Linux Security Software

Hiding in Plain Sight with Steganography






cat >> r2d2.png






sudo pacman -S steghide – Arch

sudo apt install steghide – Ubuntu/Linux Mint







shred -z order66.pdf

or to delete it automatically

shred -zu order66.pdf


How to Google!




1. Filter Results by Time


2. Search Websites for Specific Words


3. Search Exact Phrases and Quotes


4. Omit Certain Words Using the Minus Sign


5. Use Google as a timer


6. Search Newspaper Archives from the 1800s


7.  Use Google to Flip a Coin


8. Search Through Google’s Other Sites


Operating System

October Apple Event Preview

Today Apple sent out invitations for an event on October 30th in New York City. The event, titled “There’s more in the Making”, hints at a creative and pro focused event, which is further suggested by the event being hosted at the Howard Gilman Opera House. There are several rumored devices that will be launched at this event

The headline product that is rumored to be announced will be an update to the iPad Pro line. The line, which is made up of two models, is rumored to gain many of the features from the iPhone X line of phones. This includes smaller bezels and FaceID to replace the fingerprint reader. The devices are also said to switch over from their proprietary Lightning connector in favor of the more standard USB-C. This will also allow the iPad to connect to external display and other accessories much more easily. The iPad and the iPhone are some of the only devices in the industry that haven’t switched over to USB-C. This transition will help the industry converge on a single port type.

There are also rumored to be new Mac’s at this event. The Mac mini hasn’t been updated in over 4 years and is overly due for a refresh. The new minis are rumored to be smaller and more aimed at the pro market. This makes sense given the overall theme of the event. Apple is also rumored to be introducing a new low end Mac laptop at around the $1000 price point. This will replace the aging MacBook Air that Apple is still selling. This is by far Apple’s highest volume price range, so it’s important to have a modern, compelling option.

Is there anything else that Apple will announce next week? What are your predictions?

Operating System

Are Self-Driving Cars Safe?

Self-driving cars promise to revolutionize driving by removing human error from the equation altogether. No more drunk or tired driving, great reductions in traffic, and even the possibility of being productive on the commute to work. But what are the consequences of relying on algorithms and hardware to accomplish this vision? Software can be hacked or tricked, electrical components can be damaged. Can we really argue that it is safer to relinquish control to a computer than to operate a motor vehicle ourselves? Ultimately, this question cannot be answered with confidence until we conduct far more testing. Data analysis is key to understanding how these vehicles will perform and specifically how they will anticipate and react to the kind of human error which they exist to eliminate. But “the verdict isn’t out yet” is hardly a satisfying answer, and for this reason I would argue that despite concerns about ‘fooling’ self-driving cars, this technology is safer than human drivers.

The article “Slight Street Sign Modifications Can Completely Fool Machine Learning Algorithms” details how researchers have tricked computer vision algorithm to misinterpret street signs. Researchers were able to achieve these results by training their classifier program with public road sign data, and then adding new entries of a modified street sign with their own classifiers. Essentially, the computer is “taught” how to analyze a specific image and, after numerous trial runs, will eventually be able to recognize recurring elements in specific street signs and match them with a specific designation / classifier. The article mainly serves to explore how these machines could be manipulated, but only briefly touches upon a key safety feature which would prevent real-world trickery. Notably, redundancy is key in any self-driving car. Using GPS locations of signs and data from past users could ensure that signs are not incorrectly classified by the computer vision algorithm.

The article “The Long, Winding Road for Driverless Cars” focuses less on the safety ramifications of self-driving vehicles, and instead on how practical it is that we will see fully autonomous cars in the near future. The author touches upon the idea that selling current vehicles (such as Tesla) with self-driving abilities as “autopilot” might be misleading, as these current solutions still require a human to be attentive behind the wheel. She presents the hurdle that in order to replace human drivers, self-driving vehicles cannot just be “better” than human drivers but near perfect. While these are all valid concerns, they will only result in benefits for consumers. Mistrust in new tech means that companies and regulatory authorities will go through rigorous trials to ensure that these vehicles are ready for the road and maintain consumer confidence. We have already accepted many aspects of car automation (stopping when an object is detected, hands-free parallel parking, and lane-detection) to make our lives easier, and perhaps some time in the near future self-driving cars will be fully tested and ready for mass deployment.


A Brief Introduction to Creating Functions in MATLAB



So What are Functions?



How to Create and Use Functions


Simple Script Example




Simple Function Example



In all, a function declaration should look like:

function output = functionName(input)












Operating System Software

What is Docker and How Does it Work?


Operating System Security

Password Security on Github

“The password you provided has been reported as compromised due to re-use of that password on another service by you or someone else. GitHub has not been compromised directly. To increase your security, please change your password as soon as possible.”

I thought this was funny when I first saw this message from Github, a website that has over 28 million users and 57 million repositories. I knew I was receiving this message because I used a very similar password for my IBM intern account and my personal account.

So I was telling my coworkers in IT about it, and they pointed out to me in horror – “That means they’re storing passwords in plaintext…”

Well turns out this isn’t true. In fact, they use fairly secure Key-Derivation Function (KDF) software called Bcrypt.

For obvious reasons, this is scary. The responsible practices for password storage are, well, complicated. It’s a combination of hashing or the more secure Key-Derivation Function, both of which basically scrambles up the user’s password so that not just anyone can decode it, and a careful implementation of where . If a company isn’t using proper security for user data, there’s an increased risk of getting hacked. And realistically, if someone managed to snag the password to your Github account, they’d likely be able to get into at least a few of your other accounts as well.

If you want to learn about this more in depth, you can read this interesting thread.