Difference between Nuget and Chocolatey

NuGet is designed to allow you to easily add code libraries to your project. Things like JSON.NET, Entity Framework, etc.

Chocolatey is actually built on top of the NuGet package system, but it is designed to fill a different need. Chocolatey wraps up applications and other executables and makes it easy to install them on your computer. For example, tools like Git and Notepad++, etc. can be easily installed with a command like: cinst git.

To know more about chocolate and how to install it please refer my earlier blog post on W3LC : http://www.w3lc.com/2017/11/what-is-chocolatey-and-how-to-install.html

https://chocolatey.org/packages has a list of all the applications that can be installed.

If you have an open source project which is a library that is to be used in other developers' projects, then you should submit it to NuGet.

If it is an application that users would normally install, then create a Chocolatey package that users can easily install and update from the command line.

Details of different Package manager tools and where does Chocolate fits in:

OneGet has been renamed to Package management. It's core provides you with discovery and installation/uninstallation of various packages. OneGet is often referred to as a "package manager manager".

OneGet is a part of WMF 5 installation. Think of this as the "central concept" in the big picture. Now let's talk about packages.

Packages are fetched through package providers. E.g. PowerShellGet is one package provider for OneGet. Powershell gallery is a package source of of PowershellGet (PSGet). A provider can have multiple sources where it can search for it's packages.

E.g for the nuget-package provider; you can easily add the sources to the public nuget gallery and register your own e.g. myget source so it can be used when searching for packages.

Chocolatey is just another example of a package provider. Earlier it had to be installed and was a seperate module with it's own logic. The new Chocolatey provider conforms to the new framework of installing / managing packages.

So on a more conceptual level; a package provider itself contains information on how to install and search it's sources (sources can be registered/unregistered for each and every provider); whilst OneGet (Package management, package manager manager) works on the level above, managing package providers and interfacing this all for you.

OneGet glues it all together; while the providers itself knows how to handle packages based on it's registered sources.

Hope this explains it on the conceptual level.

See also this nice blogpost here explaining a few things more in detail:https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/packagemanagement/2015/05/05/10-things-about-oneget-that-are-completely-different-than-you-think/

If you want to play around with package providers and sources :

 Get-PackageProvider # -Shows package providers installed on your machine)
 Find-PackageProvider # -Find online package providers you can pull down and install)
 Get-PackageSource # -List all package sources, with it's provider name)
 Register-PackageSource # -Register new package source for a provider)

Some examples of Cyber Security Firms and what they do

This article is a part of my series 'Security is our duty and we shall deliver it'

Following are some examples of Cyber Security Firms and what they do:

IBM Security: Services include- security intelligence and analytics; identity and access management; application security; advanced fraud protection; data security and privacy; and infrastructure protection.

Symantec Software: World's largest security product vendor, largest antivirus (Norton) and a variety of backup and asset management systems manufacturer

Cisco - Products range from advanced malware protection; next generation firewalls; security management; cloud security; next generation prevention systems; VPN security clients; email security; policy and access; web security; network visibility and enforcement; and router security, to name a few.

BAE Systems - It operates through five segments: the electronic systems; the cyber and intelligence systems; intelligence and security systems; applied intelligence; and the platforms and services.

McAfee - One of the biggest antivirus and anti-malware provider in the world.

Palo Alto Networks - It works on Next-Generation Firewall, Advanced Endpoint Protection and Threat Intelligence Cloud. The company’s Next Generation Security Platform was built for breach prevention with threat information shared across a range of security functions that can operate over mobile networks.

Apart from these, there are hundreds of companies around the globe that manufacture security products or provide their services. We have relations with some of the companies fast emerging in these arena and some having good clientele and reputation in terms of Software security implementations. We are close to building one own Software Security product.



You can read and download the article from:
https://www.slideshare.net/toughjamy/security-is-our-duty-and-we-shall-deliver-it-white-paper

Read on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/security-our-duty-we-shall-deliver-mohd-anwar-jamal-faiz/

Threat hunting, mitigation and Vulnerability Management

This article is a part of my series 'Security is our duty and we shall deliver it'

Threat hunting is a very deep and strong method to deal with security issues in markets and solutions that need stringent regulations, policies and have risks involved. It is the process of proactively and iteratively searching through networks to detect and isolate advanced threats that evade existing security solutions. According to SANS institute, the threat hunters are actively searching for threats to prevent or minimize damage. The formal process of threat hunting should not be confused with an attempt to prevent adversaries from breaching the environment or for defenders to eliminate vulnerabilities in the network. 

We employ SIEM tools typically only provide indicators at relatively low semantic levels. There is therefore a need to develop SIEM tools that can provide threat indicators at higher semantic levels. As the industry itself is developing around it, we also have our feets wet in the process. We have our Chief Security consultant actively involved in all the three methods viz. Analytics-Driven, situational-Awareness Driven and Intelligence-Driven. As an accompalished engineer he is a master of monkey and fuzzy tests as well.

For bug logging and defect tracking we use home grown technologies as well as Atlassian tools like Jira. For the cyclical practice of identifying, classifying, remediating, and mitigating vulnerabilities, i.e Vulnerability management we have adept leaders to lead and guide teams in teams in using vulnerability scanners. We have successfully employed Coverity and various checkstyles and PMD level rules. 

We have a set of our own scripts and systems to analyze and investigate for known vulnerabilities such as open ports, insecure software configurations, and susceptibility to malware infections. Like stated above, we have masters of fuzzer techniques who can work with us 24x7. Unknown vulnerabilities, such as a zero-day, and complex threats are all under our hand. We have consultants worked with a variety of antivirus software and heuristic analysis mechanisms. You remember we said, we have smartest of security consultants!


You can read and download the article from:
https://www.slideshare.net/toughjamy/security-is-our-duty-and-we-shall-deliver-it-white-paper

Read on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/security-our-duty-we-shall-deliver-mohd-anwar-jamal-faiz/

Link Aadhaar and PAN card : Income Tax India New Rule demystified at W3LC.com

Now that it is official that you need to link your Aadhar and PAN card details, the obvious question is how to do it. This post will explain that. But before that i will like to explain some points.


The Honourable Supreme Court in its landmark judgement has upheld Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act as constitutionally valid which required quoting of the Aadhaar number in applying for PAN as well as for filing of income tax returns. The Income Tax India official website shows this message clearly as on 14/06/2017. CBDT has extended the due date of furnishing Statement of Financial Transactions for AY 2017-18 from 31st May 2017 to 30th June 2017. https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/

Method 1: Online Portal To link your Aadhaar with PAN:

* Go to the income tax e-filing website https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/
* Click on the tab ‘Link Aadhaar’ on the left-hand side of the website. (See above screenshot)
* This will automatically lead you to https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/e-Filing/Services/LinkAadhaarHome.html
* Fill your PAN and Aadhaar number
* Then enter your name exactly as mentioned in Aadhaar and then submit it.
* Enter captcha and click on 'Link Aadhaar'.
* After verification of details from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the linking will be confirmed.
* You will also get email at your registered email Id.
* In case, your linking was already done earlier, it will tell you that its already linked.


Method 2: SMS Method to Link you Aadhar and PAN card

For this you have to keep ready following information:
1. Your registered phone number with Adhar card
2. Your Aadhaar Number
3. Your PAN number

You need to send an SMS in a required format to given number by the government of India.

SMS format to link Aadhaar with PAN:
Send SMS to 567678 or 56161 from your registered mobile number in following format:
UIDPAN<12 aadhaar="" digit=""><10 digit="" pan="">

Example:
UIDPAN 123456789000 ABCDE1234M


Article on Hindustan Times
Guide on Business Standard Website
https://cleartax.in/s/how-to-link-aadhaar-to-pan
BankBazaar Notes

AMU Engineering cut off explained : Demystifying questions like Can I get admission in the Aligarh Muslim University BTech with a score of 72?

This article will explain you every bits of AMU Engineering cutoff and waiting lists.

To start with, a simple answer to what is the cutoff for the engineering entrance examination - Fluctuating!

Many of the young students often ask questions like: Can I get admission in the AMU BTech with a score of 72? My reply to all of them would be - You are just on margin and nothing can be predicted surely at this score!

Having said that, I congratulate them on the efforts they put in. They surely are among good students who have the mettle to get admitted to this prestigious university. To anyone with this high score, you now have 3 options:

1. Wait and watch for the results to come. I wish you all the best and once selected respond here with the good message.
2. Hold tight! You might also get included in Waiting lists. There might be 3 waiting lists in themselves. You can get admission if people drop off and do not take admissions.
3. Start focusing on more exams and preparations should never loose focus waiting on the results on one exams. Exams are a part of life, and not the life itself!

It should be understood that the cutoff shall be based on some of the influential factors which affect the same to a great extent. Various aspects are taken into consideration while announcing the AMUEEE 2017 Cutoff Marks. It varies highly with the difficulty level of question paper and other factors. Generally,  for moderate level of difficulty , it is around 70-75 for external students and around 60-65 for internal students.



The total number of seats are around 365 and number of seats in different trades are as follows:
Chemical Engineering - 30
Civil Engineering - 60
Computer engineering - 50
Electrical Engineering - 60
Electronics Engineering - 50
Mechanical engineering - 90
Petrochemical Engineering - 20
BArch - 20


The cutoff depends on how many well prepared candidates appeared for the exam that year, question paper and if you are internal or external. Some important factors that you can include in guessing the cutoff present year are listed as following:

• Total Number of students
• Availability of seats
• Toughness level of examination
• Lowest and average marks in the entrance examination
• Marking scheme
• Performance of the candidates
• Previous year cutoff trends

As per the official notifications:

AMU determines the minimum scores obtained by the candidates to be considered for admission to various engineering courses at the university. AMUEEE 2017 cutoff involves various important aspects. The vital aspects are given below.
For admission to various undergraduate engineering courses at AMU, the candidates have to either score the minimum required cutoff marks or above that.
AMU conducts AMUEEE 2017 and is the competent authority that decides AMUEEE 2017 cutoff marks.
AMUEEE cutoff 2017 is determined by various factors like candidates’ performance level, seat capacity of the respective courses, total number of test takers, and difficulty level of the paper and reservation policy.
Aspirants, who fail to secure the minimum marks required for admission to AMU through AMUEEE 2017, will not be considered eligible for admissions to B. Tech courses at the university.
On the basis of AMUEEE 2017 cutoff, AMU prepares AMUEEE 2017 merit list for the examinees.
As per their ranks in AMUEEE 2017 merit list, seats are allocated to candidates.

My three advises here:

1. Concentrate on your preparations and give your best shot. Don't prepare with a preset target score as it can deceive you into making a wrong decision at your test date. Think 95% plus!
2. Even if you don't get your favorite branch, you have a chance to change your branch in the beginning of your second year, provided you study well. I did that. You need to have very high scores in your first year results.
3. In case you get a waiting list, do not be disheartened. There is a good chance that it will get clear as many would cancel their admissions. 

I wish all the students a very best of luck in all the engineering entrance exams. You all are a gem and a treasure for the nation.

Jai Hind & Jai Ho!