Life

Today my blog turned six, and I tweeted that fact with the following:

My blog http://singe.za.net/ turned 6 today. The fact that I'm tweeting this rather than blogging it is probably significant.

While blogging remains more a more satisfying and useful means of exploring a thought, twitter let's you skip the work and move onto the conversation (sometimes) a bit sooner, but without any decent record of that conversation occurring (twitter's searchable memory is too short). I'm certainly going to continue blogging, but I don't see my throughput increasing much. Luckily, subscribing to an RSS feed is only a cost if there are too many updates ;).

That being said, I think there's been some fun stuff on the blog in the last year, my favourite posts have been:

• Using Maltego to Data Mine Twitter
• Conficker Claims it's first Human Life
• My first guest post - Efficient extraction of data using binary search and ordering information
• Deloitte -> SensePost for a personal milestone (there was another personal milestone, my marriage, but that wasn't much of a blog entry).

Posted by Dominic White

Continue reading "First Week at SensePost"

Posted by Dominic White

Posted by Dominic White

We loved every moment, if only there was more time. Some photos are up courtesy of our photographers. Our informal engagement shoot, and photos from the wedding.

In the meantime, we're off on honeymoon!

Posted by Dominic White

Posted by Dominic White

Five years ago I started this blog to keep my then supervisor up to date on my academic progress. It's interesting that at the same time five years ago Facebook was launched, and I think the last five years have been particularly interesting for computer security, and it's been fun. I've also grown a lot over the years, and it's funny to read my early entries with hindsight.

I've never had a massive readership except for the odd case of big blogs linking to me (SANS, F-Secure and Washington Post were my most memorable). Although, the feedback I've received over the years has really helped to refine some of my stances and ideas, and hopefully a few of yours dear reader. For example Ben Nagy once scared me into a whole new tack leading from this to this. Last year was particularly fun with Roberto Preatoni and Dan Kaminsky both getting involved in some discussion. It also marked a return to more active blogging for me, after a drop off in the move from academia to consulting. I hope to keep it up.

To my regular readers, thanks for reading, to any new readers welcome. My goal has always been to encourage debate and discussion, so if you've never argued with me before  but always wanted to, know that I welcome the chance.

Posted by Dominic White

While taking my drugs this evening I noticed something interesting; vs. . Is this rampant plagiarism? If so, somebody at SensePost better sue the arse off those Schering  guys ;)

Continue reading "Brand Plagiarism?"

Posted by Dominic White

Posted by Dominic White

Continue reading "Why I think the Quality Vacation Club is a Dubious Organisation"

Posted by Dominic White

Posted by Dominic White

Update II: It appears these guys get your number after applying for insurance quotes. If you comment, please indicate if you have recently applied for insurance and through whom you applied.

Update: This page originally documented my experiences, but given the number of commentators and changing tactics, it is regularly updated. I can't vouch for the accuracy of, nor take responsibility for, the commentators information, or that of HeloPeter's. Also, while this fits my personal definition of a scam, until that is tested in a court, they are at most using disingenuous marketing tactics. Either way, don't waste your time.

I got a phone call from 'Divine' today telling me I was one of 15 lucky people who had made it to the final draw for a Cheverolet Spark. This appears to be part of a possible ongoing scam (or network marketing) run by a company that keeps changing it's name. They are currently EcoWorld and appear to have been previously Prestige Business Solutions, which others claim use the trickery to try and get you to buy a time share at the Quality Vacation Club.

Divine told me that Anna, the "events coordinator" would be phoning me tomorrow morning to give me the address. She did phone, but I declined to go, and I advise you do the same.

Continue reading ""You've won a car" Scam - Carlswald / Design Quarter"

Posted by Dominic White

I was interested to see if my political leanings (as described by the Political Compass test) had shifted since having left University, gotten a job, started paying taxes, converted to Catholicism and having grown older.

It is interesting to note that my results are very similar to what they were in 2004, and less libertarian and economically right wing than they were in 2006. Me and Nelson Mandela are still home boys though.

Economic Left/Right: -7.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.13

Continue reading "Political Compass 2008"

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Continue reading "InfoSec Professionals are the Hottest according to Forrester"

Posted by Dominic White

Posted by Dominic White

If you've decided you want to make better coffee, here are my tips for the changes that will yield the biggest results. These aren't comprehensive, just some quick tips for quickly making better coffee.

1. Don't use instant, use proper Arabica grounds.
2. Espresso is the best, then French press, then percolator. A Moka Express or Brikka are quick ways to get into espresso.
3. Use hot milk. This makes a big difference in taste, 30-40s in the microwave should do it. A French Press can be used with hot milk to make decent froth for cappuccino too.
4. Grind your own beans. A grinder is cheap, and freshly grinding your own beans just before you make a cup makes a subtle increase in flavour. Remember to store your beans in an airtight container in a cool dry place (not the fridge).

Posted by Dominic White