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Patch management strategy

Dave Farquhar security April 3, 2017November 19, 2018Canada, nessus, oracle, sprint, SQL, verizon, vulnerability

Vulnerability management and patch management are close relatives. In most companies, think of them as siblings who hate each other. That’s usually how it plays out. It doesn’t always have to be that way, but it takes some thought and strategy from both sides. Here are some ideas for patch management strategy.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Londontoy: Canada’s answer to Tootsietoy

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized February 1, 2017July 31, 20181940s, Canada, decals, estate sales, tin, train layout

Years ago at an estate sale in St. Louis’ Central West End, I bought a number of Tootsietoy vehicles. When I got home, I noticed some had only the word “toy,” a number, description, and “Made in USA” inside. That was weird. These weren’t Tootsietoys. They were Londontoy.

Dave Farquhar

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Robert Rayford (Robert R): AIDS in St. Louis in the 1960s

Dave Farquhar St. Louis November 8, 2016January 18, 20221960s, Canada, journalism, lionel, New York, New York City, Paris, turkey

The sad story of Robert Rayford (aka Robert R), the first documented case of HIV/AIDS in the United States, shows that if timing had been a little bit different, the AIDS epidemic could have happened a decade earlier than it did, and its epicenter could have been St. Louis instead of New York. His story raises some uncomfortable questions. How did HIV end up in St. Louis, of all places? And why did it stay local to St. Louis rather than becoming an epidemic?

His story made me uncomfortable, and sometimes that’s how I know it’s time to dig in a bit more.

Dave Farquhar

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So, would I rather be a full-time author?

Dave Farquhar Writing March 9, 20131990s, Canada, optimizing windows

When I wrote my take on used-book sales, I originally included a question, then took it out because it turned into a sidebar. But it’s a valid question.

Would I rather be a full-time author? Read more

Dave Farquhar

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University computer science programs need to teach security, not demonize it

Dave Farquhar security January 25, 2013December 3, 2018Canada, cissp, college graduates, sony, United Kingdom

I saw this on Slashdot today: A computer science student was expelled from a Canadian university for practicing what most people would call white-hat hacking.

Their reasoning: “Schools are supposed to teach best practice, which includes ethics and adherence to reasonable laws.” But there is such thing as ethical hacking. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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The Rise of Commodore

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing December 4, 2012November 23, 20161980s, Canada, commodore, commodore 64, jack tramiel, vic 20

I found an account of Commodore’s rise to prominence on a vintage computing forum. It’s interesting reading. Then again, I’m partial to anything about the rise of Commodore.

Dave Farquhar

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Psst! Want a cheap tablet?

Dave Farquhar Hardware August 19, 2011August 20, 2011android, apple, Apple Ipad, Canada, hp, ipad, kindle, nintendo, sega dreamcast, web os

HP figured out what to do with all those unsold tablets. Friday they dropped the price in Canada to $99 and $149, depending on the memory. And this weekend, they’re doing the same in the States.

They’re underpowered and they’re orphans, but at that price, I’ll bet they’ll sell.

Dave Farquhar

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On 99-cent e-books

Dave Farquhar Journalism March 9, 2011Canada, landlords

Slashdot has the story of independent writer John Locke, who writes crime novels and sells them as e-books on Amazon for 99 cents. He’s sold 350,000 copies since January, which was a 20x improvement over his sales rates when he was selling them for $2.99.

Publishers hate the idea. There’s not enough perceived value in a 99-cent book. Looking at it from an author’s perspective, I don’t think it’s necessarily bad.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Snow. Extreme snow.

Dave Farquhar Personal March 9, 2011March 9, 2011Canada

Snow being in the forecast tonight reminds me of a couple of stories.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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If I’m making more mistakes lately…

Dave Farquhar Personal January 20, 2011Canada, vulnerability

Yesterday’s post was hastily done. A longtime reader pointed out one mistake, and a questionable one–a tricky was/were instance, which, since I wasn’t actually there to see the event, means I can’t actually tell you which one would be proper… Although in the rest of the English-speaking world, “were” would be correct. Except Canada, perhaps.

I have some, er, distractions going on lately.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

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