More hacking news

In an update to my post last week about the computer hacking competition, "Pwn to Own", I read another article that told of how the Windows Vista Ultimate computer ultimately fell to a hacker. The exploit cam through the Adobe Flash player which is ubiquitous on most computers these days. I'm actually a little shocked that Vista didn't fall purely on it's own default installed software, but I guess that shows that Microsoft did some things right in Windows this time around.

This also goes to show that no software can be completely relied on to be 100% secure. Adobe is a well respected company, and their software is trusted by most people. Most people have no problem installing the Flash player on their computer so they can ply online games or view videos on sites like YouTube.com. However, this competition shows us all that we need to be aware that even the big dogs on the software block can put out software with vulnerabilities.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, stay on top of your security updates and patches.


BTW, the Linux computer was the only one of the 3 to not fall during the competition, though many wonder whether very many people actually tried to hack it.

The "un-hackable" Mac?

I read an article today discussing a contest in which anyone was given the opportunity to try to hack 3 different computers - one Vista, one Mac and one Linux. The first day of the contest only allowed attacks to be attempted over the network - no direct access to the computers was allowed. All three computers remained safe.

On the second day, people were allowed to send emails and web links to the computers, which contest organizers would open and click on. In under 2 minutes, the Mac had been hacked by Charlie Miller, a former National Security Agency employee (best known as one of the researchers who first hacked Apple's iPhone last year), thus earning Miller a $10,000 prize. The Vista and Linux computers remained unhacked.

Today, the contest rules will be relaxed again, allowing people to attack 3rd party software installed on the computers. Organizers of the contest think that today will be the day that the other two computers are hacked.

So why have my last 2 posts been "anti Mac" - pointing out that the OS has flaws? Am I an Apple hater? Do I bow at the feet of the almighty Microsoft? Of course not. It's true that I am slightly biased toward MS products because I have built up my career around their products, and have had a blast doing so. Is Microsoft perfect? No. Do their products have flaws? Obviously. No one in their right mind would say otherwise.

However, followers of the "Cult of Mac" love to talk about how great and infallible Apple is, and how all of their products are the most secure and "un-hackable" products on the market. They often speak as if they are immune to security problems that others have to deal with because they use a Mac. This should be a wake up call for all the Apple daydream believers. In the words of Flavor Flav, "Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't believe the hype!"

In today's world, EVERYONE needs to take proactive steps to ensure that their computers are safe and secure - regardless of which operating system they use. Install OS patches promptly. Purchase and install additional security software, like anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-spyware programs and KEEP THEM UP TO DATE.

I think that contests like the one discussed in the article I read are absolutely vital to the computing industry. Not because they continue to poke holes in the Invincible Apple Theory, but because they cause ALL of the operating system vendors to put even more emphasis on tightening up security in their products. Gone are the days in which you only had to focus on having a million and one widgets in your OS to sell a gazillion copies. Now they must focus on making their software a secure as they can. And in the end, that's good for all of us. : )

Which OS Will Reign Supreme

I recently read a very interesting blog post (read it here) concerning the monthly trends in security flaws in several common computer operating systems (OS), including Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X (versions 10.4 and 10.5). The results may shock you if you are one of the people that believe everything you hear in those funny Mac commercials.

The report was based on data from a 3rd party security analysis company (Secunia). In short, for 2007 the report shows that Windows XP and Vista combined had 44 security vulnerabilities of which 27 were considered Extremely or Highly Critical. In this same time period, Mac OS X (versions 10.4 and 10.5 combined) had 243 security vulnerabilities of which 234 were considered Extremely or Highly Critical. That's over 5.5 times as many in all, and nearly 9 times more in the extreme and high categories!

This didn't really surprise me, because I keep an eye open for these sorts of things, and have seen reports on OS flaws for years. However, nearly everyone that has ever tried to convince me that I should switch to a Mac has used the "fact" that they are "more secure" as one of their biggest points. This report clearly shows that this is just not the case. Sorry Mr. Jobs.

Regardless of which OS you choose for your next computer, you need to be sure that you are always on guard against security flaws and should always install any security patches that are made available by the OS vendor.

Also, remember that the only way to make your computer 100% safe from hackers is to turn it off and lock it up...and if you watch enough spy movies, even that won't do it. : )

Have a Merry Christmas!

Coming Home

It's late Saturday evening in Moscow, and we are getting packed and ready for bed. We leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 9:00 am to get to the airport and get through security. There are numerous check points to work through, which can take some time, so we need to be there about 3 hours early.

We have had a great trip and we have so many stories to tell, but you'll have to wait just a little bit longer because it's too late tonight to type them all out.

See you soon.

A short post today

I just typed a long update for our team on the Portland East West web site, so I'm running out of typing stamina for today. : )

You can check out the post on the Portland East West site. Much of this will be a repeat if you been reading my blog along the way.

Voronezh - Day 1 and 2

Well, we arrived in Voronezh yesterday morning after the overnight train ride. It was quite an experience. There were several times where I was certain that the train had hit something on the tracks. Kind of an unnerving way to be awakened. But, we arrived safely and without issue.

We loaded our stuff into a bus and headed off to church. It was an amazing service with over 100 people there. Very uplifting. After the service, we were transported over to another church for lunch and then back to the hotel to meet our interpreters. I was a little disappointed to learn that my interpretor from the past 2 years (Irina) would not be with us this year. However, I got paired up with Sasha, whom I met the last time I was here, and she is also good.

Today (Monday) our team split into 2 groups to work in 2 different villages outside of Voronezh. Nickie and I went to a town called Borovoe (Bore-oh-VOY-uh), where we walked the streets and invited people to the weekly Bible study held in the home of a local pastor. We also had some really good home-cooked Russian food - more than we could possibly eat! At the end of the day, we had a large prayer meeting in the pastor's home and then returned to the hotel for dinner and then to the Internet Cafe where I am now typing this post.

I don't want to spoil all of the stories before we get home, but I will tell you that we are having an awesome time and have truly seen the Lord work in so many ways. Be sure to check back here later for more posts.

Moscow Revisited

Well, we arrived in Moscow today, which makes my 5^th time to visit the city (counting the 2 times on the front and back ends of my 2 previous trips to Russia). It seems that this city is in a constant state of change. From the new construction going on near the airport, to the renovation of buildings in and around Red Square, you can always hear the sounds of jack hammers or backhoes doing their thing. Even the Metro (subway system) is changing slightly as they renovate the various stations along the route between our hotel and Red Square.

With all this change, however, there is still a lot that is the same. There are still a bunch of stray dogs in the field near the hotel, there is still the same number of smokers everywhere you turn and it’s still pretty easy to get access to the Internet. Technology is a wonderful thing. Nickie and I were able to post updates on our blogs and send some emails out to our family, all from the comfort of our hotel room.

I’m excited to see what changes await us in Voronezh. I hear the hotel there has undergone some upgrades since my last visit, and that there is now an Internet café right there in the hotel. If this is true, it will make updating our blogs very easy to do. We’ll post more information as we have it. Until then, here is a photo of us in Red Square:

In Atlanta - about to board the plane to Moscow (fwd)

We've made it to Atlanta and are about to board the plane to Moscow.

News so far...the computer messed up our seats, so we don't get the seats
with lots of leg room. However, they did give us us $200 each off a future
flight. Woo hoo! Possibly free vacation.

Voronezh Trip Prayer Calendar

We have received our team prayer calendar for the trip to Voronezh. It provides information about what we may be doing each day (assuming schedules don't change) and gives you a list of things to pray for. Please remember that Voronezh is 9 hours ahead of US Central time, so please plan accordingly and thank you.

Download our prayer calendar.

Also, please remember that we will try to post information about the trip while we are in Russia, but there are no guarantees that we'll be able to make it to the Internet cafe on a regular basis. Please be patient. : )

Nickie's New Blog

Nickie (my wife) just set up her own blog. You can check it out here: nickiefruin.blogspot.com.

It's almost time

In just over two weeks Nickie and I will be heading off to Voronezh, Russia. We leave on Thursday, September 27th and return Sunday, October 7th.

This will be my 3rd trip to Voronezh and Nickie's first. We are both very excited about the trip and can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for us.

I'm Home

Hello everyone. Just a quick post to let you know that I have arrived back home safely. Jet lag hit me pretty hard this time around, and I'm still trying to get over it.

I'll start posting stories about the trip as soon as I get caught up with things here at home.

Still in Voronezh

It is now Wednesday night in Voronezh, and our week of ministry is drawing to a close. On Thursday we will be going to Bobrov Youth Prison (the same one as last year) to minister to the boys there. We then travel back to the meeting hall to have a dinner with people that we've met throughout the week. I am hoping to go to visit my friend Oleg and his family tomorrow evening, but there are a few details to work out before that can happen. I don't want to ruffle any feathers since the schedule this week has already be thrown into upheaval many times.

On Friday we have our last day in Voronezh. We are going to visit a famous painter named Uri in the morning followed by a bus tour of the city. Then it's off to the culinary school for our final meal with the church group. We then have about 3-4 hours of free time with our interpreters before we load up our bags and head off to the train station. We take the overnight train to Moscow where we will spend the day on Saturday. Finally we leave Sunday morning to return to the US.

This week has gone by so much more quickly than last year, and I am already missing some of the friends that I have made here. I wish there was an easy way to get here (like a Star Trek teleporter) so that I could visit them all the time. Maybe Nickie and I can sell the house and move here by year's end......JUST KIDDING (sorta). :)

Well, it is late, and I have to pay for the time on the computer or the bandwidth that I use, whichever is greater, so I need to keep this post short. I'll try to post more when we get to Moscow.

I'm in Voronezh

Hello from Voronezh. Our team has made it here safely, and we are having a great time. I don't have time for a big post right now, so I'll give 2 highlights:

1) I got to go to a transitional center for kids getting out of the orpanages. It was a blast.

2) I got to see Lubov, the little old lady from the park last year. This was an interesting story that I don't have time to post. I'll tell the story later. (check back over the next few days.)

I'm now in Moscow

We have all made it safely to Moscow. Our flight arrived about 15 minutes early, and we all made it through the customs lines without incident. We met up with our bus and after experiencing the Moscow version of lunch time traffic, we made it to the hotel.

Because it was the morning here, we needed to stay up all day to get our internal clocks adjusted to the new time zone. So, we walked down the block to the Metro (subway) station and took a ride in to Red Square. It never ceases to amaze me when I walk on the cobble stone street in RED SQUARE!! I never thought I'd ever see it, and now I've been here twice.

We had an added bonus. As we walked towards St. Basil's Cathedral, we noticed that it was open to the public (for a small fee). Not one of our team members had ever been inside, and some of them have been coming to Russia for over 6 years! It is really cool to stand inside a building that was constructed over 400 years ago.

After the tour we decided that it was time for dinner, but one of our team members had not yet arrived in Moscow. This lead to some logistical problems and lots of walking up and down stairs, but exercise is good for you, right? We finally made it to the restaurant back in our hotel and had some great Russian food!

Well, it's getting late and I need to get to bed soon. We have a long day (and week) ahead of us. I'll post again when I have the opportunity.

I'm in Atlanta

For those of you keeping track of my progress on the web, I have made it to
Atlanta. I am meeting the rest of the team here. We leave at 3:55 pm, and
everything is on time right now.

I'll post more later if I get a chance.

I'm off

Well, it's 11:00 pm on September 20, and I leave for Voronezh, Russia tomorrow morning at 8:50. I'm so excited I can hardly sleep.

Please be praying for our team as we travel to and through Russia, that we would arrive safely and with all of our stuff.

Keep your eyes on this site for updates as I'm able to make them.

What's with the name?

I know people will probably ask, so I'll go ahead and answer right away. I chose the name for my blog ("Occasional Reflections on Several Subjects") while reading The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs. Basically A. J. read the Encyclopedia Britannica in an attempt to gain all knowledge known to man. Along with sections on the interesting tidbits he finds in the Britannica, he also shares about his life throughout the process. It's pretty funny.

In one part of the book he tells about some of his favorite book titles. One particularly good one is Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle Between the Years 1826 and 1836, Describing Their Examination of the Southern Shores of South Americana and the Beagle's Circumnavigation of the Globe by Robert Fitzroy. I'm sure that this was quite a page turner!

Another good title is one used by Anglo-Irish chemist Robert Boyle for his book of moral essays, which is Occasional Reflections on Several Subjects. I thought it would make a great title for my blog since I will be writing on occasion (no promises of daily entries) and I will not be focusing on any particular topic.

My First Post

Well, I've finally broken down and created my own blog. I've been wrestling with the idea for a long time, and have always had questions about it:

• Do I need one?
• What will I talk about?
• Will anyone read what I write?
• Why don't I just put this stuff on my normal web site (www.elfcc.com)?

So, over the past few weeks I've encountered a few times where I wish I had remembered something - usually while working on a web site. I would encounter a problem that I knew I had solved before, but I just couldn't remember when or where. So I had to search for quite some time through all my project files to re-find the solution. I'm tired of doing that now.

Also, my friend Kelsey has been telling me for a while now that I needed to get a blog up and running. Today is his birthday, so what better present than to give in to his demands and get the blog going. Happy Birthday Kelsey! BTW, you can check out Kelsey's blog at www.TheMoleskin.com - it's much cooler than mine.

But what really has made me decide to finally do this is that I am leaving for a short-term mission trip to Russia on September 21, and I want an easy way to let my friends and family back home know what I'm up to while I'm there. There are several Internet cafes in Russia that I'll have occasional access to, so I should be able to post a couple times while I'm there. This will also keep my wife from having to send out a bunch of emails to everyone on my list.

So there you have it. My first post. That wasn't too hard. : )