Dell Streak July 27, 2010
Posted by thedonprince in Android, General.add a comment
While not available in the US yet, I recently obtained a US Dell Streak and have had it for a little over a week. Coming from an iPhone 3GS, it’s taken a bit to get used to – finding the ‘Star’ in google maps to add a favorite location rather than dropping a ‘pin’ on the iPhone, using Touchdown to get Exchange email rather than built in, keyboard behavior differences, etc. At Android 1.6 I can agree with Engadget that the only things holding the Streak back is the software. The hardware is GIGANTIC for a phone which being 6’6″ works well for me. The screen size is phenomenal when playing HD Youtube videos, watching converted movies, reading emails… pretty much everything. It’s fit all the pockets I’ve dropped it in without issue. Dell is touting a 2.2(Froyo) upgrade release shortly and I can not wait. They just recently released a VLOG on Youtube showing off 2.1 for the streak. Hopefully if Froyo is a bit away they’ll release it. Either one would be a very welcome upgrade and make the streak one hell of a phone/tablet/PC/gigantic hand prop. I can whole hardily recommend the Streak if the idea of a BIG phone excites you.
Pictures of the iPhone 3GS size comparison:
Some reference sites for you:
Dell Streak Info Sign-up Page: http://app.dellhome.usa.dell.com/enroll/mobile/signup.cfm
Dell VLOG Detailing T-Mobile incompatibility and Android upgrade path: http://www.youtube.com/user/DellVlog#p/u/1/GvCVDi4No2Y
Dell Streak @ Pocketables Forum: http://forum.pocketables.net/forumdisplay.php?f=97
Dell Streak @ Android Modaco Forum: http://android.modaco.com/category/436/dell-streak-streak-modaco-com/
Up next is to get the accessories as soon they are released, find cheaper/other PDMI cables, and test out the Logitech DiNovo Mini that is on it’s way.
Clear WiMax vs. Comcast update June 15, 2010
Posted by thedonprince in Uncategorized.add a comment
So, this is a bit late but after the first 7 days of my Clear WiMax running great, it went to crap. Using either RDP and ICA clients over it during the day was unbearable. I could see bursts up to 10-12Mb/s but baseline was well under 1Mb/s. I could also not put the home modem in bridged mode. I ended up DMZing my firewall and PATing everything from there but there were some definite drawbacks. I returned my clear service on the 13th day and called Comcast. Luckily, I was able to jump on a 30MB download plan w/ basic cable for $29/mo. Not too shabby! Since then, speeds have gone from 1.13/1.40(d/u Mb/s with Clear during the day) to 35.2/5.46(d/u Mb/s with Comcast). I could also put the provided modem into bridge mode and correctly hook up my home lab. I did notice some interesting behavior from the usb clear modem and plan on looking into that further(while trying not to face legal action).
iPad April 7, 2010
Posted by thedonprince in General.add a comment
I finally broke down after 4 days and got an iPad. I can’t say it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread but wow it’s cool. I’ve been using it all night – posting on WordPress, playing scrabble, loading up pdf’s to read. So far my eyes aren’t doing as bad as I thought with extended use. I plan to read a few books and see how it compares to E-Ink. I’m also evaluating any security concerns and so far so good. Hopefully I’ll find the time as well to see how it compares to the iPhone/Touch forensically.
Clear 4G WiMAX Atlanta April 7, 2010
Posted by thedonprince in General.add a comment
For the bandwidth lover Comcast is no doubt the king in Atlanta with up to 50MB speeds. However, it is also the king of cost and inconvenience. At first I could not even get service due to a billing issue with the last resident. Then, after the weeks cleaning that up, I was told it would be $125 connect fee to get the service turned on even with my home ready for cable. Not to mention mid grade service with basic cable would be almost $100/mo. I gave up and figured I would give Clear a shot. I download a lot and I stream a lot and I’m hard on my Internet connection. So far, Clear has been pretty good. There are times either I am getting rate limited or the network is saturated(I haven’t finished testing yet to determine which) but overall I have been very satisfied. It is also very satisfying that for almost half what Comcast was going to charge, I was able to get 2 Clear connections(1 mobile, 1 home) and both have seen up over 10Mb/s speed tests. I routinely see over 1MB/s downloads(with rate limiting or network saturation I see 100-200kb/s – Still good enough to stream Hulu). I’ll also get 3 months of Clear for what it would have cost me for the first month of Comcast! If you’re tired of Comcast I can’t recommend enough to try Clear. It’s not all roses as mentioned but so much better than Comcast.
SANS SEC617 Wireless Penetration Testing & Ethical Hacking Review March 13, 2010
Posted by thedonprince in Training.add a comment
I just got back in town from Joshua Wright’s Wireless Penetration & Ethical Hacking class, SANS SEC617. The class was phenomenal! Not only that but Josh is a fantastic instructor and overall great guy. He is probably the nicest SANS instructor I’ve had the pleasure of facilitating for. That is saying alot too as Ed and the rest are super nice as well. He went out of his way to flash some zigbee USB sticks for me and answer all my zigbee questions. The class material is top notch and includes the top issues with wireless technologies(WEP, WPA/2, Bluetooth, etc) and how you can audit, exploit, and defend against depending on your needs. Josh makes everything easy to understand and shows how each scenario presented could apply to your organization should you have that technology. The fuzzing sections and testing of proprietary protocols are awesome. I hope he continues to grow his course curiculum and look forward to working with him in the future. Now to prepare for the GIAC GAWN exam and see how I can get my hands on a USRP!
Exam Season March 4, 2010
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So, GIAC GPEN & GWAPT, EC-Council E|CSA & C|EH all down in the last two months. GIAC GAWN, GSE, and CAPM up next. Hopefully one day I’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Google’s Ad Campaign – Pretty Awesome February 7, 2010
Posted by thedonprince in General.add a comment
I am definitely no marketing major but google’s ad campaign is pretty damn good. Check it out:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/06/googles-superbowl-ad-will-make-you-cry-a-little-bit/
EC-Council E|CSA / L|PT Class Review February 1, 2010
Posted by thedonprince in Training.add a comment
Having just received my EC-Council E|CSA certification and my GIAC GPEN two weeks before I thought I would post my thoughts. Following up with my SecureAid scholarship I chose to take the E|CSA & L|PT course online with EC-Council. It just so happened around the same time I was selected to facilitate for Ed in SANS CDI 2009. Both courses were good. I felt that the SANS course was more polished. The E|CSA/LPT course used GotoMeeting, a contract instructor, and was not always on-time, effective with time, nor very responsive to emails. Ed’s SANS course was more refined with better time management, delivery, and profesionalism. I am very grateful EC Council chose me for the SecureAid scholarship and apprecaite the opportunity to take their class. I think that EC Council will hopefully have a better online solution with iClass moving to Elluminate soon. If you get a chance to take either class, do it. If you have a choice though I would definitely take the SANS SEC 560! Next up is to actually take my C|EH exam, GIAC GWAPT, and SANS 617 at SANS 2010 Orlando!
EC Council SecureAid Paper January 11, 2010
Posted by thedonprince in General.add a comment
It apprears EC Council did a complete overhaul of their site and as part of that posted the SecureAid winner’s papers and bio’s. They didn’t exactly get my quote correct but you can view it here:
http://www.eccouncil.org/training/ec-council_secure_aid_program/secureaid_candidates.aspx
Congrats to all the other winners as well!
SANS CDI SEC560 Network Penetration and Ethical Hacking w/ Ed Skoudis December 16, 2009
Posted by thedonprince in Training.add a comment
Wow! What a class! I’m currently several miles up in the air and re-reading some of the material from class and have to say this is the best SANS class I have taken to date. Ed has assembled a masterpiece class that I can not recommend enough to any aspiring penetration testers out there. The last day pentest exercise is a phenomenally built exercise and you can tell he put hours of work into it to ensure that it couldn’t be done in an hour but didn’t take a day to complete. You will learn a lot both from what you do right and also do wrong. SANS CDI as before, is a great conference to go to as well. The night presentations were excellent and if you get a chance to hear Kevin Johnson speak on Social Zombies – DO IT! Best talk I have heard all year – especially considering all the privacy changes facebook has been implementing. One important thing you will learn, don’t accept friend requests from Kevin or anyone who is Kevin’s friend already! 
Big Thank you’s to Kate, Kathryn, Stephanie, Stephen, Kathy, Ed, Kevin, and the facilitator gang for a great time!
