Back to Work...

Well, it has been a long time since I have had a full-time job, but I'm giving up on self-employment and going back to heat exchanger work.

The last full-time job I had was actually working for a place called Signal International where I was doing drafting work and CNC cutting machine programming. I only worked there for a short time though.

The job before that I was working at a well known, Southern heat exchanger fabrication shop where I was a draftsman, a CNC programmer, and a computer programmer. I was there for nearly 3 years.

During that time I developed a custom CNC programming system using AutoCAD AutoLISP, MS-DOS batch files, and Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0. It was a very sophisticated CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Drafting/Computer Aided Manufacturing) system designed specifically for heat exchanger CNC related processes. The program extracted critical machining data from the relevant AutoCAD drawings and converted that data into information that the CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machines could understand.

The software also performed multiple checking operations to ensure that mistakes were caught prior to the machining process. The software functioned so well that many drafting and engineering mistakes were caught prior to the initial release of the drawings to the shop.

It all came to an end when certain people at the company had issues with me and basically fired me in a way to make it look like I quit (so I couldn't draw unemployment benefits). It has been nearly two years since I left that company and since then I have not been able to find a job in the same industry doing the exact same type of work... Hmmm... Wonder if that has anything to do with the CEO of the company, or the Engineering Manager? If I am ever able to prove that this is the reason then I'll sue them for two years salary, so if you guys happen to read this you better hope I never find out that this is the case :)

That is a shame too, because I loved that job, so much that I worked night and day both at home and at work on things for the job, just ask my wife and my friends. How else could all that I accomplished there have worked so wonderfully in such a short amount of time? Nobody there ever put 2+2 together on that subject though. All most of them saw were the negative things, which by-the-way were a direct result of many stressful things going on in my life at that time. Shame on me!

Well, now I'm going back to work for their competition where I will perform many of the same tasks for them. I will help them streamline their drilling and machining methods in any way possible. I will develop a new programming system for them if they want it, in order to cut down production time and eliminate mistakes in their programs and on their drawings, and I will show them other advantages of alternate methods for drilling. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make those other guys wish they would have never let me go!

Computer Anti-Virus Seminar - No. 001

I have been working on a computer anti-virus and security seminar for a couple of months now. I'll be presenting this free seminar at the Lumberton Public Library in Lumberton, TX on Thursday, June 14th 2007, at 6:00 P.M. There is only room for 35 people to attend, so if you read this and would like to attend then send me an e-mail and I will let you know if there is still seating available.

The presentation will last for approximately one hour and will cover a variety of basic issues. The main idea of this presentation is to raise user awareness and help people learn how to protect their hardware, software, and data at home, or at work.

I hope to see you there! By the way, my e-mail address is shown on the right hand side of this site, directly under my photo.

Wireless Network Tips

I used to be a contractor for TimeWarner Cable, and I frequently installed wireless networks. It was NOT a requirement for us to enable encryption on the network, at least not while I was working there. This is why I've decided to blog this.

First, it is extremely important that you secure your network the best you can. There are several ways to do this and as with everything else in this world, some ways are better, or more effective than others. So, here is a list of security measures you need to take:

• Use Encryption, either WEP or WPA/WPA2.
• Rename the SSID to something other than the default.
• Enable MAC Address Filtering, and other advanced hardware firewall options.
• Use a software firewall in addition to the hardware firewall in the router.

Encryption:

There are two choices for encryption on today's wireless networks. The first is known as WEP or Wireless Equivalent Privacy, and has until recently been the standard for wireless encryption. WEP offers two different levels of encryption, 64 bit and 128 bit.

The second choice is WPA/WPA2 (PSK) or Wireless Protected Access (Pre-Shared Key). WPA/WPA2 PSK is a recent standards-based security technique where each packet of information is encrypted with a different code, or key. This key is generated automatically from the pass phrase or Pre-shared key, and it changes constantly which makes WPA/WPA2 extremely secure. The biggest threat to this type of encryption is if someone were to discover your Pre-shared Key, so if you write it down somewhere be sure to keep it out of reach of anyone that shouldn't have it.

The only reason you should use WEP is if any your hardware devices won't support WPA/WPA2. WPA/WPA2 pass phrases are case sensitive, so "y" is not the same as "Y". This enables you to generate a much more secure key.

Rename the SSID:

The SSID is the "Site Survey Identification." When you purchase a wireless router, the default SSID usually includes the manufacturer's name. For example, Belkin uses the following: SSID=belkin54g, and 2Wire uses SSID=2WIREnnn where "n" equals a digit from 0-9. Other brands uses similar methods and if you don't change this default value, it tells anyone in your area who conducts a site survey what type of hardware you're using. This presents a problem because when security holes are discovered by hackers they share the information with one another. When they see a certain brand of router then they use their inside knowledge to hack that network.

Changing the SSID on most, if not all routers is usually a very simple process and should be done as soon as the router is connected to your devices. It is important to make the SSID something generic that has no meaning other than simply Identifying the device. For example, "SSID=Router651" would be a good choice. Nobody can tell anything about that other than the fact that it's a router, which they already know anyway. Don't use any computer name-brands, operating systems, or networking specific information when naming your SSID, simply keep it generic.

MAC Address Filtering:

MAC stands for Media Access Controller and all network components including cards, adapters, and routers, have a unique "serial number" called a MAC address. For instance, no two network cards (NIC) on the planet should have the same MAC address.

You should be able to enable MAC address filtering on your router and list only the addresses that will be allowed to access your network. This makes for a simple and moderately effective security measure. Of course, it is still possible for a really good hacker to spoof a MAC address and bypass this measure, but it isn't likely that someone would go through that hassle to gain access to a home network, especially if other forms of security measures have also been taken such as encryption.

Spam E-Mail

Few things on this planet aggravate me as bad as spam e-mail does. I have tried numerous methods of preventing this unwanted electronic mail, and some have worked better than others. So far, the best method I have found is by using "Rules Wizard" in Microsoft Outlook. Of course this took some time to setup in such a way that it would work effectively, but it was well worth it.

The Outlook "Rules Wizard" is probably not the most effective method out there, but when you don't want to spend any extra money on a 3rd party utility it certainly is an attractive solution. I labeled it the "best" method simply for the fact that it works pretty well and it costs nothing extra, just the time to set it up correctly.