Online Resources

Written on February 17, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

One of the reasons I’ve been so upset over not having good internet access is that there are just so many things I want to do that require it. This won’t be news to any of my readers, of course, but it becomes even more apparent when that access is missing or impaired.

For instance, in late December I discovered a nifty website/Web app called Scrapplet. When I created a free account and started building pages on this site, it was more or less just for fun, to see what was possible. Now, though, I use it for my own organization, mainly to keep track of all the social networks I’ve joined. One of my pages is simply a collection of hyperlinks to each network’s page, so when I have a few minutes to check out the discussions, but don’t want to bother with organizing browser bookmarks (which are only up to date on one computer at a time), I just pull up my “social networks” page and click away. I was even able to quickly sort the network links by topic. Most important, the app works visually, via drag and drop. It’s possible to enhance the pages by adding code, of course, but that’s not strictly necessary. Virtually anyone capable of handling a web browser should be able to create a personal site at Scrapplet. It could be used to quickly prototype webpage designs, too.

Oh, and those online social networks! Obviously, to be active, it’s necessary to be online. Yes, I can see the sites on my iPhone, but except for a few individual networks, they are dependent on full-sized web browser screens, and use lots of visual effects. In at least one, I can’t even post a comment in a group discussion from my iPhone because of the underlying code. Apparently it requires a plug-in not available on the iPhone, like Flash or something.

But the thing that is really irritating is the way flakey internet access is making it difficult to do research for the book I’m working on (about ebook publishing), and to work on my websites. I would like to revamp my old History-eBooks website, and I have been working on it, but being frequently interrupted by crashing routers or bandwidth restrictions make that an uphill battle. In the time I’ve been able to get online, though, I’ve found a new tool for developing blog page themes, WordPress Theme Developer. It’s a free application running on a website, and works very well indeed, but yes, you have to be online to use it. Argh!

Posted in blogs, eBooks, ePublishing, Ning, Open Source, Social Networks, Software | Comment Now!

Site Enhancement

Written on February 15, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

I’ve just added a new feature to this site, which I may also implement on my personal blog. It’s called Snap Shot, and if you roll your mouse over any link in this page, you’ll see what it does.

The popup windows give you a glimpse (“snap shot”, doh!) of the target page, so you can either go there or not with more confidence. In some cases you might even be able to avoid surfing to the new page just by reading whatever is visible in the popup.

Of course, if you aren’t interested in seeing these things — they might be distracting — you can turn them off. Just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

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The Rest of the Story

Written on February 12, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

When I left off in my last posting, I was going to chase down the last vestiges of malware still apparently lurking on Phil’s MacBook Pro from the DNS Changer trojan horse. Even though I’d eliminated the installer, what it installed was still creating some kind of traffic back to a couple of IP addresses belonging to an ISP in the Ukraine. I could tell this was going on by observing the “network monitor” that is part of the Little Snitch spyware detector. Watching mDNSResponder light up more than once a second with calls to one of two IPs made it very obvious why our bandwidth usage was totally out of sight. As for what it was transmitting, I shudder to think…. Best case (which is not good) would be that its controllers were using Phil’s machine as part of a spam network. Worst case is that they were stealing data from his computer. Needless to say, we will keep a close eye on our various financial reports for any suspicious activity, but so far nothing like that has shown up, thank goodness.

mDNSResponder, by the way, is a software server that enables Apple’s Bonjour network, among other things. It is part of the MacOS. However, I didn’t know that when I started trying to track down all the rogue processes. As I mentioned previously, I blocked mDNSResponder using a Little Snitch “rule”, but I wanted to eliminate what was launching it. To this end, I started up the MacOS utiliy, Activity Monitor, which in addition to showing all the processes running on the computer, allow the administrator to shut them down selectively.

Little Snitch network monitor

Well, to make a long story short, apparently I got carried away. The concept was sound, but since I didn’t take the time to learn enough to really know what I was doing (always a dangerous thing for someone poking around the underbelly of the OS), I must have killed too many instances of the process, or the wrong ones, or something. Every time I tried to open a web page in FireFox, I had to click away a warning dialog, which got very old, very quickly. But the Little Sntich network monitor still showed traffic trying to go out to the Ukraine, even after restarting the computer and reinstalling FireFox!

So, I made an appointment with the “genius bar” at the local Apple Store. The very helpful techs there hadn’t seen this particular problem before, but they were able to isolate whatever it was that was making that call, and shut it down. As it happened, it was a QuickTime™ process, which is not surprising given that Phil probably acquired the trojan by trying to view a video someone had sent him. To help avoid such problems in the future, the “genius” suggested installing a bit of freeware, Perian, a QuickTime component that opens just about any video codec on the Mac without having to go out and find a tool or possibly accept dangerous suggestions from potential malware. Not only that, but “genius bar” help is even free!

So, we’re back to responsible, malware-free telecommunications. Next month, when we try using our Verizon wireless internet gear without the added stress of unwanted transmissions, we’ll reevaluate our experience with that system.

Posted in Firefox, MacOS X, malware, Trojan Horse, Verizon, WiFi, wireless | Comment Now!

Ah Ha!

Written on February 8, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

On the advice of our good friend, Mark (whom you may recall showed us his on-the-road internet setup, which got us started down the mobile WiFi path), I’ve been looking into the possibility that Phil’s MacBook Pro could have some kind of malware that is sucking up all our bandwidth.

First I found Little Snitch, a spyware detector. That certainly made the case for an infestation, as even with the Airport card tuned off, as soon as the application started up it showed a process (mDNSResponder) trying to contact an IP address I didn’t recognize. Sure enough, WHOIS showed it belonging to somebody in Ukraine. Well, as Phil pointed out, it can’t be a Russian spy, as the Ukrainians will be the first to tell you they are not Russians, but it is certain that we don’t particularly want any eastern European entity to receive packets from our computers without our knowledge. So, I used the Rules window of Little Snitch to turn off mDNSResponder until I could find out what that is, and entered a rule into our modem’s blacklist to block the whole range of IP addresses owned by that Ukrainian ISP, since while I was watching there were several other addresses showing up in Little Sntich’s Network Monitor as being targets for whatever process was trying to reach out and touch someone from the MacBook Pro.

That was a good first step or two, but once we saw what was going on, I wanted a way to remove the bad stuff. So, I found MacScan, from SecureMac, and ran the scanner in demo mode on both Macs. On my iMac it found 34 “tracking cookies”, most of which I recognized as belonging to ads in sites I remember visiting, and which don’t offend me since I understand that’s how they justify spending big bucks on informative websites. Many of these anti-virus, anti-malware applications classify such things as “spyware” but just tracking my browsing habits in aggregate form doesn’t rise to the level of spying in my opinion. I went ahead and let MacScan delete them, though. They’ll come back, but so what? There were no trojan horses, viruses or keyloggers on my computer, though, which is a good thing.

Phil’s MacBook Pro was a different matter. As well as 25 “tracking cookies”, it found a real baddie, DNS Changer 1.1, a genuine Trojan Horse. That is probably at least part of the problem, although I think there is still an issue with something trying to call home to the Ukraine. Even after “isolating” the Trojan Horse, when I restarted his computer the Little Snitch Network Monitor showed activity trying to talk to IP addresses 85.255.114.61 and 85.255.112.107, each in turn as the other failed. This was even before I tried turning on the Airport Card! I turned that on, but they still couldn’t get out because of the rule I’d put on the router. Unfortunately, nothing else could get in or out either, since the “call home” process was taking precedence over everything else trying to reach the internet.

So, I have more work to do. Next trick will be to open up Apple’s Application Monitor and identify the process that is doing this if I can, and kill it, once I find out where it lives on the system so I can remove it. But right now Phil is watching a DVD, so this will have to wait till that’s over.

It’s a relief to know there is in fact something bad going on, since knowledge is power, and now it’s just a matter of finding and killing it.

Anyone who has experience with these particular IPs and can suggest a fix, I’d be very happy to hear from you! Meanwhile, I’ll continue my research as long as that gigabyte of bandwidth lasts.

Posted in Anti-virus, MacOS X, malware, Software, Trojan Horse, wireless | Comment Now!

Bitless in Tucson

Written on February 8, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

This afternoon I had a call from Verizon‘s sales, following up on our recent purchase of one of their AirCards and data plan. I told the rep that while we had no technical problems with the setup, and were actually pretty happy with it, their 5 GB cap is completely inadequate. In fact, four days ago I unplugged the system to avoid going over our limit, as we have used 4135 MB out of our 5120 MB monthly allowance, and as yet have two weeks to go before the end of the billing period. She apologized, of course, and regretted that Verizon doesn’t have a reasonably priced plan for us. They do offer a 10 GB plan, but US$200/month (plus taxes, etc.) is simply more than we’re willing to pay for what would still be inadequate, given that we have made a sincere effort to keep the bandwidth usage down and have been unable to do so. If we were paying that kind of money, I would not want to have to scrimp and save every bit that goes through our router, but that’s what it would take to stay under even 10 GB.

In the course of the conversation, though, after I explained how we use the internet, particularly for connecting to Second Life, she told me that while Verizon doesn’t have a plan that can help us, there is another major carrier in the US that has an unlimited data plan. She just couldn’t tell me who it was, being a competitor and all that. I thanked her for the info, and started doing some research. The Verizon rep told me we still have until the 14th of February to return our AirCard without having to pay a penalty to cancel our existing plan if we decide to go to another carrier, so time is of the essence.

After talking to AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, though, I’ve come to the unhappy conclusion that we are stuck. Oh, there are some unlimited data plans out there, in particular from Sprint (their Simply Everything® plan) and T-Mobile (who have a plan called Total Internet for Data Cards), but each has show-stopping details. The Sprint plan only works with some phones, and while some of their phone descriptions say they can be connected to a laptop (“tethered”), it’s not necessarily something they encourage, and they certainly don’t tell you how to connect it to a wireless router. In particular, the T-Mobile rep told me that while it may be possible to connect a phone to one of our computers, it would be really slow, possibly even slower than dial-up. That obviously won’t work for us.

Posted in AT&T, iPhone, MacOS X, Verizon, Virtual Worlds, WiFi, wireless | Comment Now!

Rubber Meets the Road

Written on January 25, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

So now we know we need that amplifier. If you haven’t been following this blog, you might wonder what kind of amp is under discussion. Your best bet would be to start here and work forward in time to get the gist.

Back now? Good. OK, what convinced me was watching the “Cellular Signal Strength” indicator on the router all the way across New Mexico on Interstate-40 today. Dismal. The most it got was one and a half towers (tower #2 flickering off and on — mostly off). Now that we are in Albuquerque, or just outside the city limits, it’s up to three and a half out of four, which is not too bad. I am using the system in spite of the fact that the local RV park offers “WiFi access” because I’ve had past experience with the provider they use, and I was not impressed. If we are going to pay for WiFi, I’d rather pay for our own system than somebody else’s.

Speaking of paying, I was finally able to get MS Windows® to work again on a Parallels virtual machine today, so I plugged in the modem to the USB port on my iMac and finally was able to launch the MyVerizon desktop tool that indicates how much bandwidth has been consumed. I was a little disappointed that it only told me the damage up through two days ago, but that is better than not having any clue at all. It was good to see that till 3:45 p.m. (what time zone?) on 22 Jan 2009 we had only used approximately 218.something MB, out of our 5 GB monthly allowance. The bad news is that we used that much in just five days of not very intensive networking. Still, if we watch it, we ought to be able to stay under the limit. I do still think it’s pretty lame that the Mac version of the desktop tool won’t show bandwidth usage, though.

So, since we plan to spend time in cellular fringe areas, I suppose we will be ordering the amplifier that Mark recommended.

Posted in MacOS X, Verizon, WiFi, WindowsXP, wireless | Comment Now!

Texas Panhandle

Written on January 23, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

We are on the road between Vernon and Amarillo, Texas, a few miles east of Childress, and while the road (US 287) is pretty good, 4-lane and pretty smooth, with not much traffic, the AT&T cellphone reception on our iPhones is pretty nearly non-existent, and it took several minutes for the Verizon data card to grab a signal strong enough to load my blog admin page so I could write this. I guess this is officially a fringe area, although there are cellphone towers every once in awhile. I wish I could remember the password for my router’s interface. It’s recorded on my desktop computer but I forgot to copy it into either my cellphone or the database on this laptop. I’ll get it tonight when we stop. I think there is a tool in there to tell me how strong a signal the modem is receiving, which would be interesting to know. Places like this it would be good to have that Wilson amplifier. Guess that’s two pieces of hardware on our wish list — the amp and a bigger inverter.

Posted in AT&T, iPhone, Verizon, wireless | Comment Now!

Minor Glitch

Written on January 22, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

OK, the antenna, data card and modem are working fine, but the mid-sized 12-volt inverter we’ve got can’t handle the laptop and the modem at the same time if the laptop’s battery is low, so we need another solution. We’ll be stopping in Amarillo tomorrow, and maybe we can find a bigger one there at the RV store. We won’t be getting the water pump fixed at this shop as I’d originally planned since we’ll be there over the weekend (maybe Monday if we stay that long), but the store ought to be open. Right now I’m charging the laptop’s battery off of our UPS, but the “no power” beeping is driving me crazy. It’s not worth running the generator, but I’m still testing the reception (I tell myself) so need to stay online as much as possible.

Meanwhile, the data speed is pretty good. I haven’t had any trouble logging into Second Life, which is one of the more demanding applications I’ll be using. It’s still worrisome to think about running over our 5 GB/month limit since after that the charges really add up quickly, so I’m trying to use RV park WiFi as much as possible. But it’s very cool to be able to attend meetings while Phil drives. So far I’m still favorably impressed with Verizon’s service.

Posted in Metaverse, SecondLife, Verizon, wireless | Comment Now!

So Far, So Good

Written on January 22, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

As I type this, we are traveling through Denton, Texas on the way to Wichita Falls and points west. I’ve been able to read my email and look at Google Earth, both of which require an internet connection, and I even spent a bit of time in Second Life! We were still in the Dallas Metro area then, but it worked better than it has on many land-bound WiFi hotspots. The acid test will come when we’re out in the middle of nowhere, which ought to be in about an hour…

If we do have trouble pulling in a signal, there is one more piece of equipment Mark reminded me of this morning. He has not only an antenna, but put an amplifier between his aircard and the antenna. So if we need to, we’ll add that later, but right now it looks like we’re doing ok.

While I was on the Wilson Electronics site, I saw their announcement of a forthcoming signal booster for the iPhone. It appears to be designed for in-vehicle use (with a hands-free headset, of course) but it does have a 12-volt charger unit and cradle as well as magnetic antenna, so maybe it can be hand-carried as well. I’ll keep my eye on this and report more when I get details. The iBooster is also supposed to work with the Blackberry Curve.

Posted in iPhone, Virtual Worlds, wireless | Comment Now!

The Promised Details

Written on January 18, 2009 by Katherine W. Prawl

I said I’d report on the new mobile router, modem & antenna we bought this week, so here you are. It’s all good! At least so far.

Right now we have the router (with the USB modem sticking out the side of it) sitting on the dashboard of our RV:

Connected to the modem is the coax cable from the antenna, which is presently propped up at the middle of the windshield on top of the dashboard. Our friend, Mark, first told us about using a Wilson antenna to boost his cellphone reception and got us thinking about better ways to manage our connectivity. He says he never has used an external mount for his antenna. Sitting it in the windshield or on a table has worked for him even in fringe areas. While internet data at broadband speeds may require it to be placed higher, partiularly in hilly areas, right now having it on the dashboard seems to work for us here, too. The iPhone was having trouble getting a good EDGE network signal, but with the antenna it’s doing just fine on WiFi. Oh, by the way, if I understand it correctly even though the iPhones aren’t connected to the router, just having the antenna and router running and rebroadcasting the signal gives us the benefit of stronger cellphone reception.

To avoid having to lay the antenna down while we’re driving, we will attach it to the windshield center post with velcro loops. We do want to have it available over the road instead of stowing it away. In a few days I’ll be able to report on how well it works in a totally mobile setting as we drive to Amarillo and on toward Tuscon.

If all goes as well as it has been so far, I will be able to restart my history ebooks website, and perhaps change the distribution method from CD-ROMs to online downloads. I have an antique history book, the Standard History of Essex County, Massachusetts, that I’d scanned several years ago and converted to PDF files, then indexed every proper name and loaded them into a database for easy lookup. At one time, when I had the website on a Lasso™-based server, we were able to make the database available online, but I’ll have to learn more about MySQL (or some similar opensource database system) and PHP to do that again.

Having fulltime high-quality internet access is going to open up a lot of possibilities. The only potential problem I can foresee is that we are likely to need more than 5GB of throughput per month if we use this system as much as I expect we might. It’s possible to run over that allowance very easily the way we use the ‘net, with two computers and two iPhones. Every megabyte over 5 gig will cost us US$0.25, which can add up very quickly. Whenever it’s available and not too frustrating, we’ll use the WiFi provided by RV parks, roadside rest areas and internet cafés, and at least until we get an online account with Verizon that will let me keep track of our usage, we will play it safe.

Oh, I didn’t mention the problem I had with Verizon’s website, did I? When I tried to sign up for their online account, it turned out that to enable it I have to enter a code they text to the “cellphone” the account number is connected to. Except that we don’t have a cellphone, we have a wireless modem. Doh! The site says that if they aren’t able to text the code, they’ll mail it to our billing address. Lovely. That means we won’t get it till our mail is forwarded to us in Tucson, at least two weeks from now. Sigh! Maybe if I call Verizon, or the 3GStore.com who sold us the gear, it will be possible to get around that. Verizon ought to have a better arrangement for modem customers since they have been doing this for several years already. It being a weekend as I write this, the call will have to wait until tomorrow, and hope the 3G Store doesn’t observe MLK day.

More details will be forthcoming here as we acquire more experience with this stuff, or watch my Twitter feed (“follow katlemieux”) for minute-by-minute comments as things happen.

Posted in eBooks, ePublishing, iPhone, MySQL, Open Source, PHP, smartphones, Software, Twitter, Verizon, WiFi, wireless | Comment Now!