Search Results

Search found 69 results on 3 pages for 'shady n janzeir'.

Page 3/3 | < Previous Page | 1 2 3 

  • tools to check password security

    - by tombull89
    Hello again. I'm after a tool to test how long a password could stand up to a hacking/cracking technique such as brute force as two passwords that are critical to a work system is one word that is in the dictionary, and another is a word in the dictionary with a capital letter and a number instead of a letter. I'd prefer it to be offline and free that you can run on a computer to see how long the password will hold out. Maybe even at the windows login prompt but I realise such programmes may be shady and erring on the side of illegal. Anybody have any suggestions?

    Read the article

  • Why are my Google searches redirected?

    - by Please Help
    This machine was infected with various malware. I have scanned the system with Malwarebytes. It found and removed some 600 or so infected files. Now the machine seems to be running well with only one exception. Some Google search results are being redirected to some shady search engines. If I were to copy the url from the Google Search results and paste it in the address bar it would go to the correct site but if I click the link I will be redirected somewhere else. Here is my log file from HijackThis: http://pastebin.com/ZE3wiCrk

    Read the article

  • Windows 7 system CPU bogged by windows services, no explanation

    - by Alex
    I'm looking at a laptop for a colleague which is running terribly slow. A quick look showed that the CPU was 100% used by 2-3 SVCHost processes, which off course doesn't tell much since those are just 'cover' processes with services running underneath them. So I fired up process explorer in hopes of finding a shady rogue service which was bogging the system, but to my suprise I found genuine MS Windows processes (or at least damn-good disguised ones) are bogging down the system: dnscache (DNS Client) IKEEXT (IKE and AuthIP IPSec Keyring modules) iphlpsvc (IP Helper) Seen separately, these processes might seem odd to be using a lot of CPU, but taking a step back one can conclude that all three services are quite closely related to networking. I've tried running: netsh int ip reset log.txt which has helped me save bizarre network-related problems in the past, but this didn't help Off course I though about a virus, but both MS Security Essentials as well as malwarebytes (let both run a full scan).

    Read the article

  • Using XML in a Flex Website to Improve SEO

    - by Laxmidi
    Hi, I've got a Flex 3 site called www.brainpinata.com that's a trivia game. Basically, everything in the site is pulled from a database-- the questions, choices, and answers. So, unfortunately, Google doesn't index my content. So, I'm trying to think of ways to improve the situation: A) If I took my database data and put it in an XML file which was in the website's root directory, would this work? Would it violate any Google policy? (The info would be the same as in the db-- so nothing shady.) Would I have to "wire" the XML into my site or would it be enough to just have the XML sitting in the root directory? B) Another idea is to use the noscript tag and load the XML content there. As I understand it Google indexes content that people who have Javascript turned off would see. I know Flex/Actionscript 3, and unfortunately, I don't know how to load XML content with HTML. Does anyone know of an example where a Flex site uses XML for the noscript content? Thank you. -Laxmidi

    Read the article

  • What is Mark Shuttleworth's "Easter eggs" blog a reference to? [closed]

    - by fluteflute
    I saw this blog post today, and I was wondering if there's some meaning within the Ubuntu community that I've missed? (I know what an easter egg is in a computer context.) One of our ducks has started dropping eggs in random locations in the garden. I don’t know which duck, but I assume it’s one of the new females we took in from the SPCA, who hasn’t figured out “nesting” yet. I do love ‘em but they’re not African Grey’s in the IQ department. Anyhow, I think I finally understand why people hide eggs in the garden at Easter. Because ducks used to do it for them! I suppose, for millennia, this has been the season to go hunting for eggs. Now we just substitute chocolate ones instead. For the moment, I’ve kept them in a cool shady spot while I keep an eye out for an actual nest. If a polecat doesn’t find them first, I may be able to slip them onto the nest in time for them to get hatched along with some cousins.

    Read the article

  • Newbie tips, please [closed]

    - by eXeP
    So, I just got a new computer and I want to put Ubuntu on my old laptop. I just need few tips before installing it. 1.Programs, where to download, how to download, what is the "ending" (windows has .exe) 2. How much is command line involved? And where to get the most usual commands? 3.Few programs you recommend (graphics editing, IDE, video player, web browser) 4. Do I have to download drivers when installing new OS? I plan on getting fully rid of Windows. I have no idea of the name of my graphics card, so how do I can get to know what it is if I have to download drivers? (I don't know the name because it's not on the original box, or anywhere on the internet, believe me) 5. When installing new OS does it destroy everything else on the hard drive? 6. Anti-virus, do I need one? I'm not super paranoid, and I don't visit "shady" sites. Please note that I have never used linux, or any other OS than Windows and sorry for my bad english. If this is the wrong place to post this, then please remove this. Thank you.

    Read the article

  • Can I improve my AdWords quality scores with better landing pages?

    - by Eric
    I noticed that I have some keywords in my AdWords that are totally applicable to my site but the quality score of the keyword is 4 or 5. I'd like to get it up higher by creating custom versions of my site's home page (landing page) targeted specifically for people searching on those keywords. So for example, if we pretend my site sells pet food, my current home page has the phrase "dog food." I have a specific AdWords campaign for people searching on cat food (with cat food-specific ads). I'm thinking about changing the URL on those ads to something like http://mysite.com/cat.html, so a different home page comes up with the phrase "cat food." My thinking is that will help Google see that this new landing page is appropriate for the keywords and will raise my quality score for the "cat food" keywords. (Note that none of what I'm doing is shady or misleading; nobody would disagree that all of the keywords and ads I've created are perfect and appropriate for what my site offers.) Question: is what I describe the correct way to raise poor quality scores on keywords, and will it help?

    Read the article

  • What are some internet trends that you've noticed over the past ~10 years? [closed]

    - by Michael
    I'll give an example of one that I've noticed: the number of web sites that ask for your email address (GOOG ID, YAHOO! ID, etc.) has skyrocketed. I can come up with no legitimate reason for this other than (1) password reset [other ways to do this], or (2) to remind you that you have an account there, based upon the time of your last visit. Why does a web site need to know your email address (Google ID, etc.) if all you want to do is... download a file (no legit reason whatsoever) play a game (no legit reason whatsoever) take an IQ test or search a database (no legit reason whatsoever) watch a video or view a picture (no legit reason whatsoever) read a forum (no legit reason whatsoever) post on a forum (mildly legit reason: password reset) newsletter (only difference between a newsletter and a blog is that you're more likely to forget about the web site than you are to forget about your email address -- the majority of web sites do not send out newsletters, however, so this can't be the justification) post twitter messages or other instant messaging (mildly legit reason: password reset) buy something (mildly legit reasons: password reset + giving you a copy of a receipt that they can't delete, as receipts stored on their server can be deleted) On the other hand, I can think of plenty of very shady reasons for asking for this information: so the NSA, CIA, FBI, etc. can very easily track what you do by reading your email or asking GOOG, etc. what sites you used your GOOG ID at to use the password that you provide for your account in order to get into your email account (most people use the same password for all of their accounts), find all of your other accounts in your inbox, and then get into all of those accounts sell your email address to spammers These reasons, I believe, are why you are constantly asked to provide your email address. I can come up with no other explanations whatsoever. Question 1: Can anyone think of any legitimate or illegitimate reasons for asking for someone's email address? Question 2: What are some other interesting internet trends of the past ~10 years?

    Read the article

  • Installing Windows from Ubuntu while booting only from the hard drive

    - by WindowsEscapist
    My problem is unrelated to this workaround (the question) here, but the end result is that I cannot change boot order (or use a boot menu) on my laptop. It is currently running Ubuntu 12.04 with a dual-boot to Fedora if anything goes catastrophically wrong with Ubuntu (read "if I mess it up"). I would really like to install Windows 7 (but XP would be fine) on an empty FAT32 partition I have already made because of issues with WINE-emulated programs running more slowly than under Windows. The problem is, I can only boot from my hard drive. I can boot from other devices by removing the hard drive, but this is irrelevant because SATA is non-hotpluggable (I can't plug it back in to install). Is there any way I could boot up a Windows installer CD (or other CDs)? (I know how to keep my Linux distros.) I have both the .iso's and the physical CDs (or can obtain them). This may be unneeded, but just as a disclaimer this is completely legal. The computer belongs to me, I have admin privs, etc. I'm not doing anything shady!

    Read the article

  • do people value information or aesthetic value of websites ? [closed]

    - by fwfwfw
    I'm thinking, why does the web have to be so colorful. meaning, all the information is buried deep beneath layers of flash, javascripts, html and images. Sure, a good positioning of these media files, create an aesthetic value but how important is it to the user ? moreover, aren't people looking for information after all ? why can't the internet be a uniform looking data warehouse ? now we've gotta digg through all the aesthetic junk, using shady web scraping techniques, unless RSS or API is provided. why can't we settle for just a dull grey button and framesets for navigation ? why can't all sites have navigation frame on the left and top ? why can't all sites put their damn data always in normalized table tag ?

    Read the article

  • Paying by Cash

    - by David Dorf
    I'll grant you paying by cash in the context of stores isn't particularly interesting, but in my quest to try new payment methods I decided to pay by cash at an online store. Using a credit card means I have to hoist myself off the couch, find the card, and enter all those digits. Google Checkout certainly makes that task easier by storing my credit card information, but what happens to all those people that don't have a credit card? What about the ones that are afraid to use credit cards over the internet. There are three main options for cash payment, not all of which are accepted by every merchant. The most popular is PayPal. The issue I have with them is that returns and disputes have to be handled with PayPal, not the merchant. I once used PayPal at a shady online store and lost my money. Yeah, my bad but they wouldn't help me at all. PayPal was purchased by eBay in 2002. BillMeLater is best for larger purchases, because at checkout they actually run a credit check to make sure you're credit worthy. Assuming you are, they pay the merchant on your behalf and mail you a bill, which you better pay quickly or interest will start to accrue. That's nice for the merchant because they get paid right away, and I presume there's no charge-backs. BillMeLater was purchased by eBay in 2008. Last night I tried eBillMe for the first time. After checkout, they send you a bill via email and expect you to pay either via online banking (they provide the instructions to set everything up) or walk-in locations across the US (typically banks). The process was quick and easy. The merchant doesn't ship the product until the bill is paid, so there's a day or two delay. For the merchant there are no charge-backs, and the fees are less than credit cards. For the shopper, they provide buyer protection similar to that offered by credit cards, and 1% cashback on purchases. Once the online bill-pay is setup, its easy to reuse in the future. Seems like a win-win for merchants and shoppers.

    Read the article

  • I receive email not addressed to me - virus?

    - by Anne
    Every once in a while I receive email (on Gmail) that isn't addressed to me. Gmail puts it in the spam box, because it 'can't verify that it has been sent by [sender]'. The emails, when opened, contain confidential information about deliveries and paid bills (it does look an awful lot like 'real' mail from well-known companies, and it doesn't look like a scam, since the mail is informative - they give information instead of asking for credit card numbers ;-)), and I even got an email from "Facebook" that I requested a password change and that I have to 'click here' to change the password for [email address that isn't mine]. I am not the only addressee, there seems to be a whole list of Gmail addresses beginning with 'a'. The original addressee obviously has some sort of virus, and now I wonder if this could be a risk for me too. Is my email being sent around without my knowing too? I am not the kind of person who randomly clicks on shady links - I am very careful on the internet - but maybe there are other ways of catching viruses? Is there something I should do/check? Thank you for your help!

    Read the article

  • Soundtest works, but no other sounds and windows starts very slowly

    - by Kristian Kari
    So suddenly all sounds on my computer stopped working expect the sound test works, but when I go to control panel and audio it says there's no audio device. And audio players and audio on website doesn't work either. and Also windows starts very slowly. I'm not sure if this helps but I'll tell what happened before this. I downloaded this program from a little shady website, I hesitated and for a good reason I guess cos the moment I finished downloading it, my antivir detected it as unwanted program and put it on quarantine. I thought everything was fine, but had some problems with program (won't go to details about it cos it's not really related to audio) so rebooted the computer and I was suprised that windows started really really slowly. It took like 5 mins to load the desktop such. After that I noticed the sounds were missing, I immediately deleted the program since I thought it was causing the problem. But it didn't change much. I tried to find the solution with no success and now I'm just scanning again my computer. I'd be thankful if anyone would be able to help me. I might have left a thing or ten things out, so feel free to ask. oh and I'm using windows xp

    Read the article

  • Deploying software on compromised machines

    - by Martin
    I've been involved in a discussion about how to build internet voting software for a general election. We've reached a general consensus that there exist plenty of secure methods for two way authentication and communication. However, someone came along and pointed out that in a general election some of the machines being used are almost certainly going to be compromised. To quote: Let me be an evil electoral fraudster. I want to sample peoples votes as they vote and hope I get something scandalous. I hire a bot-net from some really shady dudes who control 1000 compromised machines in the UK just for election day. I capture the voting habits of 1000 voters on election day. I notice 5 of them have voted BNP. I look these users up and check out their machines, I look through their documents on their machine and find out their names and addresses. I find out one of them is the wife of a tory MP. I leak 'wife of tory mp is a fascist!' to some blogger I know. It hits the internet and goes viral, swings an election. That's a serious problem! So, what are the best techniques for running software where user interactions with the software must be kept secret, on a machine which is possibly compromised?

    Read the article

  • Zend/PHP: How to disable webpage behind popup ?

    - by NAVEED
    I am working on zend framework, PHP and jQuery. I am working on popups sometimes. When any popup is open on the screen, we can still clicks links on webpage behind popup which causes some unexpected behaviour. How can I disable a webpage behind popup. I have seen some web application in which when popup appears then webpage behind popup become shady. I have read some tutorial about this. In each tutorial a link is used to open a dialog and an special attribute is added in for modal. But I have a different case I have to open dialog on some condition in action. I check a condition in action after post like this: $form = new Edit_Form( ); $this->view->form = $form; $this->view->form->setAction($this->view->url()); $request = $this->getRequest(); if ( $request->isPost() ) { $values = $request->getParams(); if( $values['edit'] ) { $this->view->openEditBox(); } } Now check in view to see that it should open an edit pop or not: if( $this->openEditBox ){ $jsonOutput ['content'] = '<div class="DialogBox" title="Edit">' . $this->form->render() . '</div>'; echo Zend_Json::encode($jsonOutput); } Any Idea? Thanks

    Read the article

  • Choosing my first Domain Registrar?

    - by user36914
    This will be the first domain i've ever registered. So i'm at a loss what to look for. I definitely don't want to go with GoDaddy. Here are my requirements: Must have unlimited email forwards for my domain Easy to transfer away if i choose. Must not be one of those shady registrars that will try to auction your domain at the end. Ability to create sub domains Domain Registration is Private I would like a domain registrar that would let me use my dynamic ip of my ISP (Cable) if i want to. So hopefully they would have some type program that would detect IP changes and update accordingly So i've looked at a variety of registrars so far. The three left were really NameCheap, DreamHost, & DomainMonster. I have heard good things about DreamHost but i think its off the list because they don't give you any information about the features you get when you register your domain with them. They have a "Whats included" button the page but it mainly list the features with hosting not registration. DomainMonster looks pretty cool but i don't see anything about subdomains. Also i would assume they don't have a system for dynamic ip address updating. So you would have to constantly check that your ip of your ISP has changed or not and update it manually. NameCheap also looks nice. There are two things i really like about them. Right on their feature page they list "Free Dynamic DNS With Client" which is pretty cool. They also have a free SSL certificate for the first year. Haven't messed a lot with certificates but this would definitely be something i would use. Only minus i can see is you only get free private whois for the first year. After that its $2.99 which isn't that big of a deal. I'm leaning towards NameCheap now. Is this a good choice. Is there anything else i should be looking at?

    Read the article

  • Prevent Changing the Screen Saver and Wallpaper in Windows 7

    - by Mysticgeek
    Sometimes you might not want users to have the ability to change Screen Savers and Wallpaper on Windows 7 workstations. Today we look at how to prevent them from changing either one or both. You might administer computers in your home or small office and find it annoying when users continuously change the wallpaper and Screen Savers to something obnoxious. A lot of times they might be inexperienced users and download these so-called “wonderful and free” Screen Saver/Wallpaper packages from shady sites that include loads of Spyware. Preventing users from changing them is another helpful tool to avoid wasteful time spent switching things back. Prevent Changing Screensavers & Wallpaper Using Group Policy Editor  Note: This method uses Group Policy which is not available in Home versions on Windows 7. Open the Start Menu and enter gpedit.msc into the Search box and hit Enter. When Local Group Policy Editor opens, navigate to User Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Control Panel \ Personalization. Then in the right column double-click on Prevent changing desktop background. Now check the radio button next to Enabled, then click OK. Back on the Group Policy Screen, double-click on Prevent changing screen saver. In the next screen select the radio button next to Enable, click OK, then close out of Group Policy Editor. Now when a user goes into the Personalization section, the Desktop Background hyperlink is now grayed out and inactive. Notice the message One or more of the settings on this page has been disabled by the system administrator at the bottom of the section. If they click to change the Screen Saver, an error message will pop up letting them know the function is disabled. Prevent Changing Screensavers & Wallpaper Using a Registry Hack You can also make a couple Registry changes to prevent users from changing the Wallpaper & Screen Saver…which will work on Home versions of Windows 7. Before making any Registry changes make sure you back it up first. Open the Registry by typing regedit into the Search box in the Start menu and hit Enter. First we’ll start with the Wallpaper. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System and create a new String Value and name it Wallpaper. Then modify the Value data to point to the location of the Wallpaper you want it to always be. Where in this example it’s our main wallpaper on our local drive…then click OK. Now let’s make sure they can’t change the Screen Saver. In the same Registry location, we need to make a new DWORD (32-bit) Value. Give it the Value name of NoDispScrSavPage and the value data of “1” and click OK. Close out of the Registry and restart the machine or simply log off then back on again for the changes to take effect. Results For the Wallpapers, a user can still go in and see the selections, however if they try to change it to something else… It will just go back to the Personalization screen and no changes will be made, as we set the value to only be the background we specified. If the user tries to make a change to the Screen Saver, the hyperlink will be grayed out and inactive, and the message One or more of the settings on this page has been disabled by the system administrator will be displayed at the bottom of the section. Conclusion If you’re tired of users changing the Wallpaper and Screen Saver, and want another way to help avoid Malware, locking down these settings can help a lot. Again, before making any changes to the Registry, make sure to back it up. These settings should work in Vista and XP as well. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Save 1-4% More Battery Life With Windows Vista Battery SaverCustomize Your Windows Vista Logon ScreenEnable "Ubuntu Style" Logons in Windows VistaManage the Delete Confirmation Dialog box in Windows 7Dual Monitors: Use a Different Wallpaper on Each Desktop TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Acronis Online Backup DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows Fun with 47 charts and graphs Tomorrow is Mother’s Day Check the Average Speed of YouTube Videos You’ve Watched OutlookStatView Scans and Displays General Usage Statistics How to Add Exceptions to the Windows Firewall Office 2010 reviewed in depth by Ed Bott

    Read the article

  • Why everybody should do Sales!

    - by FelixWehmeyer
    I speak with many business students and ask them what job they want to get into. Most of them tell me they want a job in Marketing, Management Consulting or Finance. I hardly ever hear “Sales, that is what I want to do”, and I often wonder why. I would like to start with a quote from Zig Ziglar, a successful salesman: "Nothing happens until someone sells something." But to get back to the main point, why wouldn’t you want to get in sales? When people think of sales, they picture a typical salesman in their head and think that selling is scary and all about manipulating, pressuring and pushing someone into buying something they don’t need. Are these stereotypes accurate? I don’t believe so: So why should you want to be in sales? If you think about selling as providing the solution for the problem and talking about the benefits of making a decision, then every job in this world comes out of selling. In every job you deal with coworkers that you want to convince of your ideas or convincing your boss that the project you want to work on is good for the company.  These days, consumers and businesses are very well informed about services and products. When we are talking about highly complex products, such as IT solutions, businesses don’t accept your run-of-the-mill salesman who is pushing a sale. These are often long projects where salespeople have a consulting and leading role. Salespeople need to be able to consult companies and customers with their problem and convince a client that their solution is the best fit. Next to the fact that sales, is by far, not as scary and shady as you thought, there are a few points that will make you want to consider a sales career: Negotiating skills – When you are in sales you will learn how to negotiate. Salespeople learn to listen to their customers and try to make them happy, overcoming objections and come to a final agreement that both parties are happy with. Persistence/Challenge – As a salesperson you will often hear a negative answer, in a sales role you will start to embrace this and see a ‘no’ as a challenge not as a rejection. This attitude change can help you a lot in your career, but also in your personal life. You will become more optimistic and gain a go-getter attitude. Salary – As salespeople are seen as the moneymakers for the company, companies often reward their sales teams generously. Most likely in a sales role, you will receive a good basic salary and often you get nice bonuses on top of that based on your performance. Oracle is, for instance, the company that offers the highest average commission in the world. Further you can expect many other benefits as companies know that there is a high demand for good salespeople. Teamwork – Sales is a lot like having your own business, you are responsible for your own territory or set of clients. You are the one who is responsible for the revenue coming from that territory. So in order to gain revenue you will have to work together with many departments and people to make that happen. Every (potential) client could be seen as a different project, and you are the project leader. Understanding customers and the business – From any job that you choose sales will get you the most insight in the market. Salespeople are usually well-connected, talk with different customers and learn about the market and are up-to-date about all latest changes. Even if you want to change to a different role in the long run, you have a great head start as you understand the market and customers like no one else. Job security – Look at all the job postings out there. Many of them are sales-related. So if you want to have a steady job, plenty of choice and companies willing to invest in you, sales could be something for you.  Are you interested in exploring a sales career? At Oracle we are always looking for good sales professionals and fresh graduates who want to get into sales! For many languages such as Flemish, Dutch, German, French, Swedish and Norwegian (and more) we are currently looking for graduates who want to develop their career in Oracle. Please have a look at this article for the experience of a Business Development Consultant at Oracle in Dublin. Want to learn more about this job check out this link or send an email to jessica.ebbelaar-at-oracle.com! Have a look at our website http://campus.oracle.com for all of our other latest sales and non-sales vacancies!

    Read the article

  • How to find an entry-level job after you already have a graduate degree?

    - by Uri
    Note: I asked this question in early 2009. A couple of months later, I found a great job. I've previously updated this question with some tips for whoever ends up in a similar situation, and now cleaned it up a little for the benefit of the fresh batch of graduates. Original post: In my early 20s I abandoned a great C++ development career path in a major company to go to graduate school and get a research masters (3 years). I did another year in industrial research, and then moved to the US to attend graduate school again, getting another masters and a Ph.D in software engineering from a top school (another 6 years down the drain). I was coding the whole way throughout my degrees (core Java and Eclipse plug-ins) and working on research related to software engineering (usability of APIs). I ended up graduating the year of the recession, with a son on the way and the prospects of no healthcare. Academic jobs and industrial research jobs are quite scarce. Initially, I was naive, thinking that with my background, I could easily find a coding job. Big mistake. It turns out that I'm in a complicated position. Entry level positions are usually offered to college undergraduates. I attended my school's career fairs, but you could immediately see signs of Ph.D. aversion and overqualification issues. Some of the recruiters I spoke with explicitly told me that they wanted 20 year olds with clean slates, and some were looking for interns since they are in various forms of hiring freezes. I managed to get a couple of interviews from these career fairs and through recruiters. However, since I've been out of school for a long time and programming primarily in Java, I am also no longer proficient in C/C++ and the usual range of college-level interview questions that everyone uses. I had no problems with this when I was 19 and interviewing for my first job since a lot of what you do in C is manipulate pointers and I was coding C++ for fun and for school. Later I was routinely doing pointer manipulation on the job, and during my first masters taught college courses with data structures and C++. But even though I remember many properties of C++ well, it's been close to ten years since I regularly used C++ and pointers. As a Java developer I rarely had to work at this level, but experience in OOD and in writing good maintainable code is meaningless for C++ interviews. Reading books as a refresh and looking at sample code did not do the trick. I also looked at mid-to-senior level Java positions, but most of them focused on J2EE APIs rather than on core Java and required a certain number of years in industrial positions. Coding research tools and prior C++ experience doesn't count. So that sends me back to entry-level jobs that are posted through job-boards, and these are not common (mostly they are Monster junk), and small companies are even less likely to answer a Ph.D. compared to the giants who participate in top-10 career fairs. Even worse, in many companies initial screening is done by HR folks who really don't want to deal with anything anomalous like a Ph.D. Any tips on how I should approach this intractable position? For example, what should I write in cover letters? Note that while immigration is not an issue for me, I cannot go freelance as I need the benefits (and in particular group health insurance). During my studies I had no time to contribute to open-source projects or maintain a popular blog, so even if I invested in that now there would be no immediate benefit. Updates: In the two months after posting this I received several offers to work as a core Java developer in the financial industry and accepted one from a firm where I am working to this day. For those who find themselves in similar situations, here are my tips: Give up on trying to find an entry level positions. You can't undo time. Accept the fact that there is Ph.D. discrimination in the job market (some might say rightfully so). It is legal to discriminate based on education. No point fighting it. The most important tip is to focus on the language you are comfortable with. The sad truth about programming in a particular language is that it is not like riding a bike. If you haven't used a language in the last few years, and can't actually apply it routinely (not just as a refresher) before you start your search, it is going to be very difficult to do well in an interview. Now that I'm interviewing others, I routinely see it in folks with a mixed C++/Java background. We maintain "a shadow" of the old language but end up with a weird mix that makes it hard to interview on either. Entry-level folks are at an advantage here since they usually have one language. Memory can help you do great in a screening interview, but without recent day-to-day experience, code tests will be difficult. Despite the supposed relation, core Java programming and J2EE programming are two different things with different skillsets. If you come from academia, you likely have very little J2EE experience and may find it hard to get accepted for a J2EE job. J2EE jobs seem to have a larger list of acronyms in their requirements. In addition, from interviewing J2EE developers it seems that for many there is a focus on mastering specific APIs and architectures, whereas core Java development tends to be secondary. In the same way that I can no longer manipulate pointers well, a J2EE developer may have difficulties doing low level Java manipulation. This puts you at a relative advantage in competing for core Java jobs! If you are able to work for startups (in terms of family life and stability) or migrate to startup-rich areas such as the west coast, you can find many exciting opportunities where advanced degrees are a benefit. I've since been approached by several startups, although I had to decline. Work through a recruiter if possible. They have direct contacts with the hiring parties, allowing you to "stand out". It is better to get a clear yes/no confirmation from a recruiter on whether a company might be interested in interviewing you, than it is to send your resume and hope that someone will ever see it. Recruiters are also a great way of bypassing HR. However, also beware of recruiters. They have a vested interest and will go to various shady practices and pressure tactics. To find a good recruiter, talk to a friend who declined a job offer he got through a recruiter. A good recruiter, to me, is measured in how they handle that. Interview for the jobs that require your core strength. If you're rusty or entirely unfamiliar with a technology around which the job revolves, you're probably not a good match. Yes, you probably have the talent to master them, but most companies would want "instant gratification". I got my offers from companies that wanted core Java developer. I didn't do well on places that wanted advance C++ because I am too rusty and not up to date on recent libraries. I also didn't hear from companies that wanted lots of J2EE experience, and that's ok. Finding companies that want core Java without web is harder, but exists in specific industries (e.g., finance, defense). This requires a lot more legwork in terms of search, but these jobs do exist. There are different interview styles. Some companies focus on puzzles, some companies focus on algorithms, and some companies focus on design and coding skills. I had the most success in places where the questions were the most related to the function I would have been performing. Pick companies accordingly as well.

    Read the article

< Previous Page | 1 2 3