Tuesday, March 9, 2004

Been working on networking issues at home this week. I think I have it fixed, or at least back to the point where I can print from the wireless laptop. More later; in the meantime, extra virus updates this week. And don't believe it if you get an email from "Microsot" with a "security patch". No vendor sends patches via email.

....more later ....

I've had a problem for a while with programs being slow to start on the laptop, which is connected to my DSL line here at home with a wireless connection. (Yes, I use 128 bit encryption, and I have hidden the SSID.) When a program starts, it takes over 30 seconds (a long amount of computer time) before I see the program's splash (opening) screen. During that time, there seems to be a lot of network activity. If I unplug the network card, the program starts right up. After the program starts, it works normally. It's just that startup process.

So I figured it was an IP problem, with a misconfiguration on the DNS server or gateway settings. I played around with the various settings, using fixed IP and DHCP-supplied IP addresses. With all the changes that I did, I suddenly lost connection to the desktop computer, and the printer attached to it. I worked on it Saturday night, then Monday, and it still wasn't working right. I finally put things back to original settings, and got the printer working again. But the programs are still slow.

I haven't come to any conclusions yet; I still think it's a IP problem. So I'll play a bit more with it later this week. I've got some other things to take care of in the meantime.

On the anti-virus front: the usual warnings apply. Keep the updates updated (there were four this weekend), and don't open attachments. Remember that companies do not send out update files by email. Don't give out your credit card info to any web page, even if it looks valid, especially when you get an email from "your bank" asking for updated information. (Why would your bank ask you for your credit card number? Shouldn't they already know that?). And do the Windows Update thing.

You know all of that. But tell your less-computer-literate friends and family.

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Still some minor problems with the home network. I fixed it temporarily by letting the wireless router provide DHCP to the desktop and laptop. That's not totally secure, since someone could latch on to my network with another wireless laptop. Except that I have turned on 128-bit encryption and changed the SSID. That makes it a bit different. I will also lock down the DCHP address range so that only two IP addresses are available. That will have to wait for another night.

The laptop still starts programs a bit slow. I had a sudden inspiration that perhaps the HOSTS file was pointing to things on the work network (which I access via VPN). So I cleared that out (there was only one entry). Peter T. wrote in that I should also look at my PATH statement to make sure that any network drives are not in the path, which could slow things down. I had forgotten about that possibility, but the PATH statement only points to folders on the C drive. He also suggested that any shared drives outside my local network might get in the way. He says to use the NET USE /PERSISTENT:NO command to eliminate persist ant shares.

I did a NET SHARE command, which showed only local drives as shared, although there is a printer entry that points to a work printer. But I don't think that is causing the problem, since it's been there for a while (before I started having this problem).

Peter also suggested this:

You could also load some of the tools from www.sysinternals.com such as FileMon and watch to see what file level activity is going on, and see whether or not any network shares are being searched.

That might be interesting to look at later. In the meantime, I've got Internet connectivity, and access to the printer connected to the desktop system at home. So I'll leave things alone for a while so I can catch up with some other projects.

At work today, we had out monthly department meeting. The person in charge of this month's meeting handed out slips of paper with three questions: "What is your hobby?" "What do you do that is unusual?" and "What did you want to be when you grew up?". The responses would be read to the group, who would try to guess the person based on the answers to those questions.

I guess that I must be too much of a computer geek. My hobby is my vocation, so my evenings are often spent sitting on the couch with my laptop, surfing the 'net. I couldn't think of anything unusual I have done, and I was a kid too long ago. (Although some would say that I haven't grown up yet. And I'd probably agree.)

I spent a bit of time playing with the Languard Network Security Scanner program, for which we have finally purchased a license. (You can download an evaluation copy that works for 30 days, but it also works after that, although a few features are reserved for licensed copies.) It's quite a good program for auditing workstations and servers on your network. You can often find systems that aren't set up properly, with open ports that shouldn't be there. It's a great tool for scanning your network, assuming that that is your job (see the report here "Is that a Felony on your Computer?"). It's not something that you should try at work, but is recommended if network scanning is in your job function.

It was another nice day today, with temps just into the 80 degree (F) mark. Sunny, a bit of a breeze, but very nice. It was like that yesterday, which was why Pam and I decided to BBQ some steaks on the propane BBQ grill last night. They were cooked just the right amount of time; partly because the propane tank ran out of gas at the same time the steaks were done. So tonight I took the tank over to Lowe's and traded it for a full tank, which cost about $13.50. Now we're ready for some more barbequeing. Sunny California (or is that "KAHL-EE-FOR-NIA"?). I apologize in advance for those of you still shoveling snow.

And on the security front, here's what the "Internet Storm Center" advises:

MSFT04-009 Updated to 'Critical'

One of yesterday's Microsoft advisory ("Outlook 2002 mailto arbitrary code execution") was upgraded from 'Important' to 'Critical'.
The initial advisory indicated that the vulnerability is mitigated by using a default homepage other then "Today's Summary". However, as pointed out in a proof of concept exploit, it is possible to cause code execution even if another view (e.g. inbox) is used as default homepage.
We strongly recommend to apply the respective patches as fast as possible. <P>

Reading HTML e-mail as plain text in Outlook

By default, Outlook will parse HTML e-mail. This feature has been abused by numerous phishing e-mails and similar cognitive hacking schemes. Microsoft now released a step by step guide on how to turn off the html parser. Please see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307594 for details. This feature is only available with Outlook 2002 if SP1 for Microsoft Office XP is installed.

Recommended. Both are important.

Thursday, March 11, 2004

No words of great wisdom today. Picked up an ear ache, the doc says it was probably caused by too much enthusiasm with the cotton swabs. The result is some irritation, and a lot of aching. Got some ear drops to reduce swelling and the infection, and a heat pad to reduce the pain (along with some Motrin). Still quite uncomfortable; stayed home from work today other than going to the doctor's office.

I did watch a movie about Charlie Chaplin (I think it was called "Chaplin"), which was fairly good. Other than that, nothing else to report. As one of the other Daynoters would say, I'm "whackered". (I forget who, and am too tired to look it up.)

... more later ...
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