Update without access.
May 19, 2004
As I write this, my website is currently down. My little diatribe about PGE and Comcast taking dwon my Internet connection in my apartment apparently played havoc on my Mom’s house where the computer holding my website is currently running, and so barring any problems with the machine itself, my Mom’s connection must have been reset too. It would be much simpler to pay a hosting company to hold my website, but A) I’d have to pay a monthly/yearly fee in order to store my website with them, and B) I wouldn’t have full control of the machine so that I can upgrade it, etc. But I guess in return for those luxuries, I have to deal with a reset Internet connection now and then. I found a piece of software that will send out an email every time the host computer’s IP address is changed, so I’ll have to give that a shot and see how it works.
Like before, though, when I was in Bend a few months ago and my Internet connection was reset, I tried to “find” my website by scanning a range of IP addresses that I know belong to Comcast and seeing if I could identify one of them as my website. I downloaded a port scanning tool, I set it to scan on port 80 (which is the port that websites and web browsers talk on), and let it loose. The result was that I got a huge list of computers running a web server of some kind, but not all of them were websites. Some of them were firewalls with remote administartion enabled (so that you could manage it from anothe rlocation), others were people’s computers with a web server running they didn’t even know about, and one was even the configuration tool for a Textronix printer with my password. If I wanted to, I could have done anything from change the printer’s settings, restrat it, have it kick out page after page of blank paper, or even shut it down. You see, port scanning tools are on the fringe of allowed software, and in many places, the usage of a port scanning tool would egt me in trouble. People with malicious intentions can scan computers looking for ports that are open, and if there’s some sort of Trojan or exploit running on that port, then the hacker can, well, hack. As you can see, I had that opportunity, but A) I don’t go for that sort of thing, and B) even if I did, I’m at work and I could get in trouble here. I probably shouldn’t have done the scan from here at work, and I decided to stop it after awhile because it was taking attention away from things I needed to be doing.
I’ve had a project I’m working on for the last few days here at work, and it’s not progressing well. I keep find bug after bug that’s preventing me from running through this testing procedure we’re using, and so my goal of having everything tested by today is not turning out quite the way I expected. I keep having to run the same tests over and over again, and nothing’s going the way it shoudl be (well, nothing with the program I’m using, that is). I have this to look forward to as long as I work here, so I need to find ways to deal with unworking programs. Whee.
I’ve been looking at cars again, though I’m still not exactly sure what I’m looking for. Things on the Internet always look better than they do in real life, no? My Mom thinks I should get a Honda. My Dad thinks I should get a Ford. My sister thinks I should get a PT Cruiser. Dan thinks I should get a Jetta. Any more suggestions? The only HOnda I could afford is a Civic, and while that wouldn’t be 100% bad, I have my reservations about driving one. I’m not particularly interested in Ford Focuses, PT Cruisers are a bit too expensive for my price range, but Jettas far sqaurely into the kinds of features I’m looking for and how much I’m willing to pay. And you’ve got to hand it to the Germans, they make great cars. Anyone else have any more suggestions?
Tonight I’m going to get home, go jogging, play my for a little while, perhaps, and then watchign the series finale of “Angel”, which I’ve enjoyed watching this season. Tomorrow, more of the same here at work. Hopefully I can find out what’s going on with my web server by then. Later, all.
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May 19th, 2004 at 9:43 pm
Abby’s 2001 Chevy Prizm has been a great car for her, and a great price since we had GM miles to donate to her cause. It gets good mileage and has been very reliable. It is the same car as one of the Toyotas — I can’t remember which one.
Good luck!
May 20th, 2004 at 6:57 am
The Chevy Prism is a clone of the Toyota Corolla, although there are some differences. How do I know this? I read Consumer Reports, which I suggest also. In other words, do you your homework. If I recall correctly, the Honda Civic placed second to the Jetta last year. I do have a soft spot for the Toyota Prius, though, and supposedly you get a tax break if you buy that car.