Secure Wireless “WiFi” Settings

The use of wireless routers in the home and business is increasing all the time. Many of the default settings for wireless routers make the wireless network increasingly vulnerable to others being able to use your wireless network without your knowledge. In some sense you could say, “Who cares”, but if they use your Internet connection to carry on malicious activities, then your IP address may be blacklisted or your account temporarily closed.

Here’s some settings that will help secure your wireless network. (Nothing is totally secure, so there’s no guarantee that this will stop everyone)

For wireless security, use WPA2 authentication type with PSK and a Cipher type of AES or TKIP (many routers give you an “auto” setting). Make the Passphrase strong by using several words together in a phrase instead of a single password. Microsoft recommends a six-word passphrase, at a very minimum, use a 10-12 character random character password that uses lower and upper case letters and a mix of numbers and special characters.

Reference:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc512624.aspx

Secure Email Settings

With continued attention on computer security, enabling SSL encryption in uploading and downloading your email is a smart move that many Internet email providers offer.

Comcast offers SSL encryption for their customers using POP3 servers, here is the settings.

Incoming mail server: mail.comcast.net, Port 995
Outgoing mail server: smtp.comcast.net, Port 465
Security connection: SSL/TLS
Authentication: Encrypted Password

Google offers the same security capability with their Gmail service. You do however have to enable it under Settings and then select “Always use https” under Browser connection

Many if not all of today’s smart phones support secure email connections.

The Global Leadership Summit 2010

I attended the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit on 5-6 August. Listening to Bill Hybels speak on Thursday made me realize the importance of not giving up on things that you set your sights on; his humble, honest, and inspiring opening presentation on not quitting was great. His advice on getting off the fence by doing the following tasks was very helpful: Take risks, step up, apologize now, make the tough decision (you know the one), get help, stop running from God, slow down, show your heart, let others lead (for those who are high control), feed your soul, bless the team, make the ask (ask the question), do something more impactful, come clean, speak the truth, count your blessings, end the secret, check your motives, give God your best, set the pace, get physically fit, serve your spouse/family, humble yourself, and finally say “speak Lord, your servant is listening”.

The presentations by Jim Collins, Adam Hamilton, Daniel Pink, Jack Welch, and T.D. Jakes were highlights of the summit for me. T.D Jakes was the last speaker and he was very inspiring. Key points he made are:
• People cannot simply follow, you need to have your own inner passion to lead, imitating is not enough and copying is not sufficient. Leadership is about lighting a lamp that doesn’t go out, if it goes out your staff won’t be able catch the same vision and passion.
• Employers should not tolerate employees who don’t have any passion for their jobs or the mission of the organization.
• Its one thing to stretch people, but don’t rip them apart, ripping them apart will only make them feel defeated
• Deliver on your and your staffs promises; make sure they fully understand your vision.
• Passion is more the emotionalism, it’s the force behind it, but it’s not simply an emotional reaction
• Leaders need to deliver
• Leaders, there are two types; builders and bankers. Builders are ones who start with little and build a great organization or anything they focus on. They are better at building than maintaining. Bankers are maintainers, they are good partners for a builder, but all of one type are detrimental to the organization
• Surrounding yourself with the likes you is not good, you need to surround yourself with people who have other skills that don’t duplicate your own
• Jesus did not pick one rabbi, he picked fishermen…
• A good team completes you and don’t compete with you, they add to you, they’re assets not liabilities
• Confidants are people who are there for you all time, trustworthy, 2-3 a lifetime is a good number, don’t expect more
• Constituents believe in the mission, they are not confidants!
• Need to direct the fighter to the fight, you don’t want them fighting you
• Those that are passionate are effective, when your heart is overwhelmed, go to the rock…God is there to renew your strength

Church IT Management Survey Status

My dissertation research survey in church IT management reached it's objective over the weekend with 72 completions out of 103 invitations, which is nearly a 70% participation rate. Normally the participation rate for Web-based surveys run from 30-60% with they typical on the lower half. The survey is now closed as of today 14 June.

Thanks to all those who participated. I will be posting my findings on the Church IT Roundtable Web pages.

Secure Google Searching

Google finally has a secure SSL encrypted web site for their search engine. Check it out at: https://www.google.com/

Final Church IT Survey Now In Progress

I kicked off my graduate research study in church IT management on 3rd of June, it will run two weeks till the 17th of June. If you are an IT professional (paid or as a volunteer) located in the U.S. and want to participate, check out the data on the Church IT Roundtable web site. The study's targeted population is members/participants of the IT Roundtable.

Thanks to those who have already participated in this survey and my two pilot studies.

SANS Security Architecture Summit 2010

Attended this IT networking summit, details can be found at the following SANS web site:

The 2010 What Works in Security Architecture Summit

While the summit provided lots to think about in terms of network security strategies, there's still so many factors that have to be looked at to tackle this subject...

Final Church IT Survey

Part 1 and 2 of the Pilot Study has been completed, thanks to everyone who participated in helping workout the details of conducting a survey, improving the survey instrument (questionnaire), and checking the processing capability that is to be used for the actual survey.

The actual survey will be released on/or about 1 June for a 2 week window. This is the survey that counts for my research!

More details to follow...

Pilot Survey, Part 2 Launched 4/19/2010

This is part 2 of the pilot study for my research project in church IT management. If you are a church IT professional and have used the Church IT Round Table, drop me your email address and participate in my research.

Thank you to all those who participated in part 1.

Fasting for Jesus

I'm fasting for 24 hours starting Thursday evening as my way of recognizing what Jesus did for us in dying for the forgiveness of our sins!

He is Risen!

Pilot Survey, Part 1 Launched 3/28/2010

Pilot Survey, Part 1 Launched today Sunday 28 March 2010!

This is my research project in church IT management. There are two parts to the pilot survey. If you are a church IT professional and have used the Church IT Round Table, drop me a comment and participate in my research.

How to Sell Your Motorcycle on Craigslist

During my recent journey of looking for a motorcycle, it became evident how many people do not really understand how to sell a motorcycle on Craigslist. I have been searching CycleTrader.com and Craigslist.com for over six months trying to find a motorcycle, during that time I examined thousands of ads and did countless number of searches. Here is a quick list of suggestions for posting a motorcycle ad.

1. Use all identifying information in the title, for example, if your selling a 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT, then list that level of detail in the title. Always include year, manufacturer, model, and specifics of the model. Listing just Vulcan doesn’t indicate the difference between a 750 versus a 800, 900, or a 2000.
2. List the details that are important to a potential buyer
a. Are you the original owner
b. How many miles is on the bike
c. Has it been garage kept or stored outside under a cover
d. When was it last serviced
e. Is it inspected? If you're serious of selling the bike you will get it inspected
f. List the extras or accessories, for example a backrest, windshield, lightbar, grips, engine guards, etc.
g. List any problems such as scratches, engine issues, or that it needs new tires, do not surprise the potential buyer
h. Include at least five good quality pictures of the motorcycle, one from each side plus one of the odometer. Do not list your ad until you have pictures ready to post!
i. Specify the title status, is it a clean title in hand or is there a title holder?
j. List why you are selling the bike, be honest, as it will help potential buyers. For example if you bought a bigger bike, then say so that this was a good beginners bike and that you are moving to a bigger bike
k. You can list the major specifications, but listing everything makes the ad unnecessarily long
l. List the price, but expect offers 10-20% less that what your asking

I hope this helps people write ads that lead to a quick sell of their motorcycles.

CITRT Update

The Church IT Roundtable has been awesome. The topics, people and the surprise visit from Rick Warren has made this a great experience! Check out the details at:
http://citrt.pbworks.com/Spring-2010-National-Church-IT-Roundtable

URR and IRB Approvals

I recently have received approvals from the University Research Reviewer and the Institutional Review Board to proceed to conducting research for my dissertation in the area of IT management in churches.

Spring 2010 National Church IT Roundtable

Check out the details for the Spring 2010 National Church IT Roundtable being hosted at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church (1 Saddleback Pkwy Lake Forest, CA 92630) on Thursday and Friday March 11-12. A pre-roundtable day will be optional for those arriving on March 10th. ONLY $75 for event registration AND meals!!

For details, go to: http://citrt.pbworks.com/Spring-2010-National-Church-IT-Roundtable