This has been a great book so far.  Not only is Kevin a very sociable person but he is a very entertaining writer.  His stories are amazing.  To think that he left some out.

http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/dp/0316037702

Watch is interview with Snubs on Hak5. “23 Questions with Kevin Mitnick”

http://hak5.org/episodes/hak5-1017

I was watching some CES news and ran across a new gadget that I would like to purchase. It looks like I’ll have to wait till March for this one.  Only $50 dollars.   It is called feedair.

http://www.feedair.com

I have tried in the past to use the Ambient orb to get something like feedair to work.  Weather forecasts, information, etc…   I think I even wanted something like pointcast to be delivered to my TV.   I can’t wait to see what I cn program to be delivered on this.

Here is a tutorial on how to setup SARG (http://sarg.sourceforge.net/) – Squid Analysis Report Generator on Pfsense.   If you don’t know what any of those words meant then here are some references.

• SQUID – (www.squid-cache.org): Squid is a web proxy that can filter traffic from your network to the internet.
• Pfsense – (www.pfsense.org) : PFsense is a free opensource firewall / router for home or office

I have recently setup a Pfsense router / firewall to replace my old “blue plastic” router that was purchased at the big box location.   This solution has been working great.  It has been in place for over a week and I have been adding configuration settings to it.  One of the great tools included in this router is the ability to add packages.  In particular one of the packages is SQUID.  A proxy tool that can help monitor web traffic and also speed up performance.  

I have used SQUID in the past and know it’s benefits and also issues.  One great benefit is reports on web usage and traffic.   The pfsense implementation also has a package for reporting on squid called lightsquid.  Lightsquid is ok, but not my favorite tool for displaying information.    I would rather use SARG.   So I began to do a few searches and found some outdated information and ways to configure SARG.  From these searches (NOTE: Most of the info below I was able to find from other forum posts)

Install SARG on pfsense

1. Install the Squid package and have squid running on your firewall
2. Validate that SQUID is logging (Services | Proxy Server |) – Enable Logging (check) and keep the log store directory “/var/squid/log”
3. SSH into your firewall
4. Open a shell
5. (optional) I added nano as a text editor so I ran this command.

     pkg_add -r ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-8-stable/Latest/nano.tbz
   

6. Run the package command to add SARG (this retrieves the latest stable package for freebsd stable branch)

   pkg_add -r ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-8-stable/Latest/sarg.tbz
   

7. Now to configure SARG – You can start with the default config
   

    cd /usr/local/etc/sarg/     
   cp sarg.conf.default sarg.conf      
   nano sarg.conf

8. I actually created my sample from some other settings.  You can just copy and paste this into sarg.conf if you like

   #Locatoin of log files - from pfsense settings  
   access_log /var/squid/log/access.log     
   title "Squid User Access Reports - SARG"     
   graphs yes   
   graph_days_bytes_bar_color orange     
   #LOCATION of WEB PAGES  
   output_dir /usr/local/www/squid-reports   
   #Display usernames or IP  
   resolve_ip no   
   #Sort Order 
   topuser_sort_field BYTES reverse    
   user_sort_field BYTES reverse

9.   Run SARG for the first time.  This may take a bit to run depending on your system and how long you have log files for.

   cd /usr/local/bin     
   chmod +x sarg

10.   Configure the system to run the reports once a day using CRON. 

    #crontab -e    
    01 * * * *   root /usr/local/bin/sarg

11. To view the reports you will need to go to a specific url http://<your pfsense box>/snort-reports/

Here are some example reports: (ip’s blocked to protect the innocent )

LANDING PAGE

DAILY REPORT

INDIVIDUAL USERID (IP)

GRAPH OF INDIVIDUAL

I prefer SARG because of the graphs and the look and fee.  Let me know if you have any preference on reporting systems.

I recently purchased an ip camera for the house.  I have wanted one for a long time and finally made a purchase.   The reason for the camera was to monitor the kids and also the garage.  The camera I purchased was a dlink DCS-930L.   It was on sale at Best Buy for about $55.

The reason I chose this camera was for the price.  There are many more expensive camera that allow for Dark viewing (LED) and also pan and tilt.  This is an entry level IP camera and has limited resolution.

With that said, this is a great camera.  I am planning on adding it to my garage where I can view the kids and any motion detection.   Currently the camera is sitting in the bay window that is viewing the new construction of the house next door.

The camera comes with a great application to use called mydlink.com it allows you to access yor camera from anywhere even on your phone.  A neat feature I have found is that it also streams audio as well as video.  Nothing is better than using it when away to have the kids share with you what they are up to.

I have also paired it up with my linux server and a software package called zoneminder.    Zoneminder is a security camera package that allows you to monitor multiple cameras.  It allows you to set motion detection.  I currently have it set to record when motion detection happens.

My wife went to a seminar today and came back with a good idea. That she and I should have an emergency contact card in our wallet. She also mentioned an ICE contact for our phones. I had not heard of ICE contacts, “In Case of Emergency” – here is a quick blurb from lifehacker – How to add an ICE contact to your phone

After some research I came up with a format for us to have a business card size emergency contact for us to carry. I used the Microsoft Word template called “pocket emergency contact reference.” You can download the template from the Microsoft office site

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/pocket-emergency-contact-reference-TC030001514.aspx

It is a quick and easy way to make an emergency contact card. I created one to put in my wallet, backpack, and bike bags. I typically carry my ID when I bike, but this would be valuable as well.

This new year I plan on blogging more.   For one reason, it is a good stress relief.   The other reasons revolve that I like to do it.    

To make the process easier I plan on utilizing Windows live writer.  The reason for using live writer is the simple ease of use and great layout functions it allows.   I currently use WordPress as my blog engine.  It is fantastic and I can’t say enough about this blog engine.  However, I find that writing in the small text window is difficult when attempting to add  a lot of content.  

Live Writer is basically a scaled down word processor.   It works seamlessly with WordPress and give you the ability to do offline writing.   I have used it in the past but did not make blogging that much of a priority. 

Here is a great overview of live writer from PCworld

http://www.pcworld.com/article/211388/windows_live_writer_makes_beautiful_blogseven_when_youre_offline.html

In more recent weeks I have noticed a trend of blogs to start using livewriter as the editor.  You can see the increase from builtwith.com trends

See this chart of how it has increased usage.

Headphones while biking

Since my last post I have been getting email and real life comments from people about using headphones while biking. So far my back of the napkin calculation is that it’s 60/40. 60% of those I talk to say it’s OK, and 40% are concerned.

It is all over the map in regards why people are either for or against. I’ve found that the majority of people who are worried about using headphones while biking are mainly concerned about the ability to hear or notice the surrounding environment. The ones who are set about using headphones are always cautious to say that it should not be too loud. Though I have not heard anyone say what "too loud" is.

Overall, anyone who discusses this with me is always concerned about safety. I was reading my favorite bike magazine (urbanvelo.com) and came across this link to bicycling magazine to an article called "Is it safe to ware headphones while cycling."
http://bicycling.com/blogs/ramblingman/2011/12/21/is-it-safe-to-wear-headphones-while-cycling/

The article is by Neil Bezdek. He does a good job discussing the topic in regards to other items like hearing issues, distractions, the pure feeling of a long ride, and the temptation to compare this with wearing a helmet. I found the article is similar to some of the conversations I have had about headphones and biking. What really struck me were the comments.

Take some time and read through everyone’s responses. Again, I was shocked at how similar the responses were to the discussions I have had regarding this topic.

So what is your opinion or thoughts? Do you use headphones while cycling? Only on the bike path, not on the streets?

There is a fantastic photo that shows all the statistics of what is happening on he web every 60 seconds. The article is title “Incredible Things That Happen Every 60 Seconds On The Internet” The internet is so vast that everyday people use it for so much. Imagine when you extrapolate that 60 seconds for the entire day. The youtube videos, status updates, photos… there is so much.

http://www.businessinsider.com/incredible-things-that-happen-every-60-seconds-on-the-internet-2011-12

Just amazing. 70 plus domains registered, 168Million emails, 694,445 google search queries, 370k calls on skype, 695,000 status updates and more.

I am a fan of Hak5. I’ve been watching them for a few years now. Darren and Shannon do a great job with a show for tech lovers. “Your Daily dose of techno-lust”. Recently Paul, who runs their AV and does all the behind the scenes work did a segment on what is used to record the show. I’ve always been an AV geek at heart. This is good to watch.

If you have never seen hak5 head on over to hak5.org or revision3.com/hak5

I am not a designer. In fact, I’m pretty bad with design. However, I can tell when something looks good. It is just my way of saying I appreciate good design, I just suck at it. Here is a great video showcasing how design (brands) work. This is great work done by Erica Gorochow

The Fundamental Elements of Design from Erica Gorochow on Vimeo.