நீச்சல்...

இன்று முதல் முறையாக இரண்டரை வயதாகும் என் மகன் நீச்சல் கற்றுக்கொள்ள நங்கள் குடியிருக்கும் அடுக்குமாடி குடியிறுப்பின் நீச்சல் குளத்திற்கு சென்றான். இந்த நிகழ்வு என்னுடைய நீச்சல் அனுபவத்தை நினைவு படுத்தியது.

நான் எட்டாம் வகுப்பு படிக்கும் போது நடந்த சம்பவம். அப்போது எனக்கு நீச்சல் தெரியாது அது தேவைப்படவும் இல்லை. குடிக்கவே தண்ணீர் இல்லா ஊரில்(கோவில்பட்டி)  நீச்சலின் தேவை என்ன?

வீட்டருகே இருக்கும் மற்ற சிறுவர்களோடு சேர்ந்து விளையாட எங்கள் வீட்டில் தடை. காரணம் அந்த சிறிய வயதிலேயே அவர்களின் உன்னத உலக அறிவும் அனுபவமும் தான். இந்த சமயத்தில் ஒருநாள் எங்கள் வீட்டில் அம்மாவும் அப்பாவும் வெளியூர் சென்றார்கள். அம்மா பலமுறை சொல்லியும் அப்பா என்னையும் உடன் அழைத்துச் செல்ல கட்டாயமாக மறுத்து விட்டார். எங்கள் வீடும் "சிதம்பரம்" தான். அம்மா அமைதியாக்கப்பட்டார். நான் அடுத்த தெருவில் இருந்த பாட்டியின் வீட்டிற்கு இன்ப சுற்றுலா சென்றேன்.

எனக்கு பாட்டி வீடு என்றால் ஒரே மகிழ்ச்சி தான். ஏனென்றால் பாட்டிக்கு ஏமாற மட்டும் தான் தெரியும். அப்போது நான் கட்டவிழ்த்து விடப்பட்ட கன்றுக்குட்டி. அவ்வேளையில் தான் வீட்டருகிலேயே இருந்த அந்த இளம் ஆர்கிமிடீசின் அறிமுகம் எனக்குக் கிடைத்தது. மிதத்தல் விதிகளை எனக்கு விளக்கினான். அடுத்த நாளைக்கு செய்முறை வகுப்பும் முன்பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டது. பாட்டியிடம் வழக்கம் போல நான் தான் அரிச்சந்திரன் என்பதை உறுதி படுத்திவிட்டு செய்முறை வகுப்பிற்கு புறப்பட்டேன். அரைமணி நடந்தோம் அந்த பொற்றாமரை குளத்தை அடைந்தோம்.

சூரியன் எங்களின் உச்சந் தலையில் மையம் கொண்டிருந்த நேரம். எங்கள் இருவரையும் தவிர அங்கு வேறு யாரும் இல்லை. வகுப்பை ஆரம்பிக்க ஆசிரியர் தயாரானார். இடுப்பளவு தண்ணீரில் இறக்கி விடப்பட்டேன். நீரின் அளவு கூட கூட என்மனதில் பயத்தின் அடர்வும் கூடிக்கொண்டே போனது. ஓடிவிடலாமா என்று நினைக்கும் போது, எதற்கும் இருக்கட்டும் என்று அவர் என் மத்திய பிரதேசத்தை சுற்றி கயிறு வேலி அமைத்தார். பின்பு இரண்டு கால்களையும் தரையில் உதைத்து எகிறி நீச்சல் அடிக்கப்  பணித்தார்.

அப்போது அங்கு வந்த நடுத்தர வயது மதிக்கத் தக்க ஒருவர், தான் அணிந்து வந்த லுங்கி எனும் வஸ்திரத்தை உயர்த்தி, நீரின் மேற்பரப்பை ஆக்கிரமிதுக் கொண்டே கேட்டார். "என்னடா நீச்சலா, நடக்கட்டும் நடக்கட்டும்" என்று தான் வந்த வேளையில் மும்மார மானார். விட்டால் போதுமமென இடுப்பில் கட்டிய பாசக்கயிற்றை உதறிவிட்டு ஓடிவந்தவன் தான். இன்றுவரை நீச்சல் ஏட்டு சுரைக்காய் தான்.

Waiting for H1B/ L1 extension, driving license expired, WHAT TO DO?

You can renew your driving license for another 240 days from the expiry date of your VISA / Driving license. It is possible in North Carolina State, check with your DMV.

Required Documents

1. Passport (including all old passports) with I94

2. I797A – Notice of Action (if you have)

3. I797C – Notice of Action

4. SSN Card

5. Vehicle Insurance

6. Old / Current Driving License

I797A – Notice of Action

I 797A: Is issued to people ONLY in the USA currently undergoing a change of status (f1-h1, h1-h1, l1-h1 etc), the “A” is for Change of status approved which means the applicant can continue to remain in the USA and work. Hence i 797A will have a green i94 attached to it approving the status approved.

I797C – Notice of Action

I 797C – is a COPY of the approved petition /receipt of payment. THIS IS USUALLY GIVEN TO THE EMPLOYERS FOR THEIR REFERENCE FILE.

Reference Links

1. uscis

2. Sample I797A

First Wakeup Call

Opportunity makes a thief - Francis Bacon

Security - Does Such A Thing Really Exist?

Hacker:

Hackers are talented computer programmers. They enjoy solving challenging problems or exploring the capabilities of computers.

Black Hats - Computer criminals

White Hats - Computer security experts (Cracker or ethical hackers)

Crackers subscribe to a code of ethics and look down upon the illegal and immoral activity of hacker (defined above). When the press uses "hackers" to describe virus authors or computer criminals who commit theft or vandalism, it is not only incorrect but also insulting to true hackers (White hats).

Why? (I Think Therefore I Hack)

Today’s hackers are more advanced than ever before, often working together in close-knit communities trading tips and tools with one another. These twisted individuals take their business serious, having countless online forums where updates are posted daily to help each other get around the latest security mechanism and increase the number of victims

Hacking for Sensitive Information

Credit Card Numbers, Bank Account, SSN

Hacking to Steal Bandwidth

the web hosting provider’s server is being used to help carry out illegal business

Hacking to Distribute Illegal Content

When these activities are traced by the authorities, the trail only leads back to the website owner who could likely face legal implications, the loss of credibility or worse.

Curiosity*.. :) (In an interview on SafeMode.org, one hacker—who used the nickname xentric)

When asked by the website SafeMode.org why he defaces web servers, a cracker replied, "A high-profile deface gives me an adrenalin shot and then after a while I need another shot, that’s why I can’t stop."

How?

Virus

A virus is a program that propagates itself by infecting other programs on the same computer. Viruses can do serious damage, such as erasing your files or your whole disk, or they may just do silly/annoying things like pop up a window. True viruses cannot spread to a new computer without human assistance.

Worm

Like a virus, a worm is also a program that propagates itself. Unlike a virus, however, a worm can spread itself automatically over the network from one computer to the next.

Worms are completely autonomous. They actively scan the internet for new targets, immediately infect them and the new target starts scanning the internet for new targets. Worms can spread extremely quickly because there is no need for human interaction.

Nimda, Code Red and Blaster

Trojan horse:*

Trojan horse is a very general term, referring to programs that appear desirable, but actually contain something harmful. The harmful contents could be something simple, for example you may download what looks like a free game, but when you run it, it erases every file in that directory. The Trojan’s contents could also be a virus or worm, which then spread the damage.

It can open a backdoor. A backdoor is an access point created from inside a computer’s defenses that allows outsiders to circumvent security and gain access to the machine from the Internet.

A Trojan Horse is an email virus usually released by an email attachment." Not so. A Trojan may be sent as an attachment in email, but it's certainly not an email virus.

Vulnerability scanner

A vulnerability scanner is a tool used to check computers on a network for known weaknesses.

Ex: Port scanners, Web Application Security Scanner (black-box test) ,

Computer worm Firewalls defend computers from intruders by limiting access to ports/machines both inbound and outbound, but can still be circumvented

Social engineering

Social engineering begins with some sort of definition like “the art and science of getting people to comply to your wishes”, “an outside hacker’s use of psychological tricks on legitimate users of a computer system, in order to obtain information he needs to gain access to the system”, or “getting needed information (for example, a password) from a person rather than breaking into a system”. In reality, social engineering can be any and all of these things

Social engineering attacks take place on two levels: the physical and the psychological.

Dumpster Diving

Dumpster diving, also known as trashing, is another popular method of social engineering. A huge amount of information can be collected through company dumpsters

On-Line Social Engineering

The primary weakness is that many users often repeat the use of one simple password on every account: One way in which hackers have been known to obtain this kind of password is through an on-line form: they can send out some sort of sweepstakes information and ask the user to put in a name (including e-mail address – that way, she might even get that person’s corporate account password as well) and password. These forms can be sent by e-mail or through US Mail. US Mail provides a better appearance that the sweepstakes might be a legitimate enterprise.

Reverse Social Engineering

Reverse social engineering attacks may offer the hacker an even better chance of obtaining valuable data from the employees

“Kevin Mitnick” - computer terrorist

Password cracking*

A common approach is to repeatedly try guesses for the password. The purpose of password cracking might be to help a user recover a forgotten password

Set a password that is easy to remember and hard to guess

Exploit*

Taking advantage of a known security weakness in a computer.

Code injection*

How Hackers Get Inside?

FireWall:

Think of an electronic barrier with lots of doors in it. These doors are called ports. When you use your web browser to access a website such as Google.com, you open a port (an electronic door) from inside the firewall and make contact with a server (a computer that sends information on request).

There are two basic types of firewalls

a. Software Firewall

b. Hardware Firewall

port-scanning software to look for holes in a firewall.

Breaches in Finance and Personal Details ( Few tips for you )

Figure out what type of breach has occurred.

Existing accounts

You will want to monitor your monthly account statements very carefully. Contact the creditor if your statement does not arrive on time. A missing bill could mean that an identity thief has changed your address

Why the concern over debit and check cards

Thieves have become increasingly sophisticated in gaining access to sensitive financial information. Databases of major retailers and restaurants have been compromised by hackers. Merchant card reading devices have been surreptitiously replaced with card skimmers. Restaurant employees have secretly captured card information on hand-held card readers. If you have a debit or check card and your account information is compromised, funds can quickly be withdrawn from your bank account without your knowledge. Your account can be emptied, resulting in overdrafts, fees, and an inability to pay your bills.

On the other hand, if you use a credit card, you will have an opportunity to dispute a fraudulent transaction before you have to pay the bill, so you will still retain access to the funds in your bank account.

But my bank offers a debit or check card fraud guarantee, so I’m covered, right?

Not exactly.

Don’t I need a debit or check card to get cash from an ATM machine?

Not necessarily. You can ask your bank to replace your debit card with an ATM-only card.

With an ATM card, a PIN is always necessary to complete a transaction

How to Fix a Hacker Attack

After a computer has been hacked it can never be trusted again.There is no way to know what might have been altered or changed. Any component could be Trojaned, or Time Bombed, or anything. The only thing to do if you want to ever be able to really trust your machine again is to wipe it and "start over".

Few tricks

Create Folders And Files With NO! Name

1.Select any file or folder.

2.Right click on it, press rename or simply press F2.

3.Press and hold the alt key. While holding the Alt key, type numbers 0160 from the numpad.

4.Press Enter and the nameless file or folder will be created.

Note: The file or folder that seems nameless is actually named with a single space.

Hide Your Files In A JPEG

1. Gather all the files that you wish to hide in a folder anywhere in your PC (make it in C:\hidden - RECOMMENDED).

2. Now, add those files in a RAR archive (e.g. secret.rar). This file should also be in the same directory (C:\hidden).

3. Now, look for a simple JPEG picture file (e.g. logo.jpg). Copy/Paste that file also in C:\hidden.

4. Now, open Command Prompt (Go to Run and type ‘cmd‘). Make your working directory C:\hidden.

5. Now type: “COPY /b logo.jpg + secret.rar output.jpg” (without quotes) - Now, logo.jpg is the picture you want to show, secret.rar is the file to be hidden, and output.jpg is the file which contains both. :D

6. Now, after you have done this, you will see a file output.jpg in C:\hidden. Open it (double-click) and it will show the picture you wanted to show. Now try opening the same file with WinRAR, it will show the hidden archive

Running Multiple Yahoo Messengers

1. Open the notepad

2. Copy the following code

REGEDIT4 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\yahoo\pager\Test] "Plural"=dword:00000001

3. Save the above code as multi.reg

4. Either double click on this file or right click on it and select merge option. (aim is to merge this settings into windows registry)

Ad Serving Application

கல்வி கரையில; கற்பவர் நாள்சில;
மெல்ல நினைக்கின் பிணிபல; - தெள்ளிதின்
ஆராய்ந்த் தமைவுடைய கற்பவே நீரொழியப்
பாலுண் குருகின் தெரிந்து.

Ad Serving Application

Enables website publishers to display ads alongside their online content and earn money. Revenue can be generate from these applications either per-click or cost per action

Google

In the first quarter of 2011, google earned 2.34 billion through this ad serving applications. This is nearly 30% of their total revenue.

Adsense

Google Adsense advertising system involves three different kinds of people:

Advertisers: Advertisers use Google Adwords program to advertise their Ads not only on the Google Search results, but also on the content pages of the external websites and blogs that participate in Google Adsense Program. They do this on either PPC (Pay-Per-Click) or CPM (Pay-Per-Thousand Impressions) basis. Advertisers can optionally select which websites they want their Ads to show on.

Publishers or Web site owners: Website owners and Blog owners participate in Google Adsense using which they place the Ads served by Google on their content web pages. They do this by placing a code (HTML and Javascript) provided by Google on their webpages or blogs. Website owners have an option to choose various formats, colors and a whole lot of customization options using which they can control and blend the Ads according to the look of their websites. Google Adsense program also provides various performance monitoring options (such as channels) for website owners to track and maximise the performance of Ads on their web sites.

Visitors / Customers: When a visitor/customer visits a Google Adsense Participant’s website, they see relevant Ads alongside the content. If the visitor clicks on any of these Ads, Google shares an undisclosed percentage (60-70% approx) of the cost of that click with the website owner.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization affects only organic search results, not paid or "sponsored" results such as Google AdWords.

SEO Basics

1. Create unique, accurate page titles

2. Make use of the "description" meta tag

3. Improve the structure of URLs (Use words in the URL)

Refer the following document for more details

Search Engine Optimization Guide

How to find the highest CPC keywords

Visit the Google Keyword Tool

http://adwords.google.com/keywordtool

Where to place Google Adsense for highest click through rate?

F-Shaped pattern of reading web content

The image above is a heat map generated from a study showing the eye movements of readers while scanning web content. The shape of the red areas, or the most viewed sections of content sort of produces an F shape, thus the name of the resultant study.

According to the eye tracking study, it is best to put the Adsense units at the very top of the main content, and vertically on the left hand side of the page.

Adsense Alternates

YPN

Yahoo Publisher Network launched on August 2, 2005 by Yahoo. This service is currently in Beta, it is now only accepting US-Based publishers; it is believed that Yahoo! will expand this when the program comes out of Beta

Infolinks

How to Cheat Google AdSense - get your AdSense account disabled

1. Basic clicker cheat

2. Proxy clicker cheat

3. Multiple computer clicker cheat

4. Software clicker cheat *

5. Paid-clickers cheat *

6. Click-rings cheat