Archive for June, 2008
Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron update manager freezes issue
June 27th, 2008. Published under Uncategorized. No Comments.
I may be a Windows pro, but I am an amateur in every extent of the word when it comes to Ubuntu Linux. I’ve installed 7.10 twice and upgraded once to 8.04, which I run on one of the computers at my desk. I tinker with it much less than I intended to. However, I have searched posts and Googled some to solve (read: find solutions posted by others) a few Ubuntu problems here and there.
One such issue was with the Update Manager on Ubuntu 8.04, otherwise known as Hardy Heron. After upgrading 7.10 to 8.04, the Update Manager failed to work. It would appear to freeze up at the point where you would expect the password box to appear.
So digging into the forums, I found a thread that led me to the /etc/hosts file. The beginning of my hosts file read as such:
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.1.1 PCNAME.NETWORKNAME
To fix the issue with the Update Manager, all I had to do was remove the “.NETWORKNAME” part. It is also worth noting the third octet of the second IP address is a “1″, not a “0″.
The thread on the Ubuntu Forums where I detail this (user: brown705) is here. In the thread, specifically post #6, is where I reference the original source of the solution.
UPDATE: This is also the same fix for the sudo “unable to resolve host” error.
A field guide to Firefox 3
June 27th, 2008. Published under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Yes, there are a lot of articles about Firefox 3 out there, since it just came out. FF3 is a great browser (my browser of choice, along with a few million other people). I certainly have not read all of these articles, but here is a great one from dria.org that has links to more specific information on each topic.
10 things you can *try* when Windows XP will not boot
June 26th, 2008. Published under Uncategorized. No Comments.
This article, on TechRepublic, is called “10 things you can do when Windows XP won’t boot”, but I think my title is more accurate. Many, many things can cause Windows XP to not boot, so this list is most certainly not a definitive list that will make XP boot once again. But, it does cover the basics, and there is a decent chance on of these will fix things. It is worth noting that number ten, “Perform an in-place upgrade”, will cause a lot of extra work, in that you’ll have to reinstall most of your apps, since a fresh new registry is written to the disk. More importantly, if I remember correctly (its been a while since I’ve done this myself), it also overwrites the “Documents and Settings” folder on the system drive, which would wipe out all user profiles (read: wipe out your My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, etc). Usually not the best option. Oh, you say you don’t have a backup of your data? Tsk, tsk.
I would add a section in number ten and first recover data. Here are three ways to first recover data:
- Remove the drive and set it as a slave in another computer. This would allow you to copy data over using the other computer’s OS. You then burn to disc or copy to USB drive or whatever.
- Remove the drive and put it in an external enclosure that will allow you to plug the drive into another computer. Same result as the first option, where you can burn or copy the data using the other computer. Or better yet, just buy a new hard drive for your computer, install Windows (or another OS), reinstall all your apps, then use the old hard drive in the external enclosure to copy over your data to your new hard drive. Then wipe the old hard drive clean and use this old hard drive and external enclosure to regularly backup your data, as you should have been in the first place.
- Use an “OS on a CD” solution, such as the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows, or a Linux Live CD, or the like. The UBCD for Win is great. I keep one in my briefcase at all times. Anyway, boot your computer to the UBCD4Win disk, which is loaded with diagnostic tools and stuff. If these don’t work, at least you should be able to recover data from this environment using your burner or USB drive.
These days we are dealing with it (Chinese domain scams, that is)
June 26th, 2008. Published under Uncategorized. 2 Comments.
For the sake of privacy, I have changed the domain name in question to “DOMAIN” in the messages below.
In early April I received the following message:
From: Hayee.zhao [mailto:Hayee.zhao@shundajishu.net.cn]
Sent: Tue 3/25/2008 8:27 PM
To: –removed–
Subject: DOMAIN-Intellectual property rights (To CEO)Dear CEO,
We are the domain name registration organization in Asia, which mainly deal with international company’s in Asia. We have something important need to confirm with your company.
On the March 25, 2008, we received an application formally. One company named “Lunyu AP Company” wanted to register following
Domain names:
DOMAIN.info
DOMAIN.cc
DOMAIN.asia
DOMAIN.mobi
DOMAIN.tw
DOMAIN.com.tw
DOMAIN.cn
DOMAIN.com.cn
DOMAIN.net.cn
DOMAIN.org.cn
DOMAIN.asia
Internet brand keyword:
DOMAIN
through our body.
After our initial examination, we found that the keywords and domain names applied for registration are as same as your company’s name and trademark. These days we are dealing with it. If you do not know this company, we doubt that they have other aims to buy these domain names. Now we have not finished the registration of Lunyu AP Company yet, in order to deal with this issue better, Please contact us by telephone or email as soon as possible.Best Regards,
Hayee zhao
TEL: 00852-3059 3057 00852-8122 6293
FAX: 00852-3059 3080 00852-8125 7328
Email: Hayee.zhao@shundajishu.net.cn
Web: http://www.star-east.hk
I passed it on to the owner of the company who owns DOMAIN.com, and I think the ball was dropped. Anyway, today I receive another, very similar message:
From: kevin [mailto:kevin@woneasy.cn]
Sent: Tue 6/24/2008 10:28 PM
To: –removed–
Subject: DOMAIN Intellectual Property Rights[TO:CEO]Dear Manager,
We are the domain name register center in Asia, which mainly deal with the domain name registration and dispute internationally. We have something important need to confirm with your company. On the Jun. 24, 2008, we received an application formally. One company named “SafNetwork Service Limited” wanted to register following:
Domain names:
DOMAIN.asia
DOMAIN.cn
DOMAIN.com.cn
DOMAIN.com.hk
DOMAIN.com.tw
DOMAIN.hk
DOMAIN.in
DOMAIN.tw
..etc
Internet Brand Name——” DOMAIN ” through our body.After our initial examination, we found that the internet Brand and domain names applied for registration are as same as your company’s name and trademark.These days we are dealing with it. If you do not know this company, we doubt that they have other aims to buy these domain names. Now we have not finished the registration of SafNetwork Company yet, in order to deal with this issue better, Please contact us by telephone or email as soon as possible.
Best Regards,
Kevin
Sponsoring Registrar: Asian Internet Domains Register Dept.
Tel: +852-3075 9838 Fax: +852-3177 1510
Email: kevin@woneasy.cn Website: www.oneeasy.hkConfidentiality Notice. This is a letter for confirmation. If the mentioned third party is your business partner or distributor in ASIA please DO NOT reply. We will automatically confirm application from your business partner after this audit procedure. we have to notify you, and our registration organization are not responsible for any dispute questions about trade mark, intellectual property nor patent after they succeed in registration. hope you can understand. thank you.
Experiencing deja vu, I searched my email and found the older one. Then I noticed these came from two different sources. This has “scam” written all over it. Googling for common text (I chose “these days we are dealing with it” because the phrase cracks me up) reveals a number of articles and blog posts about this scam (here is one in particular I read). It seems this began in 2007, but apparently is still making rounds.
Welcome to DustyCables.com
June 24th, 2008. Published under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Well, here we go. I’ll post tech-related stuff I think is nifty/neat/cool/etc and also post about solutions to actual technical problems I’ve faced before in my nearly ten years of formal technical employment and many more years of non-formal tinkering. But I’ll stick to the newer stuff, since I’m sure Windows 3.1 info would no longer be of any use. 
Most of the content here will be about Windows-based computing, general networking and other cool tech and web geek stuff. I’m tinkering with Ubuntu Linux here and there, so I’ll have a few things to say about it as well.
Oh, I’m Michael, by the way.