This Webchicklet is all about continuing education, and my learning project for this spring was:  becoming a Wireshark Certified Network Analyst.  As usual, I learn by reading, and there are plenty of good choices in books on Wireshark tutorials and Wireshark network analysis in general.  But what I needed was the best Wireshark Certified Network Analyst Guide to get me up to speed quickly and efficiently.

Of course, some readers may be scratching their head and asking themselves “what the heck is Wireshark Network Analysis?  Well, in that case, before I tell you what I found to be the best Wireshark study guides, I’ll give you the quick and dirty on what Wireshark is.

What is Wireshark?

Well, in a nutshell, Wireshark is an open source (yep, that means free!) packet analyzer used for analyzing and troubleshooting networks.  It’s a handy dandy multi platform package that runs on various operating systems including Unix, Linux, Mac OS X, and even Microsoft Windows.  Simply put, Wireshark allows users to see ALL traffic being passed over a network, even wifi networks.  It’s won many industry awards including InfoWorld and PC Magazine.

So, now that we got that out of the way….To earn the coveted (by me) Wireshark Certified Network Analyst, all you have to do is pass the WCNA-100x exam.  Easy right?  Yes, if you are armed with the correct knowledge needed for the exam.  So without further ado:

The Top 2 Wireshark Certified Network Analyst Guides

1. Wireshark Network Analysis: The Official Wireshark Certified Network Analyst Study Guide

This book was one of the top rated Network Security books (#2) by sectools.org, and also had good positive feedback and a solid rating on Amazon (where I bought it).   So it seemed like an easy choice for my number one (and only) Wireshark guide.  It’s very well written, organized and easy to read that is chock full of solid content, and a lot of content there is..whew.

While it naturally does a great job of explaining howto use Wireshark to its full potential, the real value of this book is in the amazingly detailed explanations of network traffic analysis.  Along with this, the book has plenty of screenshots, and very handy review questions (with answers!) after each section.  This official Wireshark Certified Network Analyst Study Guide was a life saver, and in my own opinion, the best guide on the market.

2. Official Exam Prep Guide: Wireshark Certified Network Analyst [Kindle or Book Edition]

This one, while not completely necessary, helped give me the confidence to write the exam.  It is a bit thin on the number of sample questions (100 questions and answers).  I would have liked to seen more questions, but at the same time, the questions were the ones I need to review, so this one served its purpose.   By no means would I use just this exam prep guide only.  It really is a good backup to the Official Wireshark Certified Network Analyst Study Guide above.

So, if you’re considering taking the Wireshark CertifiedNetwork Analyst exam, then I would highly recommend these two books.  They helped me pass the test the first time!

©2012 WebChicklet | Just a Geek Girl. All Rights Reserved.

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Tired of messing around with the cursor in Firefox, or just tired of that pesty carpal tunnel syndrome from using your mouse all day?  Here’s Webchicklet’s Top 10 Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows and Mac.  Now you can break free from the chains of your mouse, and speed up your web surfing at the same time.  This is just my personal opinions on the Firefox keyboard shortcuts that save me the most time, based on frequency of use.  The Mac keyboard shortcut is listed in brackets if different( Ctrl in windows = Cmd in Mac).

1. Backspace (Delete) – If you need to quickly move back to the previously viewed page(s), just hit the Backspace key until you get to where you want to be!
2. F6 Button – Need to quickly type a new web address in the address bar?  Instead of reaching for your mouse and moving the curser to the address bar, why not just hit the F6 button and start typing.
3. Ctrl – F – To search for a word in the page you are viewing, just hit Ctrl -F and the find bar pops up at the bottom of the window.
4. Ctrl – A – Want to copy the entire contents of a page?  Highlight the entire contents of a page quickly with Ctrl A, and then Ctrl Insert or C to copy the data.
5. Ctrl – W: Tired of looking at that page?  Close a tab or a window super fast with Ctrl – W
6. Ctrl – T, Ctrl – N: Didn’t mean to close that tab or Window?  Open a new tab or window quickly with this shortcut
7. Ctrl – Tab: If you have a bunch of Firefox tabs open, you can scroll quickly through them with Ctrl-Tab.  If you over shoot the one you wanted you can reverse the scroll with Ctrl-Shift-Tab.
8. Ctrl-Shift-H: This one is handy when you want to find that site you visited earlier today but can’t remember what it was.  Hitting these keys brings up the history of your web surfing so you can scroll through the list, or use the search box at the top to find it quick!
9. End: This is obvious, and useful.  Just hit the End button to get to the bottom of the page in a flash.
10. Home:  Equally obvious and just as useful.  Get back to the top of the page quickly with the Home button.

And there you have it, the top 10 time saving Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows and Mac.  These may seem obvious to some, but I find when I’m working with other colleagues or friends, they are always amazed at how much quicker I can do what I have to do while surfing.   So give your mouse  and your wrist a break and try some of these shortcuts today!

BTW, Firefox has many more shortcuts than I would ever want to list here.  So if you want even more ways to save time while surfing, check out the official Firefox Keyboard Shortcut List

Is your favourite Firefox shortcut not listed here?  I’m always looking for new ways to save time, so leave me a comment and let everyone know what your number one keyboard shortcut is!

©2012 WebChicklet | Just a Geek Girl. All Rights Reserved.

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I go on and on and on about the importance of regular, automated, backups. I won’t rehash that right now. (I will in the future though I’m sure). Right now, I want to talk about how the backup and file syncing space is really heating up. More choices is a good, good thing.

I’ve been using Dropbox for a while now and am very happy with it. I know I can access my important files no matter where I am. If my computer crashes and the hard drive bites the dust, no problem. Dropbox has me covered. Don’t get me wrong. I also backup everything to an external hard drive as well. I’m a big fan of having multiple backups “just in case”. I pay $9.99/month for the ability to backup 50 gigs of data to Dropbox. For my peace of mind, it’s worth it to me. Plus Dropbox is available in PC, Mac, and Linux flavors, so that works great for me. My various flavors of computer operating systems is covered.

A very similar service has just come across my radar screen. SugarSync appears to be very similar in concept and functionality to Dropbox. You can backup your files, sync your computers, and access your data from just about any device. You can also share stuff as well, if you’d like. Two main differences from Dropbox jump out at me.

1. SugarSync offers more pricing levels, so if you prefer to spend less and get a little less, you can, or if you prefer to spend more, and get a little more you can do that too. More options is always a good thing.

2. Downloads are available for PC and Mac, but not Linux. That will prevent me from switching to it, but it probably won’t be an issue for many of you.

Of course there are other players in this game as well, including Mozy and Carbonite. In fact, even Canonical is jumping into this with its announcement of Ubuntu One (currently in beta). Any of these services are likely to be great choices. Which you choose is entirely dependent upon what makes the most sense for your situation. I have no doubt that the competition will get even fiercer in the backup/sync space, but that means one thing – more competition is better for us as we will likely get more choices and better pricing in the future. For now, either Dropbox or SugarSync may be just what you need.

Whatever you do, do something. Backup. Ok, sorry, I just couldn’t help myself. I just had to remind you.

©2012 WebChicklet | Just a Geek Girl. All Rights Reserved.

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More and more, I’m seeing fellow Twitterers discussing the fact that they use more than one operating system. I do too, and while it’s not too difficult to switch from one to the other, it is a BONUS when I get to use the same application across platforms. With that in mind, here’s a list of apps I know about that are designed to work across the three major platforms – Linux, Mac, and Windows. No doubt this list is missing many hundreds of apps, but it’s not meant to be comprehensive – just useful.

Browser

>> Firefox

Email

>> Thunderbird

Multi-Protocol IM

>> Pidgin

Office Suite

>> OpenOffice

FTP Client

>> Filezilla

Sound Editor

>> Audacity

Music Player

>> Songbird

Media Player

>> VLC

Media Center

>> XBMC

Image Editor

>> Gimp

Vector Graphics Editor

>> Inkscape

Web Server / Scripting (Apache, MySQL, PHP, Perl)

>> XAMPP

Text Editor

>> Apex Text

Podcast Receiver

>> Juice

GTD Personal Organizer

>> Thinking Rock

Feed Reader

>> RSS Gorilla

VOIP

>> Skype

Password Manager

>> KeePassX

If you’re wondering how to create software that is cross-platform, then the following may help.

Cross-platform Programming Tools

>> Nice list of cross-platform tools. I believe most are free, but there may be one or two that aren’t.

©2012 WebChicklet | Just a Geek Girl. All Rights Reserved.

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