Network Security Infrastructure

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Jennifer Jensen

Network security infrastructure provides several levels of protection to prevent MiM attacks:
The Cisco ASA Firewall and ASA security policies can protect filtering and ACL mode devices from malicious or unwanted applications by blocking incoming packet filters or ACLs, respectively. When using the Cisco ASA firewall to secure filtering and ACL mode devices, the user must be aware that it can occasionally fail to log in to the firewall (a known issue). For these cases, Cisco recommends using the Cisco ASA Config console to enable secure configuration for filtered and ACL mode devices.

For more information about how to configure the ASA firewall for secure configuration, visit ASA Configuration Secure Configuration, for more protection there are also other options like using a VPN, if you don’t know you can learn what is a VPN online.

You can learn here to connect to multiple clouds including Azure which has a capable suite of service offerings and works hard to integrate with private data centres in hybrid cloud environments.

In this article we will cover the following areas:
Application filtering: how to provide advanced access controls to Cisco ASA firewalls through firewall policy parameters,
Application configuration: how to use a separate virtual switch to create unused or outdated user connections through firewall policy configuration
Sample configuration file using a third virtual switch
To complete this tutorial, you will need to download the following:

  1. CA and Citrix Application Control CA supports several types of filtering and access controls.
  2. 2. 6. DS4 DS4 is a highly secure VoIP protocol that offers several levels of protection to filtering and ACL mode devices.
  3. 2. 6. DS5 DS5 offers a range of protocols including dialup and upgrade for network users, access to open and secure domains and it provides protection against many types of malware, including spam and phishing.
  4. 2. 6. LFP The Cisco ASA LFP firewall supports multi-frame filtering, multihoming and end-to-end isolation. A multihoming firewall offers security based on the type of protocol running through the firewall, not the device running the firewall.
  5. 2. 6. MX The Cisco ASA MX firewall is an advanced VPN access control solution. The ASA MX firewall provides end-to-end isolation in either WAN or LAN vias for IPsec traffic through firewall policy parameters and the Cisco MXIPsec software has several options to facilitate L3/L4 tunneling.
  6. 2. 6. FTP The Cisco ASA FTP firewall is an open source firewall solution that supports firewalls running Cisco ASA firewalls and is designed for faster internet deployment .FTP is like FTPS in that it encrypts data between two points and uses a plain text or PKCS #1/2 formatted transport. This allows users to download files quickly and keep them secure from viruses.
Posted in Gratitude | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Spring, Glorious Spring!

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Jennifer Jensen

It’s no secret that spring is my favorite time of year.  After months of bitter cold or dreary skies, the colors bursting forth bring joy to my soul.

Here’s what’s been happening in my garden:

early spring crocus

These crocus made me smile as we came out of a cold snap in early March.

 

 

Followed by a few sunny daffodils!

Followed by a few sunny daffodils!

 

And then it warmed up, tulips popped, and then froze. But the sun came out again - hallelujah!

The tulips popped and then FROZE – almost solid. But the sun came out again – hallelujah!

 

 

spring weeping cherry blossoms

It’s finally warmed enough to give us a gentle pink haze to our front door, which will turn to soft pink “snowflakes” soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We  topped 80 degrees yesterday, and I suspect that summer will start early.  Spring bulbs will give way to summer flowers (already coming up), but I’ll miss this part of the seasons waking up.

What’s your favorite part of spring? The sun? The scents? The color?

Or are you, like a transplanted Southern friend of mine, still longing for the heat of midsummer?

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Mirror World of Books

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Jennifer Jensen

Books let us escape from current life woes.  They let us explore other worlds and other times. But did you ever think about the things we learn without realizing it, the things we can apply (consciously or not) in our own lives?  

Mikey Brooks wrote a great post over at Emblazon about young readers and learning from the “Mirror World” of books, and he very kindly said I could share it with you:

The Most Important Thing a Child Should Be Doing

When a child reads a book they view it as a type of mirror world—as if by magic they become the main characters, living and breathing in that character’s mind. Gender holds no boundaries when it comes to this mirror world. Whether they are a boy or a girl, when they read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, they become Harry Potter. When they read The Lightning Thief, they are Percy Jackson. The mirror world is not only beneficial to children because they get to learn about new places, but they get to experience emotions and situations they otherwise might not get to experience. The mirror world is why reading is the most important thing a child should be doing.

81zdSFzJh+LRecently I read a fantastic middle-grade book entitled, Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. This book is about an eleven-year-old boy named August Pullman (Auggie) who was born with mandibulofacial dysostosis, a very rare facial deformity. The book is written in first person so you really get to see into the mind of Auggie and how much others struggle with his face. People cringe, shy away, even scream when they see him. As I stepped into the mirror world and saw things the way Auggie did, I began to feel things I have never felt before. I was suddenly more aware of how I spoke to others and how I treated them. I wanted everyone to feel important. So often children don’t see how their looks and words can hurt others. One of the best lines from the book is: “… sometimes you don’t have to be mean to hurt someone.” Empathy is learned in the mirror world.

The mirror world can not only help children learn to feel what others go through, it can help children overcome fears and challenges. Bullying is something that happens all the time and there’s not much parents and teachers can do to stop it. The best way to extinguish the problem is the victim empowering themselves. The mirror world can do that. I was ecstatic when two years ago I received an email from one of my readers who had been dealing with a bully issue at school. readingThey said after they read about Kaelyn’s experience in The Dream Keeper they felt they could stand up to their bully. Reading had empowered them and their problems with the bully went away. They learned to stand up for themselves through a book! I think that’s amazing.

As parents, as teachers, as librarians, as human beings, we should be encouraging all children to step into the mirror world and embrace the magic within. Share with them good books that made you “feel” something when you read (yes, that means YOU should be reading too). The more they experience the better they will be able to deal with the world around them and understand the people within it.

Thanks, Mikey, for sharing your insights!  

I’ve lived with this mirror world for more than 50 years – even as an adult, I learn about life situations.  I can even identify with a character so strongly that I pick up his/her speech patterns!  But I’ve learned so much through books that carried over to my real life – empathy, history, coping with my own problems – that I don’t know who I would be without the books that I’ve read.  

I think that the take-away is that a child is never “just” reading – it really is one of the most important things they can do.  

Posted in Deep Thoughts, Guest Blogs, READING | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Snowpocalypse: Take Time for a Text

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Jennifer Jensen

Feeling alone in a blizzard?

Feeling alone in a blizzard?

Blizzards and ice storms and hurricanes are scary times. If they’re coming our way, we prepare as best we can: food, camp stove, warm blankets, lots of batteries. But sometimes that’s not all we need.

I have a friend back east where “Snowpocalypse” is hitting hard. We’ve talked several times over the last few days, but this morning, as she’s still watching the snow come down, she told me something else.

 

She hasn’t heard from her children at all.

She has no other family – she’s an only child and a widow. Her children are out west now, but they visit and have a good long-distance relationship.

None of them have called, or even texted, to ask how she’s doing.

In a centuries-old house with very little insulation, they didn’t ask how she’d stay warm if the power went out. It is also important to have a proper attic insulation, as it helps to keep a house warm in winter and cool during summer time. Got to insulation4us.com/blogs/some-things-that-you-should-know-before-insulating-your-attic/ for some tips.

She worried about the heat pump freezing up, but they didn’t know that.

She worried about a rickety carport roof, but they didn’t know that.

She was upset that the contractors hadn’t done their work in the last few weeks, but the kids didn’t know that.

She was very uncertain about what would happen, a bit panicked at times (my mechanically-minded hubby walked her though a few things), but got through it all right.  And her children still don’t know.

There’s not much these young adults could have done from far across the country, but an expression of concern and some moral support would have gone a long way to making my friend feel not so alone in the maelstrom.

If someone you love is in the path of a natural disaster, reach out – before and after, if not during.  Call.  Text.  Send a Facebook message.

But don’t let them go through it alone.

 

Posted in Home & Family, Misc | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Those Islands at the End of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Jennifer Jensen

Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael from the ferry.

We saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening weekend and I have mixed feelings about the repetition of the movie (mostly unoriginality, to be vented later), but besides seeing that Han Solo smile again, one of the favorite parts for us was the Skellig Islands at the end when … whoops, no spoilers here!

The Skelligs are isolated, majestic, magnificent – and we’ve been there!

On our first trip back to Ireland after living there for a few years, the Skelligs were the only place we wanted to see a second – or third – time around.  They’re off the coast of County Kerry (the southwest corner of Ireland) and always a risky part of the itinerary.

IMG_9606The weather has to be just right.  Rough-ish seas wouldn’t bother the ferry boats on open water, but the waves have to be pretty calm to land at the jetty.  Don’t want to drop any tourists against the rocks!

Nearly a thousand years ago, Irish monks built a secluded monastery on the larger of the two islands, Skellig Michael.  They lived there, subsisting on birds, fish and a bit of gardening, for six hundred years.  Every six months or so, a boat would come from the mainland with bread and wine for Communion.

The guides say that this was a "garden" area for the monks, probably growing lettuce.

The guides say that this was a “garden” area for the monks, probably growing lettuce.  Skellig Joseph is in the distance.

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The monks built stone cells with no mortar (dry-stone building is common practice in Ireland).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To reach the settlement, the monks laid 600 stone steps on the main pathway – the same ones we climb today.

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The end of the climb!

Starting out.

Starting out. (Yes, that’s Hubby O’Mine.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A shorter set of steps, the ones seen in Star Wars, go down to the east side of the island.

 

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See that little flat part near the point? That’s the Hermitage site!

And way up towards the needle of the south peak is a hermit’s cell.  Not accessible to the public, but I remember eating lunch and staring at it, imagining trying to sleep on hard rock with the wind and rain pelting me.  Shudder.

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Climbing Skellig Michael is not for the faint of heart or weak in body.  You’re not allowed to go if you have vertigo, and heart, knee, and back conditions are cautioned against.  The steps are arduous, uneven, and can be slick, and the park staff have to rescue someone each week – even if you manage to climb up, you may not be able to get down.  (They actually encourage you to scoot down one step at a time if you have problems!)

In the monastery, a park guide tells the story of the settlement.  But when we visited this time, tourists were all agog about the filming of the new Star Wars.  All the guide could tell us was that yes, they had been filming the week before (the islands were closed to the public for several days), the footage may or may not be in the final movie, and she wasn’t allowed to tell us more. Aarrgh!

Needless to say, when the opening scroll of text began in The Force Awakens, my eyes were peeled for the Skelligs.  I imagined there might be an air battle overhead or something.  I got caught up in the story and forgot to pay attention, and when I sensed that the movie was coming to a conclusion, I wondered if I had missed them.

And then there they were, Skellig Joseph and Skellig Michael in all their glory at the very end when … whoops, no spoilers, right? (You mean you haven’t still seen it yet??)  It was what I had been waiting for, and I kept whispering to Blaik.  See that? Remember that? That’s where we ate our picnic! We stood in that spot! I think I was quiet, but knowing me, I probably drove the people next to us crazy.  Sorry, fellow movie goers!

If you’re intrigued and want a great book about the Skelligs, try Sun Dancing: a Medieval Vision. (At least, that’s the subtitle on my copy.) Half the book is fiction, an intriguing set of vignettes of monastic life, from gathering monks for an ascetic life to vision quests to a Viking raid.  The other half is a very readable, topic-oriented history of Irish Catholicism through the dark and middle ages, until the Roman Church demanded conformity.

The Skelligs are a World Heritage Site, and there are a limited number of ferry boats allowed to go out each day.  With the time it takes to climb, you only get about an hour at the monastery before you need to leave.

And if you’re lucky and you’ve got a willing captain, you get to swing through the smaller Skellig Joseph for a close-up view of the bird sanctuary.

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Skellig Joseph is a bird sanctuary.

Posted in IRELAND, Misc | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments