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mikermcneil

123 karma · joined March 7, 2013

I'm Mike McNeil, and I code and make business and stuff. I'm building tools to simplify cybersecurity, device management, and software development.

I'm CEO of Fleet, open-source platform for security and IT teams with lots of endpoints (https://fleetdm.com/handbook/company). I'm also the creator and BDFL of Sails, open-source MVC framework for Node.js (https://sailsjs.com/about).

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikermcneil Twitter: https:/x.com/mikermcneil GitHub: https://github.com/mikermcneil

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mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
In https://fleetdm.com/tables/mounts ?
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
runs as a daemon, communicates over http
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
Nice! “ACT” for anyone searching (automatic table construction)
mikermcneil··on Write Dumb Code (2018)
this is true
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
Was about to say "will fix ASAP", but double-plus since it's @nyanshak!
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
osquery after Meta: https://devops.com/the-linux-foundation-breathes-new-life-in...
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
you should chat w/ AB! https://www.linkedin.com/in/abubakar-yousafzai-b7213659/
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
likely the origin of the `carbon_black_info` table https://fleetdm.com/tables/carbon_black_info
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
We just launched open-source Windows MDM in Fleet: https://fleetdm.com/device-management
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
(used in production directly or via major EDRs by much of silicon valley, governments, and the F1000)

Contributions: https://github.com/osquery/osquery

mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
Some example queries: https://fleetdm.com/queries

The formula osquery uses to report performance: https://github.com/fleetdm/fleet/issues/16123

mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
Having paved roads helps: https://github.com/fleetdm/fleet
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
Feel your pain! This was the idea behind query performance "bubbles" in Fleet. (Uses the osquery performance metadata to indicate whether performance impact of a query on a host is "minimal", "considerable", or "excessive")

Next step is "clairvoyance", where we predict perf based on the SQL when you're in the query editor

mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
me and my brother-in-law Eric built this table viewer: https://fleetdm.com/tables

(it's got an extra layer of metadata with examples. Supports markdown in the yaml for most fields. Contributions welcome!!)

mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
Started as people sending scripts back and forth, like The Postal Service

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramosjohnny/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/marpaia/

mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
They did an amazing feat of engineering. Mike Arpaia's brainchild, co-created by my cofounder zwass at Fleet, and massively improved by seph (@directionless), ted reed, alessandro, sharvil, and many others: https://github.com/osquery/osquery/graphs/contributors
mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
History (tldr): https://fleetdm.com/handbook/company#history

There’s also a podcast episode on it with two of the creators: "The story behind the creation of osquery" https://fleetdm.com/podcasts/the-future-of-device-management...

mikermcneil··on Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
What did you run into on Linux?
mikermcneil··on Acquisitions lead to struggles for Windows and Linux device management
Disclosure #2: I'm the CEO

One of my fav things about this is that we're solving the "Linux MDM problem". As a person who likes to use Linux, it's exciting that, no matter how big the company gets, I can still use whatever OS I want at work (and still be "offboard-able", with everyone passing their audits.)

Source code for Fleet is available at https://github.com/fleetdm/fleet.

mikermcneil··on Mr. Rogers' music was intricate (2020) [video]
Such an interesting man. Quoted his mom in the company values recently: https://fleetdm.com/handbook/company#empathy

""" When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster", I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers—so many caring people in this world. —Fred Rogers """

mikermcneil··on All code is technical debt
Hear hear!!
mikermcneil··on Fleet announces open-source, cross-platform MDM solution
Negatron: https://fleetdm.com/handbook/company#history
mikermcneil··on Fleet announces open-source, cross-platform MDM solution
Thank you. +1 for expanded acronyms.
mikermcneil··on Ask HN: What do you think about the no-code movement?
nocode === IDE
mikermcneil··on Experiencing History in Assassin’s Creed
> the pervasive modern misconception that history is equivalent to the reality of the past
mikermcneil··on Why I’m co-founding a new university dedicated to freedom of thought and study
a=a
mikermcneil··on Hapi.js project is reaching its conclusion
For the record, Sails === not dead (unless I am also dead)

In all seriousness: I maintain it every day with a team of 4 other core team members with the help of an incredible community of contributors.

https://sailsjs.com/about

mikermcneil··on Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son (1922)
“Why does it get hot? Because when the electrons stream through it they bump and jostle their way along like rude boys on a crowded sidewalk. The atoms have to step a bit more lively to keep out of the way.”
mikermcneil··on Show HN: For SXSW, HotSpot – Find the hottest spots near you
Is it using tweets to backfill “hotness” of a lay/long?
mikermcneil··on Why the New V8 Is So Damn Fast
Have you tried Sails 1.0? (There’s always more to do, but we’re working to improve the framework a little more every day.)
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