Month: March 2007

bookmark_borderPort Attacks

Posted on by PaulaO

If it ain’t one dang thing, it’s five hundred others.

My poor laptop….

I’ve been getting slammed with UDP:1026 attacks. Plus, I’ve been getting these weird popup things. When it happened when the browser wasn’t even open, I knew something else was going on.

So I did a search for UDP:1026 and came up with some interesting things.

LinkLogger.com has some simple information including how to “fix” it.

Another website, LURHQ.com, has similar information. The interesting part is that it is dated from 2003. Funny how M$ hasn’t fixed it.

A third website gave good information and a much better solution. Turning off the messenger service is one thing but catching the bastards is even better. myNetWatchman.com has a tester page to see if your computer is vulnerable for the Messenger PopUps. After that, if you have a firewall running, they’d like you to download their free software and let it run in the background. What it does is take the firewall’s logs and sends them on to their website. They then filter it and can track down repeat offenders.

My firewall program, Lavasoft’s Personal Firewall, wasn’t listed. I’d heard good things about ZoneAlarm so I downloaded and installed it. I like its user interface better, more friendly and understandable. I love Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware and Ad-Watch, though.

The reason I am mentioning all this is that there’s nothing more annoying than dang popup ads. Here I was, trying to write, when I keep getting these firewall messages and popups. And instead of writing, I have now spent the last several hours trying to figure out what was going on.

bookmark_borderUS Gov’t and Time

Posted on by PaulaO

I’ve been having an argument with my computer about what time it is. The cable box says it is 12:26am but my computer insists it is only 11:26pm.

The time plugin I have with Firefox says it is 00:26 with UTC being 04:26.

I have two time sync programs (why do I have two? I dunno) and I ran them both. Depending on what time server I connect with, the time can be an hour off.

In both programs, it asks about Daylight Savings Time. To be sure I understood what DST was, I went to Wikipedia, the ghod of information. The article for Daylight Savings Time is interesting. That’s where I found this paragraph (the bold type is my doing):

Start and end dates and times vary with location and year. Since 1996 the European Union has observed DST from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October, with clocks shifted at 01:00 UTC. Starting in 2007, most of the United States and Canada observe DST from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, shifting clocks typically at 02:00 local time. The 2007 U.S. change was part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005; previously, from 1987 through 2006, the start and end dates were the first Sunday in April and the last Sunday in October, and Congress retains the right to go back to the previous dates once an energy-consumption study is done.

Aha! I found it. My computer doesn’t know this and, it seems, neither do some of the time servers. I am sure it would be a bitch of a big deal to adjust them.

Personally, I think the time switch is a waste of time, pun intended. It is a lot of work and bother for just half a year. As a kid, I hated it. It had just gotten to be fun to see some daylight while waiting for the school bus and then they go and move the clocks. I wonder if the time change is responsible for a lot of the sleep disorders that are popping up? Our circadian rhythms were set within our genetic makeup based on the light and dark.

A thought to ponder at any time of day.

bookmark_borderBack. For now.

Posted on by PaulaO

The laptop spent nearly three days at the hospital.

They said it is dying but I was allowed to bring it home to let it die among friends.

And it refused to connect to the internet again. I called the cable company and we figured out that the laptop doesn’t like the wireless stuff anymore so now the ‘puter is hardwired to the modem.

So, for now, I am back on line. How long will it last? Another year or another hour.

I got some great writing done whilst unplugged. I have big gaps where I needed to look something up but couldn’t.

I kept a journal/log of sorts and I may post that here later.

bookmark_borderAARRGGHH

Posted on by PaulaO

Just a quick note. I am at the Leicester Public Library and grabbing computer time.

The laptop is at the hospital. I’ll hear back sometime today or tomorrow.

The desktop ‘puter is working and I did a massive backup before unplugging the laptop. So I can do writing and play some smallish games so I am at least not going completely insane and over the edge of ‘net withdrawals.

Later friends!

PS BGCFA was reviewed by Books to Watch Out For! And it was a good review!

bookmark_borderSerendipity

Posted on by PaulaO

It doesn’t matter what this blog says, I’m not Paula. While I’d like to tell you an exciting story about how I went through all kinds of gyrations to hack my way into Paula’s computer . . . Well, try as I might, there’s no way to hack in.

Paula has discovered foolproof way to protect her computer. Its a relatively simple process. You just wait for serendipity to mess up your computer so you can’t get on line.

She’s having a rough time with Information Superhighway Withdrawal. But, other than that, she’s doing fine.

bookmark_borderWordPress Security Flaw

Posted on by PaulaO

From WordPress Development Team:

Long story short: If you downloaded WordPress 2.1.1 within the past 3-4 days, your files may include a security exploit that was added by a cracker, and you should upgrade all of your files to 2.1.2 immediately.

Longer explanation: This morning we received a note to our security mailing address about unusual and highly exploitable code in WordPress. The issue was investigated, and it appeared that the 2.1.1 download had been modified from its original code. We took the website down immediately to investigate what happened.

It was determined that a cracker had gained user-level access to one of the servers that powers wordpress.org, and had used that access to modify the download file. We have locked down that server for further forensics, but at this time it appears that the 2.1.1 download was the only thing touched by the attack. They modified two files in WP to include code that would allow for remote PHP execution.

What’s the difference between a hacker and a cracker? Good question! I explored this difference nearly two years ago. It still holds true.

According to the How to be a Hacker website, “The basic difference is this: hackers build things, crackers break them.”

bookmark_borderQuiet on the Southern Front

Posted on by PaulaO

Remember that nasty cold I had that somehow led to a kidney infection? Remember how nauseous I was? I’ve hurled (emesis-ed, regurgitated, up chucked) more in the past 30 days than I have in the past five years. I don’t hurl. It’s not part of my body’s functions. I was 10 before I hurled for the first time. Thought I was dyin’. But enough with the TMI, hm?

It was/is from the antibiotic. So I quit taking it and the nausea went away.

Called the doc and asked for a different kind of antibiotic.

Nope, she said, keep taking the other no matter what.

So, dammit, I’m on it again and I’m nauseous again. Greeeat. I have to go in next week and pee in a cup to see if the infection is gone. Greeeat-er.

Plus I’ve been busy with my fish tanks, busy with Lorna, busy writing…yes, writing. I’m still on BG2 and I’ve actually done a little of an–gasp!–outline. I also did a time line for the BG books and did some planning for them as well.

Hmm, maybe hurling one’s toenails erodes one’s brain of natural protections set-up against outlining.

bookmark_borderPeru’s 2300 Year Old Solar Observatory

Posted on by PaulaO

From BBCNews Science/Nature:

Towers point to ancient Sun cult

The oldest solar observatory in the Americas has been found, suggesting the existence of early, sophisticated Sun cults, scientists report.

It comprises of a group of 2,300-year-old structures, known as the Thirteen Towers, which are found in the Chankillo archaeological site, Peru.

The towers span the annual rising and setting arcs of the Sun, providing a solar calendar to mark special dates.

(snip)

The rectangular structures, between 75 and 125 square metres (807-1,345 sq ft) in size, and are regularly spaced – forming a “toothed” horizon with narrow gaps at regular intervals.

About 230m (750ft) to the east and west are what scientists believe to be two observation points. From these vantages, the 300m- (1,000ft-) long spread of the towers along the horizon corresponds very closely to the rising and setting positions of the Sun over the year.

link to article

This is an interesting find. It is the first found in the Americas, according to the article. There’s some good scene/plot fodder there.