and EoIP, we have decided to tackle the PPPoE testing to understand where the limits of the CCR1072-1G-8S+ are. This is only a preview of the testing as we are working on different methods of testing and config, but this will at least give you a glimpse of what is possible.

30,000 PPPoE Connections !!!!

30k-pppoe

Overview of PPPoE connections and CPU load

30k-PPPoE-overview

PRTG Monitoring

We have started using PRTG in the StubArea51.net lab as it makes monitoring of resource load over time much easier when we are testing. Check it out as it is free up to 100 sensors and works very well with MikroTik

https://www.paessler.com/prtg/download

PRTG CPU Profile 

30k-PPPoE-CPU-total-prtg

 

PRTG PPPoE Continue reading

MikroTik – CCR1072-1G-8S+ – PPPoE testing preview – 30,000 connections and queues.

 

[adrotate banner=”5″]

 

Why we chose PPPoE as the next test

First of all, thanks to everyone for all the positive feedback, comments and questions about the CCR1072-1G-8S+ testing we have been posting in the last few months.  Even MikroTik has taken an interest in this testing and we have gotten some great feedback from them as well.

We received more questions about the PPPoE capabilities of the CCR1072-1G-8S+  than any other type of request. Since we have already published the testing on BGP, throughput and EoIP, we have decided to tackle the PPPoE testing to understand where the limits of the CCR1072-1G-8S+ are. This is only a preview of the testing as we are working on different methods of testing and config, but this will at least give you a glimpse of what is possible.

30,000 PPPoE Connections !!!!

30k-pppoe

Overview of PPPoE connections and CPU load

30k-PPPoE-overview

PRTG Monitoring

We have started using PRTG in the StubArea51.net lab as it makes monitoring of resource load over time much easier when we are testing. Check it out as it is free up to 100 sensors and works very well with MikroTik

https://www.paessler.com/prtg/download

PRTG CPU Profile 

30k-PPPoE-CPU-total-prtg

 

PRTG PPPoE Continue reading

PlexxiPulse—Defining the New Network

The network is changing; there is no doubt about it. Undergoing its own transformation to meet advancements in storage and compute, the network is becoming more important than ever as Big Data and IoT continue to evolve. Our own Bob Noel penned a blog post this week that identifies areas of improvement for the network to meet the requirements of tomorrow. Take a look and tell us your thoughts for the future of the network. Which of Bob’s requirements do you think is the most important?

Below please find a few of our top picks for our favorite news articles of the week. Enjoy!

Enterprise Storage Forum: The New Era of Secondary Storage HyperConvergence
By Jim Whalen, Senior Analyst, Taneja Group
The rise of hyperconverged infrastructure platforms has driven tremendous change in the primary storage space, perhaps even greater than the move from direct attached to networked storage in decades past.  Now, instead of discrete, physically managed components, primary storage is being commoditized, virtualized and clustered, with the goal of providing a highly available virtual platform to run applications on, abstracted away from the individual hardware components themselves.  This has provided dramatic benefits to IT, allowing them to Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Report details biggest IT failures of the past decade

This month, radio electronics publication IEEE Spectrum is commemorating the 10th anniversary of its ground-breaking 2005 article, "Why software fails." The now-archived article studied some troubled, large-scale IT projects. IEEE said they were preventable failures and explained why. Along with the celebration, the publication has just brought out an updated database of IT debacles. This bunch covers the last 10 years. It makes for fascinating reading. Financial waste, endless delays correcting things, and the vast numbers of people affected contribute to the horrific, gory screw-ups.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA: Monitoring heat, electromagnetic and sound outputs could assess safety of IoT devices

DARPA is looking for a platform that can tell whether Internet of Things devices have been hijacked based on fluctuations in the heat, electromagnetic waves and sound they put out as well as the power they use.The agency wants technology that can decipher these analog waves and reveal what IoT devices are up to in their digital realms, according to a DARPA announcement seeking research proposals under the name “Leveraging the Analog Domain for Security (LADS)”.The LADS program would separate security monitoring from the device itself so if it is compromised, the monitoring platform can’t be affected.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New CCIE Collaboration Videos Have Arrived!

Attention all CCIE Collaboration candidates!! We’re excited to announce that Andy Vassar has been tirelessly working on new videos, and we have a brand new CCIE Lab Video on Demand playlist available!

Andy has gone through and broken down all the technologies to make sure that you have the most up to date information to help you effectively prepare for your CCIE Collaboration Lab Exam. In this playlist you’ll find 48 videos, broken down by blueprint section and technology, with the need to know information and topics covered in the lab exam.

All of this is in a high quality HD format that is clear and engaging to watch.

Stay tuned to see what other great video updates we’ll have in the coming days and weeks for our Collaboration track, as well as for our other tracks and certifications.

Make sure you swing by your Member’s Area today to check out this new playlist! We’re pretty excited about it, but don’t just take our word for it… have a look for yourself.

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