About Me:

Who?

I'm Wesley Shields. Most people call me 'Wes' for short. I've been called many things and will answer to just about anything but 'Wes' tends to work the best. I usually use my initials where ever possible, hence why you will often see me as 'wxs' or 'WXS' (the later is only used for signing emails). I don't have a middle name so I use the "x" as a place-holder because only having two letters for your initials is lame.

What?

I do any number of things, though they are all somehow related to technology. In my day job I've done a some pretty cool stuff. I've written software for the CIA, done penetration tests on a lot of government, military and civilian agencies, some systems administration, and even done some Linux kernel hacking. Outside of my day job I tend to revolve around technology too. I'm a FreeBSD developer. I've either helped author or done bug-fixes for some 0x90 projects (some of which are still on BackTrack). I've given technical talks at conferences and have run the Hack side of Hack or Halo. And if that wasn't enough I run some machines for friends that provide basic user services (mail, http, ssh).

Outside of my geek life I've picked up rock climbing. Most of my energy goes towards Bouldering though I've done a lot of longer sport-routes too. I find bouldering to be a great mixture of the physical and mental. If I'm not in front of a computer or climbing I can likely be found with my wife (we dated through most of college and got married May 10th, 2008) and our two cats.

Where?

I was born in Endicott, NY, raised in Syracuse, NY. I've done some time out in Cupertino, CA and went to school in Rochester, NY. After school I got a job at the CIA and moved to Northern Virginia. After leaving the CIA for MITRE I stuck around Virginia for a few years before getting a job at Cisco and moving to the RTP area of North Carolina. I stayed at Cisco for just under a year before going back to MITRE, yet still continue to live in RTP.

If you're looking for places to follow me online I've got accounts at:

I've got (or had) accounts on the following domains, though I don't use them anymore: I've also got other spots which I don't update much anymore: If you're looking to get in touch with me you're best bet is to call me. If you don't have my cell number you can send me an IM. If you don't have my IM information you can email me (wxs@atarininja.org for personal stuff and wxs@FreeBSD.org for FreeBSD stuff). If you want my IM information just ask via email. I get a lot of email so give me a day or two to respond.

When?

If you really care I was born June 3rd, 1981.