CSSA: Certified SonicWall Systems Administrator

I Have now achieved something i never thought i could do in such a short time, i have a certification in Administration of SonicWALL Firewall systems.

yeah sure it might not be as great as say, Cisco or Microsoft Certification, but hey, its an international Standard which kept me sweating in torment during the test last week.

phew! luckily i passed that darned test, i was looking forward to just doing so for the heck of it.

Woo Hoo!

Port and Port Forwarding

A port is a physical or virtual connection which ranges from 1 till 655355 (integer values) on which a device or service operates on a computer.

a physical port is different from a virtual port although they have similar properties on running a service.

a physical port can be anything ranging from connection of a device to a serial port (com port), parallel port (Lpt1, Printer port), USB Universal Serial Bus port, Firewire (IEEE1394), P/S2 Port, VGA port, DVI port, HDMI port, minijack Port, Optical Port, LAN Port, IDE (PATA) ports, Serial Ata (SATA) and the like.

most peripherals run on these above mentioned such as Hard disks, CD/DVD roms, Mouse, Keyboards, etc

a Virtual port is a port which runs on a service on the internet.
Ports between 1 - 1024 are whats called private ports which are dedicated for very specific functions and work.
E.G.
1) FTP - 21
2) HTTP - 80
3) POP3 - 110
4) SMTP - 25

Remaining ports are open ports or random ports that can be used by some 3rd party applications or common applications.
E.G.

1) Remote Desktop (Terminal Services)- 3389
2) MS SQL - 1433
3) HTTP Proxy - 8080
4) HTTP alt - 8008

some open ports which are not defined by default can be used to mask a server in the internet or network so that only persons with the specific knowledge will know how to access the server.

Port Forwarding is what allows an external connection (client from office) to connect to the internal connection (host at home [behind firewall or router]) to access information by various methods,
1) Remote Desktop
2) HTTP
3) Virtual Private Network
4) Gaming Application

Antivirus And Spyware

First of all, i would like to point out to the uninitiated, i would like to explain what the following are:
Virus
A Virus is a malicious program which will attack the system by exploiting vulnerabilities on a computer. Contrary to popular belief, Viruses can attack any system be it Linux, Windows or Mac, but rarely does it effect a non-windows based machine due to the nature that windows based systems practically dominate the computing world.
there are essentially 2 types of viruses,
man-made - a virus that is written specifically to exploit a computer system or many computer system for the sake of infamy or fortune or both.
and man-made error - which is a virus that attacks the self system due to an error or incompatibility. for example would be if there is a driver clash in a Windows system and a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) comes on, it is technically an error or clash with the driver and some other components, therefore emulating a virus attack.

Worm
a self replicating program which will install itself automatically onto every folder onto a system and in most cases infect any external drive or network it is connected to. A work is self replicating and therefore makes it the fastest spreading type of malicious software in the world.

Malware
a term given to a program which runs maliciously to exploit vulnerabilities or to diminish system resources.

Spyware
software which gains access onto a system and promotes a slew of items such as pop-ups, advertisements, website page redirection, running heavy system resources, keylogging, and sends habitual information to the home server of the program, enabling the perpetrator to gain access and information and habits of the user.

Shareware
full fledged software which can be used by an end user for a limited time before the license expires and asked you to pay for the full version. there may be variations of NAGWARE which will allow you to continue to use the software but constantly ask you to update to the paid version.

Freeware
Software which is provided free for use and open license and redistributable.

Software
Computer Appliances that can be installed to a machine for specific purpose such as Ms. Word and Firefox Browser.

Hardware
Components that are fitted into a computer such as, Processor, Ram, Motherboard, Hard Disk Drive, ROM Drive, Power Subbly Unit, Graphic Card, Lan Card, Wireless Receivers, Sound Card, Speakers, Printers, Scanners, Keyboards, Mouse, Monitors etc.

Trojan
A type of Virus that exploits Vulnerabilities on a system that hasnt been patched. it usually gathers information and allows the person who has deployed the trojan to get access to a system.

Backdoor
A bypass from the traditional way of access. Programmers usually will deveop programs with a backdoor to enable configuration on the software if the software cannnot be access by normal means.

Infection
An infiltration of a virus, or worm which will compromise the use of the computer.

Antivirus
A Software usually by a third party vendor with will detect and remove threats such as worms and viruses and occationally other types of malware.

To the Airport. Again!!!!!!

well i think i have bonded well with my car the past few months. i've been ferrying ppl back and forth the airport and LCCT so frequently that i have most of the path i take there just muscle memory.

it just takes me under an hour to reach the LCCT terminal now legally :)
of course its quicker to reach KLIA itself seeing that it is much nearer than LCCT but who's counting these days.

after all, who in their right mind will get up on a Thursday morning and send someone to the airport then get to work immediately?

oh well! now i guess someday this will be all worthwhile :)

First of May

When I was small, and christmas trees were tall,
We used to love while others used to play.
Dont ask me why, but time has passed us by,
Some one else moved in from far away.

(chorus)
Now we are tall, and christmas trees are small,
And you dont ask the time of day.
But you and i, our love will never die,
But guess well cry come first of may.

The apple tree that grew for you and me,
I watched the apples falling one by one.
And I recall the moment of them all,
The day I kissed your cheek and you were mine.

(chorus...)

When I was small, and christmas trees were tall,
Do do do do do do do do do...
Dont ask me why, but time has passed us by,
Some one else moved in from far away.