Complex Distress

Update on my Home Network

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:15:00 +0000

A few years ago I gave a rundown of what I'm running on my local network. Back then it was barely a network with only two machines and a since router. These days it's expanded to 3 computers, three routers, a printer, an external hard drive, and an iPhone. Still small, I know, but it's a lot to have in the living room, for sure.

Here's the rundown....

Compaq Presario C700 Laptop
Got this Vista Pro machine a few months ago for about $500 and couldn't be happier. With it's dual core processor (I know, so 2007!) and 2 GB of RAM, it's by far the fastest hardware I have. Really enjoyable to use.

Sony Viao pcvrx462ds Desktop
Purchased in August 2001, one month before the launch of XP and therefore originally installed with Windows ME, this machine is now 7 years old, and it's the machine I'm typing on right now. With an upgrade to Windows XP PRO, it's still my main desktop, and I use it daily for email and surfing. Can't do much more with just 384 MB of RAM. I'm still using the same hard drive it was purchased with (plus 2 additional ones). Which reminds me, I need to run SpinRite on this baby this week.

eMachines T3085 Server (sort of)
If you thought my main desktop was crazy, wait till you hear this! Bought this Windows XP Home badboy just about 4 years ago for about $650 off the shelf at Best Buy. When I told the guy that I was going to use it as a server, he thought I was nuts. Now it acts as my main media and file server, backup machine, Apache web server (hosting 10 sites), and mail server (hosting 100+ email addresses). If that wasn't enough, it also can record 4 TV shows at a time with 2 dual-head cable-tv capture cards. I recently installed a 3rd capture card to record over-the-air high definition TV. A sub-$200 video card drives the dual monitor setup to push video to the TV full screen and a desktop to a flatscreen LG monitor. Oh, and of course it's where I use iTunes for syncing my iPhone.

Even with it's whopping 2.17 Ghz Athlon XP 3000+ single-core (so sad) processor and 1 full GB of RAM, it's beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. It has some stuttering when I'm watching TV, ripping CD's in iTunes, and recording a couple other shows all at the same time.

Just reading this as I'm writing it makes me think maybe that guy at Best Buy was sorta right about me. I might just be a little nuts to have all this going on a single machine. But so far it's been working for me.

The next moves are going to be significant though. It's time to start thinking about separating some of the functions of my server, and the desktop machine is really beginning to show it's age.

Here's a few items on my wishlist if you're interesting in sending anything :

New dual-core desktop to take over most of the responsibilities of the media and file server, leaving the current machine to continue displaying the TV (streaming files over the network) and running the web and mail services. Maybe I'll add a DNS server function too. I mean, if the machines down you can't surf to the sites anyway!

A new dual-core laptop to take over as the main desktop for email and surfing. The current machine would make a great web and email services machine, and free up the existing emachine to move to a small living-room friendly case.

Not really sure about that change though, is it's still probably 6 months to a year away. Hopefully I'll post again before then. Some comments would help. What do you say, am I nuts or just making the most of some pretty basic equipement?

Switching from Comcast to Atlantic Nexus

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:04:00 +0000

A few months back, Comcast started blocking port 25 on my connection. After a few phone calls, I realized they were not going to lift the block under any circumstances unless I upgraded to a business class service. Within 3 days I had a new ISP through a regional DSL provider, Atlantic Nexus, and was ready to cancel Comcast.

My problems began because I am running my own mail server at home. I just prefer to be able to ensure that my email is under my control. I can add addresses easier that having to log onto some other service. Plus I just feel more secure having my email automatically collected for me on my home machine. I figured as long as the traffic was low it would go unnoticed. And it did, for a couple years actually.

But then I switched to Gmail, and am forwarding all my received mail back out to Gmail. Because all spam is forwarded as well, and I get about 400 messages a day, that's a lot of emailing spam. Almost immediately Comcast blocked me.

I switched from Comcast to a small regional ISP here in Atlanta with DSL service. Atlantic Nexus' service couldn't be better, they do NOT block any ports, and don't mind that I'm running a server. Looking back, I can't believe I resisted the urge to go back to DSL from Cable for so long. Yes, paying for the home phone like completely sucks. You get ripped off by the phone company for the cost of a basic line with no long distance (can you believe they still charge for that!). BUT, DSL service is much cheaper than Comcast, so it's really only about 10 bucks more a month.

And that's a small price to pay for the freedom from the shackels of Comcast!

What's your experience with either Comcast or a regional ISP?

Use Gmail and IMAP to Access Your POP3 Email from Anywhere on Multiple Devices/Clients, and Get Great Spam Filtering at the Same Time

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:08:00 +0000

Why Use Gmail and IMAP to Access Your POP3 Email

You want to access your email from multiple devices such as a mobile phone, home computer, and the web.
You want your mail to synchronize between all devices so, for example, a message sent from any device will show in the sent folder on all devices.
You want better spam filtering.
You want a backup of your email.

What You Need To Use Gmail to Access your POP3 Email

You have one or more POP3 email accounts.
You have the ability to forward incoming mail sent to the POP3 accounts to some other email address.
You have some other email address, either another POP3 address or some other web based email address, to use as a secondary email address for Gmail.

General Outline of Steps

Create a new Gmail email address.
Forward your POP3 email address to the new Gmail address.
Configure the Gmail account to be able to send mail as your POP3 email address.
Configure the Gmail account to enable IMAP support.
Setup your devices to access your new Gmail account.
Configure your devices to use the Gmail folders for Sent Mail, Drafts, and Junk/Spam mail.
Copy your old mail into your new Gmail account.

Create a New Gmail Email Address

Visit Gmail and click on the "Sign up for Gmail" link.
Fill out the form to create your new Gmail address.
Enter your secondary email address. This address can be used to recover your Gmail password if you ever forget it.

Forward Your POP3 Email to the New Gmail Address

How you forward your POP3 mail will depend on where you get your POP3 email from. You'll need to do this part with whatever service you use to get your POP3 email.

Configure Gmail to Allow it to Send Mail as your POP3 Address

In Gmail, click on Settings and then Accounts. Click the link to add another email address, and enter your POP3 email address. Don't bother specifying another "reply-to" address, you actually want replies sent to your POP3 address.
Check your Gmail inbox. You should receive a message from Gmail with a link. If you receive this email, which Gmail actually sent to your POP3 address, it means your POP3 address is forwarding to the Gmail account correctly.
Click on the link in the email to verify that your Gmail account may send mail as your POP3 address.

Enable IMAP Support in your New Gmail Account

In Gmail, click on Settings and then "Forwarding and POP/IMAP". Choose the option to enable IMAP, and click Save Changes.

Setup your Devices to Access your New Gmail Account

In Gmail, click on Settings and then "Forwarding and POP/IMAP". Click on the "Configuration Instruction" link.
Choose the instructions for whatever device you're using, such as your iPhone, Thunderbird, or Outlook.
To ensure that your outgoing email appears to come from your POP3 email address, make sure to use your POP3 email address in the "email address" field, but use your Gmail address in the Incoming/Outgoing email address fields. This will ensure that the email appears to come from the POP3 email address, which Gmail will allow because you configured it above to allow it to send mail as this address. Using your POP3 address as your email address will also ensure that replies go back to your POP3 address.
Configure the correct incoming port for your device according to the instructions.
Configure the correct outgoing port for your device according to the instructions.
Check that your incoming and outgoing connection is secure with either SSL or TSL, again according to the specific instructions for your device. Some devices, such as the iPhone, do this automatically.

Configure the Sent, Draft, and Junk/Spam Folders

Depending on what devise you're using, the specific instructions will differ. The objective is to ensure that the mail is being saved or moved to the Gmail folder, and not being saved on the local client device. When mail is saved or moved to a Gmail folder, the folder with sync correctly with your other devices, so your sent mail, drafts, and trash appear in every device you're using.
Check your new Gmail account using the device, and be sure that messages are arriving correctly. Do this by sending a message to your POP3 address from some other email address, and confirming that it's actually arriving in your inbox on the client device.
Then configure the account to use the Gmail version of your sent, draft, and junk/spam folders.

Copy your Old Email Messages into your New Gmail Account

Use your existing email client to copy the messages from your old POP3 account into the folder in your Gmail account. If you've been using Thunderbird, this is as simple as dragging and dropping the messages from your old inbox to the new Gmail inbox. Same goes for the Sent mail folder, and any drafts you have.

iPhone Upgrade from 4GB to 16GB Model

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 05:57:00 +0000

Five months ago I purchased the discontinued 4GB version of the iPhone right after the price drop. At $300, I spent the better part of that time justifying the expense. I'll do it again now. I didn't own an iPod, I desperately needed a new cell phone, my company took back the Blackberry they had given me several months earlier, and I already had service with AT&T.

Justification, and More Justification

So $300 for a new smart phone seemed completely reasonable. And thankfully, I've fallen in love with it. I recently figured out how to convert DVD's and load them to the phone, which just increased the love. And now I wanted more storage. I'd also saved every bit of packaging with the intention to sell it once the next gen model came out. While the 16GB model isn't the 3G 2nd Gen that I was hoping for, I thought it was still time to resell the 4GB model while it still had a market.

eBay Takes the Old Phone Away

After a 24-hour fire-sale on eBay, the phone sold for $355, and I was off to buy the new 16GB model. I feel a little guilty about selling a used phone for $55 more than I paid for it, but I got over that quickly. At $355, the phone is still cheaper than the lowest cost new model at $400. And the package that the buyer will receive is in pristine condition. I included the entire package of the new phone in with the old phone, right down to the brand new earbuds, mini-dock, charger and cable, finger tips, warranty booklet, Apple logo stickers, and lint-free cloth. After thoroughly cleaning the phone, I even re-wrapped the phone itself in the plastic from the new phone.

Wipe, Backup, Restore, and Sync

I was nervous about the big switch over to the new phone. But that couldn't have gone smoother. Before boxing the old phone, I finally pushed that restore button that's been staring at me in iTunes for the last 5 months. Before wiping the phone completely, the restore process made a backup. When the restore finished, however, the phone still displayed the "This iPhone is activated" message. But that was resolved next.

I plugged in the new phone, and iTunes popped up the activation menu. One of the options was to transfer the account to the new phone. After enter my phone number and Apple ID, the new phone became activated, and the old phone deactivated. I was presented with a screen that said that I needed a NEW 2-year contract with AT&T. From what I've read, AT&T will back-date this new contract to the start date of my previous contract. I don't much care either way; it would only mean a 5 month extension on the contract anyway. Not a big deal, I wasn't going anywhere without my iPhone in the next 2 years anyway.

Next up was the restore process, using the backup I'd made of the old phone. After a couple minutes, the new phone was configured identical to the old phone, right down to retaining the last numbers I had displayed on the calculator! Only my passwords weren't restored, including all email accounts and wi-fi passwords.

Finally I pushed the Sync button, and watched as all my songs, podcasts, video's and pictures loaded to the new device. A quick Bluetooth headset pairing, and I was done.

The Upgrade User Experience

Overall the wipe of the old phone, activation, restore, and sync of the new phone, was super smooth. Only encountered a couple minor glitchs along the way. My first attempt at wiping the old phone failed for an "unknown" reason. I guess, correctly, that there wasn't enough free space on the phone to load and run the backup/restore functions. A quick delete of some of the movies opened enough space, that the 2nd time around worked fine. I also had temporary amnesia for my Apple ID, but got back on the right track quickly. Since every Apple store in the state of Georgia is sold out of 16 GB models, I had to make my purchase at an AT&T store. That was fine though. I got the same phone as I'd get at an Apple store, without the "we're Apple, we're better" attitude. Not only because they actually were in stock, I gotta say, the AT&T store was a better shopping experience. No mall traffic to fight, and, oh, did I mention that they actually had phones available?

So that's my iPhone upgrade story. Hope you've enjoyed it. I'm jonesing for my next iPhone hit, so I'll catch you later. Thanks for reading. Any one want to share their upgrade stories in the comments?

YouTube and Multiple Monitors

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 06:31:00 +0000

YouTube with multiple monitors or just dual monitors used to be a lot of fun. Because YouTube would launch the full-screen mode in a separate window, you could drag that window to another monitor, and then while watching the video on that screen, you could either cue up other video's on another monitor or just do anything else on the system that you wanted.

However, in early 2007 YouTube started to take advantage of Adobe Flash Player's new feature of true window-less full screen, instead of launching in another browser window. Sounds great, but if you try to do anything else with the computer on another monitor, you'll immediately exist full-screen mode.

This has been frustrating me for weeks, but I've finally found a solution. Sort of. There's no way to turn this feature off in Adobe Flash Player 9, but you can uninstall it, and re-install Flash Player 8. Works like a charm, and is really easy.

Here's a link to the Flash Player 8 download.

Case Move: Selecting the Right Enclosure for Your Rig

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 02:52:00 +0000

This is the first part in a series of articles I'll be writing on the topic of moving your computer into a new case. For this installment, I thought it best if I begin by setting up my goals for a new case.

Start by thinking about what the purpose of the machine will be, and where it will live. In my case, my computer lives in the living room (hidden behind a couch). This is my general purpose machine that I use to surf and check email, mainly. But I do bang on it pretty hard. The machine itself is now 5 years old, but still runs great, and I don't plan to ever again buy a built system. Over time, I'm planning to simply update parts of this machine.

So my goals were to find a quiet case with medium performance characteristics that could grow with me over time. I'm planning on having this case for a very long time -- I wouldn't be surprised if I still used it 10 years from now. Case prices can vary widely from $25 for a beige box to $300+ for all aluminum 4-fan 7-bay monster. I decided to spend about $125, and that had to include the power supply.

On the top of my requirements list was a case that required only a single 120mm fan. Larger fans rotate slower and move more air. Quieter and more effient? How can you go wrong! I also wanted an all aluminum case. I ended up letting go a little on this one, they're just too expensive. Rounded edges on the internal steel was also important. Didn't want to cut myself trying to replace a hard drive.

Initially I was looking at Antec's Performance One Series, and the P150 in particular. It's durable, quiet, and is certainly pretty, but expensive. In the end I decided on the Sonata II from Antec's Lifestyle Series. While nearly identical, there are some slight differences. The Sonata II's power supply is just slightly beefier. The PSU has two fans, one on the inside that runs continuously, and a second on the exterior that only runs when the system gets hot. The hard drive bays are also turned perpendicular so they're easier to insert the drives since they're facing you.

The case also comes with a "washable air filter" in the front air intake grill, which honestly makes no sense to me. If the case was truely buttoned up, and all the intake air came through this filter it would be great, but this case has a huge air intake grill in the back that has no filter at all. So I just can't see how the filter is filtering anything!

That grill on the back is connected to what Antec has named the "Advanced Chassis Air Guide" or ACAG. This is essentially a tube that runs from the back of the case directly to the CPU. Think of it as a grill hood, but here the air is drawn into the machine and directed right to the CPU. I honestly have no idea if it's doing a damn thing, but sure do like the idea. It has room for up to 2 additional fans within the air guide itself, one for the CPU, and a second over the graphics card. Right now, I have an 80mm fan attached to the top of the heatsink, and I've gotta believe all that vibration can't be good for the CPU. It's also noisy as hell, so very soon I'll probably replace it with a 92mm fan that will be mounted inside the ACAG. While we're on the topic, I'll mention that the large case exhust fan on the back has a 3-speed switch, so you can decide how fast you want it to go. I'm probably going to put it on a motherboard controlled fan speed regulator soon though.

In the next article, I'll write about how I prepared for the move to the new case. Or rather how I didn't, but should have.

Windows Home Networking Demystified

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 03:06:00 +0000

So you're setting up your own home network for the first time, and you need some basic information about how to proceed? For example, you want to share files and print to a common printer. It can seem pretty daunting, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to write out some details in plain English that should point you in the right direction.

Preparation and Security

Since you'll be allowing other computers to access your machine, you'll want to make sure only machines on your network can do that, and that machines on the internet can not. Here's a checklist of what to do first:

Get a DSL/Cable NAT Router - this is a physical box that's connected to your DSL or Cable Modem. It will ensure that while you can get out to the internet, no one from out on the internet can directly access your computers. Routers will handle all of the internet connection stuff, and will also act as a Network Switch, so you can connect all your computer it. More info...

Download and install Hamachi - This program will setup a secure network connection between each of your machines. Later we'll be turning on software on your computer that will allow other machines to access files on your computer, but only through the Hamachi connection. All communications between the machines will be secure and encrypted. So even if somehow someone evil got past your DSL/Cable Router you'd still be safe. This step is super important if you're using a wireless network since the wireless part of the router is already inside your network. More info...

Temporarily disable firewalls and virus software - While you're getting your network setup, these things will just add to the confusion. Be sure you've followed the above steps first. Once everything's up and running you can turn the firewalls and virus software back on. More info...

Check the physical connections - Each computer will have a network cable that gets plugged into the router. There's a link light next to each plug (both on the computer and the router) that will be on when the wires are physically connected. More info...

Computer Name

Since you'll have multiple computers on your network, each machine will need a name. Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties and look at the Computer Name tab. Click on the Change button (skip the Network ID wizard -- I hate wizards) and pick a computer name and a workgroup name. Unless you have more than a couple machines on your network, ignore anything about "Domains", and use a "Workgroup" instead. Do this on all your computers, and use the same Workgroup name but pick a different computer name for each machine.

Network Connections

Go to the Control Panel and open the Network Connections option (in the "Network and Internet Connections" section). You'll need at least 2 "Lan or High-Speed Internet" connections - one for the internet and one for Hamachi. If you've installed Hamachi already, the Hamachi connection should already be there. If you have any Network Bridges, you can probably just delete them. Since you've got the Router to connect the different computers, the Bridge is unnecessary. Same goes for ICS or Internet Connection Sharing. Both Bridges and ICS are Microsoft's way of helping users to make networks without the need to purchase a physical router. But since we needed the router to be our firewall, tricks like bridging and ICS are redundant, so get rid of them.

If you don't have a connection item labeled "Internet" you'll need to create one. Click on "Create a New Connection" then choose "Connect to the Internet". Now select "Setup my connection manually" and "Connect using a broadband connection that is always on". Now you should have an Internet item.

Configuring Network Connections

Time to configure the properties of each of your two "Lan or High-Speed Internet" connections. Right-click on the Hamachi connection and choose Properties. If you haven't already, now is a good time to turn off the pesky Windows Firewall -- just go to the Advanced tab. Back on the General tab, your connection will need the following 3 items:

Client for Microsoft Networks - This client program allows you to connect to OTHER computers. If it's not listed, you'll need to install it.

File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks - With this service you can share your files and printers with other machines on your network.

Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) - This is how your connection will communicate with other machines, sort of like a common language.

Check all 3 items for the Hamachi connection. Only check Internet Protocol for the Internet connection. Using this setup you'll only be sharing files over the Hamachi connection which will ensure the communication is encrypted and secure.

Free File Encryption with PGP

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 19:18:00 +0000

PGP Corporation offers a free trial version of thier full desktop program which allows you to securely encrypt files on your computer. I use it to encrypt a password storage file where I keep all the passwords I use on the web. The full trial comes with email and IM encryption as well as conventional file encryption. After 30 days the trial version reverts to freeware with the file encryption ability only.

The download and installation process is a little bit of a headache. PGP makes you jump through a couple hoops, but just take your time and be sure to read the email you receive completely. Be sure to make a note of the Name and Company for the licensing.

PGP Desktop Professional 9.0 Trial Software

Static IP's and DNS Settings

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 19:20:00 +0000

Using static IP addresses on your LAN is both convenient and necessary if you're forwarding incoming traffic to specific machines. Makes sense that you want the target machine to have a known internal IP address. What to set as the DNS address isn't as clear.

You could figure out what DNS address your gateway router is using, and use that. But since the gateway's WAN IP address (and thus the DNS address) is usually dynamically assigned, there's the possibility that your ISP's DNS address might change. Which would leave your machine with the wrong DNS address. Not ideal.

However, our reason for using a static IP address had nothing to do with the DNS. In fact, having the DNS address dynamically assigned would be fine. Unfortunately, if you specify a static IP address, you must also use a static DNS address.

The solution? Use your router's address as your DNS address, and let your router forward the DNS query on to it's WAN DNS address. You'll need to enable the DHCP option on your router. You might also need to select a static IP address that is within the range of dynamic IP's that the router is handing out.

Aggregate RSS Feeds with Thunderbird 1.5

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 01:44:00 +0000

The latest release of Mozilla Thunderbird version 1.5 now has a great new RSS feed aggregating feature. Thunderbird's had some basic RSS functionality for a while, but it's been missing the ability to folder multiple feeds into a single location. Instead of needing to check a bunch of different folders, I can just have it all download to a single spot. Yeah, yeah, I know there's a bunch of other applications that will do this, but it's nice to have it in the same location as my email.

Upgrading from 1.0.7 to 1.5 was little nerve racking though. After running the upgrade, Thunderbird wouldn't start. Looked like it was trying to start, but then nothing would happen. After a couple tries, I finally just uninstalled and then reinstalled and it worked fine.

Hamachi - The Holy Grail VPN

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 04:06:00 +0000

If you've always wanted a super secure way of connecting computers for file sharing and remote access, but have gone cross-eyed trying to setup a VPN, then look no further, Hamachi is what you've been searching for.

This little program is just amazing. The basics is that Hamachi installs a virtual network adapter in your computer, and assigns your machine an additional IP address. You can then create a new virtual "workgroup" which your computers can then join. Using the virtual workgroup, you now have access to all the other computers connected to your virtual workgroup as if they were sitting on your own lan. Connections to and from your new IP address are encrypted by Hamachi so your traffic can't be intercepted between machines.

What this means is that you can then use the Windows File and Print Sharing over this new network without fear that your exposing yourself to the internet.

Security Now 5 - Released

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 16:57:00 +0000

Continuation on passwords - this time with multiple user submissions. 19:44, 9.3 MB, MP3.

read more | digg story

Complete System for Just $229

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 04:49:00 +0000

Best Buy is selling a complete system package for just $229. This includes the CPU, monitor, and printer. The CPU is a 2.8 GHz Intel Celeron D. The model is an eMachines T3990, which is by no means a high-end machine, but it's real good 1st PC that's not going to break the bank.

The full price is $629, but comes with $400 in discounts in the form of 7 rebates. When you buy it, Best Buy will actually give you 7 additional Rebate Reciepts you can use for the mail-in rebates. Offer expires on Saturday, so you'll need to move quick.

eMachines 335 Desktop with 17-Inch Flat-Screen CRT Monitor & Inkjet Printer

Passwords

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 17:30:00 +0000

Some thoughts on this week's episode of Security Now! -- Without even realizing it, I've been using a password algorith for several of the sites that I visit. It's a pretty good idea too. Regardless of what site I'm visiting, I always know my password because I can reconstruct it using the algorithm. Only been using it on a few high security sites, but I think I'll expand it to other sites I visit regularly too.

Security Now! Episode 4

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 06:41:00 +0000

In this edition Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte talk about passwords, but first an update from last week's show, including a look at the Smoothwall Linux distribution.

read more | digg story

Microsoft Update

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:36:00 +0000

Recently, our favorite villain Microsoft has started a new service called Microsoft Update. Similar to Windows Update, the Microsoft Update site gets you updates to the Windows OS as well as updates to other MS products you're using. Seems to me like they're just trying to blur the lines between the OS and their applications again. Wonder how they'll categorize updates for Outlook Express and IE.

My Server is Laughable!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 05:32:00 +0000

I'd recently described my server setup to some friends, and they thought it was pretty funny. So I thought I'd take a minute to describe it to you and see if you thought it was laughable too. Here's some of the items I've got configured on my "webservices" machine:

MailEnable Mail Server
Apache HTTP Web Server
FileZilla FTP Server
DNS Server
Dual Monitor (my TV is the other monitor)
ATI All In Wonder Pro
ATI Remote Wonder (RF remote for the TV)
Beyond TV3 from Snapstream

I host at least 35 different email accounts, 10 FTP accounts, and 10 websites. I get over 350 users (including you) accessing the machine on any given day. All of this is running on an eMachines T3085 computer I picked up a Best Buy for under $600. Oh, and it's a Windows XP Home machine too. It's been virus-free, and spy-ware free since I started running it over a year ago.

I'd say that's a pretty good setup. Granted, I'm screwed if it ever dies. It'll take weeks to rebuild. I think it's the TV that really puts it over the edge. During sweeps weeks, it's not uncommon for me to be recording 10 hours of video broadcasts a day.

When I was describing my network, I think the people I was talking to thought I had multiple machines for all this. Yeah, like I'm made of money. At some point I think I'll try switching this all to a laptop. I'm beginning to enjoy the challenge.

So, what do you think? Am I crazy, or is this an efficient use of hardware? Post a comment below to let me know.

Firefox Bookmark Toolbar Folders

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 01:23:00 +0000

Thought I'd write a quick post about one of my most favorite things about Firefox. Before using Firefox, I'd never really been much interested in keeping my bookmarks organized, but now that's changed. The main reason is the tabbed browsing feature. If you're still using Internet Explorer, you're really missing out. While it's included in the soon to be released version, it's not available yet.

I keep all my bookmarks in folders that are available on the Bookmark's Toolbar Folder. Any bookmark in the Toolbar Folder will appear on the toolbar at the top of the Firefox window. When you create a sub-folder on the Toolbar Folder, you can access all the bookmarks in that folder right from the main window.

Even better, each folder has link called Open in Tabs which will open all the bookmarks in that folder in separate tabs. So, I've got a News folder with a bunch of news sites, and a Blogger folder with all the links that I need open when I'm posting, and a Money folder with all the sites I need when I pay my bills.

Anyway, it's real handy and so I thought I'd let you know.

Adding a Second NAT Router

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 16:23:00 +0000

As many readers of Complex Distress already know, networking security is a favorite topic of mine. The idea of being completely firewalled from the internet is just plain good sense. But of course being completely firewalled is not a possibility when you're running a web, mail, and FTP server inside your network. After all, when you run any service on your network, the point is to let outside users make requests.

So when I started bring those services into my network, I had to open holes through my firewall so that the traffic could be routed to the appropriate machine. Since my personal machine is locked up tight (i.e., no filesharing allowed), I'm not too concerned about a security risk with this setup.

But with the webserver running on my internal network, there's always the possibility that it could be compromised, and in turn used to attack the rest of my network.

To completely eliminate that possibility, I've added an additional router to my network. The first router allows access to the internet. Only the webserver and the second router are connected to it. The rest of the machines in my network are now connected to the second router. This second router provides an extra layer of protection both from the internet and the partially exposed webserver.

This post wouldn't be complete if I didn't give a nod to Steve Gibson. Steve's site at GRC.com and his recent Security Now podcast gave me the extra push to go forward with setting this up.

Nat Router Security Solutions at GRC.com

Spirit Reaches Husband Hill Summit

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 15:51:00 +0000

After a many-months long climb, the Mars Rover Spirit has finally made it to the top of Husband Hill. Husband Hill is the tallest of the 7 hills seen from Spirits landing site and was named for the commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Perched atop the hill at nearly 270 feet above the plain, the view is breathtaking.

To get a sense of how far Spirit has traveled, check out this view of the Columbia Hills Complex taken from Spirit's landing site more than 3 kilometers away.

View from the top of Husband Hill
Columbia Hills Complex
NASA Press Release
Press Release Images

Security Now Episode 003 Released

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 01:34:00 +0000

Title says it all. (link is directly to the mp3)

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Complex Distress Turns Two

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 18:47:00 +0000

Complex Distress is celebrating it's second birthday today! It's been an amazing couple of years. What started out as just a simple way to post the advice I was already giving friends and family has turned into a major obsession. Complex Distress now receives over 200 visits daily from every continent in the world!

Things sure have changed a lot in those 2 years:

Domain Name: Changed from a BlogSpot host to it's own domain (complexdistress.com)
Server Software: Changed from Abyss to Apache
Server Hardware: Upgraded from a virtual machine to dedicated hardware
Posts: 165 total posts
Visits: 202 daily, 6000 per month
Top Countries: US, Japan, China, Australia, UK, Korea, France, Zimbabwe, Canada, and Singapore
Template Design: Four major changes

The biggest hurdle, however, hasn't been hardware or software, it's been Blog Burnout. But with two years down, I think I might be over that hurdle. So look for more posts in the future. I really hope you've enjoyed reading the site as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

I'm always looking for new topics to write about, so if you'd like to make a suggestion, just post a comment.

Broadband Speed Test

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 17:39:00 +0000

Ever wonder how fast your internet connection is? Want to make sure you're actually getting the connection you're paying for? Have you ever hunted around for a speed test only to find that the server is too busy? Well now you can easily test your speed using Speakeasy's Speed Test, by far the easiest and most reliable method of testing your internet connection that I've seen.

The Speakeasy Speed Test tests your connection speed by measuring both your download and upload rates from a number of locations around the country. The speed test can accurately measure your line throughput or internet connection speed.

Be sure to choose the server nearest you. That way you'll be testing your connection to the internet and not the speed of the internet itself. For the upload test to work you'll need to temporarily bypass any proxy filters you have running on your machine.

Here's my results using my Comcast cable connection:

Download Speed: 4075 kbps (509.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 358 kbps (44.8 KB/sec transfer rate)

Let me know how fast (or slow!) your connection is by posting a comment with your results.

Test Your Connection Speed

Security Now! Episode 2

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Watts) — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 05:57:00 +0000

The latest security news with Steve Gibson of ShieldsUP and Spinrite. In this episode, Microsoft's Strider Honeymonkey uncovers bad guys on the net, but will the company share the information or keep it to itself for financial gain?

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