Curious? So am I.

I have a vision: networks and computers should be secure.

Ethereal Solid is the name I have chosen to give form to my concept of taking ethereal ideas and turning them into solid implementations. Working on many projects and pursuing my passions is what I enjoy. I subscribe to the saying "if you need something done, find someone that's busy to do it". Being busy means that I am actively moving towards my goals, embracing my curiosity, learning new things, and getting a lot done on the way. My name is Shawn Maxim and I originally started Ethereal Solid as a vehicle to help clients that are looking to get a little more for their web presence and branding then a template or a cookie cutter approach. I found that I enjoy working with servers themselves far more than designing web pages so I have moved away from web design and now I work in information security recovering and hardening compromised servers, doing research, setting up secure systems, performing vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing.

A little about me:

  1. I enjoy working with servers and networks and making them resistant to intruders. I have worked in different areas of security for some time now. I have done research in mobile and various wireless communications and enjoy exploring these areas. I have also explored some of the intricacies of vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. I'm always on the hunt for amazing projects to work on, if you have one, let me know and we can get started!

My philosophy:

  1. Humans are meant to collaborate and support each other. Beginning from conception we are meant to be a part of a community. We feel the most satisfaction and happiness when learning from each other and using the security provided by our tribe to safely explore new ideas and experiences.

  2. More can be achieved while simultaneously using less resources. I like to bring elements of sustainability into each project: questions like "how can we reduce the bandwidth used and server load to deliver this data" or "how can we prevent malicious requests from impacting system performance".

  3. I look forward to more partnerships with organizations and individuals that embrace these ideas.