1.The UN Secretary General has asked nations to take special steps to reduce global food crisis. What suggestions he has given to overcome the problem of food crisis?
(A) Increase productivity limit of small holdings.
(B) Invest more in agricultural development research and technology transfer.
(C) Increase private sector investment and public funding in the field.
(1) Only (A)
(2) Only (B)
(3) Only (C)
(4) All (A), (B) and (C)
2. The government of India isplanning to release inflation figures based on revised
Wholesale Price Index (WPI). The base year for the
same will be:
(1) 2000-01
(2) 2002-03
(3) 2004-05
(4) 2005-06
3. J.P. Morgan has taken over the major stake of
the banking operations business of which of the following
US based banks recently?
(1) Bank of America
(2) Washington Mutual Inc.
(3) Lehman Brothers
(4) Wachovia Corporation
4. "India to depend on edible oil imports for 3-4
years. What at present is the total demand of edible
oil in India per annum approximately.?
(1) 4 mts. (2) 8 mts.
(3) 10 mts. (4) 13 mts.
.
5. The government of India has decided to hike
the support price of Agriculture Crops particularly
food crops. Why has government taken this decision?
(A) To help farmers in getting good value of their
products.
(B) To encourage cultivation of food crops in place
of sugarcane etc. which needs more water
input.
(C) Government wishes that farmers should not
export their products as it will create a shortage
in local markets.
(1) Only (A)
(2) Only (B)
(3) Only (C)
(4) Both (A) and (B) only
6. The government of India has asked various banks
to give their support to the implementation of the
"National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)".
How can banks give their support for the same?
(A) By opening hassle-free savings bank account
of the beneficiaries.
(B) By providing job opportunities to the residents
of rural areas who are willing to work in banks.
(C) By providing financial support to various
schemes/projects taken up under the NREGA.
(1) Only (A)
(2) Only (B)
(3) Only (C)
(4) All (A), (B) and (C)
7. The US government has proposeda bailout package, which they thought, was able
to stabilize the faltering US financial system. What was
the volume of the bailout package?
(1) $ 100 billion
(2) $ 250 billion
(3) $ 500 billion
(4) $ 700 billion
8. Government of India is paying much attention
on sustainable growth these days. Which of the following
projects/schemes can be called as step(s) towards
sustainable growth?
(A) e-choupal initiative designed to enhance farm
productivity and provide market linkages to
the farmers.
(B) Social forestry which provide cumulative
employment to various people across forestrybased
industries.
(C) Renewable energy
(1) Only (A)
(2) Only (B)
(3) Only (C)
(4) Both (A) and (B) only
9. Which of the following is grown in the cold
climate of Kashmir?
(1) Coconut (2) Palm
(3) Saffron (4) Jute
10. Which of the following was India's rank in
"Global Hunger Index for 2007"?
(1) 118th (2) 101st
(3) 94th (4) 90th
11. Which of the following banks has taken over
the Centurion Bank of Punjab recently?
(1) IDBI Bank
(2) ICICI Bank
(3) HDFC Bank
(4) Axis Bank
12. Which of the following organisations conduct
programmes for educational, vocational and occupational
development of socio-economically backward
and disadvantaged people in rural and urban areas in
India?
(1) Navodaya Vidyalayas
(2) Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS)
(3) Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas
(4) Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs)
13. Very often we hear about Financial Inclusion
these days. What is financial inclusion? [Choose the
correct statement(s)]
(A) Providing access to financial services
(banking/insurance) etc. to the weaker sections
of the society.
(B) Adequate and timely credit to vulnerable groups
at an affordable cost.
(C) To ensure that atleast 33% of the general
budget of each department/ministry goes to the
schemes/plans for weaker sections of the society.
(1) Only (A)
(2) Only (B)
(3) Only (C)
(4) Both (A) and (B) only
14. Which of the following is NOT a social sector
programme?
(1) Mid Day Meal Scheme
(2) Look East Policy
(3) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
(4) Kutir Jyoti
15. India recently signed four agreements for economic
cooperation, which will enhance the border trade
between the two nations (which is almost nil at present).
The name of this country is:
(1) Myanmar
(2) China
(3) Sri Lanka
(4) Bangladesh
16. The 11th Five Year plan aims at a growth rate
at which of the following levels?
(1) 8% (2) 9%
(3) 9.5% (4) 10%
17. Who amongst the following is the author of the
book "A Golden Age" which was in news recently?
(1) ) Tahmina Anam
(2) Anita Desai
(3) Salman Rushdie (4) Kiran Desai
8. The Ministers talk in Geneva (WTO) held in July
2008 was not successful. One of the reasons for the
same was that India did not reach on an agreement on
several issues with:
(1) China (2) Brazil
(3) Pakistan (4) USA
19. Which of the following is NOT an employment
generating programme of the government of India?
(1) NREGA (2) SGRY
(3) DPAP (4) TRYSEM
20. Which of the following groups represents the
two types of Inflation?
(1) Cost push Inflation—Demand pull Inflation
(2) Real Inflation—Artificial Inflation
(3) Total Inflation—Partial Inflation
(4) Wholesale price inflation—Purchasing power
parity inflation
21. Many surveys done in the last few years by
various government agencies have reported an increase
in the Rural Unemployment. What are the major causes
of increase in rural unemployment?
(A) Old methods of agriculture
(B) Dependence on monsoon for agricultural
activities
(C) Sharp increase in rural population
(1) Only (A)
(2) Only (B)
(3) Both (A) and (B) only
(4) Only (C)
22. Which of the following is NOT a plantation
crop?
(1) Coconut (2) Potato
(3) Oil Palm (4) Cashew
23. Which of the following terms is used in Rifle
Shooting?
(1) Bull's eye (2) Smash
(3) Stroke (4) Trump
24. In our rural areas people are engaged in many
allied agricultural activities. Which of the following can
not be considered one such activity?
(1) Carpet Weaving Fisheries
(2) Diary farming
(3) Sheep Breeding
(4) Poultry farming
25. Ram Baran Yadav has taken over as the:
(1) President of Nepal
(2) Prime Minister of Nepal
(3) Governor of Assam
(4) Governor of Manipur
26. Which programme was launched to provide
housing to rural people?
(1) Indira Awas Yojana
(2) Slum Development Yojana
(3) Adarsh Basti Programme
(4) Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana
27. Which of the following is not a part of Bulk
Imports in our country?
(1) Fertilizers
(2) Iron and Steel
(3) Handicrafts
(4) Edible Oil
28. Which of the following will be considered as an
advance to Priority Sector by the banks?
(1) Credit to farmers for agricultural purposes
(2) Loan to a group of doctors to establish a
hospital in a city
(3) Loan to a sick mill owner
(4) Loans given to purchase houses in posh colonies
29. Which of the following is NOT a part of the 20
Point Programme adopted by the government of India
in 2006?
(1) Garibi Hatao
(2) Sabke Liye Apna Ghar/Apni car
(3) Jan Shakti
(4) Jan Jan Ka Swasthya
30. India recently decided to hike the "Development
Assistance" to which of the following war-torn
countries by US $ 450 million?
(1) Nepal (2) Myanmar
(3) Afghanistan (4) Pakistan
31. The 15th SAARC Summit was organized in
August 2008 in:
(1) India (2) Pakistan
(3) Nepal (4) Sri Lanka
32. Which of the following schemes is NOT
launched to provide any type of employment to
beneficiaries?
(1) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(2) Mid Day Meal Scheme
(3) National Food for Work Programme
(4) Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana
33. The theme of which of the following Summit
was "Meeting Global Challenges Through Innovative
Cooperation"?
(1) Summit of Eight Islamic Development Countries
(2) SAARC
(3) NATO
(4) European Union
34. The beneficiaries of which of the following
schemes are now covered under "Janshree Bima
Yojana"?
(1) NREGA
(2) Old Age Pension Scheme
(3) Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana
(4) Swarna Jayanti Gram Rozgar Yojana
35. Service Sector in India is about what percentage
of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?
(1) 30% (2) 40%
(3) 54% (4) 48%
36. Who amongst the following won the "India
Open Grand Prix Badminton Championship" held in
April 2008?
(1) Thailand (2) India
(3) England (4) China
37. Who was given "Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Award" for 2007 recently?
(1) Abhinav Bindra
(2) Sania Mirza
(3) Sachin Tendulkar
(4) M.S. Dhoni
38. Right to Education Bill envisages to provide
free education to the children of the age group of:
(1) 6-14 years
(2) Upto 3 years
(3) Upto 5 years
(4) Upto 6 years
39. The 34th National Game (in 2009) will be
organized in:
(1) Goa
(2) Maharashtra
(3) West Bengal
(4) Jharkhand
40. The "Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008" report
was prepared by World Health Organisation recently.
Which of the following countries, as given in the report,
has maximum number of smokers in the world?
(1) India
(2) China
(3) United Kingdom
(4) USA
41. Silvio Berlusconi whose name was in news
recently is the:
(1) President of Italy
(2) Prime Minister of Italy
(3) President of Germany
(4) Prime Minister of France
42. Who amongst the following crossed 5000 runs
milestone in test cricket recently?
(1) Virendra Sehwag
(2) Harbhajan Singh
(3) Anil Kumble
(4) M.S. Dhoni
43. National Judicial Council is headed by whom
amongst the following?
(1) Chief Justice of India
(2) President of India
(3) Vice President of India
(4) Speaker of the Lok Sabha
(5) Union Law Minister
44. Who amongst the following won the "Best
Booker Prize" given away recently?
(1) Salman Rushdie
(2) Shobha De
(3) Kiran Desai
(4) Vikram Seth
45. The money which Govt. of India spends on the development of infrastructure in country comes from which of the following sources ? [Pick up the correct statement (s)]
(a) Loan from World Bank/ADB etc.
(b) Taxes collected from the people.
(c) Loan from the RBI.
(1) Only a
(2) Only b
(3) Only c
(4) All a, b and c
46. Who amongst the following has taken over as
the Chairman of the National Film Development Corporation
(NFDC)?
(1) Anupam Kher (2) Om Puri
(3) Amir Khan (4) Javed Akhtar
47. The US Open Mixed Doubles 2008 was won by
the pair of:
(1) Roger Federer—Serena Williams
(2) Leander Paes—Serena Williams
(3) Sania Mirza—Leander Paes
(4) Cara Black—Leander Paes
48. Dayana Mendoza who was adjudged Miss Universe
2008 is a citizen of:
(1) Britain (2) China
(3) Russia (4) Venezuela
49. Who amongst the following was honoured by
"Best Parliamentarian of the Year Award"?
(1) Sushma Swaraj
(2) Rahul Gandhi
(3) Priyaranjan Dasmunsi
(4) Kamal Nath
50. Who amongst the following was given
Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation
and Peace 2008?
(1) Nelson Mandela
(2) Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda
(3) Sonia Gandhi
(4) L.K. Advani
ANSWERS
1. (2) 2. (3) 3. (2) 4. (4) 5. (1) 6. (1) 7. (4) 8. (4) 9. (3) 10. (3) 11. (3) 12. (2) 13. (1) 14. (2) 15. (2) 16. (4) 17. (1) 18. (4) 19. (3) 20. (1) 21. (4) 22. (2) 23. 1) 24. (1) 25. (1) 26. (1) 27. (3) 28. (1) 29. (2) 30. (3) 31. (4) 32. (2) 33. (1) 34. (1) 35. (3) 36. (4) 37. (4) 38. (1) 39. (4) 40. (2) 41. (2) 42. (1) 43. (1) 44. 1) 45. (4) 46. (2) 47. (4) 48. (4) 49. (1) 50. (1)
cool
Friday, July 8, 2011
::Some Famous Characters in Literature::
Adam : A character in the Bible, also in `Paradise Lost' by Milton.
Aladdin : A well-known character in the `Arabian Nights', in possession of the magic ring and lamp.
Alice : A little girl in `Alice in Wonderland' and `Through the Looking Glass' by Lewis
Carrol.Ariel : In `The Tempest' by William Shakespeare, an airy Spirit which is controlled by Prospero.
Anna Karenina : The heroine of the novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy.
Ancient Mariner : A character in the poem of the same name by S. T. Coleridge, who describes his supernatural experiences to the wedding guests.
Antonio : A character in `The Merchant of Venice' by Shakespeare.
Shylock the cruel money lender, is bent on taking one pound of flesh from his body.
Bassanio : A friend of Antonio in `The Merchant of Venice'.
Beatrix : Heroine in W. M. Thackeray's novel `Henry Esmond'.
Beatrice : Heroine of Shakespeare's `Much Ado About Nothing'. She plays a delightful role and is famous for her witty dialogues.
Brutus Mercus : The historic character in `Julius Caesar' of Shakespeare.
He assassinates his friend Julius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome.
Christian : An allegorical character and hero of `The Pilgrim's Progress' of John Bunyan.
Clare : Hero of `Tess' by Thomas Hardy.
Cleopatra : The heroine of `Antony and Cleopatra' of Shakespeare. She was the beautiful queen of Egypt. G. B. Shaw also has dramatised her in his `Caesar and Cleopatra.
'Cordelia : The faithful and youngest daughter of Lear in Shakespeare's play `King Lear'.
Desdemona : Faithful wife of Othello in Shakespeare's drama `Othello'.
Don Quixote : A famous character in Cervente's novel of the same name. He is an eccentric figure striking at a windmill taking it for a giant.
Don Juan : A character in the poem of the same name by Lord Byron.
Dushyanta : Husband of Shakuntala and the hero of the play in Kalidasa's Abhigyan Shakuntlam'
Aladdin : A well-known character in the `Arabian Nights', in possession of the magic ring and lamp.
Alice : A little girl in `Alice in Wonderland' and `Through the Looking Glass' by Lewis
Carrol.Ariel : In `The Tempest' by William Shakespeare, an airy Spirit which is controlled by Prospero.
Anna Karenina : The heroine of the novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy.
Ancient Mariner : A character in the poem of the same name by S. T. Coleridge, who describes his supernatural experiences to the wedding guests.
Antonio : A character in `The Merchant of Venice' by Shakespeare.
Shylock the cruel money lender, is bent on taking one pound of flesh from his body.
Bassanio : A friend of Antonio in `The Merchant of Venice'.
Beatrix : Heroine in W. M. Thackeray's novel `Henry Esmond'.
Beatrice : Heroine of Shakespeare's `Much Ado About Nothing'. She plays a delightful role and is famous for her witty dialogues.
Brutus Mercus : The historic character in `Julius Caesar' of Shakespeare.
He assassinates his friend Julius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome.
Christian : An allegorical character and hero of `The Pilgrim's Progress' of John Bunyan.
Clare : Hero of `Tess' by Thomas Hardy.
Cleopatra : The heroine of `Antony and Cleopatra' of Shakespeare. She was the beautiful queen of Egypt. G. B. Shaw also has dramatised her in his `Caesar and Cleopatra.
'Cordelia : The faithful and youngest daughter of Lear in Shakespeare's play `King Lear'.
Desdemona : Faithful wife of Othello in Shakespeare's drama `Othello'.
Don Quixote : A famous character in Cervente's novel of the same name. He is an eccentric figure striking at a windmill taking it for a giant.
Don Juan : A character in the poem of the same name by Lord Byron.
Dushyanta : Husband of Shakuntala and the hero of the play in Kalidasa's Abhigyan Shakuntlam'
Monday, December 13, 2010
BASIC IDEAS ON INTERNET SECURITY
When speaking of computer systems, never use the word "secure."
-- Donald H. Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defense
-- Donald H. Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defense
If you use a computer, regardless of whether or not it is connected to the internet, you are in danger. You've spent some money on a nice system and it's proven to be very valuable. You've got lots of financial data (at least your checkbook), your graphics, scanned photos and lord knows what else stored safely on your hard drive.
You think you are safe? Think again.
Before you do anything else, make sure you have a backup and recovery plan for your computer system. Invest in some kind of backup device (a tape drive, zip drive or whatever) and a good backup program (Backup Exec is good) and do regular backups. At the very least, back up your critical data files. You MUST do backups if you want a secure system ... if something gets through your defenses you can rebuild if you have a backup. Otherwise, you are stuck ... system destroyed an no backup means you lose all of your data.
Your first and most significant danger is from nasty little viruses. Your system is in danger if it has any contact of any kind with an outside computer. This includes an internet connection, a network link or even a floppy disk. What do you do about it? Spend the money and buy the best antivirus software that you can find ... I prefer Norton Antivirus because of it's ease of use and automatic updating features. There are plenty of products to choose from, but be sure you can get regular, easily and automatically installed virus updates. Norton is good because it also comes with an email module which scans incoming messages and removes viruses automatically.
The next thing I would recommend is to check out your email program. Microsoft's email programs are wonderful, but they are so powerful that they allow a multitude of malicious programs to damage your computer. If you are using Outlook Express, consider switching to Eudora or a similar program. If you are using Outlook, I would suggest you check out the security upgrade from Microsoft which effectively disables many scripting features and the opening of executable files. This will prevent email viruses, more properly called Trojan Horses, from infecting your system.
Once you are protected from viruses and email Trojan Horses, it's time to protect yourself from people attempting to break into your system. Even if you are using a dialup connection, it is a good idea to get yourself a firewall. If you can afford it, purchase a hardware firewall such as the SonicWall. You can also get a nice software firewall such as Zone Alarm (you can install the free version). A hardware firewall is far superior to the software versions.
You may also want to use an anonymous proxy service to cloak your TCP/IP address from others. An anonymous remailer is good to keep your email address confidential, although you can use several free web-based email accounts to perform a similar function.
Now if you really want to be secure invest in AdSubtract Pro (there is also a free version) and configure the cookie and referrer protection. This allows you to selectively enable or disable cookies and referrers (and some other things) based upon web site address. It's very useful and easy to configure.
Also remember to configure AdSubtract to remove advertisements and web bugs, and you've got yourself a pretty secure system.
Now you want to stay secure ... you've got to understand that there is a war going on right now as we speak. This is the war between hackers and the rest of the world. Hackers are constantly testing the limits of computer systems, and find new holes and vulnerabilities all of the time. Thus, in order to keep your system really, really safe, you need to sat on top of the most current security information.
Read up on other threats to your privacy so you can be more careful online. Be especially wary of scams and other attempts to defraud you. If you've got kids, but in place adequate safeguards to protect them. This is very important if you don't want them getting themselves, and you, into danger.
Finally, be cautious about installing any new programs, spreadsheets or documents (specifically Word documents). If you download a program off the internet, make sure it is from a very trusted source. Downloading that game from the cool site that you found last night is probably not a good idea - no telling what is in the program, waiting to cause havoc on your computer.
As you can see, keeping your system secure is a lot of work. But if you do not do it, you will no be happy with the results. At the very least, make sure you have a good backup. In fact, if you can only do one thing, spend the time on your backups. That way you can always recover.
Contents
- News Important news related to the security of computers, the internet and the web.
- Using anonymous proxy server services to hide your TCP-IP address If you have a direct connection to the internet, such as a DSL or cable modem, then you should consider one of these services to hide your TCP/IP address. It is very important to use anonymous browsing to protect your privacy online while surfing. These services are basically anonymous proxy servers which hide your TCP/IP address. Some of them include remailers to help protect you from spam and junk mail.
- Backing up your system is an essential part of your security scheme Backups are extremely critical to keep your system secure. If your system is damaged by a virus or an intruder you have a way to recover. Remember, however, that you must think through and test your scheme. You have many options in hardware: tape, jazz or zip drives, depending upon whether you are on windows NT, Unix, SUN, ATL, DEC, IBM, NCR or HP.
- Preparing for Disaster Do you use your computer for anything?If you do, then you had better make a backup. You never know when something could happen to destroy all of your work.
- Cookies Cookies (under names like magic cookies, persistent cookies, and just plain cookies) are basically harmless, but many surfers are very much afraid of them for various reasons. Companies like Doubleclick use them to track your surfing habits. These can be a great way to personalize your experience on a web site, though, and sometimes a web site simply will not work. Buy Norton Internet Security 2000 to selectively delete and add cookies.
- So What's A Cookie For, Anyway? Cookies were invented for a good reason and have valid uses. It's too bad evil companies have perverted the concept and threatened our privacy.
- The Fear Of Cookies Afraid of the lowly cookie file. Here's some of the reasons why you should be.
- Protecting Your Children The internet is a very hostile place to children. It's bright and shiny and fun, but there are dangers everywhere. Protect your kids from prowlers, pornography and hate sites. Your children's safety is at stake.
- Report Child Pornography Report child pornography to the authorities immediately and always so that it can be dealt with. The world does not need this kind of sum and trash.
- A Dangerous Environment Think the internet is safe for your kids? Think again, and spend the time now to keep them safe - or suffer the consequences.
- Firewalls protect your system You must protect your system with a personal filewall, especially if you are using DSL or cable modem.
- DMZ A DMZ is useful to allow some systems to be exposed to the outside world while still remaining secure.
- Honeypots A honeypot is used to get hackers to concentrate their efforts on a decoy system.
- Features of a Good Hardware Firewall So you want to get a good hardware firewall? This article presents some of the things you should expect.
- Fraud and scams Be careful when purchasing or signing onto anything on the web, as it's full of fraud schemes. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can help with bonds and stocks, while the U.S. Post Office can help with mail fraud. Remember, there are con men and scams everywhere. (See also Money Making Opportunities - Scams and Cons)
- Referrer You may be unknowingly giving out some of your usernames and passwords as you surf the web. Here's what's happening and how to stop it.
- Social engineering is a way to hack into your system Don't give out your username, password or credit card data without very good reason and being very sure who the other person is. Hackers use something called social engineering to get this data from you.
- Social engineering - What is it? Ever heard of Social Engineering? It's a way that someone can get around your security and steal or destroy your information!
- Viruses The most important thing you can do to protect your system is install a virus checker (also known as an anti-virus program). These programs will scan your system for viruses and Trojan horses and delete or repair them. There are several products including those by McAfee and Norton (Symantec).
- Some More About Viruses There is much to know about viruses, and it's important that you learn as much as possible to protect yourself.
- The Ultimate In Virus Protection Learn how to protect your computer and your hard work. Start with a backup plan, install antivirus software and subscribe to newsletters.
- Outlook Security Patch If you run Outlook and you want to protect yourself, you should install the Outlook security patch.
- Viruses - Code Red Worm System administrators will remember the summer of 2001 as a strange time indeed. Code Red and Code Red II are some of the reasons.
- Viruses - SirCam The SirCam virus is one of the nastiest and most prolific viruses to hit the internet yet.
- Hoaxes Have you gotten an email recently which claims your computer will be trashed by a horrible virus? Did you send it out to all of your friends? Here's what you should have done.
- Setting Up Your AntiVirus Software First, get some antivirus software. Next, make sure it is configured in the most paranoid way possible.
- Get Real About Virus Protection Some people believe they are safe from viruses just because they don't use Microsoft products. They should think again.
- Web Bugs Web bugs are little graphic images inserted into web pages, emails and other web-aware documents to allow companies to gather information about you without your knowledge.
- Web Bugs Are Crawling Everywhere You've heard about web bugs. They are little things designed to track your movements. Watch out - they are exploding all over the internet.
- Hacker Notes This column is intended to educate people on what threats exist and how they can defend themselves against them.
- Hacker Notes - Back Doors Sometimes people create alternate ways to get into your system which bypass the front line security. These are called back doors.
- Hacker Notes - History Hacking has a long and colorful history. It is very interesting reading.
- Hacker Notes - Denial Of Service Attacks Denial of service attacks have gotten a lot of press lately. What the heck is it?
- Hacker Notes - Email Bombs An email bomb is a way to deny someone access to his email account for a period of time.
- Hacker Notes - Passwords You want to have a hacker on your system? Do what most people do and have weak passwords.
- Hacker Notes - Ping Of Death One common attack method is to send a huge PING packet at a system. Some older or unpatched operating systems will crash in response.
- Hacker Notes - Terms This article defines some of the terms commonly used by hackers.
- Hacker Notes - War Dialer Hackers often use war dialers to find modems which they can use to crack into your network.
- Hacker Notes - Trojan Horses In order to damage, control or even just examine a system a hacker must convince someone (a user, an operating system or an application) to install something for him. A Trojan Horse is one way to do this.
- Hacker Notes - Web Site Defacement A hacker who wants to "leave his mark" might deface a web site. He might also want to leave a message or simply mock the webmaster.
- War Driving, War Flying and War Chalking With the advent of extremely inexpensive wireless access points, a new hacking technique called war driving has appeared.
- Hacker Notes - Zombies Sometimes a virus does not appear to do anything, yet has infected your system. If this happens, you might actually be helping attack a government, a company or a university.
- Cyberterrorism Is cyberterrorism a real threat to the United States? In spite of real possibilities, terrorists prefer weapons that cause mass deaths and destruction.
- Cyber-terrorism Replies Got some replies to my article on cyber-terrorism. Here are my responses.
- Let's Use Our Brains, Please I think it's time to begin to use our own brains and be more discrete about what we make available on the internet.
- Cyber Warfare The United States is at war with terrorism. It's realistic to assume that terrorists will attempt various cyber attacks now and then. So prepare yourself and your network.
- What is a security certificate? Security certificates provide a way whereby people can trust one another on the internet.
- Physical Security Working on making your systems more secure? Before doing anything, ensure they are behind locked doors.
- Physical Security - Securing Your Laptop Laptops are light and easy to steal, make sure your's is not a statistic.
- Clean Your Disk Drives Worried about security? How about making sure your drives are clean when you throw them out.
BASIC 404 ERRORS
We've all received an error like the one shown below:
There are several reasons why this error occurs. I guess the thing that you need to remember is the internet is very fluid. In fact, it changes constantly. Sometimes a site is changing while you are looking at it. I can remember several times I was examining a site and returned to a page that I had seen only moments before and found it to be different! That can be very unnerving, to say the least.
So what sometimes happens is a webmaster changes his site around and obsoletes links. If he's a rank amateur, he'll break links within his own site. This does happen sometimes, but any webmaster worth his salt is constantly checking and rechecking his site to be sure it works and works well. After all, the only way to test something is to use it. And the only way to see if a site really works is to surf it.
More often, someone has linked to a site and that site changes. Since it can be difficult if not impossible to determine who has linked to a site, links break.
Now, really good webmasters never ever delete a page on their site. What they do is create redirect pages. Thus, if I have a page called "barbi.htm" and I want to delete it, I will modify the page to tell the visitor it no longer exists and redirect him to another page in my site. This way I will not lose traffic simply because I've deleted or renamed a page.
This constant checking of one's own web site will also catch another common error: misspelling a hyperlink. When I create a hyperlink, I either browse to the target using my web editor, or I cut and paste the link directly out of Internet Explorer. I never type the hyperlink in myself, which reduces the possibility of error greatly!
Also common is the webmaster who does not understand that many servers are case sensitive. This means that "Richard" is not the same as "richard". You will see this sometimes if a webmaster moves a site from a server which is not case sensitive (VAX/OpenVMS) to one that is (Unix).
Sometimes a site simply moves to another host. This frequently happens when a site outgrows it's host. I know of one site that had to move several times because it's bandwidth demands became huge! According to the webmaster this site was getting tens of thousands of visitors every day, and all of them were downloading tremendous amounts of pictures. He was booted off one server with no notice and no backup and had to rebuild his site from scratch! This kind of event will certainly cause 404 errors!
More rarely, a webmaster has been in the process of uploading his site when his upload software crashed. This may leave broken links for a short time until the problem is fixed.
Generally an ISP will provide, at least for a short time, a redirect page to a new site. You will see this as a "My site has moved. If you are not transported in 10 seconds click here" message.
And of course some sites simply shut down. This is actually getting more rare as it's often more expensive for an ISP to delete old data than it is simply to prevent updates.
Search engines are notorious for their broken links. You have to remember that most search engines only examine web sites every month or so (sometimes the delay is as long as six months). Because of this, all of the above problems can occur, leaving broken links.
File not found - requested URL not found on this serverIt's annoying, especially when you've searched for something and found what looks like the perfect site. At least the description exactly matches your needs. You click and boom, a 404 error appears. Whoops. What happened to that perfect site?
There are several reasons why this error occurs. I guess the thing that you need to remember is the internet is very fluid. In fact, it changes constantly. Sometimes a site is changing while you are looking at it. I can remember several times I was examining a site and returned to a page that I had seen only moments before and found it to be different! That can be very unnerving, to say the least.
So what sometimes happens is a webmaster changes his site around and obsoletes links. If he's a rank amateur, he'll break links within his own site. This does happen sometimes, but any webmaster worth his salt is constantly checking and rechecking his site to be sure it works and works well. After all, the only way to test something is to use it. And the only way to see if a site really works is to surf it.
More often, someone has linked to a site and that site changes. Since it can be difficult if not impossible to determine who has linked to a site, links break.
Now, really good webmasters never ever delete a page on their site. What they do is create redirect pages. Thus, if I have a page called "barbi.htm" and I want to delete it, I will modify the page to tell the visitor it no longer exists and redirect him to another page in my site. This way I will not lose traffic simply because I've deleted or renamed a page.
This constant checking of one's own web site will also catch another common error: misspelling a hyperlink. When I create a hyperlink, I either browse to the target using my web editor, or I cut and paste the link directly out of Internet Explorer. I never type the hyperlink in myself, which reduces the possibility of error greatly!
Also common is the webmaster who does not understand that many servers are case sensitive. This means that "Richard" is not the same as "richard". You will see this sometimes if a webmaster moves a site from a server which is not case sensitive (VAX/OpenVMS) to one that is (Unix).
Sometimes a site simply moves to another host. This frequently happens when a site outgrows it's host. I know of one site that had to move several times because it's bandwidth demands became huge! According to the webmaster this site was getting tens of thousands of visitors every day, and all of them were downloading tremendous amounts of pictures. He was booted off one server with no notice and no backup and had to rebuild his site from scratch! This kind of event will certainly cause 404 errors!
More rarely, a webmaster has been in the process of uploading his site when his upload software crashed. This may leave broken links for a short time until the problem is fixed.
Generally an ISP will provide, at least for a short time, a redirect page to a new site. You will see this as a "My site has moved. If you are not transported in 10 seconds click here" message.
And of course some sites simply shut down. This is actually getting more rare as it's often more expensive for an ISP to delete old data than it is simply to prevent updates.
Search engines are notorious for their broken links. You have to remember that most search engines only examine web sites every month or so (sometimes the delay is as long as six months). Because of this, all of the above problems can occur, leaving broken links.
NETWOKS
The word network describes two or more computers that can share resources. These resources include printers, other computers, data, applications, communications, and just about anything else.
There are three basic types of networks
LAN - LAN stands for Local Area Network. These are networks that are limited to a specific, relatively small area. Usually this is just a single office, warehouse, building or even an apartment. Generally a LAN does not exceed the boundary of a single building and the connections between computers is permanent.
WAN - A WAN is a Wide Area Network. In many cases, a WAN consists of multiple LANs or MANs. A WAN can be huge (even covering the entire planet or extending out into space), and the connections between computer may or may not be permanent.
MAN - This stands for Metropolitan Area Network. The term is not used very much, and it is really just a variation on the WAN concept. You can think of a MAN as a WAN that is totally contained within the boundaries of a single metropolitan area (a city).
Some good articles about network (mirrored locally with permission):
There are three basic types of networks
LAN - LAN stands for Local Area Network. These are networks that are limited to a specific, relatively small area. Usually this is just a single office, warehouse, building or even an apartment. Generally a LAN does not exceed the boundary of a single building and the connections between computers is permanent.WAN - A WAN is a Wide Area Network. In many cases, a WAN consists of multiple LANs or MANs. A WAN can be huge (even covering the entire planet or extending out into space), and the connections between computer may or may not be permanent.MAN - This stands for Metropolitan Area Network. The term is not used very much, and it is really just a variation on the WAN concept. You can think of a MAN as a WAN that is totally contained within the boundaries of a single metropolitan area (a city).Some good articles about network (mirrored locally with permission):
T20 HACKING TOOLS
These are Top 20 Hacking Tools, the list is exhaustive, this are a few to name.
The “Nessus” Project aims to provide to the internet community a free, powerful, up-to-date and easy to use remote security scanner for Linux, BSD, Solaris, and other flavors of Unix.
Ethereal is a free network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. Ethereal has several powerful features, including a rich display filter language and the ability to view the reconstructed stream of a TCP session.
Snort is an open source network intrusion detection system, capable of performing real-time traffic analysis and packet logging on IP networks.
Netcat has been dubbed the network swiss army knife. It is a simple Unix utility which reads and writes data across network connections, using TCP or UDP protocol
TCPdump is the most used network sniffer/analyzer for UNIX. TCPTrace analyzes the dump file format generated by TCPdump and other applications.
Hping is a command-line oriented TCP/IP packet assembler/analyzer, kind of like the “ping” program (but with a lot of extensions).
DNSiff is a collection of tools for network auditing and penetration testing. dsniff, filesnarf, mailsnarf, msgsnarf, urlsnarf, and webspy passively monitor a network for interesting data (passwords, e-mail, files, etc.).
GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner (N.S.S.) automatically scans your entire network, IP by IP, and plays the devil’s advocate alerting you to security vulnerabilities.
>Ettercap is a multipurpose sniffer/interceptor/logger for switched LAN. It supports active and passive dissection of many protocols (even ciphered ones)and includes many feature for network and host analysis.
Nikto is an Open Source (GPL) web server scanner which performs comprehensive tests against web servers for multiple items, including over 2500 potentially dangerous files/CGIs, versions on over 375 servers, and version specific problems on over 230 servers.
John the Ripper is a fast password cracker, currently available for many flavors of Unix.
OpenSSH is a FREE version of the SSH protocol suite of network connectivity tools, which encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other network-level attacks.
Tripwire is a tool that can be used for data and program integrity assurance.
Kismet is an 802.11 wireless network sniffer – this is different from a normal network sniffer (such as Ethereal or tcpdump) because it separates and identifies different wireless networks in the area.
NetFilter and iptables are the framework inside the Linux 2.4.x kernel which enables packet filtering, network address translation (NAT) and other packetmangling.
IP Filter is a software package that can be used to provide network address translation (NAT) or firewall services.
OpenBSD Packet Filter
fport identifys all open TCP/IP and UDP ports and maps them to the owning application.
SAINT network vulnerability assessment scanner detects vulnerabilities in your network’s security before they can be exploited.
OpenPGP is a non-proprietary protocol for encrypting email using public key cryptography. It is based on PGP as originally developed by Phil Zimmermann.
TEN TIPS FOR PREPARING THE BEST RESUME
About to enter the job market? Have you spruced up your resume? If not, start working on it. In fact, keep an updated copy whether or not you are looking for a job, so that you are always prepared when the right opportunity comes along. Before you begin work on your résumé, remember: its sole purpose is to get you a job interview. An excellent resume is necessary to make a good first impression. Conversely, a bad résumé will eliminate you from the race, even if you have great qualifications.
From my experience, which is corroborated by technical managers at other firms, most people tend to ignore the basics of a resume, which costs them the job interview. Also, since it is a reflection of your skills and personality, each resume is a unique document. What's common between different resumes are the basics, on which this article focuses. In addition to the information given here, you will need to work on a one-on-one basis with a professional, friend, or even your manager to fine-tune your resume. And once you have a killer résumé, don't forget to update it frequently. It is, after all, a work-in-progress document. The tips in this article were compiled from the author's extensive recruiting experiences at his company along with feedback from hiring managers at other high-tech companies.
Five minutes. That's all you have to grab the reader's attention and market yourself effectively. You can achieve this with attractive formatting.
The key point here is to not complicate matters for the reader. They should be able to obtain all pertinent information about you without moving from their chair (yes, it sounds ludicrous, but that's how it needs to be). So, make sure that your résumé contains the following information.
In the high-tech world, it is likely that managers who appreciate brevity will evaluate your résumé. So, keep the length in check. Follow the general rule of the thumb, one page for every eight years of experience. Also, don't repeat information.
It is important that you use action words that convey activity. In the previous examples, the sentence could just as easily have begun with "Worked on a motherboard..." However, beginning the sentence with "Designed a motherboard..." eliminates ambiguity and conveys action.
An interviewer does not want to hear "Well, I worked on that project a long time ago and so I cannot answer your question." This is unacceptable and you have just shot yourself in the foot. If you are not familiar with the material, it conveys that either you did not do the work, or that you forget easily and cannot leverage off past experience, or that you have prepared poorly for the interview. Bottom line, either exclude such information from your résumé, or familiarize yourself with it.
It's fine to be creative, but consistency plays a far more important role. It conveys a logical and organized thought process and leaves a positive impression in the engineering-centric high-tech world. Here's an example of consistency: When providing a summary of your accomplishments, begin each line item with an action word, as shown below by the underlined text.
You will be caught. Enough said.
Since screening is routinely performed by software, you must use buzzwords on your résumé. Don't enumerate everything in your repertoire, but do list basic skills that are necessary for the job, or are currently in demand. Obviously, include these abilities only if you possess them.
Most good interviewers do not accept more than three minor mistakes in a résumé, since it indicates your inability to perform high-quality work. Hence, after you have completed your résumé, check for spelling and grammar errors. All word processing packages include tools to do the same, so that's going to be your first level check. Additionally, have someone proof read the document to catch errors missed by the software.
One résumé does not fit all. It's okay to customize the résumé based on the job requirements. Customization sells your skills more effectively and results in more job interviews for you.
From my experience, which is corroborated by technical managers at other firms, most people tend to ignore the basics of a resume, which costs them the job interview. Also, since it is a reflection of your skills and personality, each resume is a unique document. What's common between different resumes are the basics, on which this article focuses. In addition to the information given here, you will need to work on a one-on-one basis with a professional, friend, or even your manager to fine-tune your resume. And once you have a killer résumé, don't forget to update it frequently. It is, after all, a work-in-progress document. The tips in this article were compiled from the author's extensive recruiting experiences at his company along with feedback from hiring managers at other high-tech companies.
1. USE ATTRACTIVE FORMATTING
Five minutes. That's all you have to grab the reader's attention and market yourself effectively. You can achieve this with attractive formatting.
The key is to have a good balance of white space and text. Your résumé should not look empty, nor should it overwhelm the reader with text. Keep margins of at least 1" on all sides (some companies may still keep your résumé "on file" i.e. in three-ring binders). Make the résumé readable by using a minimum of a 10-point font for text and 11-point for headings. Use, at most, three levels of formatting (normal text, bold, and italics) or else it will distract the reader. Remember, although you want to get the reader's attention, do so with communicative titles and descriptions rather than with fancy fonts and graphics.
A badly formatted résumé will look sloppy. If you submit such a document, you might as well forget about the interview.
2. COVER THE BASICS
The key point here is to not complicate matters for the reader. They should be able to obtain all pertinent information about you without moving from their chair (yes, it sounds ludicrous, but that's how it needs to be). So, make sure that your résumé contains the following information.
- Contact Information like name, address, phone/fax numbers, and email address.
- Objective. A single statement should sum up your goals.
- Education. If you've graduated recently and want to highlight it, place education before the experience and skills section and list your coursework. List GPAs only if they are good. Education should always be listed in reverse chronological order. Assuming that you have an undergraduate degree, do not list your high school education since it is irrelevant.
- Work Experience. Again, this must be listed in reverse chronological order, and must include the company title, location, timeframe of work there, responsibilities and projects. More on this later.
- Publications, Patents, and Awards. List these or anything else that is relevant to your job function in this section. If you have many publications and patents, consider listing them on a separate page and attach it to your résumé.
- Computer Skills. This section can include hardware, software, programming language, and operating system experience. It's not necessary to include everything, but do make sure you list a few critical items which can be caught by résumé tracking software.
- Other Skills and Activities. This section can be used to show that you are a well-rounded individual. It can include membership in industry-related societies. Keep it short, general, and avoid controversial hobbies or pastimes.
If you have many years of experience, you can also provide a summary of your skills before the "Experience" and "Education" sections.
I've seen many résumés where people forgot to list their phone numbers, had glaring holes in their work experience and schooling, or did not mention their objective. Such deficiencies raise questions in the mind of the reader, and make his or her life more difficult by asking them to find information. Do you really want to do that, especially when there are hundreds of people applying for the same job?
3. BE CONCISE AND COMMUNICATE RELEVANT INFORMATION
In the high-tech world, it is likely that managers who appreciate brevity will evaluate your résumé. So, keep the length in check. Follow the general rule of the thumb, one page for every eight years of experience. Also, don't repeat information.
However, do not err on the side of extreme conciseness. The goal is to communicate your experience and separate yourself from the competition. Consider the following examples of information that is too concise, appropriate, and too detailed.
"Designed a K6 motherboard for a sub-$1000 PC"
—Too concise. Does not convey details of critical components, nor does it discuss applications.
—Too concise. Does not convey details of critical components, nor does it discuss applications.
"Designed a motherboard using the K6 processor, 430TX chipset and associated peripherals. Target applications were sub-$1000 PCs. To lower cost, graphics acceleration was integrated on-board."
—Appropriate. Discusses critical components, architecture, and applications.
—Appropriate. Discusses critical components, architecture, and applications.
"Designed a motherboard using the K6 processor, 430TX chipset, Ultra-I/O controller, SDRAM, 512 KB of cache memory, clock generator, PCI and ISA slots, and a graphics accelerator with 4MB of memory on board. The system was targeted at sub-$1000 PCs being manufactured by various large computer makers in the US, Europe, and Asia."
—Too long. Details that can be discussed in the interview are presented here. The statement about computer makers is irrelevant.
—Too long. Details that can be discussed in the interview are presented here. The statement about computer makers is irrelevant.
4. USE ACTION AND POWER WORDS
It is important that you use action words that convey activity. In the previous examples, the sentence could just as easily have begun with "Worked on a motherboard..." However, beginning the sentence with "Designed a motherboard..." eliminates ambiguity and conveys action.
A conscious effort must be made to use action and power words in your résumé. The types of words you can use depend on the job function. If you are applying for a management position, then use words like "Managed, supervised, led," etc. If you are applying for an engineering position, then incorporate words such as "Designed, developed, debugged," etc. A list of action words can be available through online thesauruses, reference books on résumé writing, and even paper manufacturing companies. Remember, it is also important to communicate teamwork and leadership qualities, especially if you are applying for a managerial position.
I've noticed that many Indians do not use action and power words when writing résumés. This is probably a cultural trait, since we're taught to understate our achievements and write in passive tense. Eliminate this habit when writing résumés.
5. BE FAMILIAR WITH THE INFORMATION
An interviewer does not want to hear "Well, I worked on that project a long time ago and so I cannot answer your question." This is unacceptable and you have just shot yourself in the foot. If you are not familiar with the material, it conveys that either you did not do the work, or that you forget easily and cannot leverage off past experience, or that you have prepared poorly for the interview. Bottom line, either exclude such information from your résumé, or familiarize yourself with it.
6. BE CONSISTENT
It's fine to be creative, but consistency plays a far more important role. It conveys a logical and organized thought process and leaves a positive impression in the engineering-centric high-tech world. Here's an example of consistency: When providing a summary of your accomplishments, begin each line item with an action word, as shown below by the underlined text.
- Created and executed strategy to triple product line revenues in two years.
- Defined and developed four product families encompassing over 30 devices to meet revenue goals.
- Wrote all product data sheets and collateral for these 30 products.
Another example is to consistently stay in third person rather than shifting between first and third person in the document. Please refrain from using "I" in your résumé.
A general rule of the thumb is that each section of the résumé should have subsections that look very similar. For example, if your "Work Experience" section contains a paragraph on responsibilities, followed by subsections on major projects and accomplishments, it should be the same for every employer.
Different sections should resemble each other in terms of formatting, to ensure that information can be located easily.
7. DON'T LIE
You will be caught. Enough said.
8. BE BUZZWORD COMPLIANT
Since screening is routinely performed by software, you must use buzzwords on your résumé. Don't enumerate everything in your repertoire, but do list basic skills that are necessary for the job, or are currently in demand. Obviously, include these abilities only if you possess them.
9. PERFORM SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECKS
Most good interviewers do not accept more than three minor mistakes in a résumé, since it indicates your inability to perform high-quality work. Hence, after you have completed your résumé, check for spelling and grammar errors. All word processing packages include tools to do the same, so that's going to be your first level check. Additionally, have someone proof read the document to catch errors missed by the software.
Some common errors that I have see on résumés are: random double spaces between words, two periods at the end of a sentence, misspelling your University or company name, missing prepositions in a sentence, and a lack of commas in a long sentence.
10. CUSTOMIZE YOUR RESUME
One résumé does not fit all. It's okay to customize the résumé based on the job requirements. Customization sells your skills more effectively and results in more job interviews for you.
When applying for the job, don't forget the cover letter. The purpose of this document is to augment your résumé's critical sections (i.e. those that are applicable to the target job). The maximum length of a cover letter is one-half of a page, ideally separated into three paragraphs. The first tells the reader how you heard of the job, the second discusses your relevant skills, and the third tells the reader why you are a great fit. It goes without saying that a cover letter must be concise.
Since email is now very popular, a short cover letter can be written in the text of the email. However, email does raise the question of how to submit your résumé. In this case, the fundamental rules always apply: follow the company directions, and if they don't specify, ask. If you get no response, use the default, which is a text email with a Word attachment.
- If you feel the need to work with a résumé professional, there are many online providers of résumé writing and reviewing services. Select one that has experience in your field of work, and understands your requirements well. But remember, only you are responsible for the contents, look, and feel of your résumé, and you should treat it with the utmost importance. This article has provided you with some basic tips on how to write better résumés, and for those of you who need more information, "additional information is available upon request."
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