Password Recovery on the Cisco ASA Security Appliance

In this article, I'll explain how to perform a password "reset" on your Cisco ASA security appliance. The more commonly used term for this procedure is "password recovery" which is left over from the days when you could actually view passwords in configuration files in plain text. Today, such passwords are encrypted and not actually recoverable. Instead, you will gain access to the appliance via the console port and reset the password (s) to known values.

This procedure requires physical access to the device. You will power-cycle your appliance by unplugging it at the power strip and plugging it back in. You will then interrupt the boot process and change the configuration register value to prevent the appliance from reading its stored configuration at boot. Since the device ignores its saved configuration on boot, you are able to access its configuration modes without passwords. Once you're in configuration mode, you will load the saved configuration from flash memory, change the passwords to a known value, change the configuration register value to tell the device to load its saved configuration on boot, and reload the device.

Caution: As with all configuration procedures, these procedures should be tested in a laboratory environment prior to use in a production environment to ensure suitability for your situation.

The following steps were designed using a Cisco ASA 5505 Security Appliance. They are not suitable for a Cisco PIX Firewall appliance.

1. Power-cycle your security appliance by removing and re-inserting the power plug at the power strip.

2. When prompted, press Esc to interrupt the boot process and enter ROM Monitor mode. You should immediately see a rommon prompt (rommon # 0>).

3. At the rommon prompt, enter the confreg command to view the current configuration register setting: rommon # 0> confreg

4. The current configuration register should be the default of 0x01 (it will actually display as 0x00000001). The security appliance will ask if you want to make changes to the configuration register. Answer no when prompted.

5. You must change the configuration register to 0x41, which tells the appliance to ignore its saved (startup) configuration upon boot: rommon # 1> confreg 0x41

6. Reset the appliance with the boot command: rommon # 2> boot

7. Notice that the security appliance ignores its startup configuration during the boot process. When it finishes booting, you should see a generic User Mode prompt: ciscoasa>

8. Enter the enable command to enter Privileged Mode. When the appliance prompts you for a password, simply press (at this point, the password is blank): ciscoasa> enable Password: ciscoasa #

9. Copy the startup configuration file into the running configuration with the following command: ciscoasa # copy startup-config running-config Destination filename [running-config]?

10. The previously saved configuration is now the active configuration, but since the security appliance is already in Privileged Mode, privileged access is not disabled. Next, in configuration mode, enter the following command to change the Privileged Mode password to a known value (in this case, we'll use the password system): asa # conf t asa (config) #enable password system

11. While still in Configuration Mode, reset the configuration register to the default of 0x01 to force the security appliance to read its startup configuration on boot: asa (config) # config-register 0x01

12. Use the following commands to view the configuration register setting: asa (config) #exit asa # show version

13. At bottom of the output of the show version command, you should see the following statement: Configuration register is 0x41 (will be 0x1 at next reload)

14. Save the current configuration with the copy run start command to make the above changes persistent: asa # copy run start Source filename [running-config]

15. Reload the security appliance: asa # reload System config has been modified. Save? [Y] es / [N] o: yes

Cryptochecksum: e87f1433 54896e6b 4e21d072 d71a9cbf

2149 bytes copied in 1.480 secs (2149 bytes / sec) Proceed with reload? [confirm]

When your security appliance updates, you should be able to use your newly reset password to enter privileged mode.

Copyright (c) 2007 Don R. Crawley

Tips to Help You Succeed With Mobile Marketing!

Mobile marketing is one of the latest and greatest methods of advertising for business of many kinds. If it is done correctly, it can really increase the traffic to a website or number of customers to a store. Use the following tips to help you integrate mobile marketing into your marketing plan.

When undertaking a mobile marketing campaign keep in mind that most people look for businesses in their area. Include keywords in your campaign that lets a potential customer know your local business location and then target the largest audience possible.

Make sure that your mobile marketing efforts work across all of the potential platforms your customers will use. Your messages should come across evenly well on iPhones, Blackberries, and Android devices. Remember that it is easier to simplify the messages you send than to custom-fit messages to different platforms. The KISS principle is in full effect in mobile marketing.

Try not to use large graphics in mobile marketing campaigns so your readers do not have to waste a ton of bandwidth downloading your text or email. Instead, use your copy to give an effective sales pitch which is targeted towards the demographic of the recipient. This will get you more conversions than a graphic any day!

There are many free online QR code generators who also give you access to tracking statistics, so use one of them for your mobile campaign. This will allow you to keep track of which campaigns work the best and where the QR code should be on the product to get the most use.

Mobile device users are typically on-the-go, so your marketing message must be short and to the point. Tell them exactly why they need you and let them do the clicking to find out more information about your product or service. The more information you provide, the less likely they are to read it.

Always be upfront about the identity of your company in your mobile marketing efforts. Few customers appreciate being contacted anonymously. Phone users will heavily discount the potential appeal of a deal or sale when it comes from an unknown source. Your company name should be the first thing you communicate in your mobile messages.

You should research the habits of the customers you reach through mobile marketing and tailor your communications and special offers to their needs. Treat them as a special subset of your customer base and learn all that you can about their buying habits. The offers you send out to cell phones should have a special appeal to your mobile customers.

Developing a mobile app that contains tons of useful information related to your niche is an excellent mobile marketing strategy. Apps that provide helpful information and tips are very popular. You can include links to your related products and services inside the app in order to generate more sales, or profit directly from selling the app itself.

Brevity should always be the keystone of your mobile marketing communications. Although it looks like people use their smart phones all the time that does not mean they want to spend their time reading long advertisements. Make mobile messages as short and to-the-point as you possibly can.

All of your mobile marketing messages should include a strong call to action. The call to action is an imperative statement designed to goad your customers into doing something. Remember that this does not have to be a demand for an immediate purchase. Even advising customers to follow a link will serve as an effective call.

Take the tips that you have learned through this article and apply them to your marketing plan. Your business is sure to benefit from the time and the energy that you put into your mobile marketing campaign. Keep with your plan and you are sure to see the results you seek.

Business Analytics and Its Applications

Business Analytics refers to the technologies, skills and also practices for the continuous investigation and also exploration of the past business performances.

This process helps in gaining a lot of insights and also drives in the business planning stage. Understanding the performance of the business and also developing the latest insights also form a very integral part of the process of Business analytics.

It is mostly based on various statistical methods and also data. The process of business analytics is very popular for making extensive and proper use of the statistical analysis that includes predictive modeling and also explanatory modeling.

Analytics can be used very effectively as input for the various human decisions or also the fully automated decisions. Business intelligence includes OLAP (Online analytical processing), querying and also reporting. This is a very handy process and this means that there are numerous applications of this process that can never be ignored. It uses very consistent measures of metrics and this means that the process altogether becomes ever easier. The new insights that can be developed are of very good use as well. The user can learn a new method or process on a daily basis whenever Business Analytics is being implemented.

The number of application of business analytics can never be undermined. Business Analytics is used by banks such as Capital One who subsequently make use of data analysis. It is used for differentiating among the customers and this differentiation is done on the basis of credit, usage and the remaining characteristics as well. It helps in matching the characteristics of the customer with the various product offerings. Analytics help the business in concentrating and working on the fundamental objectives. This helps in improvement of the working of the business. These applications are responsible for the growth in the usage of Business Analytics.

There are various types of analytics. These analytics are decisive analytics, descriptive analytics, predictive analytics and also prescriptive analytics. These types help in supporting the human decisions, gaining insights, predictive modeling and also recommend decisions by using the simulation and optimization processed. The main challenge of Business Analytics is that it broadly depends on the volume of data that is in question. Thus the availability of data is extremely important for the overall process to be successfully executed and also completed. It also helps in determining the types of subsets that will be required. It is one of the important things to remember.

Samsung Galaxy Specs

In my opinion these are the main components of the Samsung galaxy tablet that set it apart from other tablets. It has a great deal of features all packed into one tablet. Many times with other brands you get maybe a few good features and then the rest is sub par. With Samsung it's always all the best stuffed into a tiny device. I went through and tried to give a basic overview of what each feature actually means or what relevance it has to user application.

The most exciting Samsung galaxy specs

Android 2.2 operating system - Updated with many new user features including support for Microsoft exchange, New on screen camera buttons, Support for Bluetooth voice dialing and integration with cars. Also with support for flash 10.1. (Flash is everywhere). Android is a great OS and continues to grow and evolve everyday.

1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor - Samsung's ARM cortex a8 based processor that delivers High processing speeds coupled with low power consumption and chip price.

Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (802.11b / g / n) - can clock in at speeds of up to 160mbps. 7x faster than the previous 802.11g. Can even be used as a 3G to wifi hot spot.

Bluetooth 3.0 - The newest generation of Bluetooth technology. Get faster speeds with less power consumption. Backwards compatible with older versions of Bluetooth as well.

Swype keyboard technology - Allows you to slide your finger across the screen over keys and then estimates what word you were typing, making the whole typing experience on a tablet easier.

MicroSD memory expansion slot - With support for up to 32GB micro sd cards.

Here I have listed some more great features that the galaxy tablet has to offer. There are many features which some may consider to be standard for any tablet in today's market. Most of the features below fall under this category, although they are still some of the best available on a tablet today.

Other Great Samsung galaxy specs

7-inch multi-touch Screen - with 1024 x 600-pixel resolution

3 megapixel Rear facing Camera and 1.3 megapixel front facing camera - Rear facing camera for capturing images and videos. Front facing camera for video chat.

Supports multiple Media formats - including mp3, aac, DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, and H.264 video files.

· Integrated GPS

Autopilot Income Plan - The Secrets to Automated Money

In the event you do a search on Google for "autopilot income", you will get several hundred thousand sites in return. That says two things - you will find a great deal of people who believe they've the secret to making money easily and you will find a lot of people who want to earn money automatically. There may generally be individuals who wish to make cash without performing any kind of work, and simply because of that, there will probably generally be people who wish to exploit such individuals. Unsurprisingly, many, if not most, of the websites that turn up in searches for "autopilot income" are just scams. If you send them cash for whatever they're promoting, you'll probably get information in regards to a moneymaking process that does not work, or you'll just get ripped off.

It is, in a way, feasible to make cash on autopilot. That does not aggravate that you are able to earn money without doing any work; it simply means that it is possible to make money making use of a process that does not need you to concentrate on it around the clock. Such a system is absolutely possible.

So, how do you earn money 24/7 with out working your self to the bone?

The secret is two things - affiliate marketing and developing an effective email list. Affiliate marketing is really a program where somebody gets paid to advertise or market a product created by someone else. A retailer of a product enlists salesmen, or affiliates, to advertise their merchandise in exchange for a portion of the sales price for every sale. For each individual the associate persuades to buy the merchandise, they get a percentage. Affiliate marketing is popular on the Web, and some big corporations, like Amazon and eBay, have affiliate marketing programs and thousands of affiliates selling for them.

How you automate the process of creating sales would be to develop a website to promote the products you need to advertise. You can simply talk about the product or service on the site and offer a link for people to purchase, but research has shown that most people do not just dash out and buy something. That's where the email list comes into play. The effective entrepreneurs go one step further and provide the visitors to their Web sites extra information about their product or service in return for the visitor's e-mail address. When the Web site owner has the visitor's e-mail address, they may mail the visitor a number of e-mail messages that tell more about the product in greater detail. Consistency is the key to results; the much more people know about something, the much more likely they're to purchase it.

And here's the beauty of this component - you can automate the subscriber list using something called an autoresponder. By registering with a business like Aweber or GetResponse, you can "load" e-mail messages into your account that are delivered to people no matter what time of day they subscribe. You are able to even program your autoresponder so that a number of messages are sent automatically over a period of a number of days or weeks.

By creating a number of different websites advertising various goods, all with autoresponder messages programmed in, it certainly is possible to generate cash 7 days a week, or, as the popular phrase says, "on autopilot."

Debt Management Help - Ease Your Financial Burden

A large number of debts can be incurred easily but paying them off is a difficult task to perform. Many people now days depend on loans for meeting their financial needs but paying them off on time is a hard task to comply with. This way one keeps accumulating various debts and later finds itself stuck in innumerable debts. If you are also stuck in this bad situation where you can not think of a feasible solution then in that situation debt management help allows you to sort your problems easily.

Debt management help aims at offering a financial solution to those seeking for an immediate relief from debt problems. To manage your debts effectively you can take help of debt consolidation, debt elimination, debt counseling and debt negotiation. These programs enable you to manage your debts effectively and get rid of them within short time.

Under debt consolidation your innumerable outstanding high interest and other debts are merged into a single loan that can be financed at lower rates of interest. This new loan has low monthly installments that can be paid back easily. Also you are saved from the pestering calls of lenders as you do not have to make payments to them.

In debt negotiation, your financial advisor or new lender can negotiate on your behalf to lower the interest rate or to pay off some amount. This can reduce your financial burden to great extent.

Debt elimination is a program in which you save the extra amount that you are paying on all debt installments; accumulate them to pay off the debt that carries higher rate of interest. This way you can easily close that debt account easily.

If you are seeking an expert help then you can take debt counseling. In debt counseling you can get tailor made solutions that are provided after considering your financial situation. Moreover, you can get some tips to avoid such debt problems in future.

How to Use an Xbox Gift Card

An Xbox 25 gift card is a great gift to give someone and to receive. Gift cards can be used to buy an Xbox Live membership and Microsoft Points for game download purchases. There are a couple ways to use an Xbox gift card on an account.

Gift cards fall under the category of prepaid codes. They come in the form of cards with a 25 character code on the back. They can be purchased from a retailer or received as a gift. Buying a gift card for yourself is a good idea so no credit card information is put onto the Xbox network for hackers to access.

Prepaid codes can be used to make purchases without a credit card. Prepaid codes can be redeemed on the Xbox console or on the computer. There are five types of prepaid codes that can purchase Xbox content.

Xbox gift cards are usually purchased through physical or online stores. They are added to the Microsoft account for future Xbox purchases. They are most often given as gifts, but are also paid for in cash in order to transmit money to an account.

An Xbox Live Gold membership is a type of prepaid code that is redeemed for a membership. These memberships can last for 12 to 24 months on average, depending on the type of card purchased either online or in store.

An Xbox Music Pass card can give the user unlimited access to all the music they love. Premium cards allow an ad-free listening experience on all devices. Users get access to millions of songs on the PC, tablet, Xbox, phone, and internet. Music can be downloaded for offline listening and users can create playlists that automatically sync across all devices.

Microsoft Points cards are the currency of Xbox. For example, spending 15 pounds on a Microsoft Points code will give the user 2100 points. These points can be used to purchase downloads, content, and games on the Xbox Live Marketplace. They never expire and will always be available on the account.

Xbox gift cards can be used toward Live Gold memberships, Live content like games and apps, and a Music Pass. There are also prepaid code cards available for specific items that can be found on the Xbox. This includes games, app content, Xbox music content, and Xbox live content.

All of these prepaid codes can be redeemed in the same way, but depending on the code the account will be affected differently. When redeeming an Xbox gift card, the denomination of the card goes directly into the Microsoft Account as local currency. If entering a 25 pound gift card, then 25 pounds will go into the Microsoft account when the card is redeemed.

To redeem, sign into Xbox Live using the account the prepaid code should go to. Press the Xbox Guide button on the middle of the controller. Go to Games and Apps and select Redeem Code. Enter the 25-character prepaid code and select Done. When prompted, click Yes to confirm the redemption.

Codes can also be redeemed on the computer to be applied to the Xbox Account immediately. Go to Xbox.com. Go to Redeem Code and sign in with the Microsoft account the card amount should go to. Enter the 25 character prepaid code and click Redeem Code.

To check the Microsoft account balance, go to the Microsoft account page and sign in using the Microsoft account email address and password associated with the account. After signing in, users are prompted to enter a code that will be received by email. This proves the identity of the user. From the Microsoft account homepage, click Payment Options to see the account balance.