Tooltips

OpenSSL

• Get web (https) server’s banner:

  openssl s_client -connect:IPAddress:443
  

  after connection is established type in “HEAD / HTTP/1.0” and press enter

• Generating unix-style MD5 hash:

  openssl passwd -1 -salt QIGCa pippo
  

  produces: $1$QIGCa$/ruJs8AvmrknzKTzM2TYE.

• Converting a DER-encoded Certificate to PEM format:

  openssl x509 -in InputCertFile.crt -inform DER -out NewCertFile.pem -outform PEM
  

• Converting a PKCS12-encoded (or .pfx) Certificate to PEM format:

  openssl pkcs12 -in InputCertFile.p12 -out NewCertFile.pem -nodes -cacerts
  

Java keytool

• Download the CA certificate from the proxy and convert it to PEM format:

  /usr/java/default/bin/keytool -import -trustcacerts -file  -alias CA_ALIAS -keystore /usr/java/default/lib/security/cacerts -storepass changeit
  

More:

• The Most Common Java Keytool Keystore Commands – http://www.sslshopper.com/article-most-common-java-keytool-keystore-commands.html
• keytool – Key and Certificate Management Tool – http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.4.2/docs/tooldocs/windows/keytool.html

Excel sortIP macro

Found this somewhere on web several months ago. Very useful for long lists of machines that one want to order by IP addresses.

Option Explicit Sub sortIP() 'sorts IP addresses Dim i As Long, j As Long, k As Long Dim IP Dim rg() Dim RangeToSort As Range Dim IPaddress As String Dim IPColumn As Long IPaddress = "#*.#*.#*.#*" Set RangeToSort = Selection 'If just one cell selected, then expand to current region If RangeToSort.Count = 1 Then Set RangeToSort = RangeToSort.CurrentRegion End If 'Check if row 1 contains an IP address. If not, it is a header row 'first find column with IP addresses. Check row 2 since row 1 might be a Header IPColumn = 1 Do Until RangeToSort.Cells(2, IPColumn).Text Like IPaddress If IPColumn > RangeToSort.Columns.Count Then MsgBox ("No valid IP address found in Row 1 or Row 2") Exit Sub End If IPColumn = IPColumn + 1 Loop If Not RangeToSort(1, IPColumn).Text Like IPaddress Then Set RangeToSort = RangeToSort.Offset(1, 0). _ Resize(RangeToSort.Rows.Count - 1, RangeToSort.Columns.Count) End If 'one extra column for the IP sort order ReDim rg(RangeToSort.Rows.Count - 1, RangeToSort.Columns.Count) For i = 0 To UBound(rg) For k = 1 To UBound(rg, 2) rg(i, k) = RangeToSort.Cells(i + 1, k).Text Next k IP = Split(rg(i, IPColumn), ".") For j = 0 To 3 rg(i, 0) = rg(i, 0) & Right("000" & IP(j), 3) Next j Next i rg = BubbleSort(rg, 0) For i = 0 To UBound(rg) For k = 1 To UBound(rg, 2) RangeToSort.Cells(i + 1, k) = rg(i, k) Next k Next i End Sub '------------------------------------------- Function BubbleSort(TempArray As Variant, d As Long) 'D is dimension to sort on Dim temp() As Variant Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, k As Integer Dim NoExchanges As Boolean k = UBound(TempArray, 2) ReDim temp(0, k) Do NoExchanges = True For i = 0 To UBound(TempArray) - 1 If TempArray(i, d) > TempArray(i + 1, d) Then NoExchanges = False For j = 0 To k temp(0, j) = TempArray(i, j) TempArray(i, j) = TempArray(i + 1, j) TempArray(i + 1, j) = temp(0, j) Next j End If Next i Loop While Not NoExchanges BubbleSort = TempArray End Function

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Related here: Excel to text – http://eikonal.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/excel-to-text/ | Excel files processing – http://eikonal.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/excel-files-processing/ | IT tips pages – http://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/it-tips-pages/

Skills acquisition

• “Zap your brain into the zone: Fast track to pure focus” by Sally Adee (New Scinetist; 2012.02.06) – http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328501.600-zap-your-brain-into-the-zone-fast-track-to-pure-focus.html

Books

• book: “Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success” by Matthew Syed – http://www.amazon.com/Bounce-Federer-Picasso-Beckham-Science/dp/0061723754/

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Related: On importance of practice – http://eikonal.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/on-importance-of-practice/