tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76745219819892350912024-02-19T11:02:17.687-08:00Grimoire of the MagusIt's not magic, just my words combined to make you,<br>
<i>Think, Design, Develop, & Integrate new ideas</i>.MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-86968936195689336732017-01-03T18:32:00.000-08:002017-01-03T18:32:00.837-08:00The $9 NextThing ChipPC is Incredible Fun!<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For those of you that drop by every now and then, you are aware that I have been a fan of projects using the RaspberryPI.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had some free time and money on my hands and managed to get these from</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://getchip.com/" target="_blank">NextThingCo during their completed Kickstarter Campaign</a>:</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My C.H.I.P </span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5ygP5WfP27PGZa6Gt-t79aACsHD-aqq3Md8UPcjcCDGcEpY3l6ayEqbAkL6TDNiR9gYHExDk-J_qQxwn72ad13bGXXuH2zb5eDERNZwdyAyjra_hhxAQclogl7Yu-gkACx8M0iQthW0/s1600/CHIP1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ChipPC" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5ygP5WfP27PGZa6Gt-t79aACsHD-aqq3Md8UPcjcCDGcEpY3l6ayEqbAkL6TDNiR9gYHExDk-J_qQxwn72ad13bGXXuH2zb5eDERNZwdyAyjra_hhxAQclogl7Yu-gkACx8M0iQthW0/s320/CHIP1.png" title="" width="228" /></a></span></b> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My PocketC.H.I.P</span></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzrSizGHgWQ5PTtQITIC5NL6RNa0fVJoZkGisPfYThS9h37azN8N5qQQ6fw_e78BhUDR1dkDD8-9PiipJG6KaObzS5zoYsRlZueMHhRVV5ak8zTfILmpkJwfiF0qeTO7jApHcr3I2Y34/s1600/CHIP2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="PocketCHIP" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzrSizGHgWQ5PTtQITIC5NL6RNa0fVJoZkGisPfYThS9h37azN8N5qQQ6fw_e78BhUDR1dkDD8-9PiipJG6KaObzS5zoYsRlZueMHhRVV5ak8zTfILmpkJwfiF0qeTO7jApHcr3I2Y34/s320/CHIP2.png" title="" width="240" /></a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Operating System:</span></b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Debian Linux</span></b></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Installed Software for my Project:</span></b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hostapd ( WiFi Access Point )</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OpenVPN ( Security )</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tor ( Security )</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">oathtool ( Two Factor/Multi-Factor Authentication )</span></b></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Highlighted Hardware Capabilities: </span></b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Boots from internal flash ( no sdcard required )</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dual WiFi ( wlan0 and wlan1 )</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bluetooth</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can be managed with minicom or screen using a standard mini-USB cable</span></b></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the record I have 3 </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">C.H.I.P</span></span></b> units and one Pocket</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">C.H.I.P</span></span></b> purchased during the<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>KickStarter so my costs were a little higher than what you are seeing here.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lets break this down in current costs from their site: </span></b><br />
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<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ChipPC - $9</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chip Case - $2</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Battery ( LiON 3.7v ) - $5</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Composite Cable - $5 </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A </span>complete Linux System with a dedicated WiFi AP with built in VPN <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">with </span>Tor I can run in my pocket ( Priceless!)</span></b></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Happy New Year and Happy Hacking!</span></b></span><br />
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<br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-28277794997212184732015-08-21T12:35:00.000-07:002015-08-21T12:35:16.822-07:00Data Confidence or Breach of Security?I'm sure most of you reading this are familiar with what happened to Ashley Madison and some of you may have even seen the dump of information from their MySQL database. Whether or not is was done as an inside job or through SQL Injection, it emphasized the responsibility for all of us to make sure we are encrypting all corporate and customer data at all times.<br />Let me show you a brief example of how MagusNet, LLC. and Torduckin data stays protected from these kinds of data extraction attacks.<br /><br />In this example I took a known poem and inserted it into a test PostgreSQL database using the default schema for MagusNet, LLC.<br /><br /><b>-==========THE POEM===============-</b><br /><i>I met a traveler from an antique land<br />Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone<br />Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,<br />Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown<br />And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command<br />Tell that its sculptor well those passions read<br />Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,<br />The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.<br />And on the pedestal these words appear:<br />My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings<br />Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!<br />Nothing beside remains. Round the decay<br />Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,<br />The lone and level sands stretch far away". </i><br /><b>-=============THE DATABASE============-</b><br />
<br />This is what a sample of the data in the database would look like.<br />This example is using Base64 encoding.<br />Our production data is always stored using Triple DES<br /><br /><b>psql -d test -c "select * from file_data LIMIT 1;"</b><br /><br /><i>------------+-------------------------+--------+------------------+----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+<br /> 1440182782 | txt | 2 | Text Data | OZYMANDIUS.txt | SSBtZXQgYSB0cmF2ZWxsZXIgZnJvbSBhbiBhbnRpcXVlIGxhbmQKV2hvIHNhaWQ6ICJUd28gdmFz\+ | Content type: text/plain</i><br />The snippet above is meant to show that if an attack from inside, outside took place, nothing useful would ever be revealed.<br /><br />As a habit, learn from the mistakes made by your peers and<b> use good practices.</b><br />
<b>1.Never, never, never </b>allow direct communication to your databases.<br />
Follow best practices to defend against SQL Injection. <br />
https://www.owasp.org/index.php/SQL_Injection_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet<br />
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2. <b>Never, never, never </b>store information in any database in cleartext!<br /><br />My .02.<br /><br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-64432265552304102812015-04-10T13:01:00.000-07:002015-04-10T13:25:10.696-07:00Security Is Hard<br />
This entry is the result of watching John Oliver interview Edward Snowden<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://youtu.be/XEVlyP4_11M" target="_blank">Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Government Surveillance (HBO)</a></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
I finally understand why the conversations about solutions for OpSec and extending protection for information everywhere by default don't exist outside of a small group of people.<br />
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From Aug 2013 to present, I have prototyped and built a dynamic working
methodology that uses #IaaS with #Virtualization to proactively and
reactively deal with small to large scale systems that is designed to deal with attacks and intrusions
against Operating Systems and Application Data. By using this on the Internet, and allowing malicious intrusions on test systems, I have been able to test and refine what works while removing what doesn't.<br />
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Over many years I discovered that when I explain how this works and why it is needed to individuals that do
not work in IT, no one will attempt to do it because my method requires a change in how systems and data get managed and that makes it "too hard" or
"too expensive" to use to protect customer data. <br />
<br />
I'm not worried, I can wait.<br />
I
created my first free Internet VPN / Public Proxy in 1997 with strong encryption and anonymity well before
business and regular Internet users were interested. Since all the revelations on Internet <span style="font-size: small;"><span class="watch-title " dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Government Surveillance (HBO)">Surveillance, many </span></span>have become my customers.<br />
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What I have learned is that if all of us that work with information, applications, and communications can find a way to explain how encryption will prevent compromising photos of naked men and women from having their pictures getting intercepted, stolen, or revealed, we will all be very, very, rich.....and safer for it.<br />
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<br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-3795277024136177302014-11-25T11:18:00.000-08:002014-11-25T11:18:35.257-08:00Torduckin Evolution<br />
There are only so many ways that any system can be protected.<br />
Encryption is one method but just using encryption isn't enough.<br />
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Using encryption is easy, using encryption correctly is hard.<br />
Breaking encryption is always done at the weakest link,<br />
which is usually a lot weaker than we think it is ( xkcd on Security ):<br />
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<a href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/security.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/security.png" height="195" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had an idea in 1998 that I finally found a use for after recent events around seizures of Tor Onion sites.<br />
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My 1998 requirements:<br />
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1. Create a Database that only stores data as text<br />
2. Make sure every INSERT is padded to be exactly the same size<br />
3. Each SELECT is decrypted and used to determine the next SELECT<br />
4. The Encryption Method must be drop in<br />
5. The Decryption Method must be seamless<br />
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I dusted off this personal project in 2014 and my prototype still works!!!<br />
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In 2015 I plan to complete what I plan to call something like the "<b>Torduckin Rubberhose Virtual Machine Deployment System</b>". I'll work out a cool sounding acronym later.<br />
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* Every MagusNet Torduckin Anonymous Proxy VPN virtual machine will be deployed from a central encrypted database using an SSH connection through Tor.<br />
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* After launch, the virtual machine will look up it's configuration via an SSH connection through Tor.<br />
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* Every 4 hours the whole process will kick off again without any human interaction.<br />
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Questions and Comments are always welcome!<br />
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<br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-5435233345330561742014-10-10T11:03:00.003-07:002014-10-10T11:04:16.822-07:00Funding keeps the lights on...<br />
The MagusNet Public Proxy ( Torduckin ) always needs your support.<br />
<br />
We accept Bitcoin donations on the main web site page:<br />
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<a href="http://www.magusnet.com/proxy.html" target="_blank">MagusNet Public Proxy ( Torduckin ) Main Page </a><br />
<br />
New this year is the ability to help us meet our financial obligations we are using<b> Go Fund Me:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.gofundme.com/fo0rlo" target="_blank">MagusNet GoFundMe Page</a><br />
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Thank you all for your continued support.<br />
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-- MagusNetMagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-41248452684875113012014-04-22T09:14:00.001-07:002018-04-10T03:35:54.966-07:00How I Made My Google Chromecast Work In HotelsIf there has ever been a more useful and inexpensive way to send High Definition video from my phone to my television before the Google Chromecast I have yet to see it.<br />
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The Google Chromecast comes in at a cost of $35.00 USD in a very compact package. [1]<br />
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In this posting I will outline how I was able to get my Google Chromecast to work with hotel provided WiFi using my Debian Linux laptop.<br />
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Because this is meant to be an outline there will be no screenshots but I will provide text examples for anyone with the technical know how to use as a<br />
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starting point.<br />
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Lets begin.<br />
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The first step was to purchase a second WiFi network Interface. I chose to use the Tenda W311M Wireless N150 Nano USB [2] since it works out of the box with Linux and because of it's small size it is easy to leave plugged into my laptop USB port without worrying about it getting snagged or broken.<br />
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Configure your built in WiFi to connect to the hotel WiFi Access point.<br />
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Plug in the second WiFi adapter.<br />
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On my Debian Linux laptop I installed hostapd and dnsmasq to support the WiFi Access Point and DHCP address I will need for my phone and my Google Chromecast to connect to my laptop.<br />
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First things first, lets install the packages we need:<br />
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apt-get update<br />
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apt-get install dnsmasq<br />
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apt-get install hostapd<br />
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This is my /etc/dnsmasq.conf<br />
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# -====================<br />
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port=0<br />
interface=wlan3<br />
domain=laptop<br />
dhcp-range=192.168.0.50,192.168.0.150,12h<br />
dhcp-option=42,0.0.0.0<br />
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# -====================<br />
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This is my /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf<br />
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# -========================<br />
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interface=wlan3<br />
driver=nl80211<br />
dump_file=/tmp/hostapd.dump<br />
ssid=ADDYOURSSIDHERE<br />
ieee80211d=1<br />
hw_mode=g<br />
channel=11<br />
beacon_int=100<br />
dtim_period=2<br />
max_num_sta=255<br />
rts_threshold=2347<br />
fragm_threshold=2346<br />
macaddr_acl=0<br />
auth_algs=3<br />
ignore_broadcast_ssid=1<br />
ieee80211n=0<br />
own_ip_addr=127.0.0.1<br />
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK-SHA256 WPA-EAP-SHA256 WPA-PSK WPA-EAP<br />
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# -==================================-<br />
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Execute the following to start it all up:<br />
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/etc/init.d/hostapd start<br />
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/etc/init.d/dnsmasq start<br />
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Execute the following so all traffic now goes in/out through the primary WiFi interface:<br />
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/sbin/iptables -v -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o wlan0 -j MASQUERADE<br />
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<b>NOTE - The SSID is NOT broadcast so make sure to add it by hand!!!</b><br />
Attach your phone/tablet to the laptop SSID.<br />
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Attach your Chromecast you your laptop SSID.<br />
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Start Casting! :)<br />
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<br />
1. <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Chromecast</a><br />
2. <a href="http://www.microcenter.com/product/373032/W311M_150Mbps_Wireless_N_USB_20_Adapter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tenda W311M_150Mbps_Wireless_N_USB_20_Adapter</a><br />
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UPDATE: April 23, 2014<br />
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I don't use Microsoft Windows but someone passed these commands to me to make a MS-Windows-7 system into a WiFi Access Point. This should also work with a second WiFi interface.<br />
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1. Enable Windows Internet Connection Sharing<br />
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2. Open a Command Console in MS-Windows-7+ and try the following.<br />
NOTE: Please change PASSWORD to something more secure. :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=SECURE key=PASSWORD keyUsage=persistent</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br />netsh wlan stop hostednetwork<br /><br />netsh wlan start hostednetwork<br /><br />netsh wlan show hostednetwork</b></span><br />
<br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-51411389194437436122014-02-20T06:12:00.001-08:002014-02-20T06:12:30.918-08:00MagusNet Torduckin VPN & Raspberry PiThe photo is the final result of my Raspberyy Pi deployed as a<br />
WiFi Access Point with OpenVPN and Tor.<br />
The signal does manage to cover my whole house ( 1800 sq.ft. ) <br />
Max throughput is 5MB/s.<br />
Very low power.<br />
Generates very little to no heat.<br />
Total cost was less than $60.<br />
I added a USB drive stick that you can see under the antenna.<br />
The USB drive stick is for backup and recovery when the SD Card fails. <br />
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<br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-33107826512884411092013-09-06T09:04:00.002-07:002013-09-07T16:44:29.184-07:00The Torduckin PromiseMy desire to be technically creative has been moved by recent revelations of government capabilities in gathering intelligence on USA citizens.<br />
One of the most influential books I have ever read was "Applied Cryptography".<br />
I purchased the first edition when it came out and have followed the insights of Mr. <b>Bruce Schneier </b>ever since.<br />
<br />
In his blog, Mr. Schneier makes very compelling arguments here<br />
<ul>
<li> http://www.schneier.com/essay-438.html </li>
</ul>
and here<br />
<ul>
<li>http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/05/government-betrayed-internet-nsa-spying</li>
</ul>
The Internet was built on public funds for public use. The Internet made it possible for me as a 13 year old in The South Bronx to reach out to the world and become successful at what I do today. I have found my way to giving back to the Internet by running completely free Anonymous Email Remailers and Anonymizing Public Proxies since 1997.<br />
<br />
Effective Saturday September 7, 2013 I will be making a change to the MagusNet Anonymout Public Proxy ( Torduckin ) as an attempt to deal with the possibility that OpenVPN + Tor + SSH + Linux/OpenBSD may have an unknown vulnerability that has yet to be revealed in their cryptographic capabilities.<br />
<br />
I will be auto-generating new SSL Certificates for OpenVPN on my website every 6 hours. There will be <b>no logging of any kind in any location</b> and the virtual machines that run in RAM and house the VPN + Tor + Citadel Hidden Sites will be wiped by writing over all RAM addresses multiple times before reloading.<br />
<br />
This may be paranoid or maybe not going far enough. Either way, I am dedicated to making sure that I use my technical capabilities to engineer the most secure solutions I can to allow everyone everywhere in the world to use the Internet and feel just a little bit safer along the way.<br />
<br />
Thank you.<br />
<br />
-- Jean Francois - President and Founder of MagusNet, LLC.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-10225589051770278322013-04-17T06:31:00.003-07:002013-04-17T06:31:45.926-07:00Imagine a better future, then create it!<br />
There is a huge gap between the way we want the world to be and the way it functions in reality. If you have been paying attention to the state of the world, and global current political events, you may be asking yourself, Why?<br />
<br />
Let's ask this question to two men from history:<br />
<br />
<b>Only one answer is possible. </b><br />
<b>Because man has within him a lust for hatred and destruction. In normal times this passion exists in a latent state, it emerges only in unusual circumstances; but it is a comparatively easy task to call it into play and raise it to the power of a collective psychosis. Here lies, perhaps, the crux of all the complex factors we are considering,</b><br />
<b>an enigma that only the expert in the lore of human instincts can resolve.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>- From Einstein's letter to Freud</b><br />
<b>- The Einstein-Freud Correspondence (1931-1932)</b><br />
<br />
<b>Thus it would seem that any effort to replace brute force by the might of an ideal is, under present conditions, doomed to fail. Our logic is at fault if we ignore the fact that right is founded on brute force and even today needs violence to maintain it.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>- From Freud's letter to Einstein </b><br />
<b>- The Einstein-Freud Correspondence (1931-1932)</b><br />
<br />
It's time to change the world.<br />
What have you contributed to make tomorrow better?<br />
<br />
MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-37786490923242438682013-01-03T09:52:00.001-08:002013-01-03T15:16:06.225-08:00Virtualization, Gaming, and the CloudWelcome to 2013 and in this new year I would like to put together my own prediction of what should be a big year for Virtualization, Gaming, and Cloud convergence.<br />
For the record I am currently a VMware Certified Instructor and Consultant.<br />
<br />
In case you missed it here are the players and what they did in 2012:<br />
- Valve Corporation has released Steam ( http://store.steampowered.com/ ) for Linux gamers.<br />
<br />
- VMware ( http://www.vmware.com/ ) has made it possible to have NVidia GPU support in Virtual Desktops (VDI).<br />
Press Release Here:<br />
http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-vmworld-emea-nvidia-joint-10-19-11.html<br />
<br />
- Gamers want to be able to play games without having to spend a lot of money on hardware/network connectivity and want to be able to play anywhere at anytime.<br />
<br />
Here is what I would love to see:<br />
<br />
A partnership between VMware and Valve that would create Virtual Desktops so that Valve would no longer need to develop for various platforms. The gamer logs into their Steam account which launches a virtual desktop. Think of a game library or portal that uses VMware Horizon to display what games you have access to and can launch them at the click of a mouse or a tap of a finger.<br />
The game launches and plays on a virtual desktop and gamers can connect or disconnect at will and play from any platform from phone to tablet to desktop.<br />
This would allow seamless switching between gaming platforms and eliminate an incredible number of support and development issues.<br />
<br />
Who wins?<br />
<br />
VMware will get to show the world how "The Cloud" really works beyond the Business Enterprise.<br />
<br />
Valve will get to penetrate the gaming market in a way that makes the desktop obsolete and introduces truly mobile gaming the transforms the definition of the gaming platform and removes limitations based on location.<br />
<br />
Gamers will get the benefits of running games on server class systems inside of an architecture that guarantees network/storage/graphics performance on any platform they choose to use to access their game library.<br />
<br />
All I need to know is who do I/we need to call to make this happen?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-62719267288015507422012-08-29T10:36:00.000-07:002012-09-18T09:17:39.704-07:00The MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy ( Torduckin ) Has New URLsI finally decided to make it official and<br />
get the MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy ( Torduckin ) URLs:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://torduckin.com/proxy.html"><b>http://torduckin.com/proxy.html</b></a></li>
<li><a href="http://torduckin.net/proxy.html"><b>http://torduckin.net/proxy.html</b></a></li>
<li><a href="http://torduckin.org/proxy.html"><b>http://torduckin.org/proxy.html</b></a></li>
</ul>
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-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----<br />
Comment: #Torduckin<br />
<br />
jA0EAwMCVlWKaBgs85JgyYCP8SSFPFgPb+QWndofbhSBAr3sFYohBbDUPXfGxlep<br />
DkFbUaAW68WYRGGCsFV7HwcAQN4G4vAeh4cXm4xeJTBe3VYpLD1Ai/tZD1k62/OO<br />
RvdYdkipcOAwYin/h/1gKRZKcsgoZzbHBx2WFDfAQgqPfi0lenTwEkFN9CQRF3Th<br />
Cg==<br />
=FFfH<br />
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
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<br />
Enjoy :)<br />
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<br />MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-1351613539576148182011-11-29T17:27:00.000-08:002011-11-29T17:39:04.688-08:00Why the U.S. Senate needs to oppose S.968, the Protect IP Act<span style="font-weight:bold;">This is my note to my representatives based on the Daily Kos Campaign.</span><br /><br />Please oppose S.968, the Protect IP Act. This bill could destroy the Internet as we know it.<br /><br />The U.S. State Department working with USAID<br />has provided over $5 million USD over 3 fiscal years in the form of grants for the Internet Freedom Initiative and reconfirmed the U.S. commitment to Global Internet freedom in an address at George Washington University in Washington, DC. In last year's speech, the Secretary identified the defense of a free, open, and interconnected Internet as a U.S. foreign policy priority. The State Department works to advance Internet freedom as an aspect of the universal rights of freedom of expression and the free flow of information.<br /><br />If S.968 passes, then the government could order Internet providers to block the very sites funded by USAID and the U.S. State Dept. This legislaton would also impact well known sites like Red State, Daily Kos, YouTube or even Facebook if even one member of those communities posted material a copyright holder considered infringing.<br /><br />Just as bad, all website owners would be forced to enact massive new private security measures, which means no one would bother creating new Internet companies anymore because of the cost and risk involved.<br /><br />That's why tech giants like Facebook, Google, Twitter, eBay, Yahoo, AOL and Mozilla are opposed to this legislation, and why Microsoft has withdrawn its support and is now opposing the bills. It's why more than 100 of the nation's leading Intellectual Property law professors are opposed to the bill. It's why the Consumer Electronics Association, which comprises over 2,000 American technology companies is opposed to the legislation as currently written.<br /><br />Protect IP, as currently written, is dangerous to the very actions we are taking to support our national security. Please oppose this legislation.MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-41196792502742230512011-05-05T09:45:00.000-07:002013-09-20T09:50:09.156-07:00Providing Internet Anonymity - The MagusNet Anonymous Public ProxyThere is a silent conflict going on where users of the Internet that want to reach certain types of content are faced with other online entities that are interested in knowing what content is being accessed and using that information for tracking or blocking/filtering. On May 1, 2011 I decided to re-launch The MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy to continue providing anonymity and deliver a way around Internet filtering for free.<br />
<br />
From September 1997 to September 12, 2001 I operated The MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy for web browsing while at the same time running an Anonymous Remailer ( Mixmaster ) for anonymizing email. The personal satisfaction I got from running both services came in the form of email from various countries where users were thankful that I was able to help them get around Internet filtering at no cost. Professionally, I was able to use my demonstrated knowledge of deploying an open proxy that was popular, secure, and easily usable the entire time it was in service.<br />
<br />
My family was not pleased with phone calls and “unofficial” visits from the agencies like the FBI and the RCMP, along with the use of barratry to try to limit, monitor, harass, and shutdown a perfectly legal service. It amazes me to see the disconnect when the U.S. State Department can have a fund set aside to support the creation of services like I provide, while the U.S. Congress works at legislation to try to make operation of the same types of services a criminally punishable offense.<br />
<br />
At the time I was using a known set of IP address ranges and ports and many filtering services went to great lengths to make my service and web pages unreachable. In fact, after 10 years of being offline, there are still vendors selling Internet filtering software that have my original URL listed. In order to bring back the MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy I needed to decide on how to protect my users while giving myself greater flexibility in preventing the service from being filtered into obscurity.<br />
<br />
The challenges to overcome were many and here are just a few:<br />
* IP Address flexibility to defeat filtering<br />
* Domain name decoupled from service<br />
* End User Data security ( No Logging, No Data Capture )<br />
* My Security ( Secure System, Location Independent )<br />
* Manage Costs for Delivering a Free Service<br />
<br />
I have found a way to deal with all of the issues mentioned, and a few others I discovered along the way, in order to re-launch what I consider a much needed service for Internet users.<br />
By moving certain portions of the service into a “cloud” server, I no longer have to be concerned with the filtering of IP addresses since the Internet facing server is using a dynamically assigned IP address than I can change as needed to defeat most filtering.<br />
<br />
Behind that server is a set of servers that run diskless as virtual machines to ensure that no data is stored on any physical media and as a side effect I get a benefit of efficiency by running everything in memory. I did this not only as a way to resolve data retention and data security workarounds, but also in case a server is ever compromised or has any non-security related issues, I can reboot from read-only media and be up quickly while analyzing the problem. My current configuration allows me to perform an hourly reload for each node and boot from read-only media with the capability of handling ~10,000 users per server, load balanced as needed.<br />
<br />
The last hurdle was to make sure that my “core” servers were not visible for inbound and outbound traffic. By having OpenVPN used to encrypt and manage inbound traffic and requiring the use of The Onion Router ( Tor ) for traffic exiting into the Internet, I found I could not only deploy the “core” servers anywhere, I can replicate from a single read-only image to expand the number of nodes for improving loading and availability. Once I figure out how to transparently merge in and load balance multiple Tor exit nodes, going global will be complete.<br />
<br />
I realize there are many global users of the Internet that do not have a need for this kind of service but for those individuals that are Human Rights Workers, live in a location that filters Internet content, or just everyday people that aren’t interested in having the most mundane of personal information looked at for any reason, I’ll be here and I’ll keep doing what I can to help out.<br />
<br />
If you are a fellow citizen of the United States of America, <br />
and feel this service is not needed since you have nothing to hide, <br />
start sending all of your letters on post cards ( no envelopes! ) ,and<br />
here is some reading material:<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565">http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565</a></span><br />
<br />
-- Jean Francois - MagusNet, LLC<br />
Owner and Operator of The MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy ( Torduckin )*<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.magusnet.com/proxy.html">http://www.magusnet.com/proxy.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">* The name comes from how this is set up:<br />It uses an OpenVPN Tunnel stuffed into an SSH Tunnel stuffed into Tor.</span>MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-71622935403961719142011-05-01T09:04:00.000-07:002011-05-01T09:05:28.083-07:00The MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy Is UpThe MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy Is Up and Running. <br />So far there have been 341 Visitors from 53 Countries for the May 1 relaunch!<br />http://tinyurl.com/3tyjz48MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-4528977600863520592011-04-07T08:25:00.000-07:002011-04-07T08:31:46.121-07:00The MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy a.k.a ( Torduckin )=====-<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Fri Mar 4, 2011</span><br />Actively seeking Grants and other Philanthropic sources to pay for bandwidth and to build this out globally. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Thursday Apr 7, 2011</span><br />The MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy ( Torduckin ) is currently set to go live for unlimited free use on Sun May 1, 2011.<br /><a href="http://www.magusnet.com/proxy.html">The MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy</a><br />-=====-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Why do I do it?</span><br /><br />I created and ran the original MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy (DeleGate) in 1997 and decided to come back with a new<br />MagusNet Anonymous Public Proxy ( Torduckin ) in 2011 to do something good based on my experience in Information Security and development of innovative ways of deploying Information and Communications Technology (ICT).<br />I want to be able to give globally by promoting the following:<br /><br />- Freedom of Opinion and Expression beyond National Borders<br />- Anonymity and Privacy to Communicate Freely <br /><br /><a href="http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml">The Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a><br /><br /><a href="ttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm">The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:</a><br /><br />-- JLFMagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-11090237294292071032009-06-23T10:48:00.000-07:002009-06-23T10:49:55.687-07:00Starting a New Day"When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own - not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine."<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (121-180)</span>MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-26302436410225974242009-05-20T08:15:00.000-07:002009-05-20T08:33:04.853-07:00Do not fear failing.....ever!<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Every job I have ever taken, and any task I have ever confronted, involved me evaluating my abilities and asking myself the same question,</span><br /><b style="font-family: arial;">"Am I qualified to do this?".</b><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Whenever the answer was no the next question was,</span><b style="font-family: arial;"><br />"Can I learn it fast enough that I won't screw up, won't kill myself or anyone else, and will no one notice?".</b><br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">From the book </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Why-Dont-Students-Like-School/dp/0470279303">"Why Don't Students Like School? A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom"</a> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> ,Dan Willingham points out, on p. 143,<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">If you want to increase your intelligence, you have to challenge yourself. That means taking on tasks that </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >are a bit beyond your reach, and that means you may very well fail, at least the first time around. Fear of failure can therefore be a significant obstacle to tackling this sort of challenging work, but failure should not be a big deal."</span></div></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Always be ready to make mistakes, learn from them, and make yourself more than what you are today.<br /><br />Be fearless!<br /></span><br /></span>MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-80868635324198788172009-04-23T08:57:00.000-07:002009-04-23T09:00:20.441-07:00VEGFEST 2009I am cooking again this year and I am looking forward to a another great turnout!<br /><br />-=====-<br />VegMichigan's 2009 VegFest will be from noon until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 26, 2009 at Ferndale High School!<br />Last year we had over 1,000 people through the doors, and this year promises to be the biggest and best VegFest yet!<br />-=====-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Here is a link too the VegMichigan Info:<br />http://vegmichigan.org/activities/vegfest/index.php<br /></span>MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-34624635704820359412009-03-19T09:45:00.001-07:002009-03-19T09:55:01.462-07:00Speaking at the Mind Body Spirit Festival<center><br /><b><br />Join Us April 4-5 ** FREE ADMISSION **<br /></b><br />Event: Toledo Body, Mind, Spirit Festival <br />Dates : Saturday April 4th 10am - 6pm <b>& </b>Sunday April 5th 10am - 6pm<br />ONLY 10 Mins. West of the Toledo Airport on Airport Highway<br />Location: Delta Banquet Hall6800 Industrial DriveDelta, OH<br />FREE Admission FREE Parking FREE Lectures & Classes Both Days & over 9,000 sq ft of vendors.Aura Photography ~ Jewelry ~ Artwork ~ Tarot Readers ~ Astrologers ~ Massage ~ Aromatherapy and Much More...<br /></center><br /><b><br />For Information:<br /><br />Phone: (734) 274 - 2840<br />Internet: http://<a href="http://www.toledobodymindspiritfestival.com/">www.toledobodymindspiritfestival.com</a>/<br /><br />Sponsored by: Healing Garden World, Lite The Way Midnightmoon Metaphysical Shoppe, & SomaEnergetics<br />We will be doing a raffle of over $200 in prizes to raise money for our center.<br /></b><br /><b><i> My Wife will be speaking here:</i></b><br />Saturday April 4, 2009<br />4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. “Seeing and Perceiving Energy” with Cathleen Francois, President of Spiritual Endeavors of Michigan. This lecture will clarifies what is seen and take away any doubts.<br /><br /><br /><b><i> I will be speaking here:</i><br />Sunday April 5, 2009<br />10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. “Eating To Heal & Manage Weight” with Mr. Jean Francois of Spiritual Endeavors of Michigan. Learn how what you eat affects your body.<br /></b>MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-38146286659546573412008-04-21T19:01:00.000-07:002008-04-21T19:08:46.858-07:00At The Feet Of A MasterMy family and I were blessed to be able to be able to go to<br />Ann Arbor and see His Holiness the Dalai Lama (HHDL) over the<br />weekend.<br /><br />It did not go unnoticed in my home that April 2008 is historic<br />in that we had HHDL and the Catholic Pope in the United States<br />at the same time visiting similar locations to talk to thousands<br />at every stop.<br /><br />This leads me to contemplate the messages from both religious leaders<br />in the context of the sate of the religious and secular world today.<br /><br />In Haiti, they are eating cookies made of mud for lack of food while<br />tons of food will be diverted this year as biofuel to feed cars and <br />industry, that food will be kept away from humans to feed animals unfit<br />for human consumption, and all this redirected food would feed the <br />world over 10 times over.<br />Nations are killing their own citizens in order to "rule" them.<br />People are being murdered because educating girls is a crime.<br />Wars are being fought over natural resources like oil, water, and <br />metals with motivations hidden behind false agendas while we send <br />our sons and daughters to fight, die, and kill over lies.<br />It is easier to get a Coca Cola in the poorest and remotest parts of <br />the world than a vaccination, a doctor, shoes, or a daily meal.<br />Our food and water supplies are heavily tainted with hormones, <br />pesticides, chemical residues of manufacturing, and other wastes <br />that are killing us right now.<br />The few are trying to stifle the voices of the many by denying access<br />to communications like TV, Radio, Internet, and newspaper's to hide <br />their indiscretions heaped on the poor and disenfranchised or <br />just to hide the truth.<br />More people vote on American Idol than take part in their civic duty<br />and vote in elections.<br /><br />So, you may be wondering why I mention all of this?<br /><br />Two great leaders of two great faiths historically entered the United States<br />at the same time to speak on weighty mattes from the perspective of their <br />faiths. I am disappointed to see that their visits did nothing to motivate<br />the faithful of any and all faiths to take collective action and make a<br />unified call on each other to make these outrages right.<br /><br />HHDL used one word to sum up the the solution to the failure of all of us,<br />myself included, to do more.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Altruism</span><br /><br />We are so busy thinking about ourselves that we have forgotten that the <br />core of every faith and of every philosophy revolves around altruism.<br />These compel us to do what is right for each other without thought of <br />reciprocal action or reward. We have forgotten our responsibility to each <br />other do what is right because it is right.<br />I lay the blame on my failure to act right where it belongs, on myself.<br />But in that moment of insight I realize, there is no good reason for me <br />not to do what is right for my brothers and sisters on this lonely planet<br />we share and pass on to our children.<br /><br />I will pray that we all come to the realization that despite all our <br />differences and our struggles we all will one day look in the mirror <br />and think to ourselves how simple it is to make the world the paradise<br />it could be by the simplest of altruistic acts.<br /><br />- Be kind to each other.<br />- Love each other.<br />- Respect each other.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Eight Verses on Transforming the Mind - HHDL</span><br />With a wish to free all beings<br />I shall always go for refuge<br />to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha<br />until I reach full enlightenment.<br /><br />Enthused by wisdom and compassion,<br />today in Buddha's presence<br />I generate the Mind of Full Awakening<br />for the benefit of all sentient beings.<br /><br />As long as space endures,<br />as long as sentient beings remain,<br />until then, may I too remain<br />and dispel the miseries of the world.</span><br /><br />Peace be with you.MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-44732662495952968282007-11-15T09:19:00.000-08:002007-11-15T10:12:47.217-08:00Walking a New PathPeace be with you.<br /><br />When I started this blog, my plan was to spend a month writing about areas of interest and publishing the results of my research to share.I have time to do that again. What kept me away for all this time was that I was studying for Ordination with The Essene Nasorean Church of Mount Carmel B'nai-Amen Temple of the Guardians of Grace.<br /><br />I have completed the course and have been welcomed into the ministry and now I want to share just a few of my thoughts on how I got here and where I feel I am going next.<br /><br />Prior to taking this step I have spent 30 of my 42 years traveling and meeting people to learn more about them and in various libraries where I have studied quite a bit of material related to religion and history. A quick summary of books includes The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Tertragrammaton, Roiscrucian ( AMORC ) Teachings, Old and New Testament, and others.<br /><br />It was through my great wife and her passion for teaching Reiki, Quantum Touch, and meditation, that I met more people involved in alternative healing with various beliefs. This gave me the opportunity to spend time exchanging ideas with them and learning. I learned many new things and re-discovered my desire and capacity to teach. Knowing I wanted to teach led me to study even more material relating to medicine, anatomy, chemistry, nutrition, spirituality, religion, philosophy, science, and nature.<br /><br />Recent events in my life and studies about the relationships of various belief systems to each other led me to start reading texts that were more Gnostic in nature and that eventually led to reading teachings from the Essenes.<br /><br />Once thing led to another and when I discovered I could become ordained as an Essene minister I knew I had found what I was looking for. I found a church that matches my passion for the study of ancient texts. After seeing Fast Food Nation, Super Size Me, and how inhumanly cows, pigs, and chickens go from farm to table with extra antibiotics, feces, bacteria, and hormones included, I was ready for vegetarianism. The life of Jesus was put into a perspective based on many more Gospels than were available in just the New Testament and his teachings remind of of the way to divinity. Although I had read some of the texts the church uses in the past, reading them again brought new insight. Texts I had never read like the Dhammapada, and The Gospel of the Holy Twelve, were read along side texts I had read many years ago like the Tao Te Ching and brought me a new view of what it means to live a peaceful life, be in the now with awareness, and appreciate the blessings of this existence from God.<br /><br />Even though I mention this last it is not insignificant that my desire to be of service was rekindled and I am ready to do more educational and outreach service to those in need.<br /><br />I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go.MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-86829991496086390692007-07-29T08:48:00.000-07:002007-07-30T04:22:54.540-07:00Ronora - Summer Rejuvenation RetreatThe Ronora Lodge is located in Watervliet Michigan.<br /><br />From July 11th through July 15th I was able to attend a Summer Rejuvenation retreat, eat raw foods, and meet<br />Mr. David "Avocado" Wolfe. This all happened because my wife was in Lake Tahoe for a Quantum Touch conference<br />( she is a practitioner and teacher ) and was so impressed she wanted to make sure I met him too. The raw food diet is nothing new. If you think about it until humans had controllable fire everything we ate was raw. If you get the opportunity don't hesitate to take advantage of experiencing this kind of retreat.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 1: Relaxation</span><br />So we arrive after a 3 hour drive and the location is perfect. We get checked in and unpack in a room that may be spartan for some, but perfect for our needs. We wandered around to see the lake and get a feel for what we would be able to do over the next 4 days.<br /><br />Along the way we met with the volunteers and new arrivals and introduced ourselves. There are wonderful stories of health by a simple change is what is eaten. I will go into more on that later.<br /><br />The evening ended with Mr. Wolfe discussing the Raw Food lifestyle. His style is charismatic, his presentation is energetic and his message is on target. His discussion of eating raw food as a way to add to the variety of what you eat as opposed to a way to exclude food from your diet was refreshing. I am tired of hearing militant vegans, vegetarians, and others tell people what they shouldn't eat in a<br />"holier than thou" tone. People are people and will eat what they want. As David mentioned, eating more organic raw foods leaves less time and room for foods that are not the best for health so even if you don't stop eating them, their impact on health is reduced.<br />While mingling with the other attendees I learned that my own barley grass growing at home was a better decision than I knew.<br />I also found out about the Spartans practice of feeding their warriors barley grouts during training. I learned that cereal grasses are some of the most nutritious foods on the planet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 2: Gratitude</span><br />We got up at 0630 and headed over to the main building for an hour and a half of Yoga. I have to admit I haven't done yoga for way too many years and I felt it. I have never sweat that hard doing yoga and I still had a good time. Amy and Miguel were fantastic at both guidance and pace for all levels.. After a wonderful breakfast with choices of fruit, juices and smoothies we changed clothes and came back<br />for the first of the days presentations. Ms. Kerry Dancing Butterfly gave us an insightful and interactive session called Shamanic<br />"Tools to Reclaim Your Power". This was a very emotionally charged and shared experience that really makes you look at your motives and perspectives on incidents that have occurred in your life. For me it dovetails with my ongoing practice of trying to remain in the "now" and helped me quite a bit.<br /><br />Lunch was followed up by Lisa of the Amazing Starr Barr showing us how to make better smoothies. Lisa has found a way to add ingredients in a smoothie to both increase their nutritional punch and add variety to what usually becomes a boring, routine activity. Fresh coconut, durian, aloe vera, and a host of other ingredients meet in combinations that may sound strange but have a taste that can't be described any other way than mmmmmm.....mmmmmmm!<br /><br />I skipped out for a Hot Stone Massage from Loronna Barnes that was the best.<br /><br />After another exceptional dinner we were once again given information from Mr. Wolfe. This time we reviewed the previous discussions before delving into subject as diverse as ormus and how to gather it, zapping, the function of sulfur in health, enzymes and how to get the most enzymes from raw foods. The best part for me was hearing about nanobacter. I have always believed that parasites carry viruses deep into tissues where the immune system has trouble finding them. This piggybacking on parasites is, in my opinion only, a vector of infiltration of the body for many of the diseases that seem to be epidemic all of a sudden. Nanobacter is another perfect candidate because of its small size. It can ride in a parasite just like a virus and cause calcification damage. I was happy to see we did not talk about curing diseases. The focus was on maintaining health. We talked about the methods for healing the body already has within it. The topics were always on what to eat to help prevent getting sick in the first place. In the context of this, I always wondered, if I told someone to eat an Orange so they would not get scurvy, would that be illegal? Would Vitamin C be considered a drug that cured that disease? Could the Orange be considered a drug carrier and regulated? In my own research I found out that EDTA is approved by the FDA for chelating heavy metals like lead, but isn't being used for other health care purposes where it might show some promise. I am not sure what direction the country is going in when it comes to health care and treatments.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 3: Surrender</span><br />This was sweat lodge day.<br />I have done Native American ceremonies in the past and have a feather to show for at least one of them. This was my first opportunity to take part in a seat lodge. Earlier in the day we walked the grounds of Ronora and tasted the leaves and berries of plants like sassafras, blueberry, nettles ( without getting stung ), red clover, and grape. If I ever get lost in the woods I will have no excuse for not eating since no matter what there is always grass growing somewhere.<br /><br />I skipped out for a Mayan Card Reading frrom Miguel that was insightful.<br /><br />If you have never done a sweat lodge, I recommend trying it just once. Sitting an a small space, in complete darkness, with no exit, bathed in hot steam and mud, will let give you the perfect opportunity to test your inner mettle in a safe environment. I did get to sit up front and I think the combination of the nature walk earlier in the day and inhaling smoke prior to entering the sweat lodge screwed up my breathing. After one round I had to leave but I am sure I will do this again and be able to go start to finish.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 4: Radiance</span><br />I slept in today and spent some time hanging out and wandering around. After lunch and hanging out with our new friends, Mr. Wolfe presented a summary of material covered and some new discussions took place. Again all related to paying attention to what you put into your body to stay well. The night culminated with hours of Kirtan Music, dancing and socializing. Everyone participated and Miguel showed amazing stamina playing music and singing for as long as he did. It was well appreciated.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 5: Integration</span><br />A light breakfast and lots of socializing started the day. There was a parting presentation by Mr. Wolfe which was followed by lots of hugs, picture taking, and sharing of thoughts to take home. On the way home we went out to Warren Dunes with Bernd and Michelle and climbed up to get a good view of Chicago.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So what food do I remember most?:</span><br /><br />- A terrific Avocado/Kombucha Salad dressing<br />- Raw baklava that was incredible<br />- The raw pies<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Special thanks to:</span><br /><ul> <li>Everyone that worked in the kitchen especially David</li> <li>Dorothea</li> <li>Bernd & Michelle</li> <li>Super Goji Girl</li> <li>Amy and Miguel</li> <li>Deej Leggitt</li> <li>Kerrie Dancing Butterfly</li> <li>Singing Man</li> <li>Loronna Barnes</li> <li>and last but not least, of course, David Wolfe </li> </ul>for making this the best retreat ever.<br /><br />I did take Davids advice and start a "chaos" garden by just throwing fruit and vegetable seeds randomly in my garden.<br />It looks and tastes fabulous.I will be adding rock dust for mineralization next year.<br /><br />I know that others that where there may disagree with my summary or feel I unfairly left something out.<br />Please feel free to add comments and fill in the blanks for me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Marta was there and wrote about it here:</span><br />http://rawvolta.wordpress.com/<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ronora Lodge:</span><br />http://www.ronoralodge.com/<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resources:</span><br />http://www.journeysforthesoul.com/<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Wolfe:</span><br />http://thebestdayever.com/<br />http://www.rawfood.com/<br /><br /><br />In the interest of disclosure, this is not meant to be an advertisement.<br />I am not an employee of any of the people, companies, or organizations mentioned above.<br />I am, through my web sites, an online affiliate of rawfood.com.MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674521981989235091.post-88220957492329961752007-06-13T06:13:00.000-07:002007-06-13T06:14:27.408-07:00In the beginning...Every journey starts wih the first step.<br />Here is my first step.<br />What remains to be seen is how the journey progresses.....MagusNethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03184062584461758141noreply@blogger.com0