Study

This portion of the site is dedicated to archiving my papers, articles, primers, and any other technical resources so that I can reference them online. If you have any Requests For Explanations (RFEs) don't hesitate to contact me and let me know. In the meantime, I hope you find something here that's useful to you.

Information Security

• Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Explained
  A simple explanation of the basics of XSS.
• Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Explained [Short Version]
  An explanation of the basics of XSS in 13 list items.
• An Introduction to Zone Transfers
  An introduction to Zone Transfers, including how to perform them using host, dig, and nslookup.
• What To Tell People When They Ask How To "Hide" Their IP Address On The Internet [**Popular]
  How to explain the basics of Internet anonymity to beginners using an analogy.
• Security and Obscurity
  A short discussion of obscurity's role in security.
• The Birthday Attack
  A simple explanation of the birthday paradox.
• Network Ports
  How to explain the concept of network ports to beginners.
• How Diffie-Hellman Works
  My basic overview of this amazing protocol.
• Daniel's Information Security Concepts Primer
  My overview of some of the key information security concepts.
• Not All SYN Packets Are Created Equal [**Popular]
  A look at how SYN packets created via raw sockets differ from those created with a call to the connect() syscall, and how this effects portscanning.
• A Firewall Primer
  A short firewall primer aimed at explaining the differences between different types of firewall technologies.
• An Iptables (netfilter) Primer [**Popular]
  A short walkthrough of Linux firewalling basics.
• An Nmap Primer [**Popular]
  A quick guide to some essential functionality within nmap.

Networking

• Network Ports
  How to explain the concept of network ports to beginners.
• The Hyperlink Trailing Slash
  Why you should use a trailing slash on your directory hyperlinks. Includes proof.
• Windows File Sharing
  A brief overview of the various Windows file sharing technologies.
• Tcpdump [**Popular]
  A guide to getting the most out of tcpdump.
• Subnetting
  An attempt at a reference for remembering subnetting concepts vs. specifics.
• How To Remember Your TCP Flags
  Some useful info on how to remember your TCP flags.
• ICMP Basics
  Some good information on the very useful ICMP protocol.

Unix and Linux

• Linux/Unix Commands [**Popular]
  A collection of guides to some of my favorite *nix commands.
• A Unix/Linux Permissions Refresher
  A short refresher on Unix/Linux permissions.
• The find Command (+xargs)
  A summary of some of the most useful options for find.
• Vim
  A primer on using vim to its fullest.
• Hexedit
  A short guide to using hexedit to edit the text within binary files such as sshd.
• tr
  A short guide to using tr to translate text.

Assorted Technologies

• Encoding
  A primer on various character mapping and encoding systems, including Unicode, ASCII, ANSI, UTF/UCS, and many others.
• Glossary
  A collection of interesting terms pertaining to information security and technology/science in general.
• Carriage Returns and Line Feeds -- And How They Effect Windows and *nix Text Files
  Taking the guesswork out of *nix and Windows text file handling.
• Google
  How to get more out of the world's best browser.

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Sample Original Content

Information Security

• Defining Information Security
• 25 Infosec Interview Questions
• 10 Firefox Plugins for the Infosec Professional
• An SSH Security Experiment
• The Diffie-Hellman Protocol
• Differences in SYN Packets
• The Birthday Attack Explained
• About UNIX/Linux Permissions
• Security Isn't About Technology
• Cross Site Scripting Explained
• Security and Obscurity
• CISSPs Need to be Technical

Tutorials and Primers

• A tcpdump Tutorial
• An Encoding Primer
• An lsof Tutorial
• Using Splunk as a Syslog Server
• Using find and xargs
• Managing Your Website With Git
• Thinking Through Subnetting
• Explaining Network Ports

Culture & Society

• Lifecasting and Society
• 10 Things Every Westerner Should Know About the Middle East
• The Bimbo and the Caveman
• Is Having Children Wrong?
• The Nice Guy Paradox
• The Quality Of a Society
• Socialism and Anarchy

Technology & Science

• Building a Lifestream Interface
• Submiting Your Own Content
• How Planes Actually Fly
• Could You Prove Evolution?
• How to Pronounce "Linux"
• How to Pronounce "Ubuntu"
• Does Acceleration Depend More on Horsepower or Torque?
• How to Pronounce "OS X"
• How to Pronounce "Rijndael"

Politics

• Socialism and Anarchy
• CFR/NWO Conspiracies

Philosophy & Religion

• An Atheist Debate Reference
• Meaning is an Illusion
• A Collection of Musts
• The Delusion of Free Will
• Societal Implications of Our Having No Free Will
• Outrageous Beliefs Are Not Equal to Claims They Are False
• Was the Last Time Your Last?
• How I Became an Atheist
• A Letter to Religious Moderates

Miscellaneous

• A Coffee Primer

Tools & Projects

• What's Your IP?
• Monty Hall in Python

Blog Archives

• 1996
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• 2003
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• 2008

Daniel Miessler | 1999-2010 | Share Alike