ericlaw

Kilimanjaro – Trailhead to Forest Camp

Friday, June 30, 2023; Day 1 Ndarakwai provided the best night’s sleep of the trip yet, with the combination of the cool breeze through the hut pairing beautifully with the cozy blanket on the comfy bunk. After sleeping at 9p, I woke at 11:30p, already feeling rested. I laid awake comfortably for an hour orContinue reading “Kilimanjaro – Trailhead to Forest Camp”

Kilimanjaro – Meet the Team; To Ndarakwai Lodge

Thursday, June 29, 2023; Day 0 Another night of rough sleep, but I got two solid blocks from 10:30p-1a and 4a-7:45a. I took a quick shower before heading to our last breakfast at the hotel. There was no omelette chef or hot buffet today, instead we were seated with some of our trekmates at aContinue reading “Kilimanjaro – Meet the Team; To Ndarakwai Lodge”

Kilimanjaro – Mini Safari

Wednesday June 28, 2023; Day -1 I again spent long periods awake overnight, this time starting around 2am. When we got up somewhere around 8 in the morning, we had another nice breakfast on the hotel’s patio dining room, again with coffee, fruit, and a small custom omelet. After breakfast we met Nasibu, our friendlyContinue reading “Kilimanjaro – Mini Safari”

SmartScreen Application Reputation, with Pictures

Last Update: Sept 3, 2025 I’ve previously explained how Chromium-based browsers assign a “danger level” based on the type of the file, as determined from its extension. Depending on the Danger Level, the browser may warn the user before a file download begins in order to confirm that the user really wanted a potentially-dangerous file.Continue reading “SmartScreen Application Reputation, with Pictures”

Divorce – 18 Months In

I got separated in March 2020 and finally divorced in January 2022. It was a long time in coming, but it wasn’t awesome. In hindsight, I disassociated a bit, spreading the pain out over time rather than feeling it all at once. Immediately after our separation, I could easily distract myself for months by gettingContinue reading “Divorce – 18 Months In”

Kilimanjaro – Coffee Tour

I woke up at 8am after a rough night’s sleep, awake for at least an hour around 3:30am, full of worries and nostalgia. Eight seemed a bit too early so I reset my watch’s alarm for 8:15, but either I failed to do so correctly or I slept through it, waking abruptly at 9 whenContinue reading “Kilimanjaro – Coffee Tour”

Attack Techniques: QR Codes

As outlined in earlier posts in this series, attackers know that security software can detect their phishing lures and block users from even seeing the lure if it contains a known-phishing URL. For example, both Windows Live and Gmail block email that is believed to contain phishing links. If your enterprise uses Microsoft Defender forContinue reading “Attack Techniques: QR Codes”

Enforcing SmartScreen with Policy

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen provides protection against the most common forms of attack: phishing and malware. SmartScreen support is built-in to Microsoft Edge and the Windows 8+ shell. The SmartScreen web service also powers the Microsoft Defender Browser Protection extension for Chromium-derived browsers. While SmartScreen provides powerful controls to block attacks, the user remains in fullContinue reading “Enforcing SmartScreen with Policy”

Attack Techniques: SMS Gift Card Scams

Last week, I had the chance to fly to Redmond to meet my new teammates on the Protection team in Microsoft Defender. I also had the chance to catch up with a few old friends from the Edge team, one of whom I met for coffee on Friday morning. As we sat down with ourContinue reading “Attack Techniques: SMS Gift Card Scams”

Kilimanjaro – Getting There

My kids and I flew from Austin to Maryland on Friday, June 23rd, and spent a day getting them settled in with their grandparents as I finished collecting a few last-minute essentials for the adventure. My brother and I had a few last-minute conversations about gear (“How many rolls of TP should we bring? DoContinue reading “Kilimanjaro – Getting There”