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Showing posts from December, 2023

🚀 The Epic Tale Behind Netdata: Unleashing the Power of Monitoring! 📈

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Ever wondered about the origins of Netdata , that incredible monitoring tool that keeps your IT infrastructure in check? 🤔 Let's dive into the exhilarating backstory! 🌟 🌌 The Beginning: Once upon a time in the vast realm of technology, a brilliant mind named Costa Tsaousis embarked on a quest. His mission? To create a monitoring tool like no other, one that could unveil the mysteries of complex systems! 🌐 🧠 The Genius at Work: With unwavering determination and coding magic, Costa crafted Netdata from scratch. His vision was to democratize monitoring, making it accessible to all, from tech giants to the smallest of startups! 🌐✨ 🚀 The Game Changer: Netdata was born! A lightweight, real-time, autonomous monitoring tool that shattered the norms. No more hidden costs or complex setups – Netdata was here to empower every sysadmin and IT enthusiast! 💪🔍 🌟 The Legacy: Today, Netdata stands tall as an open-source superhero, protecting servers, applications, and dreams

The role of culture and values in building an organisation | Stephen Koseff

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  Stephen Koseff of Investec talks about culture in an organization in a talk hosted by the The Collins Club and recorded for YouTube .  Stephen Koseff mentioned the use of the old Investec head quarters. I was the guy who walked into the old 55 Fox Street with Taddy Blecher and commissioned it for CIDA CITY CAMPUS . The pot plants were left behind unattended but there was one that had survived.  I was also the guy who was one of the first in at Fedsure and was sworn at by the incumbents. 🤣 But there was a time when they used external coaches and it wasn't kept confidential, otherwise a great insight into a great origanization. #southafrica #culture #banking 🇿🇦💰⭐

The crazy story behind the appointment of the SARS IT head

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  "SARS Chief Officer for Digital Information Services and Technology, Mmamathe Makhekhe-Mokhuane made headlines in October after an embarrassing interview on SABC .  In the interview, Makhekhe-Mokhuane displayed no real knowledge about SARS’ IT systems and tried to divert the conversation to other topics.  When the interviewer tried to get the discussion back on track, Makhekhe-Mokhuane now famously replied: “Mam, can you give me protection from yourself.”" * Read the full article on MyBroadband .   The real crazy is at 12:00 minutes into the interview.

Did Gartner do a Double Irish on Sars?

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  "However, what really piqued my interest was that Sars had entered into a contract with Gartner in Ireland (presumably Gartner Ireland Limited). Willemse further testified that Gartner in South Africa had merely provided support staff. My first thoughts were: US holding company, Ireland, low tax rate, tax haven and the Double Irish tax avoidance structure!  Ireland has become synonymous with tax avoidance… It remains a popular jurisdiction for multinationals doing business in South Africa.  No, surely Sars would not lend itself to enabling a corporation that it is contracted with to avoid tax?" * Read the full article on TechCentral .

US fines consultancy Gartner R50-million for role in State capture at SARS

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  According to the SEC, the US consultancy violated anti-bribery and internal accounting control provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act between December 2014 to August 2015 in its work at Sars.    * Link to the SEC ruling: https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/admin/2023/34-97609.pdf * Read the full article on Polity .

BadFellas – Time for former SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane and his sidekicks to face the music

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    "Multinational tech firm Gartner’s revealing self-disclosure about its corrupt 2015 deal with the SA Revenue Service leaves South Africans with two questions: Did tech businessman Patrick Monyeki bribe then tax boss Tom Moyane to bat a R200-million tech contract to Gartner and, crucially, why are the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority still sitting on their hands? " * Link to the SEC ruling: https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/admin/2023/34-97609.pdf * Read the full article on Daily Maverick .

Gartner roasted over R200m SARS tender

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  "Global research and advisory firm Gartner was this morning roasted by the Nugent commission over tax administration and governance at the South African Revenue Service (SARS).  Gartner, which says it takes pride in providing insights, advice and tools for leaders in IT, finance, HR, customer service and support, legal and compliance, marketing, sales and supply chain functions across the world, this morning testified over allegations that it illegally gifted part of a R200 million SARS contract to a third-party." * Read the full article over at ITWeb .

How Breaking The Enigma Code Helped Decide World War 2 | Station X (Full Series) | All Out History

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    Was the work of code-breakers at Bletchley Park perhaps history's most crucial piece of espionage? Discover what really happened as part of this once top-secret operation to decode the Nazi's enigma machine.

Windows Longhorn and the Worst Code I've Ever Seen: Dave Cutler

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  Dave Cutler recounts the story of Windows Longhorn, plus the worst code he's seen.

Troubleshooting slow networks with Wireshark // wireshark filters // Wireshark performance

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  You are guilty until proven innocent! The network is slow!  But is it actually a network issue? Or is it an application issue. Chris Greer explains.

The Hack That Changed The Internet Was Influenced By A Stripper

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  David Smith Created one of the first Viruses in the age of the internet, hacking into the US marine, Microsoft and Intel, all with the help of a stripper, It lead him to Prison time, This is the story of the Melissa Virus. The video includes several internet security companies, Cybersecurity threats, cyber security companies and hints at Cyber warfare.

The Nerdy Hacker Who Accidentally Saved The Internet

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  Marcus Hutchins is The Hacker who saved the internet, he single-handedly stopped the Melissa virus from global destruction. This is the story of Marcus Hutchins.  Hackers infiltrate hundreds of thousands of companies across the world, causing 4 – 8 billion dollars worth of damage. This video includes several internet security companies, Cybersecurity threats, cyber security companies, and cyber warfare. Marcus Hutchins (Youtube) -    / @malwaretechblog  

Unlocking the Power of Next-Generation Firewalls: A Comprehensive Look at Clavister Firewall's Advanced Features

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  In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) have emerged as the vanguard of defense, providing robust protection against a myriad of cyber threats. Among the top-tier NGFWs, Clavister Firewall stands out with its arsenal of cutting-edge features designed to fortify networks and combat modern cyber risks. Let's delve into the key attributes that make Clavister Firewall a formidable cybersecurity solution: Centralized Management : Clavister Firewall's centralized management offers a unified platform for configuring, monitoring, and managing network security policies across multiple devices from a single console. This streamlines operations, simplifies policy deployment, and ensures consistent security across the network infrastructure. Software Updates : Regular software updates are crucial

The Largest Hack The World Has Ever Seen - Documentary

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    The SolarWinds hack is considered the largest cyber attack the world has ever seen. This video goes behind the scenes uncovering specific details about the SolarWinds cyber incident. Hackers infiltrate American Government Agencies and spy on their movements to collect information. The videos includes several internet security companies, Cybersecurity threats, cyber security companies and hints at Cyber warfare.

The Tragedy of systemd

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  systemd is, to put it mildly, controversial. As a FreeBSD developer I decided I wanted to know why.  I delved into the history of bootstrap systems, and even the history of UNIX and other contemporary operating systems, to try and work out why something like systemd was seem as necessary, if not desirable. I also tried to work out why so many people found it so upsetting, annoying, or otherwise rage-inducing. Join me on a journey through the bootstrap process, the history of init, the reasons why change can be scary, and the discovery of a part of your OS you may not even know existed.  linux.conf.au is a conference about the Linux operating system, and all aspects of the thriving ecosystem of Free and Open Source Software that has grown up around it. Run since 1999, in a different Australian or New Zealand city each year, by a team of local volunteers, LCA invites more than 500 people to learn from the people who shape the future of Open Source. For more information on the conferenc

The Story of Microsoft - How a Computer Club Took Over The World

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  This video is a full business documentary on Microsoft, Bill Gates, and Paul Allen. It features a lot of archive footage of the early days at microsoft, a lot of old interviews with bill gates, as well as displaying old microsoft products.  One of my favorite things about making this video was actually going through old microsoft footage and finding the first windows operating system (windows 1.0), the first MS-Dos footage, Windows 95 footage and commercials, etc.  But ya, this was a pretty full-on business documentary...but because Microsoft is a trillion dollar company with a lot of history, I obviously couldn't get into a lot of topics that i wanted to talk about. For example, I wanted to talk about the relationship between Microsoft and Apple a lot more. I wanted to mention Steve Ballmer an Ric Weilands importance to the company. I wanted to talk about what happened to Kent Evans (he unfortunately passed away as a teenager). I wanted to talk about microsofts other investments

Moyane crony won “worthless” R200m SARS tender – Nugent Commission

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"CAPE TOWN — Strange how disgraced SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane destructively stopped the revenue service’s modernisation project shortly before his friend Patrick Monyeki , acting as a “silent” empowerment partner of global advisory firm Gartner, helped put in a successful bid for a R200 million S ARS IT contract . SARS derived little or no taxpayer benefit from the work while Gartner’s local point man was involved in questionable, possibly criminal conduct, a red-faced managing partner of Gartner conceded to the Nugent Commission of Inquiry this week. Gartner Managing Vice President Michael Lithgow ’s stout bid to cover for his local senior managing partner, Neville Willemse, failed dismally. Willemse was subpoenaed anyway and gave shaky testimony, revealing that Monyeki contacted him out of the blue shortly after Monyeki’s friend, Moyane, halted the earlier SARS modernisation project.  The evolving State Capture/cronyism narrative is proving that the culture of nepo

Taxman turbo charges reconstruction

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"Commissioner Kieswetter informed the committee that consultancy firm Bain had paid back the R217m to SARS. However, IT consultants Gartner had declined to do the same despite several engagements." * Read the full article on Biznews .

The Benefits of AI in the Modern Cybersecurity Landscape

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"The threat map of the modern cybersecurity landscape is rapidly changing, especially now with the rise of AI on both sides of the fence. Nils Undén, CTO at Clavister shares his thoughts on the subject as well as some tips on how to think and act.  Artificial intelligence is getting a lot of hype now, mostly due to generative AI solutions like ChatGPT, Bard, Midjourney and so on. There have already been targeted attacks using generative AI where voice calls have been faked to get access. But for us, AI’s big strength is for analyzing large amounts of data. This can be use by both attackers and defenders and I will talk about the defensive aspects." * Read the full blog post over on Clavister .