A lot of organisations set up security policies so that users will be locked out if they enter the wrong password too many times. The idea is to prevent brute force attacks, where an attacker could sit there all day running through the dictionary until they guess the correct password. The downside is that this […]
Author archives: John C. Kirk
Assessing ability
I’ve recently had a few conversations with recruitment agencies, where they’ve asked me to rate my IT skills from 1-5. However, I’m reluctant to answer, because I think the concept is flawed.
ITIL Foundation (2011)
I recently earned the ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management, after about a week of study. I’m currently job hunting, and I’ve noticed that a lot of adverts list this as essential. It won’t get you a job on its own, but not having the qualification might exclude you from certain jobs, if the […]
Ethernet cables: solid vs. stranded
When you set up a wired network using Ethernet cables (e.g. Cat5e or Cat6), there are 2 types: solid and stranded. The rule of thumb is that you use solid cables when they’re not going to move, e.g. between a wall socket and a patch panel. You use stranded cables when they will move, e.g. […]
Definition Update for Windows Defender – infinite loop
I recently came across an odd situation involving Windows Server 2016 and WSUS updates. On the WSUS server, I typically see several new Definition Updates for Windows Defender (KB2267602) every day. E.g. on 2017-11-26, Microsoft released: 1.257.995.0 1.257.996.0 1.257.998.0 1.257.1001.0 1.257.1003.0 1.257.1005.0 The update with the highest number will supersede the others, so I only […]
Windows FTP clients
I’ve recently been setting up a new FTP server, and I wanted it to support FTPS. However, I ran into a few problems when I tested it, which turned out to be partly due to the client software I was using. I’ve been using CuteFTP for several years: I registered for version 1.0 back in […]
Upgrading Cisco Unity Express
I recently upgraded an NME-CUE (Cisco Unity Express Enhanced Network Module) from version 3.2.1 to 8.6.7. This module was moving from a 3845 router (running CUCME 7.1) to a 3945 router (running CUCME 10.5), so these versions match the compatibility matrix. On the whole, this went fairly smoothly, but there are a couple of issues […]
Native IPv6 in dd-wrt
As I mentioned in a previous post, I installed dd-wrt (kernel 2.6, VOIP, build 14896) on my wireless router (Linksys WRT320N), which connected to a VDSL modem using PPPoE. After that, it worked fine for IPv4, so I had the same functionality as the original Linksys firmware. However, the purpose of the exercise was to […]
IPv6 router
As I’ve mentioned before, I switched my home ISP to A&A so that I could get IPv6 on my internet connection. That gave me 2 pieces of the puzzle (OS support and internet connection), but I still needed to sort out my network infrastructure, specifically my router. This post says what I’m trying to achieve, […]
VDSL modem
Back in 2011, I had VDSL installed in my flat. As part of the installation, the BT engineer replaced the faceplate on my master phone socket and also supplied me with a new modem: Earlier this year, the modem developed a fault and I couldn’t get online. Annoyingly, this happened on a Friday evening, so […]