Google Summer of Code 2010 Talk in UTM

The talk was scheduled on the 27th of March at University Technology Malaysia (Skudai, Johor). The crowd turnout was a great as they were enthusiastic about the topic at hand. Looking forward to a growing number of local students participating in GSoC 2010. Pictures of the talk are attached below.


                  Introduction about the program by the students


                              Setting up for the presentation


                              The crowd - 1


                              The crowd - 2


Faculty lecturer sharing her thoughts on working throughout students schedules


                              Group photo


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Google SoC Mentor Summit 2009

Blog post on Google SoC Mentor Summit 2009

Bluetooth Sniffer project for GSoC 2009

The results are officially out. I would like to thank all of you who applied and worked hard on your proposals. I would like to congratulate Shu Yang Quek from Singapore(NUS) on being selected. For those of you who did not get selected, I would strongly urge you to participate as a volunteer which has its own perks. The nationality composition of this years applicants for the project are listed below.

4 - Portugal
1 - Brazil
1 - India
1 - Malaysia
1 - Singapore

Total = 8

Bluetooth Sniffer proposals for Google SoC 2009

It is with great honor to announce that I have been officially selected to participate in this years Google Summer of Code program as a mentor under the Umit Project. Students interested with the Bluetooth Sniffer idea can begin submitting their applications to Google directly from 19:00 UTC on March 23 2009 or 03:00 GMT+8 on March 24. A standard template for the application is available here. Do stay tuned on the program website for details. Do kindly contact me if there are any questions pertaining your proposal

Google Summer of Code 2009 talk in MMU Cyberjaya

I would like to thank the Open Source Alliance(OSA) of MMU Cyberjaya for organizing the event and everyone who attended. The presentation slides for Umit have been uploaded on the ASEAN Google SoC group. This group serves a medium for interested students within the ASEAN region to exchange thoughts about the program.


               A snapshot of the talk

Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and Umit Project Talk

Open Source Alliance Cyberjaya in collaboration with IT Society, MMU Cyberjaya is organizing a talk on Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2009 and Umit Project. Details as follows:

Date : 12th March 2009 (Thursday)
Time : 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Venue : FIT XR 0001 (FIT Theatre Hall), Multimedia University, Cyberjaya

Bluetooth Sniffer idea for Google Summer of Code 2009

As for the impending Google Summer of Code program this year, UmitBT is pushing towards a new bold direction with the Bluetooth Sniffer idea. We intend to extend UmitBT's functionality by integrating Bluetooth protocol sniffing capabilities. Bluetooth protocol sniffing would allow users to monitor Bluetooth traffic to understand their Bluetooth spectrum in an indepth manner. Currently, Bluetooth protocol sniffing is available through costly hardware and software packages. This idea would allow users to sniff Bluetooth packets and display it in an intuitive manner similiar to Wireshark. Considerations for this idea are:

* Integrated into UmitBT
* Sniffing capability should be multi-platform.
Implementation may vary.
* Understanding of PyBluez and LightBlue.
* May require intermediate knowledge on Bluetooth firmwares


The impact of this idea is vastly significant to the community as this would be the first open source implementation of Bluetooth protocol sniffing. Students would be apart of making history with us besides a cool USD$4,500 for 4 months of implementation work, a t-shirt, an invaluable certificate from Google and a mystery book. Hope to hear from you soon and good luck.


References:



[1] http://umitbt.umitproject.org

[2] http://www.umitproject.org/?active=gsoc&mode=ideas

[3] http://www.umitproject.org/?active=contacts

[4] http://code.google.com/opensource/gsoc/2009/faqs.html

[5] http://blog.umitproject.org

The Star TechCentral GSoC press coverage

Date: 5th January 2009
The Star : TechCentral
For the love of code

More GSoC 2008 press coverage

Date: 29th December 2008
The New Straits Times : Tech & U
Local coders graduate from Google stint

Date: 8th December 2008
Oriental Daily : Education(Page 4-5)


                                                                Page 4



                                                                Page 5


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Google SoC media event

      The Hoffman Agency organized a media event on the 18th last month for the Malaysian Google Summer of Code students. Apart from me, there's Raj who worked for MySQL and Phua for freeCAD. It was great to have finally met them in person. The media event was held at Telawi Street Bistro, Bangsar. The members of press from Sin Chew, The Star and The New Straits Times were among the few who were there. The setup was awesome and the event went on swimmingly. Congrats to Raj and Phua on successfully completing their projects. Thanks to Jana and Rene for organizing a classy event.


                                 The interview


                                 Photo shoot 1


                                     Photo shoot 2


                    The Star Youth2 newspaper article
                    The complete press release from The Star Youth2


                      Sin Chew newspaper article

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UmitBT 0.7RC2 released

                The video above shows UmitBT0.7RC2 in action.

    UmitBT is a unique Bluetooth device scanner. With UmitBT, not only are you able to probe for Bluetooth enabled devices and perform Service Discovery scans but also map them out graphically based on their manufacturer.

For more information, check out the UmitBT project page

UmitBT 0.7RC1

                The video above shows UmitBT0.7RC1 in action.

    UmitBT is a GUI based Bluetooth device scanner which does manufacturer detection. With UmitBT, not only are you able to probe for Bluetooth enabled devices, but also perform Service Discovery scans and identify the device based on the manufacturer of the device. The devices are then mapped out graphically based on the devices manufacturer.UmitBT is a branch of Umit and a product of GSoC 2008.

To obtain the svn branch of UmitBT(currently at 0.7RC1):
svn co http://svn.umitproject.org/svnroot/umit/branch/UmitBT/ UmitBT

UmitBT0.7RC1 for Windows
UmitBT0.7RC1 bzip2 source distribution

Google SoC perks

         A few days back right after Google Summer of Code 2008 officially kicked off, I received my corporate charge card from Google and a "mystery" book. All i can say about the book is that it blew me away. Gave me a whole new perspective on code design. It was breeze to get the charge card activated (thanks Leslie, it sure beats last years payout scheme). Referred to the private mailing list and there were a number of methods used to get the cash out but unfortunately this varies depending on your geographic location. The idea of associating the charge card with PayPal is used by many but unfortunately the only bank in Malaysia which allows cash withdrawal from a PayPal account is Al-Rajhi bank which gives a really crappy exchange rate and a hefty service charge.I found out that contrary to popular belief, using your credit card to withdraw cash from an ATM isn't such a bad idea since MasterCard uses current market exchange rates. There is a service charge of about 2.5% when you charge it directly to the card but only a 1% charge of the amount withdrawn if done at an ATM(CIMB ATMs accept MasterCard). It works out to be cheaper with the latter because I would end up paying only RM90(15 x 6 withdrawals) of service charge as compared to charging it directly and paying RM217 service charge for a new Macbook Pro(MB134ZP/A @ RM8,699).


                       The Google corporate charge card

Google Summer of Code 2008

            It has been a year since I applied for Google Summer of Code 2007. So much has changed since then. I'd remember the application I sent last year. It was pure conceptual without any technical backing. Looking back at it does make me wonder the difference between now and then.

            After being unsuccessful last year, Adriano was cool enough to give me pointers on areas where I should work on. I took the news positively and worked on those areas. After my internship in Sydney, I realized that ones geographical location doesn't confine you to abiding stereotypes. I am an individual. I was ecstatic when I first got the offer to perform my internship in Sydney furthermore as an acting Security Auditor/Consultant. I could say that I got a reality check on how things are done on a global scale. I was overwhelmed and lost my sense of direction. I even doubted myself of being not worthy of the position I held. I soon realized that there are always a million reasons to shy away from achieving something. With a positive attitude and willingness to work hard, I managed to pull of a security audit which gave Ronny(the sys admin) goosebumps and impressed the CEO. From being that timid Malaysian in his cubical to presenting the security audit reports revealing the passwords(obfuscated of course) of over 500 employees around the globe and a myriad of vulnerabilities across its infrastructures. I am glad that I had the support of my uncle and my workmate, David who talked me through in my moments of doubt.

            I came back with a sense of optimism and determination to pursue Google Summer of Code 2008. I'd still remember the conversation I had with my fellow d3vscan team mates over breakfast, Zaid and Hazwan about the initial idea. I am glad to have fellow comrades who were willing to be by my side to pursue this idea. The prototype dubbed d3vscan is to be our final year project. Coming from where we are, having a final year project with an average of 80k page hits per month is an accomplishment. Not to mention it being recognized and even listed in Packetstorm. I couldn't have done it without them. I am humbled by their dedication towards the project. I have to admit, it is hard to come by talented individuals which I am fortunate to brush shoulders with.

            The d3vscan prototype was included in the Umit ideas page for Google Summer of Code 2008. GSoC 2008 was approaching and I proposed the Bluetooth Scanner & Vulnerabilities Database System which is related to d3vscan. During the selection process, besides writing a Gentoo ebuild, I managed to translate Umit into several languages. I would like to thank Haoyu Bai, Ahmed Al-Ansi and my girlfriend for chipping in to help me out with the translations. I have to admit i was nervous when the results were to be announced on the 22. I was up that night talking to Francesco@nopper about the anticipation of the results. I got the email from Google at 4am.

            Being passionate about an idea and willing to take chances/risks is key. Burning the midnight oil will be a norm. Sleep becomes a luxury. But as time passes, I realized that time management and discipline are things that would be learnt throughout ones life. An advice which i hold dearly from my friend, mentor and project manager of Umit, Adriano. I also feel blessed to have the support of my parents and my girlfriend, Yvonne.

Umit Project Blog
Umit GSoC Page