I frequently get into heated casual debates over which is more valuable, a technical certification or a University degree. Based on the following article I guess I was wrong all along. It turns out that simply having a piece of paper, that appears to be from a valid institution, is good enough. From the article:

Worldwide, fake degrees are a billion dollar industry, even threatening government security, investigators say.

Last week, an undercover Star investigation exposed Peng Sun, a York University grad who forges university degrees from real Canadian universities for $4,000. Sun’s client list was not available, but the Star obtained a list of Canadians who bought fake degrees from an American diploma mill busted three years ago by the U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security.

Maybe it’s time that people change their interviewing techniques and perform proper background checks. So many hiring managers are blinded when they see a fancy degree that they don’t perform the necessary background checks.

All I can say is “HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!”

I hope that this makes people think twice before judging people based on their “Academic Paperwork”.

Hi All,

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I’m growing a Moustache (a big old handlebar jobby). That’s right I’m bringing the Mo back because I’m passionate about tackling men’s health issues and being proactive in the fight against prostate cancer.

To donate to my Mo you can either:

Click this link https://www.movember.com/ca/donate/donate-details.php?action=sponsorlink&rego=1929691&country=ca and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account.

Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

The money raised by Movember is donated directly to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada who will use the funds to create awareness and fund research across the country into prevention, detection and treatment, with a goal to ending the threat of prostate cancer.

Did you know:

• Every year around 24,700 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and about 4,300 die of the disease, making it the number one cancer threat to Canadian men.
• 1 in 7 men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime.
• All men over the age of 40 are potentially at risk and should talk to their doctor about the disease and early detection. Prostate cancer is 95% curable if detected and treated early.

Thanks for your support,

Andrew Hay

Let’s just say that I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I read Richard Bejtlich’s 5 star review of the OSSEC Host-Based Intrusion Detection Guide (review is here). Richard is known to be quite vocal when he doesn’t like a particular book and it sounded like he had a very hard time finding things wrong with our book.

I especially like his comment on his blog about how addictive the OSSEC WUI is. He’s right. I too hit refresh constantly to see what new logs have arrived 🙂

I know that lots of people base the purchase of their next book based on Richard’s reviews and Daniel, Rory, and I do appreciate the honest and positive review. Thanks Richard, you’ve made my week!