Tag: programmer

AI, Cloud Talk, Programming, Security, Tech

Camps Dreams and Nothing In-between

Quick note: if you’re viewing this via email, come to the site for better viewing. Enjoy!

soldiers standing in a row.
You better keep reading if you don’t want me to add Old Bay seasoning to this backhand.
Photo by Pixabay, please support by following @pexel.com

It’s crunch time, you’re sitting at your computer with your shoulders slumped down heavily, your face in your hands covering up your exhaustion.  You rest your head back in search of relief due to the increasing weight of your thoughts.

Thoughts flanking your left and right rapidly firing questions of how you are going to fend off bills, provide for yourself and your family (if you have one), and see yourself in a better position than you currently are.

You ask yourself; “How would I be able to get to the next level?” You have made your declaration and have made it known that you don’t want to spend your best years in school, trying to ascend your way to the top of the class because let’s be honest, going to school has never been your kind of jam.

You were more of a System of a Down kind of person in your glory days and going to school would see your dreams end in Chop Suey. Would you be interested if you found out there was another path you could take?

You just might have to strap up your bootlaces and camp it out a bit.

Grayscale of group of people seated in class
I busted a cheek and smelt it yet…the game is on.
Photo by Christina Morillo, please support by following @pexel.com

The New About Face

With not wanting to be Another Brick in the wall, what is going to see you get to the next level? Simple, you can just join the Army and become more meat for the machine instead.

No, you don’t have to join the Army, you can opt for the less painful version which is a coding boot camp. Coding boot camps are short-term intensive training programs that provide students with practical and job-ready technical skills.

Boot camps enable students to go from “drooling at the mouth I can’t read, nor can I feel my brain” to “it’s so easy a caveman can do it.” Shout out to my Geico OGs. This provides students with the confidence and knowledge needed to immediately apply their new skills to solve real-world problems, please keep in mind solving world hunger and peace will not be included.

Now, undergoing this training looks great on paper but can have a steep learning curve depending on the instructor and class structure. Like the aim of a trade school, a coding boot camp is usually built around building marketable technology skills that can be leveraged toward a lasting career…or until they decide to let you go, I’m not going to lie to you, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows kid.  

And with how well-known companies are treating longtime employees like they’re the side-chick in public and acting like they don’t know them nowadays it’s something to brace for. The world will embody you as a stray cat, floor the gas pedal, hear a thud and pretend it never saw you in the rearview mirror.

young woman seat at computer with blurred bottle on desk.
I’m going to get through this boot camp.
It might not be sober, but I’m going to make it.
Photo by RODNAE Productions, please support by following @pexel.com

Boot Perfect

So, coding boot camps, who uses them? Well, people who want to be developers obviously. This goes either way since people who are not developers and people who are can both benefit from entering a coding boot camp which either could be attempting to break into the field or simply learn another avenue of IT.

These programs often cover basic programming languages like JavaScript, SQL, and Python, along with modules on current industry software, tools, techniques, and best practices. You know, everything you would get if you enlisted minus being yelled at daily and performing repetitive self-affirmation of “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home”.

As mentioned earlier, there’s no need for prior coding experience but at the same time having a little experience is a plus. A quick thought let’s say you were homeless and just so happen to have the funds through a Miracle on 31st Street sign yourself up for a coding boot camp, you could theoretically learn the skills needed to land yourself a job. However, these conditions are theoretical and in a perfect world, the odds may be low but they’re still there.

Coding boot camps, like many trade schools, are typically run by private, for-profit companies and is offered both in-person or online depending on the program.

man wearing brown backpack yelling.
COME YOU APES! YOU WANNA PRINT “HELLO WORLD” FOREVER!?
Photo by Pixabay, please support by following @pexel.com

Camp Field of Dreams

Coding boot camps, why are they so important? Well, there’s a massive shortage of skill, and developers are finding that trying to use those good ole job descriptions isn’t the vibe anymore.

To pair with that companies are finding themselves starting to favor the results of over-time-based experience versus simply just attending a four-year college and getting real-world experience later than sooner. This means going out and getting involved in as many hands-on projects as you can versus asking your parents for that sweet financial blood juice called a loan.

Now you may be wondering “Are coding boot camps worth anything?” The short answer is yes. I have checked around a few forums and have seen a few hiring recruiters say that this along with certificates is something they take into consideration.

I have a ton of certificates however, my email inbox is piled with rejection letters and my phone doesn’t even ring (the ringer is on, I checked). Am I saying this for you to feel bad for me? No, but you’re welcome to.

Just know, IT and a few other fields have gray areas, and this is one of them. I will say coding boot camps can work it just depends on your goals and you. That’s rich coming from me, I know but shut up, I’m being positive.

young gentleman meditating in the forest.
If I build a camp and wear a boot…they will come. Nope, never saying that again.
Photo by Maik Kleinert, please support by following @pexel.com

Wrong Boot Size

Wondering if completing a coding boot camp is something you could put on your resume? I will tell you…yes, yes you can, again I’m being positive. Not only does it show you have the needed skills and education, but it also displays that you have the dedication and work ethic to successfully complete a challenging program.

Now, while all of this sounds great, one thing to keep aware of is coding boot camps have some shortcomings such as limited personal instruction, which is depending how big the group you’re a part of, the instructor may not be able to provide enough feedback regarding your query on a project.

This is one of those, sitting with your hand raised high, the teacher selects you, and hears your question but never answers because someone in the class is having an outburst. They don’t mean to ignore you, but thanks to your classmates, it happens.

The other issue to be aware of is the “one size fits all”. Coding boot camps sometimes will have you learn something either you already know, or they think you should, but your skill level isn’t there and this ends up hurting more than helping.

This sucks but being selective with what camps you opt into by using reviews and checking the curriculum could save you from being fitted wrong.  

Drill Instructor: I SAID, “SUBCRIBE TO SCRIPTINGTHEWHY”!
Private: I DID SIR!
Drill Instructor: THEN WHY AREN’T YOU READING MORE SCRIPTS!?
Photo by Pixabay, please support by following @pexel.com

Made it this far and found this to be entertaining? Then a big thanks to you and please show your support by cracking a like, scripting a comment, or plug-in to follow.

Would like to give sincere thanks to current followers and subscribers, your support and actions mean a lot and has a play in the creation of each script.

Thinking about enlisting into a coding boot camp?

Script a comment below about one you’re interested in.

Programming, Security, Tech

Ransom, Malwares & Joseph

Consider following on social media!

Quick note: if you’re viewing this via email, come to the site for better viewing. Enjoy!

someone writing in a notebook
Pen pals were the old school catfishing back in the day.
Photo by lil artsy, please support by following @pexel.com

Hey, do you remember the time when you could check the email that you had gotten from a random stranger and have nothing to worry about? Like the thought of you and them becoming pen pals was a possibility.

No, of course, no one would think that way since we’re all trained, due to our parents from a young age to stay away from strangers. However, let’s say that you did, and you were curious as to how this random chance of friendship would play out.

You email each other back and forth and things are going swell, right up until you get a notification saying, “You have twenty-two hours to hand over $65,356.34 if you want any chance of getting your computer back to normal and your dirty little secrets from being exposed.” This scenario isn’t exactly how the attack plays out, but you get the idea, your pseudo-friend has dirt on you and wants you to pay up or else.

two men sat across from each other.
Jake: I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.
Steve: I refuse.
Jake: Okay, I didn’t see that coming so quickly. Oh gosh, you didn’t even think about it.
Photo by cottonbro studio, please support by following @pexel.com

You got Blockbuster

So back in 1989, hot movies were being released like Road House, Batman, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the internet was booming. There was the raise of AOL or what’s better known as America Online, the movie The Godfather had been out for some years before then and people were drawing inspiration from the famous line that most jobs and now what seems like the current stance of every landlord, utility service provider, or insurance company are saying, “I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.” Someone who may have taken inspiration from this movie was Joseph L. Popp.

A Harvard-trained evolutionary biologist who was the first person ever to create a ransomware virus. For those who don’t know, ransomware is a type of malware that acquires the victim’s information and denies access until the demands are met. These demands could be sending money, demanding the “truth” if it’s an activist act, or sending nudes. That last one was silly but I’m sure there’s some hacker out there using ransomware on Only Fans accounts for nudes.

Along with the creation of ransomware came interesting names such as “AIDS Trojan” and “PC Cyborg”. Popp made like capitalism and capitalized on the AIDS epidemic by sending out 20,000 infected diskettes labeled “AIDS Information” to people of the World Health Organization or widely known as W.H.O.

a photo of a diskette
Most if not all people of today have no clue what this is. Let me introduce you to the diskette.
Photo by Pixabay, please support by following @pexel.com

The diskettes housed malicious code able to hide file directories, lock file names, and demand victims send $189 to a PO Box in Panama to get their information back. This was the first generation of ransomware, and things have become more advanced since then.

man looking evil with a glass of scotch.
I drink, code viruses, and know things…for the right price.
Photo by cottonbro studio, please support by following @pexel.com

Father of Ransoms

After Joseph was deemed “The Father of Ransomware”, what category of people came to follow in his footsteps, not only to use but later improve this malware? They are called hackers and just a side note; anyone can use malware making them cyber-attackers, but I’m going to use hackers since their main objective is to exploit for profit.

Hackers tend to use ransomware via various methods such as phishing emails with malicious files attached, and drive-by downloading – a method where a file is downloaded without your interaction. And finally spoofing – is another method where a hacker is posing as a trusted entity.

Hackers can often obtain Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) or malware-for-hire which has easier use and is cost-efficient for performing ransomware attacks. This is insane because this means hackers actually have a budget created to perform cyber-attacks. There are several ransomware variants, some of which could have you buck-naked out in the cold (or heat, depending on when and where you’re at in the world).

Popular ones are Ryuk – delivered through spear-phishing emails or gaining access to a desktop remotely, this variant can encrypt certain files avoiding the crucial ones for the computer’s operation and presenting the demand for ransom.

Ryuk can account for an average of $1 million. Maze can combine file encryption and data theft, this is done with the intent that if the victim decides not to pay the ransom their information could be exposed, sold online, or both.

REvil also known as Sodinokibi is a variant that has large organizations on the menu. This variant has been responsible for a number of large data breaches, a couple being “Kaseya” and “JBS” and has been known to have demanded a ransom of $800,000.

Lockbit, operating since September 2019, this variant rapidly encrypts data to prevent detection by security appliances and SOC (System and Organization Control) teams. There are a couple of other variants but at this junction, you pretty much get the point, they get access to your information, lock you out, and hold it for ransom.

Enjoy the read so far? Why don’t you consider subscribing so you can keep up to date?

man sat holding his face.
What makes you think I can pay this ransom when I can’t even pay my rent?
Photo by Wallace Chuck, please support by following @pexel.com

Payments Not Made

Being hit with a ransomware attack is insanely dangerous and many vital organizations such as hospitals and public services have experienced significant losses from it as not paying the ransom can halt access to critical care.

Paying the ransom can lead to a chain reaction of events, a few being loss of the money used in ransom payment, productivity time lost, and the need to hire IT for disaster and recovery. And choosing not to pay the ransom could lead to whatever consequences the hacker has set in place.

So, how do you stop your information from being held against you? Well, there are a number of ways, most of which are pretty basic and get overlooked every day since we’re all creatures of habit.

Avoid clicking on links sent via email or other messaging means, staying away from compromised websites, ones where you may get a warning from your browser which displays “This site is not secure and may be unsafe, turning back is recommended.” Heed this warning as it may save you and your computer from being hit with a drive-by download.

And the most likely out of the bunch, if you suffer from being attracted to shiny things as I do, are ads that may pop up on your screen. A malicious link could be hidden within the ad to redirect you to an un-secure site for some non-consent time for your computer.

person sat with a mask in a hoodie holding a bank card.
Subscribe today so you or someone you know doesn’t have to experience ransomware or I will gain access to all your secrets.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko, please support by following @pexel.com

Made it this far and found this to be entertaining? Then a big thanks to you and please show your support by cracking a like, sharing this with whomever, scripting a comment, or plug-in to follow.

Would like to give sincere thanks to current followers and subscribers, your support and actions mean a lot and has a play in the creation of each script.

Do you think there’s something I missed on ransomware and want to add? Script a comment below.

Stand Up Saturdays, Tech

Code Prank Gone Wrong: The Tale of Shrinking Gerald Grundleson

Stand-up Saturdays

Ah, the programmer’s life. We bend pixels to our will, wrestle logic into submission, and occasionally, shrink our overbearing bosses to the size of a sassy thumbtack (completely by accident, of course). Yes, you read that right. Let me introduce you to Gerald Grundleson, the office tyrant with a combover that rivaled the Texas skyline. One day, this monument to micromanagement became a living testament to my coding ineptitude.

It all began with a particularly nonsensical request. Gerald, bless his micromanaging heart, demanded a new “productivity monitor” to track every employee’s keystroke, mouse click, and bathroom break. Now, this office already boasted enough surveillance to make Big Brother blush, so naturally, I balked. But Gerald, with the negotiation skills of a particularly stubborn mule, wouldn’t budge.

Being the good (or perhaps slightly vengeful) employee, I decided to give him his precious monitor. Except, with a mischievous glint in my eye, I coded a little script to “optimize” his productivity. I envisioned it as a harmless prank – autocorrecting passive-aggressive emails to blunt commands and replacing social media with motivational workout videos.

Think twice before pressing “Enter”!!
Photo by Fernando Arces, please support by following @pexel.com

Little did I know, my code harbored a mischievous gremlin. See, Gerald, in his infinite wisdom, had a custom keyboard shortcut – Ctrl+Alt+Shrink – to minimize windows. Thanks to my glorious script lurking in the background, this shortcut became a recipe for disaster.

The first sign of trouble was Gerald’s strangled yelp. I whipped around, expecting to see him choking on a stale doughnut (a frequent occurrence). Instead, I found him flailing his arms in mid-air, a look of sheer panic plastered on his face. Then, with a comical poof, he vanished.

My heart hammered like a hummingbird on Red Bull. Had I…vaporized my boss? In a moment of sheer terror, I slammed my head on my desk, hoping it was just a particularly vivid fever dream.

Nope. There, nestled amidst the crumbs of a forgotten cookie, lay Gerald Grundleson, shrunk to the size of a Tic Tac. He was a miniature caricature of his former self, complete with a tiny, horrified expression.

“Jenkins!” he bellowed, his voice a high-pitched squeak. “What in the name of binary have you done?”

Now, I’m not known for bravery. But a tiny, squeaky Gerald was far less intimidating than his usual bellowing self. I gingerly scooped him up with a Post-it note, careful not to smudge his miniature pinstripe suit.

“Uh… Gerald?” I stammered, voice cracking. “Seems my code, uh, optimized you a little too much.”

Why is everyone acting strange today? It’s only Saturday.
Photo by Fox, please support by following @pexel.com

The next few hours were a blur of frantic googling, and whispered conversations with the office conspiracy theorist, Mildred (who, for once, seemed suspiciously gleeful). Apparently, the code had tapped into some obscure 3D animation library, accidentally shrinking Gerald in the process. There was no built-in “un-shrink” function, of course. This was the kind of coding catastrophe reserved for the sleep-deprived.

As the day wore on, Gerald became a surprisingly useful, albeit squeaky, paperweight. He also proved surprisingly adept at navigating the keyboard with his tiny fists, sending out a flurry of unintentionally hilarious emails. There was the one to his boss about the “atrocious state of the office miniature golf course” (which, to be fair, was a mess), and another to a client demanding a shipment of “giant novelty pencils immediately” (a request met with much confusion).

Meanwhile, Mildred, fueled by a lifetime of questionable internet research, suggested a series of increasingly bizarre solutions. We tried chanting binary code (resulting in a disgruntled Gerald and a flock of confused pigeons). We attempted a “reverse optimization” script (which turned the office printer into a sentient haiku generator, much to the delight of the marketing department).

Just as we were about to resort to sacrificing a stapler to appease the programming gods, inspiration struck. It was a long shot, but it was all we had. I remembered Gerald’s love of cheesy motivational posters. With trembling fingers, I coded a new message that scrolled across his miniature computer screen: “Believe in Yourself (and Maybe Don’t Use Ctrl+Alt+Shrink).”

There was a tense silence. Then, with a pop that smelled suspiciously like burnt popcorn, Gerald reappeared on my desk, blinking and slightly singed.

“Jenkins,” he began, voice back to its usual booming volume…

Love learning tech? Join our community of passionate minds! Share your knowledge, ask questions, and grow together. Like, comment, and subscribe to fuel the movement!