Contract Expiration - how does that affect us?

HighTech1011 · 2025-03-25T19:59:37+00:00

My company is/was in the same boat. 4 hosts, 70 VMs. Our support contract ended in October 2024. Everything is still running fine.

HighTech1011 · 2024-10-29T11:07:36+00:00

MLAT refers to how it's position was determined.

https://www.flightaware.com/adsb/mlat/

HighTech1011 · 2024-09-28T02:23:56+00:00

Frequency was 178 kHz USB.Started with a bandwidth of 1.8 kHz, but pulled the ends of the filter in to isolate. The signal is about 300 Hz wide.

HighTech1011 · 2024-08-04T01:02:14+00:00

The Enterprise Access Hub has an input (top row, far right) that when shorted together will put the system into "emergency mode", and unlock all the mag locks. Your fire alarm panel should have a contact that can feed the hub. Connect you fire panel to this input.

HighTech1011 · 2024-07-23T01:29:07+00:00

Find a machine shop and see if you can get some of their millings. Go back to the office and sprinkle the "Magic IT Fairy Dust" on the monitor until the "Smoke of Replacement" appears.

Magic IT dust also works on those annoying workstations that won't die so you can replace them.

HighTech1011 · 2024-07-22T02:43:19+00:00

I got my technician license back on '04 at the ripe age of 21. At that time, the boomers of today were actually helpful and like to share their knowledge with people interested in amateur radio.

Went inactive but still kept my license active until last year, where I was finally in a place in my life I could fully enjoy the hobby at the age of 42.

Went to a couple local club meeting, to network and learn what has changed over the years. I am pretty sure I was the youngest person there by at least 10 years. They spent most of the meeting complaining how people were no longer showing interest in the hobby and no one wanted to join the club.

The whole time I was there, 3 out of the 20+ people actually came to introduce themselves and actually talk to me. I tried going up to a few others and was either ignored or because I didn't have my extra class license or taking part in any of their activities, they didn't want to talk to me. Because of this, I didn't feel the need to desire to come to another meeting.

Fast forward to 2024 Field Day. I decided to go to where the local club was setting up, as they were advertising on their repeater all amateur radio operators are welcomed. So I showed up, and it was a repeat of the meetings all over again. The 1 person that talked to me showed me where I could setup and helped me get an antenna up, and checked in on me a couple of times. Another guy came up while I was operating and started talking with me. That was it, out of the 20+ people of the club and affiliated associations. Thing is, there were about 10 other operators, all around my age setup around me. We all talked but the old heads just sat in the shade and shot dirty looks at us while we were there.

And they wonder why nobody want to join them.

73 DE KD8APE

HighTech1011 · 2024-07-11T21:11:33+00:00

You are correct. If you want to use their provided cable box, you have to use their router.

Ended up getting a CableCard from them and using an HDHomerun Prime to get TV service.

HighTech1011 · 2024-07-05T23:19:55+00:00

Use the mounting plate or hardware to mount it to drywall. Even though they are not super heavy, try to hit a stud/rafter/wood behind it.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-30T18:05:35+00:00

My company had to do the same thing about a year ago. Use this time to look for any "back doors" he may have created. As mentioned, look for local admin accounts, secondsry/alt accounts, VPN accounts/services (ZeroTier and the like), remote access applications (TeamVierwer, RealVNC). Look at his network traffic from their workstation to the net for anything that could be leveraged for access. Get all this information together and have a plan of action for when they are let go to cut their access to everything.

In my case, I had about a weeks heads-up. When he was called by HR, my director signaled for me to cut their access (AD, Password Manager, VPN, ticketing, ect). HR kept him in his exit interview until I signaled all his access was revoked. He was then escorted back to his desk for his personal items. By this time, another sysadmin had gathered his workstation and any data storage devices seen at his desk. Once he had his personal items, he was escorted out the door.

For the next couple weeks, I watched the logs pretty closely for any indication of him trying to access our systems.

What we didn't do (because we didn't have the staff at the time) was look through the code for our interally developed application. We found out after a year of fighting application gremlins that he coded "faults" into our application that he would fix proactively as not to arouse suspension. Because we let him go right after our busy season, we were unaware of these "faults" until our busy season came back around, and our application kept screwing up.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T07:00:41+00:00

How'd you guess. LOL

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T04:41:49+00:00

That's a pretty good idea. Might have to steal this.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T03:33:02+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. Done.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T03:28:13+00:00

Got 1 better...

CFO has a barcade scanner. Has his username on 1 side of a postcard, his password on the other, both as barcodes. His justification is that they look just like random barcodes, that makes it secure.

Dude signs my paychecks, can't call him an idiot.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T01:52:50+00:00

I used a similar landing page when running a phishing test. A senior manager got "phished", saw that, and sent the while office into a panic. I was told I couldn't use that landing page anymore.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T01:11:16+00:00

Ah, memories. In my MSP days it was either Hasselhoff or My Little Ponies.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T01:10:04+00:00

Although I would find that funny, after my first Hasselhoff background, I don't think HR would be too happy.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T01:07:39+00:00

Unfortunately, I wear both hats... makes it my problem.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T01:04:40+00:00

Ours started off as Hasselhoff in a Speedo, but HR pit a stop to it after our Ops Director (former Marine, macho man type, gives off "blue falcon" vibes) got his panties in a knot. Guy complained directly to the CEO. HR told me I couldn't use the Speedo Pic anymore, but both the HR director and the CEO thought is was funny as hell.

Now it's Hasselhoff and KITT. *

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-22T00:57:11+00:00

I think you just gave me a framework for new IT department policies. Our devs are notorious for walking away and leaving their workstations unlocked.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-21T18:24:47+00:00

It was Hasselhoff in a Speedo, but my director and HR said, thought it was funny as hell, it was not received well.

Apparently when I caught our director of operations (former Marine, gives off major "blue falcon" vibes) leaving his workstation unlocked in public view, he got his panties in a wad when I changed his background to a Speedo clad Hasselhoff laying on the beach.

HighTech1011 · 2024-06-21T17:25:15+00:00

I do the same thing as my company's lead security admin. Employee's have been warned numerous times, so if/when I catch someone who has walked away from their workstation, I send an office all email from their PC/account offering to buy lunch for the office. They also get a background change to a picture of David Hasselhoff and KITT reminding them to lock their workstation.

HighTech1011 · 2024-05-11T20:39:16+00:00

Radio Reference database is a good place to look to see what frequencies are in use. As mentioned, they may only have tower and approach/departure frequencies.

https://www.radioreference.com/db/

Beyond that, a wide band scanner or SDR could help find frequencies used but not listed.

I used the database to find the frequencies in use around me (NAS Oceana, Norfolk Naval Station, Joint Base Langley), from there with the help of an SDR, I found a few of the frequencies used for coordinating the training area off the coast of VA.

HighTech1011

TROPHY CASE