Cobia Community Blog

Product testing - your help is needed

Hello everyone. We will be doing some testing of the user interface designs for Cobia and our upcoming Strata Guard IPS module at Black Hat (August 1-2) and LinixWorld (August 6-9). You will be giving us very valuable feedback that will help us with the product design and usability. Plus we have some very nice "parting gifts" for each participant who helps us.

If you are planning to attend Black Hat in Las Vegas or LinuxWorld in San Francisco, or live in those areas, and would like to help us, please send your email address and phone number to [email protected].

Use cases you would like to see

I'm working on picking up where Martin left off by describing various Cobia network configuration scenarios, something we call use cases. First I'll be looking at a typical SMB or branch office network, breaking down each element of the WAN connection, firewall, wireless, internal user network, and web and email access. Then we will add various network application and services into the mix, such as hosting your own web or email, remote web-email access, VPN, and VoIP. Look for those use cases in the coming days and weeks.

If you have a specific scenario, network or configuration you would like covered, just drop me an email and I'll be glad to add it to the mix. If you need help right away, post your question to the Cobia forums and one of our users or StillSecure team members will be glad to help you out.

Thanks - Mitchell

Are you a Cobia user who blogs?

I'm in the process of updating our blogroll of Cobia users who also have their own blogs.

Are you a Cobia user who also has your own blog or podcast?

Send me an email with your blog or podcast address and I'll be glad to add you. And let me know how Cobia is working out for you - I would love to hear your story. Plus it would be great to have you post your Cobia story on your own blog. (If you already have, send me a permalink to your post if you would please.)

Thanks - Mitchell

Celebrating Independence Day 2007

Just a brief message to all of you across the U.S.A. and all over the world to say happy Independence Day.

In the U.S. we typically celebrate the July 4th holiday with BBQs, picnics, backyard get togethers, camping, boating, swimming, a friendly softball or golf game, time with family members and of course enjoying the local fireworks display. It's a time to take a break and celebrate the freedoms we enjoy and the unique country we live in. I'm sure much like national holidays countries around the world enjoy, we celebrate with similar customs as well as traditions unique to each of us.

So let me take this opportunity to say thank you to our StillSecure customers, employees, business associates, and friends all over the world. And a special thanks to all of you who have downloaded Cobia, installed it in your networks, labs and at home, contributors to the forums, community members who are developing Cobia modules, members of our partner programs and to all of you who have simply dropped us an email sometime with thoughts, thanks and ideas. We appreciate each of you very much.

- Mitchell

Changes in the Cobia community

As with most anything in life, change is inevitable and that’s true in the Cobia community too. This week Martin McKeay let me know that he has decided to take his career back onto the non-vendor side of the fence, and he would like to step down as the Cobia evangelist. That was hard for me to hear because I enjoy working with Martin and I hold him in very high regard. Making a tough decision such as this re-enforces the respect I have for Martin too. I know that Martin should of course pursue the interests that make the most sense for him, and I also know I’ll miss working with him on the Cobia team. We appreciate Martin’s help building the Cobia community, evangelizing Cobia at trade show events, and reaching out to various Cobia users and user groups. Thank you Martin - we’ll all continue enjoy keeping in touch with you through the blogosphere and your podcasting.

The StillSecure team and I will continue where Martin left off, working with Cobia users, supporting user groups and helping networking, sys admin and security engineers all over the world enjoy and use Cobia. We have some exciting new events coming up in the next few weeks and of course there’s lots of user and development activity happening in the world of Cobia.

I will continue as the primary contact for Cobia at StillSecure so please send me email at [email protected] for the latest in Cobia developments, activities, questions, and feedback. Each day I hear from more and more Cobia users sharing with me how Cobia helps them with their networks. It is an exciting time to  be a part of such an important, game changing product like Cobia.

Keep those cards, letters, emails and forum posts coming!

Thanks - Mitchell

LinuxWorld Cobia spot open - but not for long!

Well, things happen quickly in the world of Cobia. We just posted about sponsoring a Cobia user to attend Black Hat and LinuxWorld at our booth with us. In just a few short days the Black Hat spot is already filled (and unfortunately we had to turn away a few Cobia users who wanted to take us up on our offer).

There's still good news though. The LinuxWorld spot is still open (but I don't know for how long)!

So if you would like to attend LinuxWorld on our dime (airfare and hotel), and help evangelize Cobia with us, please send me an email and let me know how excited you are to tell the Linux world (pun intended) about Cobia. You'll have a great time hanging out with the StillSecure team, get some cool schwag and of course get to see the LinuxWorld show.

And, if you are already planning to be at either Black Hat or LinuxWorld, please stop by our booth to say 'hello'. We always enjoy meeting Cobia users and talking shop. Plus the StillSecure marketing team always has interesting prizes and giveaways at the booth. I'm always amazed at the innovative ideas they come up with. (And the competition is too!)

Hope to see you there!

Attend Black Hat or LinuxWorld with the Cobia Crew!

Have you ever wanted to attend Black Hat or LinuxWorld? Well, now's your chance! We're looking for members of the Cobia Community to spend time with us in the StillSecure booth at both events, talking about their own user experiences and help us show the faces of real Cobia users. We're providing the plane tickets and the hotel room for the event and need some Cobia users to provide the enthusiasm and energy!

You're the people who're making Cobia successful and we want to return some the favor by offering you a chance to attend Black Hat and LinuxWorld on StillSecure. We'll be participating at Black Hat on August 1 & 2 at Caesar's in Las Vegas, NV. The following week we'll be at LinuxWorld in San Francisco from August 6th through the 9th. Both events promise to be huge, and if my past experience is any indication, the parties at night are going to be at least as much fun as the daytime events.

If you live in the continental United states and would like to attend either of these events, please contact me as soon as possible at [email protected]. Please contact me by Friday, July 6th if you'd like to attend. This is not a contest and we'll be working on a first come, first served basis, so the sooner you speak up the better!