The following is a list of programs that detect/monitor file changes on both *nix/Windows:
Good article on how to do a File Integrity Assesment and how to securely use AIDE.
– Suramya
March 23, 2007
December 29, 2006
Sending an e-mail to users whose password is about to expire
If you have users that don’t login to a windows system or Outlook Web access and just use POP/IMAP to download emails then you must be used to having these people call in to have their passwords reset when their passwords expire which can be a pain.
The following script sends out an email to Exchange users when their passwords are about to expire so that they can login to change their password and not bother you.
Download the script from here: Sending an e-mail to users whose password is about to expire
Will post the script to do the same on Unix/Linux systems later.
Thanks,
Suramya
PS: I DIDN’T WRITE THE SCRIPT SO IF IT DESTROYS YOUR SYSTEM DON’T BLAME ME.
July 6, 2006
IP subnetting made easy
Good tutorial on IP Subnetting. Now it makes a bit more sense to me than it used to…
Check it out: IP subnetting made easy
– Suramya
July 5, 2006
Create Visio like Diagrams in your web browser
This is a really cool flash application that allows you to create Visio like diagrams using flash. I tried it out and found the system to be pretty responsive. It allows you to share the documents you create for collaborative editing and if you like what you have you can export it as image files (jpg, png) or as SVG files that can be imported into Visio.
I like the idea and will probably use it for personal stuff, however I don’t think I would use it if I ever had to design some sensitive/confidential system layout. I searched for a privacy policy but couldn’t find any so don’t know what level of privacy are they offering. Without a privacy policy they can do whatever they want with your data.. Not saying that they will, just that they can.
Check it out: Gliffy.com – Diagram and draw in your web browser
Thanks to Adam Fields (weblog) for the link.
– Suramya
July 3, 2006
How to photograph Fireworks
As some of you probably know I love taking photos but I have always had trouble capturing fireworks, they just don’t come out nicely for me 🙁
The following article’s have some awesome tips on how to photograph fireworks so now that I know the secret you can expect some nice pics of fireworks on my site in the near future 🙂
For Digital Cameras: New York Institute of Photography – Tips on Fireworks Digital Photography
For Regular Cameras: How to Photograph Fireworks
Thanks,
Suramya
May 9, 2005
April 15, 2005
Installing Debian From Scratch (DFS)
I like Debian a lot, the only problem I have with it is that when I install it, it installs a lot of junk on the system that I don’t need.
Linux from Scratch is a distribution that fixes this problem but setting it up is too much work for me plus I really like debian and would like to stick to it. 
Fortunately for me someone else also felt the same and created DFS which allows you to create a customized install like LFS but with the Debian advantages.
Instructions on how to install Debian From Scratch are available here
I will try to install it on my system over the weekend. Will keep you posted.
– Suramya
April 12, 2005
April 10, 2005
List of Datawipe Tools
Below are some software that allows you to delete data from disks securely. All of them are pretty efficent and make it difficult for someone to recover the data. However keep in mind that no data is 100% unrecoverable to those who have sufficient time and money.
So it you have some really sensitive data that you have to destroy look into purchasing a furnace and melt the disks down and then destroy the remains.
Software for Data Wiping:
DBAN:
Darik’s Boot and Nuke (’DBAN’) is a self-contained boot floppy that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.
It’s a bootable floppy image that sterilizes IDE hard disks on x86 machines.
BCWipe software is designed to securely delete files from disks and other media
The utilities on this page allow you to destructively wipe/delete/erase a file, a disk (floppy disks, hard disks, etc), or a partition.
Active@ KillDisk is a powerful and compact DOS software that allows you to destroy all data on hard and floppy drives completely, excluding any possibility of future recovery of deleted files and folders.
Eraser is a powerful system security utility developed on the basis of advanced studies and research.