I read this article in 2600 the hacker quarterly. I found it interesting and it gave some good tidbits of advice.
Why You Need a Grimoire
by Leviathan
No matter how long you have been hacking, surfing, or working in IT, and especially in these uncertain times when your activity can be sniffed, parsed, logged, and archived, you need a grimoire.
Dictionary.com defines a grimiore as "a manual of black magic (for invoking spirits and demons)." Those of us who have been pushing bits around for some time know that the things we routinely accomplish can sometimes appear to be black magic to the less technically adept among us. The sheer volume of information we have stuck in our craniums and bookmarks, and our ability to Google with precision, gives us an edge in finding and implementing all sorts of technology magic. This is all good.
But it's not perfect, you know. We forget things. A website that we KNOW contained the answer last week, is suddenly gone. The transient nature of that big beast we call the Internet means that all content is in flux. And by the way, are you tired of the many tech support sites, powered by ad after ad, where you have to register before they'll let you click on the answer to your question?
To paraphrase Dennis Hopper: "You, my friend, you need a grimoire."
To the uninitiated, it looks just like a plain, bound notebook. But to you, and to the minions who watch in awe as you use it, it is truly a book of spells. You have the answers, because everything of value you've come across in your technology dealings, you've recorded faithfully in your grimoire.
A grimoire is not pretty. It's not always well-organized. But the answers are there, because you put them there. It's your insurance policy, your journal, your database. In time you will come to know exactly where everything is.
Best of all, it's private. No amount of ISP chicanery, keystroke logging, or site monitoring will ever create another copy of your grimoire. It will never slip a cookie or prompt you to install another damned plug-in.
That, ummm, marginal URL that you really don't want in your bookmarks? Into the grimoire it goes. Default (factory) passwords? Never know when you'll need those. Write 'em down.
That UNIX command with the mile-long unreadable man(1) page? Write down exactly how you use the command in real life, using only the options that are most useful to you. That unsupported hack that made your video card come alive... what happens if you have you have to reload the OS? Catalog it with care.
Account names and passwords: be careful here. Most of us have a handfull of good, strong passwords we use all the time. Write down only the first two or three characters, and fill in the rest with random letters. Same with user IDs. No unintended reader will ever determine your complete password from w9xxxxxxxx. But knowing the starting letters will allow you to remember it.
Now this part should be obvious: my grimoire goes everywhere I go, no exceptions. It's always available to me regardless of where I am or what other resources there are.
If you accumulate as much information as I have (my grimoire is about 12 years old, with new entries written in the margins now), you and your book will become the stuff of legends. When I walk into a meeting and put it down on the table, I inevitably get the question, along with a stare of admiration: "Is that the book?" I smile in reply.
And if, saints forbid, you should ever be in an embaressing legal situation and you have to get rid of its evidence quickly, tear out the offending pages, shed a few tears, then flick your Bic. Let's see you clean up a hard drive that cleanly. Privacy, my friends; it is priceless. If your dealing are not quite that dramatic, your grimiore is a good reference at review time or when preparing your resume.
So spend a few wise dollars and obtain a good quality, bound notebook with lined archive paper, and start filling it with your accumulated IT wisdom. You and your grimoire will make history.
Why you need a Grimoire
- CommonStray
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Re: Why you need a Grimoire
I have 3, I've been using since 03, each one fits a different purpose.
- bad_brain
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Re: Why you need a Grimoire
I use my good old Palm PDA for that..a really old one without any form of wireless abilities..
Re: Why you need a Grimoire
memory sticks, now 8gb SDHC micros.
I do have portable HDs but these are still for videos and music. My structure of handling information puts documents on to memory sticks, music and vids on portable (now that I have a HDMI port on my 42" TV, I can stream videos and music via cable on the laptop), and of course, just the OS on the main HD.
I agree - technical stuff cannot all be memorized, the smart people know where to find the exact data when they need it. You need more than just 'understanding' that the technology exists, you need to be able to access it when needed.
Data can be removed from the internet, while you could chase it with google cache or waybackmachine - it is always best to archive the data when you find it. Suck-o has its own archive in the 'backroom', as well as my "DNR's Suggested Reading".
The memory sticks contain mostly reading material - stuff that was later removed from the internet for safety or legal liabilities. I do save tools, mostly for dissectionection - as tools will either be outdated due to patches in OS/apps, or updated. I used to carry tools, but then many times when you try to attach your SD/USB to a machine - malware tools will be found and flagged, even removed without your permission - by the typical machine/network security setups these days. If you have to carry tools, have them encrypted/zipped on the disk to avoid detection.
I figure someday I will compile all the docs and burn to CD.
DNR
I do have portable HDs but these are still for videos and music. My structure of handling information puts documents on to memory sticks, music and vids on portable (now that I have a HDMI port on my 42" TV, I can stream videos and music via cable on the laptop), and of course, just the OS on the main HD.
I agree - technical stuff cannot all be memorized, the smart people know where to find the exact data when they need it. You need more than just 'understanding' that the technology exists, you need to be able to access it when needed.
Data can be removed from the internet, while you could chase it with google cache or waybackmachine - it is always best to archive the data when you find it. Suck-o has its own archive in the 'backroom', as well as my "DNR's Suggested Reading".
The memory sticks contain mostly reading material - stuff that was later removed from the internet for safety or legal liabilities. I do save tools, mostly for dissectionection - as tools will either be outdated due to patches in OS/apps, or updated. I used to carry tools, but then many times when you try to attach your SD/USB to a machine - malware tools will be found and flagged, even removed without your permission - by the typical machine/network security setups these days. If you have to carry tools, have them encrypted/zipped on the disk to avoid detection.
I figure someday I will compile all the docs and burn to CD.
DNR
-
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in Darkness, and Light dwells with him.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in Darkness, and Light dwells with him.
Re: Why you need a Grimoire
lycos, did you have to type all that or did you copy and paste somehow? thats a lot of typing, dude.
Re: Why you need a Grimoire
I typed it up exactly how it appeared in the publication. Personally i keep a leather bound journal made in Florence Italy with all of my information. Its decent sized durable and i keep all the information that i think i will need in it.
Re: Why you need a Grimoire
I've started to make a grimoire a few times before but I always get the sudden fear that I'll put in years in it and, knowing myself, I'll probably lose it somewhere and never find it again - and all that effort is lost.
Although I LOVE the idea of having a little secret notebook of black wizardry, that fear will always chase me particularly because I tend to lose most of my notebooks somewhere :S
Now I try to memorize most of the important stuff, I store a lot of the docs, programs, music, videos on my external HDD and little, important docs, scripts etc. I like to keep on my accounts on online file hosting/sharing sites so that I have access to them from every computer I use. Of course I keep in mind the possibility of keyloggers so I don't store any sensitive data there.
As for my passwords they're writen down on a plain paper and are right next to me. Anyone that would use my computer would spot it. Of course I've written the passwords down somewhat like suggested in the topic.
Although I LOVE the idea of having a little secret notebook of black wizardry, that fear will always chase me particularly because I tend to lose most of my notebooks somewhere :S
Now I try to memorize most of the important stuff, I store a lot of the docs, programs, music, videos on my external HDD and little, important docs, scripts etc. I like to keep on my accounts on online file hosting/sharing sites so that I have access to them from every computer I use. Of course I keep in mind the possibility of keyloggers so I don't store any sensitive data there.
As for my passwords they're writen down on a plain paper and are right next to me. Anyone that would use my computer would spot it. Of course I've written the passwords down somewhat like suggested in the topic.
Re: Why you need a Grimoire
I found that with more technical information I learned, I learned to catalog the data.
Not all information can be accurately memorized, and with the changing technology of computers and networks - it was really the idea or principal behind the idea that mattered.
A lot of the old paper text that I printed out back in the early 1990's are gone. They would have been outdated anyways. But I gained a lot from them, I learned the ideas or tactics as they were zeroday then. Some papers and ideas are fleeting, they are meant to be understood and you move on.
All the stuff I know today are built on ideas, tactics, theories, and facts - a path no one can duplicate - even if I want to.
Remember, it is not He who has the biggest library, but what he did with the information contained.
DNR
Not all information can be accurately memorized, and with the changing technology of computers and networks - it was really the idea or principal behind the idea that mattered.
A lot of the old paper text that I printed out back in the early 1990's are gone. They would have been outdated anyways. But I gained a lot from them, I learned the ideas or tactics as they were zeroday then. Some papers and ideas are fleeting, they are meant to be understood and you move on.
All the stuff I know today are built on ideas, tactics, theories, and facts - a path no one can duplicate - even if I want to.
Remember, it is not He who has the biggest library, but what he did with the information contained.
DNR
-
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in Darkness, and Light dwells with him.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in Darkness, and Light dwells with him.