Hacking the IT Cube: The Information Technology Department Survival Guide

 Certification Resources......Page 14
 Obtaining a Job Without Experience?......Page 22
BookmarkTitle:......Page 28
 Chief Information Officer......Page 32
 IT Positions......Page 33
BookmarkTitle:......Page 55
Even with all of the reported security issues of Windows 2000, it is still the safest bet in a workstation.......Page 56
Client E-mail......Page 57
Word and Excel......Page 58
The job description of a Network Administrator may vary from company to company, but below is an outline of what a typical Network Administrator should be able to do:......Page 59
 Arriving on Time......Page 80
 The Right Fit......Page 81
Days seem to pass more quickly when you are unemployed, and in a slow job market, you cannot afford to allow even one day to pass without working on finding a job. No matter how many resumes you have sent, you must continually be dedicated to finding a job. Time is against the unemployed and bills do not know the difference in your work status. It is how you look for a job, and what you do when someone does call for an interview, that gives you the edge over your opponents. I cannot say that I am an expert in the field of job stalking, but I have helped a great many people find an IT job, and as a Director of Information Systems, I have interviewed enough people to know what I am looking for in an employee. Perhaps my experiences can help you find a job as well or at least give you one or two suggestions that you may not have considered. In this section, I have compiled some suggestions on looking for work, sending resumes, and the interview process.......Page 82
Temporary Workers......Page 87
Correct Contact Person......Page 89
http://www.Techies.com/ http://www.Monster.com/ http://www.Guru.com/ http://www.Dice.com/ http://www.Computerjobs.com/ http://www.Careerbuilders.com/......Page 100
 It is not enough to send out a handful of resumes, and sit back and wait for a response. I have heard from people in different areas of the country who say that it takes from four to six months to find a job. Can you imagine the stress involved or the bills accumulated in half a year? If I were out of work for six months, I would be asking questions like:......Page 102
In my earlier years as a young man, before I became a computer geek, I was a self-employed ceramic tile setter. My father passed this trade down to me. I was self-employed because I was young and no one would hire me.  I worked from job to job. This meant that once a job was finished, I immediately had to find another. I lived this way for many years, and during that time, living from job to job did not seem very unusual. Looking back, I do not know how I did it, but looking ahead, I used those same skills to find my first computer job when I had no experience…you can too.......Page 103
Cramming for an Interview......Page 104
We will keep your resume on record.......Page 112
BookmarkTitle:......Page 113
I have met many over-qualified and under-paid computer people sitting on a phone support hotline because they lack, either the confidence or ability, to find a job that utilizes their training and qualifications. It is easy to give up after a long search when there are bills to pay, so you take a job for which you are over-qualified, just to get a paycheck. Nevertheless, what happens with many people, once they accept such a job, they stop looking and might stay for several years in a position that they never really wanted. Several years away from a tech job for which you have trained, will put you in the back of the line. Technology changes too quickly to stay out of it for too long. If you must, take a position below what you want, but continue searching for a job that meets your qualifications. It is like running a long marathon, only to give up 100 feet from the finish line.......Page 114
 Many people have to take jobs for which they are over qualified. This does not mean that you have to keep them forever. Look at Albert Einstein; he was not a patent clerk his entire life. It is better and easier to find a job when you already have one. Always take what is available for now and continuing looking for the job that you want.......Page 115
 Vulnerability Assessments / Penetration Testing......Page 116
Syntax......Page 121
Usage Running PsKill with a process ID directs it to kill the process of that ID on the local computer. If you specify a process name, PsKill will kill all processes that have that name.......Page 123
Syntax......Page 125
ERD Commander......Page 135
Command Line Utilities......Page 136
What to know about viruses......Page 144
BookmarkTitle:......Page 146
 Computer and Network “Security”......Page 147
Access Lists – An access list is generally associated with a router or a computer that is acting as a Firewall. Simply put, an access list either accepts or rejects access to network resources as configured in its tables. A Cisco router utilizes access list as a security measure to either route traffic to its intended destination or reject it by sending it to a bit bucket (a null port configured to route a packet to nowhere instead of wasting resources by rejecting it to its originator).......Page 150
BookmarkTitle:......Page 154
E=mailSpam2......Page 155
 What Server Operating Systems Should I Know......Page 164
Database Servers......Page 173
Time Clock Server......Page 174
DHCP Server......Page 175
DNS Server......Page 176
FTP (File Transport Protocol) is generally on the same machine as your web server, and it is used to allow downloads, and uploads from the Internet. Depending on your company’s business model, your customers, your sales staff, or just your computer department for accessing software and drivers can use it. Always make note of who has access and who does not have access to your FTP site. FTP servers can sometimes be an intrusion point to your network. Hackers will target this service to install code that executes a remote session; viruses will target the FTP service to store viruses for retrieval after a successful penetration. I once discovered a hole that allowed a file-sharing group to store MP3s for its members. You can see how an FTP site can be a friend and a foe.......Page 177
What Server Operating Systems Should I Know?......Page 178
Types of Backups......Page 183
 The Job 24/7......Page 189
Manager / Executive......Page 191
BookmarkTitle:......Page 192
6. Physical......Page 193
Company Politics (CP) is a hidden monster that lurks within the shadows of every company. Your very survival may depend on your ability to seek out the major players, quickly recognize the hierarchy of power, and adapt to it without anyone ever knowing that you know.  CP is when you give an accounting clerk a new computer to replace her old one that died instead of giving it to her boss. CP is when you move a folder to a larger hard drive without first consulting the director of that department. CP has no logical progression or mathematical expression because company politics is a fear-based, primal emotion that uses the same hierarchy order as a chimpanzee troop. CP is also, what a small child says when he or she is tired and ready for bed. (If you did not get that, never mind. You would have to be a parent. “I’m CP…”)......Page 194
Purchasing Computer Products......Page 195
IT Ethics......Page 200
Writing Network and Internet Policy......Page 205
Software Licenses......Page 206
Know How to Prioritize......Page 208
 Never, I repeat, never bad mouth the computer person before you. It is bad form and you will usually need his or her help with something. Too often, a new hire will take his or her first position and when confronted with something they do not understand, they will immediately blame it on the computer person that they have replaced. You never want to burn that type of bridge.......Page 214
BookmarkTitle:......Page 218
 Communication Skills......Page 219
BookmarkTitle:......Page 220
Tips on how to identify different types of End-users......Page 227
End-Users are illusive creatures, especially when it comes to watching them eat. Their meals are mainly comprised of a solid block of a frozen protein by-product, which is placed in a microwave and heated until the odor effectively contaminates the building’s air exchange. Once this process is complete, the “food” is retrieved quickly and they disappear back into their forest canopy (their cubicles.); only to emerge later to fill the forest with the smell of burnt popcorn. I have never actually witnessed one eating, but I once found a partially eaten box. I quickly rushed it off to my research area to sample their food for myself. Unfortunately, I found it to be tasteless, difficult to digest, and I later suffered from severe stomach cramps. Having no nutritional value, it is still a mystery as to why these people’s backsides are three times the size of their cousins that work outside of the office place.......Page 236
Working with Outside Consultants......Page 237
 Who has the Power......Page 243
Because many of us (human beings) make many of our daily decisions based on emotions, the world is often a chaotic and confusing place to be, and computer human beings are no different.  The fact of the matter is that computer people are more comfortable with computers than they are people, and many do not interact well with others. (This may not apply to you…may not.) From my own experiences, and advice from those much smarter than me, I found that when confronted with a stressful situation, it is often better to wait 24-hours before addressing it. Time will, in many cases, remove emotion from a difficult decision. Many people make the mistake of reacting to a problem with emotional attachments and making the problem an even larger one. The largest killer to a computer job is emotional e-mail. If confronted with an upsetting situation, always try to put some time between the event and response to remove all emotion from it.......Page 244
BookmarkTitle:......Page 248
Bulk cable is right out of the box cable. CAT5 Ethernet and 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet is the base networking cable used in most modern networks and any category lower than 5 cannot support the throughput necessary in today’s high-speed networks. There are four pairs, (eight wires total) each pair is twisted with a different turn to help eliminate interference from the other pairs, and the tighter the twist, the higher the supported transmission rate. There are seven categories of UTP:......Page 249
 CAT6  Category 6 cabling, used in fast broadband networks up to 400 MHz......Page 250
Category 7,  600-700 MHz. This cable can be used with full-motion video.......Page 251
Standard Ethernet Patch Cable......Page 252
RJ-45 Connector (Registered Jack)......Page 253
  Coaxial Cable......Page 254
Appendix b.pdf......Page 0
Access Control – Access Control ensures that resources connections are only granted to those users who have privilege to them.......Page 258
Authentication......Page 259
Backwards Compatible......Page 260
BIOS......Page 261
CAT2......Page 263
Common Gateway Interface, an interface that connects the Web with other software and databases. CGI defines how data is passed from a server to a CGI program and has nothing to do with the programming language itself. Hence CGI programs can be written in a variety of languages (such as C, Pascal, Perl, etc).......Page 264
Crosstalk......Page 266
D......Page 267
Decapsulation......Page 268
Disassembly......Page 269
DSL......Page 270
Echo Reply......Page 271
Ethernet......Page 272
Filesystem......Page 273
Fork Bomb......Page 274
Fully-Qualified Domain Name......Page 275
Hacker......Page 276
BookmarkTitle:......Page 277
Host......Page 278
Incident Handling......Page 279
Internet......Page 280
IP Flood......Page 281
A jabbering node is a network device on an Ethernet network that is continuously sending data. This action is typically associated with a problem.......Page 282
Kernel......Page 283
Least Privilege......Page 284
Log Clipping......Page 285
Master Boot Record (MBR)......Page 286
Multiplexing......Page 287
Octet......Page 288
Payload......Page 289
Plaintext......Page 290
Port Scan......Page 291
Protocol......Page 292
Reverse Lookup......Page 293
RPC Scans......Page 294
Shadow Password Files......Page 295
Spoofing......Page 296
Subnet Mask......Page 297
TELNET......Page 298
Unix......Page 299
War Dialer......Page 300
Wrap......Page 301
Yottabyte......Page 302