Tim's Computer Science Blog

 I recently came across a post talking about how Linux is used as a barrier to keep people out of tech. Huh? Wasn't part of GNU Linux founded on the idea the code should be free, as in freedom? (not free as in beer) Anyone can get it, freely, and use it freely, and change it how they like freely. All this free access is supposed to help people who might not otherwise have access to pay, or be controlled by those own own the rights to said software. (among other ideals within the free software movements) It worked for me, and my bootable cd of knoppix when I first got started. Choose an operating system you are comfortable with, that you like, that fits your needs. Please realize that for some of us, Linux broke down the barriers. It's not an IT gatekeeper to learn something new. *I should probably avoid potentially controversial topics like this... It's just that I care about something that gave me opportunity.

Considering the current spread of COVID-19 and how everyone is spending more time online. I went ahead and made a series of tutorial videos for the Monterey County Free Library. Maybe someone out there will find these videos useful! They cover three resources on the http://www.emcfl.org/ website, though I think it would be wise to mention that these resources may be found in many libraries both public, and private. The tutorial videos include: Master File Premier (EBSCO) [video link 7:38] Learning Express Library (EBSCO)  [video link 4:19] ProQuest CultureGrams [video link 5:26] Click on the links to view the video directly. The first video covers a common database that is used by pretty much every library i've ever been in. Literally every public library, and university library uses it. It is hosted by EBSCO, and this particular service is called Master File Premier. "Master File Premier is a full text database containing magazines, reference books, images,  and primary sour...

Here is a short five minute video I made that talks about some of the design considerations for controller placement in Software Defined Networking. Software Defined Networking is a relatively new networking technology that separates the control plane from the data plane in networking equipment. In understandable langauge that's like separating the logic that decides where things go, from the hardware/software that pushes network traffic in the right direction. I'm showing mininet and open daylight here, which you can run in virtual box. Really interesting stuff, this is already replacing much of the exsisting technologies. (Just look for openflow support in the networking hardware to see if it supports software defined networking)

This video covers several useful theories and principles used in social engineering. Think of it as building blocks that can be used. Quite a bit of this comes from scholarly work in psychology. It contains brief overviews of specific topics, definitely look into it more for a better understanding. This video was produced for academic purposes for identifying Social Engineering practices. This is not an endorsement of any illegal activity.   I think the part from 8:22 on is the most informative since it comes from a research paper I found specifically about social engineering attacks. Covers: +Mere Exposure Effect (0:47) +Theory of Planned Behavior (4:04) +Modes of Communication Styles (meh) +Anatomy of Social Engineering Attacks (8:22) *Principles of Persuasion (Authority, Reciprocity, Conformity, Commitment, Scarcity) (9:04) *Frequency of Persuasion Principles used (16:23) *Number of steps used before compliance (17:51) *Occurrence of principles by ste...