Monday, January 14, 2013

What is Acunetix?

Recently it comes to my attention that many so called "web security" experts issuing reports on web sites vulnerability using tools such as security scanner from Acunetix site. You can download and try it for free but how really usefull this tool is?
As I said earlier I am a web developer and working on that fields since 1996. Looks like I do have some expirience and would like to tell you: do not waste your money on that kind of tools.
I can create such a tools within 20 minutes and it will show unsuspected user scary picture of his website possible vulnerabilities. But how many of those scary things are real? Belive it or not but even developers of such tools have no clue. Best example is SQL injection vulnerability. Any web site which have database behind it is potentially vulnerable to it. 
And all scanning tools have show that. Small things which none considered is human factor behind it. For example none of sites developed by me was ever broken using SQL injection! 
There were vulnerabilities on IIS side but that is nothing your developers can do about. Only your network and sysadmin can keep up your systems up to date with Microsoft updates to protect system.

As a result what would I recommend to all web site users and future owners?
Better spend it on your IT team education and allocate resources on books and code reviews.
Establish company standards and do not let anyone - no matter how high or valuable this person for your company - compromise those standards.
That is your only protection against hackers and other type of  BS waste.
And keep in mind the old saying, but still true: the avaricious pays twice

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Hurray Mr. Mayor!

Do you understand what Bloomberg is doing recently?
First he is launching campaign to reduce speed limit to 20 mph in the city.
Ok, I know that it does not compile: how successful businessman can be that idiotically stupid.
Did he ever drive a car, I do not think so.
Most likely he always use limo and that is why he does not know that 99.99% of the cars in US (and that include NYC) adapted for running at speed 55+ mph.
What is happening at lower speed?
Exactly what Bloomberg said that he is working hard to avoid when he set anti-smoking rules in the city:
                      more polluted smoke comes out of the working engines into air. 

Car makers does acknowledge that most effective way to use cars is at high speed -over highways.
At lower speed in the city we have higher level of emissions and that is what Bloomberd doing.
Or maybe he does not care about poisoning people because he getting more money from gas stations and oil industry?
Can you answer this?
For me answer is clear: raise voice and tell him to resign from mayor position now, before it is too late. And if not — impeachment I think is the good legal option to.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Best places to quit smoking... or why Newyorkers should not attempt

Recently, while on Hawaiian vacation, I decide to stop smoking.
Want to see how does it feel -- been smoke free.
Works just fine and I discovered that even coffee smell different. For example Brazilian and Arabic have completely different aroma to my surprise. And whiskey is not the same as vodka, even do it manufacturing procedure almost the same. So, I did not smoke for almost 30 days or my entire vacation. And be amid ocean breeze and gorgeous woman did help :-), a lot actually.
Felt great and I assumed that as soon as I get back to New York I will continue with this none smoking routine.
You know what? New York sucks in all terms and under any sense of this word. Even while I was stepping down from jet I sensed that air is not the same as in Hawaii for some reason. At first I assumed that it is because a time difference and jet legs.
But by the next day – my first work day – I knew what is wrong. Subway stinks so horribly that I was forced to walk all the way from Brooklyn to NYC downtown. There were all those stinks from street vendor’s cages.
As a result I could not stand it. Here is first few reasons why new yorkers should not quit smoking:
1. Subways stench comes not from just underground rats and decay but from all those homeless people sleeping in the subway cars.Think about it. When MTA anti-rat commandos sprayed all over tunnels and stations special pesticides and rat poison where do you think vapors and small dust particles goes?
Keep in mind that those poisoned particles tends to accumulate in your body. And later you will ask where the hell did I got poisoned or got cancer...
2. Smell of garbage emanating all over this freaken city and mayor currently only worries about how to get more money out of city coffins before he take final walk out of City Hall.
3. Wind from Atlantic not as fresh as we force to believe. It smell has nothing to do with fresh breeze from ocean and more with stench of the garbage dumped over years into East River and Hudson.

Or we have another option –- do not go to vacation into areas where air is remain clean and wind from the ocean smell like a fresh salt water wind.

Do not stop or quit smoking unless you really want to know how New York smells.
But if you do quit smoking - move far-far away from New York…