IT People World

Cyber Shield: 10 Essential Strategies for Safe Web Surfing and Technology Security

2024-02-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

In today's digital age, the internet is like a vast ocean, brimming with information and opportunities. However, just as the seas have their hazards, so does the web. Cybersecurity is the life jacket keeping us afloat in these digital waters. As a part of our Technology commitment to empowering and educating, here are 10 key pointers to ensure your safety while surfing the web.

1. Keep Your Software Updated: The digital world is constantly evolving, and so are its threats. Regularly updating your software, especially your browser and operating system, is akin to maintaining your ship for the journey. These updates often include security patches that fix vulnerabilities, keeping cyber pirates at bay.

2. Use Strong, Unique Passwords: Imagine your password as the key to your treasure chest. The stronger and more unique it is, the harder it is for marauders to plunder your digital valuables. Avoid common words and include a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. Consider using a password manager to keep track of these complex passwords.

3. Beware of Phishing Attempts: Phishing is the siren song of the cyber seas, luring unsuspecting users to peril. Be cautious of emails or messages that urge immediate action, request personal information, or come from unknown sources. When in doubt, verify the source before clicking any links.

4. Secure Your Wi-Fi Connection: Unsecured Wi-Fi is like an anchor less ship in a storm, prone to drifting and danger. Ensure your home Wi-Fi is protected with a strong password, and avoid conducting sensitive transactions on public Wi-Fi networks.

5. Use Two-Factor Authentication: Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of defense, much like a double-lock on your treasure chest. Even if a hacker guesses your password, this second form of verification can stop them in their tracks.

6. Be Cautious with Downloads: Downloading files from the internet can be like fishing in murky waters; you never know what you might catch. Stick to reputable websites and verify the legitimacy of the files before downloading to avoid inadvertently introducing malware to your system.

7. Monitor Your Online Footprint: Your online activity leaves a trail, like a ship's wake in the sea. Regularly check your privacy settings on social media and be mindful of the information you share online. The less personal information you have out in the open, the less there is for cyber criminals to exploit.

8. Educate Yourself on the Latest Threats: The cyber world, much like the ocean, is always changing. Stay informed about the latest cybersecurity threats and trends. Knowledge is power, and in this case, it's your compass in navigating these waters safely.

9. Back Up Your Data: In the event of a cyber-attack, having a backup of your data is like having a lifeboat. Regularly back up important data to an external drive or a cloud service. This way, if something goes wrong, you won't lose everything.

10. Trust Your Instincts: Last but not least, trust your instincts. If something feels off, like a storm brewing on the horizon, it probably is. Listen to your gut feeling when something on the web seems amiss.

In conclusion, while the internet is an incredible resource, it’s crucial to sail its waters with caution and awareness. By following these 10 cybersecurity tips, you're not just protecting your information; you're ensuring a safer journey through the digital universe. Remember, in the vast ocean of the internet, it's better to be the cautious navigator than the reckless sailor.

Unprecedented Leak of Apple TestFlight Data Leak

2023-12-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

Unprecedented Leak of Apple TestFlight Data Reveals Trove of iOS Apps and Games

A massive data breach has occurred, involving Apple's TestFlight service, which predominantly functioned between 2012 and 2015. This incident, now known as the "Teraleak", has resulted in a startling revelation of a vast number of iOS apps and games, including some that were never released.

The scale of this leak is reminiscent of the 2020 Nintendo "gigaleak," which famously exposed numerous gaming prototypes and unreleased content. In the case of the TestFlight breach, the leaked archives have been discovered on the Wayback Machine and subsequently disseminated through various online platforms, including X (formerly known as Twitter). These archives are readily accessible through a simple online search.

This leak is notable not only for its scale but also for its content. It contains a variety of iOS app and game builds, including prototypes and beta versions that were distributed for testing through TestFlight. Interestingly, it also features several unreleased Angry Birds games, adding a layer of intrigue to this already significant event.

The leak provides a unique opportunity for game preservationists, as it includes apps that have been removed from the App Store and are no longer available through official channels.

Despite the potential for historical and preservationist interest, the origin of the leak remains shrouded in mystery. An anonymous source, known only by the handle @Teraleak, appears to be the primary disseminator of this information. However, the exact pathway through which this data left Apple's servers remains unknown.

There are also concerns about the nature of the data included in the leak, particularly regarding any sensitive information it may contain. Given the age of the archives, the relevance of such data might be limited, but the implications for privacy and security are still significant.

As the internet community delves into this treasure trove of digital history, legal and ethical questions loom. The implications for intellectual property rights and the broader issues surrounding data leaks present complex challenges.

As of now, Apple and the developers affected by the leak have not issued any statements regarding this unprecedented breach. The situation continues to evolve, with more discoveries likely as people continue to explore the depth of the leaked data.

Cisco Acquire Splunk in $28B mega deal

2023-09-22T01:04:00.001-07:00

Cisco, the renowned leader in computer networking equipment, has made a historic move by announcing its largest-ever acquisition. The tech giant is set to acquire the cybersecurity software firm, Splunk, in a cash transaction valued at approximately $28 billion, equivalent to $157 per Splunk share. This significant deal signifies Cisco's commitment to fortifying its cybersecurity capabilities to meet evolving customer demands and to foster growth.

Splunk, a company specializing in cybersecurity and data analysis, has seen its shares surge by 21% following this announcement, while Cisco's shares closed down by 4%. Splunk's technology plays a pivotal role in helping businesses safeguard their data, monitor for potential security breaches, and expedite the resolution of technical issues.

Cisco's CEO, Chuck Robbins, emphasized the pivotal role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing network protection through Splunk's technology. Robbins stated that the combined strengths of Cisco and Splunk will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability, covering everything from threat detection and response to proactive threat prediction and prevention. The ultimate goal is to bolster organizations of all sizes, rendering them more secure and resilient in today's complex threat landscape.

The acquisition is slated to conclude in the third quarter of 2024. Cisco expects it to have a positive impact, with improved gross margins anticipated in the first year and enhanced non-GAAP earnings by the second year.

In terms of scale, this acquisition is a considerable leap for Cisco, representing approximately 13% of the company's market capitalization. Historically, Cisco has been cautious in pursuing blockbuster deals, with its most significant acquisition prior to Splunk being the $6.9 billion purchase of cable set-top box manufacturer Scientific Atlanta in 2006 when Cisco's market capitalization was just over $100 billion.

This bold move reflects Cisco's need to explore new avenues for revenue growth as the public cloud increasingly encroaches on its traditional back-end business. Cybersecurity has become a primary focus area for Cisco. In the fiscal year 2022, Cisco rebranded its core switching and routing business to "Secure, Agile Networks," emphasizing the integration of security into networking infrastructure. The company also established a dedicated reporting unit, "End-to-End Security," focused exclusively on security products. These strategic shifts have borne fruit, with the core business's revenue surging by 22% to $29.1 billion and the security unit seeing a 4% increase in sales to $3.9 billion.

While Cisco's shares have not performed as strongly as the broader tech sector this year, with a 12% increase compared to the Nasdaq's 27% rise, this acquisition underscores the company's determination to remain competitive and innovative in the ever-evolving technology landscape.

Both Chuck Robbins, Cisco's CEO and board chair, and Gary Steele, Splunk's president and CEO, expressed enthusiasm about the merger. Robbins highlighted the synergy between AI and cybersecurity, emphasizing the combined potential to enhance security and observability. On the other hand, Steele eagerly anticipates the next phase of Splunk's growth journey and the value it will bring to shareholders.

Ray Wang, founder and principal analyst at Constellation Research, echoed the sentiment that these companies are well-positioned to complement each other. Wang stressed the natural synergy between threat detection, security, AI, and observability, noting that this union promises better network security and a stronger AI-focused narrative for Cisco, while Splunk gains a key home for its observability platform. This strategic alignment between Cisco's network telemetry and Splunk's observability platform is set to offer customers unparalleled insights into their data, further solidifying the significance of this acquisition.

8 Key Websites That Everyone Should Know About

2023-08-20T10:19:00.009-07:00

The internet is full of amazing resources that can help you with various tasks, from designing to learning to traveling. But how do you find the best ones among the millions of websites out there? To save you some time and effort, we have compiled a list of 8 key websites that everyone should know about. These websites offer free or affordable services that can make your life easier and more productive. Check them out below!

Canva.com

Canva is a powerful online design tool that lets you create stunning graphics, logos, flyers, posters, presentations, and more. You can choose from thousands of templates or start from scratch with a blank canvas. You can also access millions of images, icons, fonts, and other elements to customize your designs. Canva has a free version that offers most of the features you need, and a premium version that unlocks more advanced tools and resources.

Hunter.io

Hunter is a website that helps you find and verify email addresses of anyone on the web. You can enter a domain name and get a list of all the public email addresses associated with it, or enter an email address and get information about its validity and deliverability. Hunter also has a Chrome extension that lets you find email addresses from any website or social media platform. Hunter is perfect for sales, marketing, recruitment, or research purposes.

Cheapoair.com

Cheapoair is a website that helps you find the best deals on flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages. You can compare prices from hundreds of airlines and travel agencies and book your trip with just a few clicks. You can also use Cheapoair’s flexible search options to find the cheapest dates and destinations for your travel plans. Cheapoair also offers 24/7 customer support and rewards program for frequent travelers.

Edx.org

Edx is a website that offers free online courses from top universities and institutions around the world. You can learn anything from business to engineering to humanities to languages and more. You can also earn certificates or degrees from some of the courses for a fee. Edx courses are self-paced and interactive, with videos, quizzes, assignments, and peer feedback. Edx is a great way to expand your knowledge and skills without spending a fortune.

Calendly.com

Calendly is a website that simplifies scheduling meetings and appointments. You can create your own personalized booking page with your availability and preferences, and share it with anyone who wants to meet with you. You can also integrate Calendly with your calendar and other apps like Zoom, Google Meet, Salesforce, etc. Calendly automatically sends reminders and confirmations to you and your guests, and eliminates the hassle of back-and-forth emails.

Remove.bg

Remove.bg is a website that lets you remove the background from any image in seconds. You just need to upload an image or enter an image URL, and Remove.bg will automatically detect the foreground object and erase the background. You can then download the image with a transparent or solid background, or edit it further with tools like crop, resize, rotate, etc. Remove.bg works with any image, whether it’s a person, an animal, or an object.

Unscreen.com

Unscreen.com is a website that lets you remove the background from any video in seconds. You just need to upload a video or enter a video URL, and Unscreen.com will automatically detect the foreground object and erase the background. You can then download the video with a transparent or solid background, or edit it further with tools like trim, crop, resize, rotate, etc. Unscreen.com works with any video, whether it’s a person, an animal, or an object.

Flaticon.com

Flaticon is a website that offers over 11 million vector icons and stickers for your projects. You can browse by categories, styles, themes, or keywords, or use the search function to find what you need. You can download the icons and stickers in various formats like PNG, SVG, EPS, PSD, and CSS. You can also edit them online with tools like color change, resize, rotate, etc. Flaticon is ideal for web design, graphic design, social media, presentations, etc.

How Apple Gets Ahead with the 3 nm Chip Technology

2023-08-10T04:50:00.001-07:00

TLDR

Apple has secured a deal with TSMC, the world’s largest chip maker, to buy all the 3 nm chips it can produce for its future iPhones and Macs. The 3 nm process is a new and advanced technology that can make chips faster and more efficient. However, it also has a high rate of defects, which means many chips are unusable. Apple’s deal with TSMC allows it to avoid paying for these defective chips, saving it billions of dollars. This gives Apple an edge over its competitors, who also rely on TSMC for their chips but have to pay for every chip they order. Apple’s 3 nm chips are expected to power its M3 series processors for Macs and the A17 Bionic for some next-gen iPhones.

Chip Manufacturing and the 3 nm Technology

Chips, or integrated circuits (ICs), are the tiny electronic devices that power our computers, smartphones, and other gadgets. They are made of silicon wafers that are cut into thin slices and then processed with various techniques to create complex patterns of transistors and wires. These patterns form the logic and memory functions of the chips.

How Chips Are Made

The chip manufacturing process involves hundreds of steps and can take up to four months from design to mass production

Deposition: This is the process of adding thin layers of materials, such as metals, insulators, or semiconductors, on top of the silicon wafer. These layers are used to create different components of the chip, such as gates, contacts, and interconnects.
Photoresist coating: This is the process of applying a light-sensitive material, called photoresist, on top of the deposited layer. The photoresist is used to protect some areas of the layer from being exposed to light in the next step.
Lithography: This is the process of transferring a pattern from a mask onto the photoresist-coated layer using a beam of light. The mask is a template that contains the desired shape of the chip features. The light changes the chemical properties of the exposed photoresist, making it either soluble or insoluble in a developer solution.
Etching: This is the process of removing the unwanted parts of the deposited layer by applying a chemical or physical agent. The etching agent only affects the areas where the photoresist has been removed by the developer solution, leaving behind the desired pattern on the silicon wafer.
Ion implantation: This is the process of altering the electrical characteristics of some regions of the silicon wafer by bombarding them with ions. The ions are atoms or molecules that have been stripped of some electrons, giving them a positive or negative charge. The ions penetrate into the silicon wafer and change its conductivity, creating regions called p-type or n-type.
Packaging: This is the final step of chip manufacturing, where the finished silicon wafer is cut into individual chips and mounted on a package. The package is a protective casing that connects the chip to external circuits and provides power and cooling.

Why 3 nm Technology Matters

One of the main challenges in chip manufacturing is to make chips smaller, faster, and more efficient. To achieve this, chip makers try to reduce the size of the transistors and wires on the chip, measured in nanometers (nm). The smaller the size, the more transistors can fit on a chip, increasing its performance and reducing its power consumption.

The 3 nm technology is a new and advanced manufacturing process that can create chips with features as small as 3 nm. This is about 10 times smaller than a human red blood cell or 30 times smaller than a coronavirus particle. The 3 nm technology can enable chips that are up to 30% faster and 15% more efficient than the current 5 nm technology.

However, making chips at such a small scale also comes with many challenges. One of them is the high rate of defects, which means many chips are unusable due to errors or flaws in their patterns. Normally, chip makers have to pay for every chip they order from their suppliers, regardless of whether they work or not. This can increase their costs significantly.

Apple has secured a deal with TSMC, one of the world’s largest chip suppliers, to buy all the 3 nm chips it can produce for its future iPhones and Macs. Apple’s deal with TSMC allows it to avoid paying for defective chips, saving it billions of dollars. This gives Apple an edge over its competitors, who also rely on TSMC for their chips but have to pay for every chip they order.

The 3 nm technology is expected to power Apple’s M3 series processors for Macs and the A17 Bionic for some next-gen iPhones. These chips will offer higher performance and lower power consumption than their predecessors, enabling new features and applications for Apple’s devices.

AMD vs Intel Which should you choose?

2023-02-12T06:35:00.000-08:00

Ultimately, the choice between AMD and Intel CPUs will depend on your specific needs and budget. If you're looking for good value for money, high core count, and affordability, AMD might be the better option for you. Intel might be a better fit if you need widespread compatibility, strong integrated graphics, and power efficiency.

The detailed two article I found interesting are AMD vs Intel Which should you choose? also another intel-vs-amd-vs-nvidia-a-3-way-brawl

Have Fun reading.

Top 5 Free CDN (Content Delivery Network)

2021-01-16T05:40:00.002-08:00

Content Delivery Network CDN is the geographically distributed network of cached proxy servers in different data centers across the globe. Those servers hold the copy of your your website to provide improved load time of website and performance thus minimizing load on your original servers. almost more than half of the world internet traffic is service by the CDN that stores the cached versions of the websites at different geographical location. .

Why use CDN?

CDNs offer a simple way to increase a website's speed while reducing latency as well. They are therefore important for the rapid, effective and safe delivery of content to users around the world.

CDN is also used to protect your sites against DOS and DDOS attacks - they are also a good source to get details analytics through there GUI interface .

CDN technology should provides the following primary benefits to a business:

Performance and Speed

Security by using WAF

Some of the FREE CND Providers

1. CloudFlare

2, OptiMole

3. Jetpack Site Accelerator

4. ArvanCloud

5. Netlift

MIMECAST HACKED 2021 - by the certificates to access Microsoft accounts

2021-01-12T09:37:00.012-08:00

MIMECAST SECURITY INCIDENT

A sophisticated threat actor has compromised the certificate used to authenticate Mimecast's Sync

and Recover, Continuity Monitor and Internal Email Protect (IEP) products to Microsoft 365.

Mimecast is an international company that specialises in Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Office 365 cloud-based email management, including security, archiving, and continuity services to protect business mail. Mimecast provides email security products to provide protection against phishing and malicious emails.

Mimecast said it is asking 10 percent of its customer base which is almost 36,000 customers to instantly remove the current connection inside its Microsoft 365 tenant using this certificate-based connection to Microsoft 365. Customers can then re-establish a new certificate-based link using, a new certificate which Mimecast has made available.

It is not clear if the attack is launched by the same group of adversaries who compromised Solarwinds . Attack vector of this incident is not clear yet . Mimecast is currently investigating the incident. No comments if this is related to Solwarinds compromise

The stock of Mimecast is down $2.40 per share (4.67 percent) to $49 per share
in pre-market trading Tuesday.

Certificate stolen by the attackers can allow them to impersonate users via the Mimecast app to Exchange

Common Mistakes in CV / Resume

2014-06-17T13:20:00.001-07:00

I have just received an email from one of my cousin asking for suggestions on his CV/ Resume , He is fresh graduate with 1 year experience in the field. I must admit reviewing a CV/ Resume is very time consuming job and it depends upon your mood mainly.

I am not going to give you a long lecture how to write a CV or what to write and what not to write . This month I have seen more than 50 CVs across the globe including US and Europe and just 50 CVs don't make me an Expert but I strongly believe that I know a little bit how to polish your CV that stands out.

So here is my experience in the form of points.

Spelling and Grammatical errors
I hate CV that is not properly aligned
If you like table please make sure you align them properly.
Try to use BOLD and ITALIC in your CV to highlight your achievements. Avoid using too much of bold and Italic.
Good font is key point I like using Times New Roman with size 12 .
Stick to similar line spacing, 1.0 is best.
Punctuation mistakes are quiet common in the CV.
Unwanted capitalisation .
Too long CV , I don't have enough time to read it and I have 10 more to go (no more than 2 to 3 pages MAX; 2 are ideal )
Average time a hiring manager spend on your CV is no more than 30 seconds , If you catch him in 30 Seconds you got interview call .
Make sure your CV reflects career progression and meaningful contribution.
Don't tell what you might be able to do mention what you are good at , don't make false promises.(do not LIE)
If you cannot tell you cannot sell , use small sentences and bullet points. (Easy to understand sentences.)
Do not copy paste CV Templates, please never do this.
Please don't put photo on your CV if it is not asked .
Avoid fancy fonts I am not interested in art works.
Make decision on putting date of birth , I personally do not put my DOB.
Objective statement should be detailed enough to give an idea of your job and career progression.
Unprofessional email address tomboy@blabla.com
If you put Facebook profile link make sure it is clean :) trust me recruiter will check it.
Avoid using pronouns like I and try to use active verb.
Avoid putting too personal information , I came across one CV in which system admin mentioned he left the job because he had an argument with CEO visiting nude websites.
I don't understand why people mention their high school I did Metric from ABC school in year 1990 (why I need this information, unless Matriculation is the only qualification you have)
Don't focus too much on your role that you did 10 years ago focus on your latest role , if you worked on COBOL I am not keen on this I need to know can you program in Java and what you have done in last couple of years.
I do not recommend putting references on the CV unless mentioned specifically.
It is always good idea to have a cover letter.
It is always good idea to have 5 to 6 lines summary of your experience that is relevant to the job role you are applying for.Make sure you mentioned all the key words.
Good to mention some accomplishment statements that shows a reader what you are really capable of.

That is all from my side and I hope this will get you to the interview room , All the best for job searching . Keep looking :)

Regards
Kashif

200-120 Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices: Accelerated (CCNAX) v2.0

2013-05-07T13:14:00.002-07:00

I have receved a lot of emails requests what is channged in NEW CCNA 200-120 starting from 01st of October 2013 , I have downloaded Exam outine from cisco Website and highlighted the new changes, Feel Free to comment on this if you find any discripency.

A part from this Cisco has excluded mainly Voice , Wirless and SDM stuff from CCNA R&S.

1 Operation of IP Data Networks

· Operation of IP Data Networks

· Recognize the purpose and functions of various network devices such as Routers, Switches, Bridges and Hubs.

· Select the components required to meet a given network specification.

· Identify common applications and their impact on the network

· Describe the purpose and basic operation of the protocols in the OSI and TCP/IP models.

· Predict the data flow between two hosts across a network.

· Identify the appropriate media, cables, ports, and connectors to connect Cisco network devices to other network devices and hosts in a LAN

2 LAN Switching Technologies

· Determine the technology and media access control method for Ethernet networks

· Identify basic switching concepts and the operation of Cisco switches.

o Collision Domains

o Broadcast Domains

o Types of switching

o CAM Table

· Configure and verify initial switch configuration including remote access management.

o Cisco IOS commands to perform basic switch setup

· Verify network status and switch operation using basic utilities such as ping, telnet and ssh.

· Identify enhanced switching technologies

o RSTP

o PVSTP

o Ethercnannels

· Describe how VLANs create logically separate networks and the need for routing between them.

o Explain network segmentation and basic traffic management concepts

· Configure and verify VLANs

· Configure and verify trunking on Cisco switches

o DTP

o Auto negotiation

· Configure and verify PVSTP operation

o describe root bridge election

o spanning tree mode

3 IP addressing (IPv4 / IPv6)

· Describe the operation and necessity of using private and public IP addresses for IPv4 addressing

· Identify the appropriate IPv6 addressing scheme to satisfy addressing requirements in a LAN/WAN environment.

· Identify the appropriate IPv4 addressing scheme using VLSM and summarization to satisfy addressing requirements in a LAN/WAN environment.

· Describe the technological requirements for running IPv6 in conjunction with IPv4 such as dual stack

Describe IPv6 addresses In old exam the topic says Describe IPv6 addresses (so this is the only difference)

o Global unicast

o Multicast

o Link local

o Unique local

o eui 64

o autoconfiguration

4 IP Routing Technologies

· Describe basic routing concepts

o CEF

o Packet forwarding à This was part of old course

o Router lookup process à This was part of old course

· Describe the boot process of Cisco IOS routers

o POST

o Router bootup process

· Configure and verify utilizing the CLI to set basic Router configuration

o Cisco IOS commands to perform basic router setup

· Configure and verify operation status of a device interface, both serial and ethernet

· Verify router configuration and network connectivity

o Cisco IOS commands to review basic router information and network connectivity

· Configure and verify routing configuration for a static or default route given specific routing requirements

Manage Cisco IOS Files in old Exam it was called Manage Cisco IOS.

o Boot preferences

o Cisco IOS image(s)

o Licensing

§ Show license

§ Change license

· Differentiate methods of routing and routing protocols

o Static vs. Dynamic

o Link state vs. Distance Vector

o Administrative distance

o split horizon

o metric

o next hop

o ip routing table

o Passive Interfaces

· Configure and verify OSPF (single area)

o Benefit of single area

o neighbor adjacencies

o OSPF states

o Discuss Multi area

o Configure OSPF v2

o Configure OSPF v3

o Router ID

o Passive interface

o LSA types

· Configure and verify EIGRP (single AS)

o Feasible Distance / Feasible Successors /Administrative distance

o Feasibility condition

o Metric composition

o Router ID

o Auto summary

o Path selection

o Load balancing (It was discussed in our lectures)

§ Equal

§ Unequal

o Passive interface

· Configure and verify interVLAN routing (Router on a stick)

o sub interfaces

o upstream routing

o encapsulation

· Configure SVI interfaces

5 IP Services

· Configure and verify DHCP (IOS Router)

o configuring router interfaces to use DHCP

o DHCP options

o excluded addresses

o lease time

· Describe the types, features, and applications of ACLs

o Standard

§ Sequence numbers

§ Editing

o Extended

o Named

o Numbered

o Log option

· Configure and verify ACLs in a network environment

o Named

o Numbered

o Log option

· Identify the basic operation of NAT

o Purpose

o Pool

o Static

o 1 to 1

o Overloading

o Source addressing

o One way NAT

· Configure and verify NAT for given network requirements

· Configure and verify NTP as a client

· Recognize High availability (FHRP)

o VRRP

o HSRP

o GLBP

· Configure and verify Syslog

o Utilize Syslog Output

· Describe SNMP v2 & v3

6 Network Device Security

· Configure and verify network device security features such as

o Device password security

o Enable secret vs enable

o Transport

o Disable telnet

o SSH

o VTYs

o Physical security

o Service password

o Describe external authentication methods

· Configure and verify Switch Port Security features such as

o Sticky MAC

o MAC address limitation

o Static / dynamic

o Violation modes

§ Err disable

§ Shutdown

o Protect restrict

o Shutdown unused ports

o Err disable recovery

o Assign unused ports to an unused VLAN

o Setting native VLAN to other than VLAN 1

· Configure and verify ACLs to filter network traffic

· Configure and verify an ACLs to limit telnet and SSH access to the router

7 Troubleshooting

· Identify and correct common network problems

· Utilize netflow data

· Troubleshoot and correct common problems associated with IP addressing and host configurations.

· Troubleshootand Resolve VLAN problems

o identify that VLANs are configured

o port membership correct

o IP address configured

· Troubleshoot and Resolve trunking problems on Cisco switches

o correct trunk states

o correct encapsulation configured

o correct vlans allowed

· Troubleshoot and Resolve Spanning Tree operation issues

o root switch

o priority

o mode is correct

o port states

· Troubleshoot and Resolve routing issues

o routing is enabled

o routing table is correct

o correct path selection

· Troubleshoot and Resolve OSPF problems

o neighbor adjancies

o Hello and Dead timers

o OSPF area

o Interface MTU

o Network types

o Neighbor states

o OSPF topology database

· Troubleshoot and Resolve EIGRP problems

o neighbor adjancies

o AS number

o Load balancing

o Split horizon

· Troubleshoot and Resolve interVLAN routing problems

o Connectivity

o Encapsulation

o Subnet

o Native VLAN

o Port mode trunk status

· Troubleshoot and Resolve ACL issues

o Statistics

o Permitted networks

o Direction

§ Interface

· Troubleshoot and Resolve WAN implementation issues

o Serial interfaces

o PPP

o Frame relay

· Troubleshoot and Resolve Layer 1 problems

o Framing

o CRC

o Runts

o Giants

o Dropped packets

o Late collision

o Input / Output errors

· Monitor NetFlow statistics

· Troubleshoot etherchannel problems

8 WAN Technologies

· Identify different WAN Technologies

o Metro Ethernet

o VSAT

o Cellular 3G / 4G

o MPLS

o T1 / E1

o ISDN

o DSL

o Frame relay

o Cable

o VPN

· Configure and verify a basic WAN serial connection

· Configure and verify a PPP connection between Cisco routers

· Configure and verify Frame Relay on Cisco routers

· Implement and troubleshoot PPPoE

Fundamentals of Next Generation Encryption

2013-02-14T06:42:00.001-08:00

.

Cisco Next-Generation Encryption (NGE) evolves traditional encryption technology to meet today's increasing security needs while improving scalability and efficiency.

It is sort of a new framework that will provide the better security then existing Security infrastruture that is based on 1970 Technologies.

Encryption = AES GCM

Hashing = HMAC SHA 2

Keying = ECDH

Signature =ECDSA

NGE is also compatible with existing security architectures including:

DMVPN
Remote Access VPN
Site to Site VPN
GETVPN
Secure Unified Collaboration

It is also compatible with a number of government standards, including:

U.S. Suite B
U.S. Federal Information Processing Standards 140 Series (FIPS-140)
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
PCI

Detailed discussion can be watched on Cisco Tech wise channel .

for detail read do visit
http://www.cisco.com/web/about/security/intelligence/nextgen_crypto.html

source Cisco.com

NEW CCNA / CCNP DataCentre

2012-12-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

Cisco Announces New CCNA Data Center and CCNP Data Center Certifications

CCNA Data Center will be valid for 3 Years
Mainly focus on
Foundation DC concept
Unified Fabric
Unified Computing
No Pre-requisite
Basic Routing and Switching
Configuring and Tshoot Vlan and Basic router
DC architecture
DC Security
Ip addressing
I/O technologies (FCoE, VIFs)
Storage networking
Basic Nexus Family and configuration
WAAS and Load balancing ACE
2 Exams to pass

640-991 Introducing Cisco Datacenter Networking
640-916 Introducing Cisco Datacenter Technologies

Exams are valid for three years
Further information can be found at CCNA Datacentre

DNS Changer 9th July 2012 DNS Malware

2012-07-07T16:30:00.003-07:00

DNS which is abbreviated as Domain name service which converts your webpage name and map it to an IP address of the server and helps forwarding traffic.

A group of crooks manage to infect millions of computers around the world with the Malware called DNS changer that changed victim computers DNS entry pointing towards hackers rouge/ dodgy DNS Servers.

This malware didn’t effect victim browsing, it just diverted users traffic via there pool of DNS servers which takes them to the website where they want to go like Google or youtube but now and then they manage to divert the traffic to malicious or fraudulent websites and exploit the victim computers, and some times manage to stop you get any antivirus updates.

FBI mange to track those hacker dodgy DNS servers and before shutting them down FBI move those services on legitimate clean servers as infected computers would have lost Internet access.

These interim DNS servers were suppose to be down by March 2012 but due to heavy rate of infection they postponed and those servers will be shutting down on 9^th of July 2012.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation will shut down Internet servers that it temporarily set up to support those affected by malicious software, called DNS Changer. Turning off those servers will knock all those still infected offline

Rough estimate is there are more the 1/2 a Million users still infected with DNS changer malware

FBI Website have a list of DNS Servers that are going down on Monday 9^th of July 2012

Rogue DNS Servers
85.255.112.0 through 85.255.127.255
67.210.0.0 through 67.210.15.255
93.188.160.0 through 93.188.167.255
77.67.83.0 through 77.67.83.255
213.109.64.0 through 213.109.79.255
64.28.176.0 through 64.28.191.255

To check if you are infected check your computer DNS address by issuing a command IPCONFIG /ALL

However there is another way on to check if your DNS is rouge or not check the below mentioned FBI site.

https://forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS

Source

www.fbi.gov

HP procurve Port Security

2012-06-29T09:09:00.001-07:00

Port Security allows you to configure each switch port with a unique list of MAC addresses of devices that are authorized to access the network through that port.

This will enable individual ports to detect, prevent, and log attempts by unauthorized devices trying to communicate through the switch port.

Just to clarify one important point here before we dive into the configuration part of it, this feature (port security) will not prevent intruders from receiving broadcast and multicast traffic.

Planning is the first Key step.

Before we go ahead we need to get answer to the following questions

Which ports need lockout?
Which devices are authorized per port?
What security actions do you want?
How you want to be informed about it

To view port security you need :-

show port-security

To disable port security on any port :-

no port-security

To check for intrusion flags on any port, issue the following command and you will see Yes next to port.

ProCurve(config)# show interfaces brief

One important point to understand how HP port security works as it is slightly different from Cisco default way of applying port security.

On HP Procurve if intruder is detected on the port with port security enabled, then switch will do the following:-

Send SNMP trap
Sets the port’s alert flag
Disables the port.

If you re-enable the port without resetting the port’s alert flag, then port comes up and will block traffic from unauthorized devices it detects

If the port detects another intruder with different MAC address, It will send another SNMP trap, but will not disable the port unless you first reset the port’s intrusion flag. (In case of Cisco it keep on error disable them)

Point to be noted :- until unless you reset the intrusion flag on the port

port-security 40 clear-intrusion-flag

Now issue show int brief command and you will see no Intrusion Alert in found in interface 40

To look at intrusion log issue the following common

show port-security intrusion-log

This port security will enable the port to continue passing traffic for authorized devices while you take the time to locate and eliminate the intruder. Otherwise the presence of an intruder could cause the switch to repeatedly disable the port. (As in the case of Cisco default port security)

Setting up port security

Learn-Mode Static. This example configures port 40 to automatically accept the first device it detects as the only authorized device for that port. (in Cisco world we say it MAC address Sticky)

We will also configures the port to send an alarm to a network management station and disable itself if an intruder is detected on the port.

ProCurve(config)# port-security 40 learn-mode static action send-disable

Specify manual address

ProCurve(config)# port-security 40 learn-mode static mac-address 0c0019-123456 action send-disable

Specify 2 MAC addresses

ProCurve(config)# port-security 40 learn-mode static address-limit 2 mac-address 111110-7aec00 0078c0-883100 action send-alarm

show port-security 40

Last but not the least point Intrusion Log lists the 20 most recently detected security violation attempts, regardless of whether the alert flags for these attempts have been reset. This gives you a history of past intrusion attempts

Make TCP faster

2012-06-21T09:03:00.004-07:00

Interesting post I have come across couple of days back.

Sounds like good practical solution to me , Lets see how much time it take for industry to listen to Googles advice and get on with this.

http://googlecode.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/lets-make-tcp-faster.html

Difference between VLSM and Subnetting

2012-05-08T11:57:00.002-07:00

Hi everyone, One of the most freqeuntly asked question this week is explained below.

CIDR

Classless Inter-Domain Routing. is also called supernetting.

CIDR was first introduced in 1993 by RFC 1517, 1518, 1519, and 1520, and later deployed in 1994.

It's an IP addressing scheme that replaced the older system based on classes A, B, and C.

The main purpose of CIDR is aggregate route it is also known as supernetting or summarization.when you have to represent three /24

For example you have four C class subnets
192.168.8.0/24
192.168.9.0/24
192.168.10.0/24
192.168.11.0/24

we can add 4 routes on the router or we summarize all of them and add a CIDR route whihc is.

192.168.8.0 /22 and covers all the above 4 routes.

CIDR addresses reduce the size of routing tables.

one more way to explain this is CIDR is prefix-based standard for the interpretation of IP addresses. It facilitates routing by allowing blocks of addresses to be grouped into single routing table entries as we have seen above . These groups, commonly called CIDR blocks, share an initial sequence of bits in the binary representation of their IP addresses.

VLSM

Variable-Length Subnet Masking (VLSM) or Subnetting is used to better utilize address space. Subnets divide a single network into smaller pieces.

This is done by borrwing bits from the host portion of the address to create a sub network.

Take the class C network 192.168.1.0 The default network mask is 255.255.255.0, and the last octet contain the host portion of the address.

To use this address space more efficiently because we dont need all the 254 hosts , we could borrow 3 bits of the last octet for the subnet to make subnets and divide number of hosts equally in each subnetwork.

One point to note is that in subnetting once the subnet mask has been chosen, the number of hosts on each subnet is fixed but you can always further chop it down.I dont wana go in more detail as it is already compex and dont want to make more complex for you.

Using variable-length subnet masks improves on subnet masking and avoid vaisting . VLSM is similar to traditional fixed-length subnet masking in that it also allows a network to be subdivided into smaller pieces. The major difference between the two is that VLSM allows different subnets to have subnet masks of different lengths. For the example above, a department with 20 servers can be allocated a subnet mask of 27 bits. This allows the subnet to have up to 30 usable hosts on it.

Conclusion

CIDR = Make one of 6 Network = route summarization
VLSM= Make 6 of 1 Network

This is the best I can explain

Cisco Show Interface Explained

2012-04-30T11:37:00.001-07:00

Hi every one, I hope every one if fine and enjoying good Health, for last couple of weeks a lot of people asked me if I can explain each and every line of output from Cisco one important command when we start troubleshooting any thing which is

Show interface Gi0/10

Output from the command above is explained each output one by one.

GigabitEthernet0/10 is up,

Indicates whether the interface hardware is currently active and if it has been taken down by an administrator. "Disabled" indicates the router has received errors in a keep alive interval and some time you have port security setup you will see error disbaled

line protocol is up (connected)

This indicates whether the software processes that handle the line protocol believe the interface is usable (that is, whether keepalives are successful)

Hardware is Gigabit Ethernet, address is 0022.0d50.2d32 (bia 0022.0d50.2d32)

Hardware type and Ethernet address.

MTU 1500 bytes, BW 1000000 Kbit, DLY 10 usec,

Maximum Transmission Unit of the interface.

Bandwidth of the interface in kilobits per second.

Delay of the interface in microseconds.

reliability 255/255, txload 1/255, rxload 1/255

Reliability of the interface 255/255 is 100% reliability , calculated on average over 5 minutes.

Load on the interface 255/255 is completely saturated link it is also calculated on average over 5 minutes

Encapsulation ARPA, loopback not set

Encapsulation method assigned to interface.

Keepalive not set

Indicates whether keepalives are set or not.

Full-duplex, 1000Mb/s, link type is auto, media type is 1000BaseSX SFP

Duplex setting of the interface if the interface is full Duplex , in the example above I have media type of SFP fiber interface module

ARP type: ARPA, ARP Timeout 04:00:00

Type of Address Resolution Protocol assigned.

Last input 00:00:00, output 00:00:03, output hang never

Number of hours, minutes, and seconds since the last packet was successfully received by an interface, it is Useful for knowing when an interface failed.

Number of hours, minutes, and seconds since the last packet was successfully transmitted by an interface

Number of hours, minutes, and seconds since the interface was last reset because of a transmission that took too long.

When the number of hours in any of the "last" fields exceeds 24 hours, the number of days and hours is printed. If that field overflows, asterisks are printed.

Last clearing of "show interface" counters never

Time at which the counters that measure cumulative statistics like number of bytes transmitted and received

Input queue: 0/75/0/0 (size/max/drops/flushes); Total output drops: 0

Number of packets in output and input queues. Each number is followed by a slash, the maximum size of the queue, and the number of packets dropped due to a full queue or saturation.

Queueing strategy: fifo

Output queue: 0/40 (size/max)

5 minute input rate 14000 bits/sec, 15 packets/sec

5 minute output rate 4000 bits/sec, 4 packets/sec

Mentions Hardware Queue which is First in First out everytime

Average number of bits and packets transmitted per second in the last 5 minutes.

you can even guess the transmit speed of the interface as well from the 5 minutes output , if you dont have acces to NMS

71618919 packets input, 21731123446 bytes, 0 no buffer

Total number of error-free packets received by the system

Number of received packets discarded because there was no buffer space in the main system

Received 57218887 broadcasts (26378769 multicasts)

Total number of broadcast or multicast packets received by the interface.

0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles

This is quiet important this tells us Runts are the number of packets that are discarded because they are smaller than the medium's minimum packet size. i.e any Ethernet packet that is less than 64 bytes is considered a runt.

Number of packets that are discarded because they exceed the medium's maximum packet size. For example, any Ethernet packet that is greater than 1,518 bytes is considered a giant.

0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored

Cyclic redundancy checksum generated by the originating LAN station or far-end device does not match the checksum calculated from the data received.

On a LAN, this usually indicates noise or transmission problems on the LAN interface or the LAN bus itself. A high number of CRCs is usually the result of collisions or a station transmitting bad data or Bad data cabling or any EMI.

Number of times the receiver hardware was unable to hand received data to a hardware buffer because the input rate exceeded the receiver's ability to handle the data.#

Number of received packets ignored by the interface because the interface hardware ran low on internal buffers. These buffers are different than the system buffers mentioned previously in the buffer description. Broadcast storms and bursts of noise can cause the ignored count to be increased.

0 watchdog, 26378769 multicast, 0 pause input

0 input packets with dribble condition detected

Dribble bit error indicates that a frame is slightly too long however router accepts this frame

9667499 packets output, 1711527019 bytes, 0 underruns

Number of times that the transmitter has been running faster than the router can handle. This may never be reported on some interfaces.

0 output errors, 0 collisions, 1 interface resets

Sum of all errors that prevented the final transmission of datagrams out of the interface being examined.

Number of messages transmitted due to an Ethernet collision. This is usually the result of an overextended LAN

A packet that collides is counted only once in output packets.

0 babbles, 0 late collision, 0 deferred

The transmit jabber timer expired.

Number of late collisions. Late collision happens when a collision occurs after transmitting the preamble.

Deferred indicates that the chip had to defer while ready to transmit a frame because the carrier was asserted.

0 lost carrier, 0 no carrier, 0 PAUSE output

Number of times the carrier was lost during transmission.

Number of times the carrier was not present during the transmission.

0 output buffer failures, 0 output buffers swapped out

Number of failed buffers and number of buffers swapped out.

Source :- Cisco.com

Router on Stick or Inter Vlan Routing

2012-04-27T16:02:00.001-07:00

Router-on-a-stick or (inter vlan routing) is used to describe a setup that consists of a router and switch connected using one Ethernet link configured as an 802.1q trunk link.

In this configuration, a switch is configured with multiple VLANs and trunk port from switch is connected to router or any Layer 3 device Fast Ethernet interface and that router performs all routing between
the different networks or VLANs or subnets.

we already know each vlan = to Subnets = Networks.

There are a lot of practical implementations but it has some drawbacks like all inter-vlan traffic will pass through only on Fast etherenet interface which may lead to congestion on the network.

In the example below we will see how to configure a Cisco router and
switch in order to create a trunk link between them and have the
router route packets between your VLANs

SW1# configure terminal
SW1(config)# interface vlan1
SW1(config-if)# description Accounts
SW1(config-if)# ip address 192.168.0.2 255.255.255.0
SW1(config-if)# exit
SW1(config)# interface vlan2
SW1(config-if)# description HR
SW1(config-if)# ip address 192.168.2.2 255.255.255.0

SW1# configure terminal
SW1(config)# interface Fa0/24
SW1(config-if)# description Trunk-to-Router
SW1(config-if)# switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
SW1(config-if)# switchport mode trunk
R1# configure terminal
R1(config)# interface Fa0/1
R1(config-if)# no ip address
R1(config-if)# duplex auto
R1(config-if)# speed auto
R1(config-if)# interface fa0/1.1
R1(config-subif)# description Accounts
R1(config-subif)# encapsulation dot1q 1
R1(config-subif)# ip address 192.168.0.1 255.255.255.0

R1(config-subif)# interface Fa0/1.2
R1(config-subif)# description HR
R1(config-subif)# encapsulation dot1q 2
R1(config-subif)# ip address 192.168.2.1 255.255.255.0

Encapsulation dot1q 2 command defines 802.1q encapsulation and sets
the subinterface to VLAN 2

ICND1 CRAMM SHEET

2012-04-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

QUICK Reference (ICND 1)

Protocol :- Predefined set of rules to communicate

Network Applications

Email
Collaboration
Messaging
Web Browsing
Databse applications

Speed = Data Rate
Availability = Likelihood network is avialable
Scalability= How well network can scale
Topology= Physical components of network like cable, switches, router

Network Security (Type of Attacks)

Passive attack :- Sniffing aata like capturing password on the wire or wireless
Active attack :- Actively try to invade security , adding malicious code
Inside attack:- Attack from authorised users
Close in Attack :- Attack with in close physical proximity
Distribution:- Attack launched during distribution phase of any hardware of software.

Network Security Process

Security is ever evolving process

Secure
Monitor
Test
Improve

Reconnaissance attack(Gathering Information like sniffing data , Ping Sweep)

Access Attack

Password Attack
Trust Exploitation
Port Redirection
Man-in-the Middle
Buffer Overflow.

Application Layer Attack

Exploiting well known weekness in the software
Trojon programms that loggs the key.
Password stealing
Java or activeX codes that work maliciously

Managament / Monitoring Protocols

Telent (but information is sent in Plain txt)
SSH (secure encrypted communication)
Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
Monitoring Protocols (SNMP, syslog, NTP, TFTP)

OSI Reference Model

All People Seem To Need Data Processing

TCP UDP = Transport Layer

Router, ICMP, IGMP, IP = Network Layer

802.3 802.2 Framerelay, HDLC = Data Link Layer

Data = Application Layer

Segment = Transport Layer

Packet = Network Layer

Frames = Data Link Layer

Bits = Physical Layer

TCP = Connection Orieneted (More overheads, Confrmation of delivery)

IP, UDP= Connection Less (best effort, no recovery of lost packet)

CLASS of IP Address

CLASS A: 1.0.0.0 to 126.0.0.0

Class B: 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.0.0.

Class C: 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.0.

Class D: 224–239

Class E: 240 - 255

RFC 1918 Private IP Address Range

–10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255

–172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255

–192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

IPV6

16 Octet

128 Bits

A524:72D3:2C80:DD02:0029:EC7A:002B:EA73

TCP Header

URG: Urgent Pointer field significant

ACK: Acknowledgment field significant

PSH: Push Function application need data to be pushed immediately

RST: Reset the connection

SYN: Synchronize sequence numbers

FIN: No more data from sender

PORTS

ü 0 to 1023 are well-known ports.
ü 1024 to 49151 are registered ports
ü 49152–65535 are unregistered

TCP/IP Applications

FTP = TCP based File transfer (TCP 21 Port)

TFTP= UDP based used to transfer Cisco IOS or configuration (UDP 69 Port)

Telnet= Terminal Emuletion Command line (TCP 23)

SMTP= Email delivery (TCP 25)

SNMP= Network Manamgement Protocol. (UDP 161)

DHCP= Assign IP address automatically

DNS= Name to IP resolution (Both TCP, UDP 53)

TCP 3 Way HandShake

LAN Traffic Types

Unicast (one to one communication)
Broadcast (one to any Communication)
Multicast (from one to Subnet of users)

Address Translation

Inside local address =IP address assigned to a host on the inside network

Inside global address= A public IP address assigned by the ISP that represents one or more inside local IP addresses to the outside world.

Outside global address = IP address assigned to a host on the outside network

Outside local address = IP address of an outside host as it appears to the inside

When a host on an Ethernet LAN has information to send, the following steps are taken:1. A device with a frame to send listens until Ethernet is not busy CSMA/CD.
2. When the Ethernet is not busy, the sender begins sending the frame.
3. The sender listens to make sure that no collision occurred.
4. Once the senders hear the collision, they each send a jamming signal, to ensure that all
stations recognize the collision.
5. After the jamming is complete, each sender randomizes a timer and waits that long.
6. When each timer expires, the process starts over with step 1.

MAC Address

Layer 2 address
Hexa Decimal Formate
48 Bits = 24 bits of Vandor ID + 24 bits of Unique ID

Wireless

IEEE 802.11a: 54 Mbps in the 5.7 GHz ISM band
IEEE 802.11b: 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz ISM band
IEEE 802.11g: 54 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz ISM band
IEEE 802.11n: 300 +Mbps in the 2.4 and 5GHz ISM band

Wireless Security

WEP (Basic Enryption , not good)
802.1x EAP (Use dynamic Keys, User authentication)
WPA WiFi Protected access
WPA2 (Most Strongest uses AES for Encryption)

Configuring Port Security on Switch

SwitchX(config)# interface fa0/5
SwitchX(config-if)# switchport mode access
SwitchX(config-if)# switchport port-security
SwitchX(config-if)# switchport port-security maximum 1
SwitchX(config-if)# switchport port-security mac-address sticky
SwitchX(config-if)# switchport port-security violation shutdown

Keypoints

Switches increases the number of collisions domains in the network
Switches are multiport bridges that allow you to create multiple broadcast domains
Switches and bridges work on L2
Primary functions of a router are: Packet Switching and Path Selection
A straight-through cable is used to connect two different devices
Layer 4 functions are error recovery and flow control
Transport layer provides reliable networking via acknowledgments, sequencing,
and flow control.
HTTPS is the secured version of the HTTP application, which normally uses 128 bit SSL
encryption to secure the information uses port 443
VOIP systems utilize UDP because it is faster and uses less overhead
Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP) is a Layer 2 protocol
STP is used to avoid switching loops
CDP is a device discovery protocol that runs over Layer 2
Crossover cable is used to connect two of the same device types
100BaseT (UTP, STP) has a distance restriction of 100 meter or 328 Feet
IEEE 802.3z standard describes 1000BASE-SX (Gigabit Ethernet)
Switches forward broadcast but routers do not forward broadcasts (by default)
RIPv2 carries subnet mask information allowing for VLSM
For point to point Link /30 IP address is used.
Network Address Translation (NAT) can be used to hide the private IP addressing
NVRAM-Nonvolatile RAM stores the initial or startup configuration file.
0x2102, is the normal config-register

What ports are open on the computer

2012-03-05T10:55:00.004-08:00

One of the most common question is see users asking
How i can find what ports are open on my computer

you can uses NETSTAT command to check what ports
are open on your computer .


netstat -an |find /i "listening"

Listening will show you what ports are open and
if you replace listening with established it will
show you all the ports you have connection established.


netstat -an |find /i "Established"

I still suggest you to use port scanner to
find out what ports are open on your computer.

Recover Cisco Switch Password

2012-03-02T11:54:00.003-08:00

Hi Every one , This post mainly focus how to retrieve Cisco switches password, Most of the time you forget the password and some time during creation of Configuration you normally copy spaces next to the password and you end up messing the encryption key and unable to logon.

This post will describes the password recovery procedure for the Cisco 2900XL/3500XL, 2940, 2950/2955, 2960, and, 3560, 3750 Series.

1. Connect your computer with switch using terminal emulation i.e. Hyper Terminal to the console port of the switch.

2. Unplug the power cable and plug it back in.

3. Hold down the mode button located on the left side of the front panel, while you reconnect the power cable to the switch.
You will see the following message

The system has been interrupted prior to initializing the flash file system to finish loading the operating system software:

4. you will be on the prompt
switch:

Now issue flash_init

switch: flash_init

This will initialize the flash

5. Issue the load_helper command.

switch: load_helper

Then issue the following command.

Switch: Dir Flash:

you will see the list of files one of the file will like as below

Config.text

This is the configuration file that holds the configuration and password of your switch
that you might have forgotten.

6. Now we have rename the file by issuing the follwoing command

switch: rename flash:config.text flash:config.old

7. Now issue the boot command to reboot the switch with no config.

switch: boot Loading "flash:c3500xl-c3h2s-mz.120-5.WC7.bin"...#############################

File "flash:c3500xl-c3h2s-mz.120-5.WC7.bin" uncompressed and installed,entry point: 0x3000 executing..

8. As switch have booted without any configuration (we have renamed the config file) switch will go into auto configuration wizard .

enter n for NO

--- System Configuration Dialog ---
At any point you may enter a question mark '?' for help.
Use ctrl-c to abort configuration dialog at any prompt.
Default settings are in square brackets '[]'. Continue with configuration dialog?
[yes/no]: n

9. Hit enter and you will be in EXEC Mode

Switch>

write enable it will take you to Exec mode without asking any password.

switch#

10. now rename the config file again as default.

Switch#rename flash:config.old flash:config.text Destination filename [config.text]

11. Copy the configuration file into memory.

Switch#copy flash:config.text system:running-config Destination filename [running-config]?

your old configuration file will be reloaded into the system now you have to setup password

Switch(config)#enable secret yournewpassword

setup line vty or console password if you forgot them as well .

12. finally you are done , Write mem and save the config .

Switch#write memory

BTJUNKIES

2012-02-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

Most of you BTjunkie as being one of the largest torrent file sharing website.

5th Feb Sunday night, the site suddenly shut down voluntarily.

Though the site never had any legal action taken against it like Pirate Bay or MegaUpload, I beleive its owners probably didn’t want to go through the same problem there Sister Sites have been through. thro This is a very smart move since it was rated amongst the top five torrent sites in most polls over the Internet

This all is to Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA)

The PROTECT IP Act says that an "information location tool shall take technically feasible and reasonable measures, as expeditiously as possible, to remove or disable access to the Internet site associated with the domain name set forth in the order". In addition, it must delete all hyperlinks to the offending "Internet site"

Hyper Terminal in Windows 7

2012-02-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

If you’ve recently upgraded to Windows 7 and are banging your head to find HyperTerminal, then you’re not alone!

HyperTerminal was a little program that let you connect to other devices.

Windows 7 will no longer provide HyperTerminal program. If you need HyperTerminal to control serial devices, there is a trick to get it back

However, there are several new alternatives to HyperTerminal that are probably better for secure shell access. use the following

winrs /?

If you still miss Hyper Terminal and you cannot live with out it then you can actually extract two files from your XP installation and copy them over to Windows 7.

The two files you will need are

hypertrm.dll

hypertrm.exe

Simply copy those files into any directory on your machine and it will work. You should be able to find hypertrm.exe in C:\Program Files\Windows NT and

hypertrm.dll in C:\Windows\System32.

If you have the Windows XP CD, you should be able to find both of these files in the i386 directory on the CD.

since Hyper treminal is not available you still have alternative

Putty

Tera Term

Enjoy.... :)

Warning Turn Facebook RED , Black, PINK

2012-01-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

Switch to pink Facebook!!!

Don't fall for online scams you might receive invite from your Facebook friends if you have any :) inviting you to switch your boring blue Facebook profile logo to Pink, Black and some others

amazingly at the time of this blog the total invite figure stands at Invited (126,511)

Switch to Pink Facebook (Limited Time!) as shown above

Say goodbye to the boring blue profile and say hello to the pink profile!!

If you click on one of the link you are asked to share the link with your friends and BBB ang ... this is where it goes fishy, do you think any legitimate organization or application would need you to share something before you experience if it is good or just a scam/ waste of time.

Once you do this you are asked to leave comments and any comments you leave will be seen by others and encourage them to start clicking which will give more traffic to the scammer which is a survey. More people do the survey more money scammer will get.if you have not received this Scam message yet please check your Facebook page to ensure that you are not spreading any spammed messages

You would see some messages Like this , they fall into this scam but messaging other dont trust :)

Quick Cisco Switch and Router Troubleshooting

2011-12-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

Haye.. !! some helpful quick troubleshooting commans

show run sec class-map
show run sec policy-map
sh run sec router
sh run sec crypto
sh run inc ip access-group
sh run inc ip local
sh run inc ip policy
sh run inc service-policy
sh run inc ip access-group
sh run inc vlan filter