This Week I Learned - Week #249

This Week I Learned -

Microsoft Web Application Firewall (WAF) is a feature of Azure Application Gateway (layer 7 load balancer) that protects web applications against common web exploits using OWASP core rule sets. Azure Security Center scans Azure resources for vulnerabilities and recommends mitigation steps for those issues.

* Where there is sufficient will and resources, any information system can be compromised.

* UIDAI is the Unique IDentification Authority of India and they run the Aadhaar project. Anyone can access the Aaadhaar services from anywhere so long as they can get themselves an Indian IP address. VPN based IP addresses are blacklisted. However, geo-blocking is a really weak, easily circumvented control that often does more harm than good - Is India's Aadhaar System Really "Hack-Proof"? Assessing a Publicly Observable Security Posture

About two thirds of all browser traffic is now encrypted

There's a lot more to HTTPS than simply redirecting all the traffic

* The JavaScript KeyboardEvent can be used to detect numerous keys including the Caps Lock on key.

* The Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET) is specifically designed to perform advanced attacks against the human element. The attacks built into the toolkit are designed to be targeted and focused attacks against a person or organization used during a penetration test. Kali Linux, an OS favored by penetration testers, has this tool installed by default

* The size of a developer community certainly counts; it contributes to a thriving open source environment, and makes it easier to find help on Stack Overflow.

Every religion is an insult to somebody

* If someone with leadership ambition can count on the recommendations of key, highly placed connections, visibility becomes credibility, and the chance to progress into leadership increases - HBR

If an applicant for an Indian passport has stayed at three different addresses during last one year, the police verification will be done at all the three addresses where the applicant has resided in the last one year.

* A double negative is a grammatical construction occurring when two forms of negation are used in the same sentence. Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more than one negative in a clause. In some languages, double negatives cancel one another and produce an affirmative; in other languages, doubled negatives intensify the negation.

* Most citizens who are not in the working age or are not illiterate, or are well qualified educationally will fall in the Non Emigration Check Required (Non-ECR) category. Indian citizens categorized as ECR, are required to get a clearance from the office of Protector of Emigrants, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs before leaving the country for employment purpose. Emigration clearance is required for employment in the following countries (18 in total): United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand, and Iraq.

* The unfinished books of Sir Terry Pratchett have been destroyed by a steamroller, following the late fantasy novelist’s wishes. Pratchett, famous for his colourful and satirical Discworld series, died in March 2015 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The author of over 70 novels, Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2007 - The Guardian

* UIDAI, the authority that issues Aadhaar, allows people to check online if their bank account has been linked to Aadhaar with its Bank Mapper website. It does not seem to work for all banks though. Moreover, if your Aadhaar is linked to multiple bank accounts, it returns the name of only one bank.

* Koduri Marakathamani Keeravaani, better known as M. M. Keeravani, is an Indian film music composer and playback singer, who works in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. He is also known by his aliases Marakathamani, Vedanarayana and M. M. Kreem.

Minmini (who shot to fame singing "Chinna Chinna Aasai" for the film Roja in 1992) lost her voice in 1993 on a stage show in London. She was unable to even speak for some years.

* Passports currently are issued in three colours. Government officers have a white passport, diplomats have issued red passports and all others are blue. Passport holders with ECR (Emigration Check Required) status would be issued a passport with orange passport jacket as per a new change.

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