About
Howdy Folks! My name is Chris Sanders and I am a technology consultant, author, and researcher originally from Mayfield, Kentucky. That’s ten miles west of the town Possum Trot, thirty miles east of the community of Monkey’s Eyebrow, and ten miles north of New York City (population 214). I currently call Charleston, South Carolina my home.
The goal of this site is to serve as a repository for all of my publications and research.
My Career
In my day to day job I serve as Senior Information Security Analyst for SPAWAR through Honeywell HTSI. I’m passionate about four things…God, the United States of America, University of Kentucky basketball and computer network security, and here I get to support all of those things. I have the opportunity to work with and lead some of the brightest individuals I’ve ever know and because of that I’m very blessed.
If you’ve made it to my blog then chances are you’ve done so because you’ve read something I’ve written. I’ve written three books including “Practical Packet Analysis”, which has sold several thousand copies internationally. Along with this I’ve written and co-written what now seems to be hundreds of articles on the topics of packet analysis, intrusion detection, and general network security and administration. I’ve also done quite a bit of speaking on the topic. Since late 2010 I’ve shifted most of my focus away from speaking/writing and towards my non-profit.
In 2008, I founded the Rural Technology Fund. The RTF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization designed to provide scholarship opportunities to students from rural areas pursuing careers in computer technology. The organization also promotes technology advocacy in rural areas through various support programs. That’s the professional description. The personal description is that the RTF is the culmination of all my dreams and efforts to promote technology careers in areas where technology is typically an afterthought. It’s a struggle, but it’s worth every minute spent on it. 100% of the revenue generated by the writing and training I’m still involved in goes towards this effort.
My Faith
Of all of the things I can attribute my success to, God is number one. I am ashamed to say that prior to the death of my mother I was not a believer by any means. I was living a life centered around myself and my wants and needs with no regard for my others or my future. This all changed once she passed away. I do not necessarily believe in fate but I do believe that everything that happens in life does so in order to prepare us for the next step. This being the case, the loss of my mom was what prepared me to accept Christ into my life.
On her death bed a lot of things were said between my mom and I, most of which are far too emotional to be displayed here. One of the topics discussed was my faith, and how the most important things to her was that I give my life to Jesus. At this point we knew she didn’t have much time left and she made sure that I knew that she wasn’t leaving me, and that she was going to be with God. She always had the simplest way of saying things and she said it as “God needs me in heaven more than he needs me here on Earth.”
A few days later she passed on and shortly thereafter I made the commitment to surrender my life to Christ. Since that day my life has taken a completely new direction and I owe it all to God being present in my life. I try to make that evident in everything I do.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”
I included this verse on the first page of my first published book, “Practical Packet Analysis”, and I try to live with by it every day. Why include something like this on a technical website? Well, through this site I’ve met some extraordinary individuals and most of them have been because of this section here. You would be surprised what you can learn about people when you open yourself up, and I’m glad I made that decision.
