Technical Tidbits™

The stupidity of some people never cease to amaze me! And particularly, spammers and hackers.

I have two epic fails to tell you about.

1. The stupid spammer/phisher.

If you’re going to spam or phish, learn how to spell! Do you honestly think I’m going to jump on opening this email?

Phishing Email Subject

(Click the image to see the full size)

What the hell is a Paypal Warnung?  It must have been one of those fat finger mistakes since the i is next to the u on the keyboard.

But that’s alright. Gmail actually marked it as spam anyway.

2.  The stupid hacker.

Okay, look. I teach security – from beginners to professionals. I teach here on my website and for Education to Go, a division of Cengage Learning.  This is college level folks. You don’t believe me? Check it out yourself!

Intro to PC Security (The image is a link)

Advanced PC Security (The image is a link)

I am not saying this to boast, I’m just letting you know that I’m not your average blogger or website owner. I do not have the average installation of a WordPress blog here. I have some handy little scripts I’ve installed here and on my entire website that logs certain activities.

So, hackers who do stupid things, deserve to get called out for their stupidity – as well blocked from my website.

Rule number 1 in hacking is HIDE YOUR FOOTPRINT! So I teach the security professionals how hackers try to hide their footprint and how to find it.  So wouldn’t it stand to reason that I’d have certain things set in place to protect myself and log footprints of would-be-hackers?

To the hacker who resides at the IP address in Bosnia and Herzegovina – more specifically, Sarajevo at the IP  77.78.239.49, this is the last time you will attempt to hack my training site.  For the third time in less than 2 weeks, I’ve received notification of failed logins by the User: admin with your IP address.

Here’s a copy of the email I received in case there is any doubt:

(Click the image to see the full size)

And that’s only one of the methods I have in place to find out who’s trying to hack my site.

Now, if your country or your ISP gave a rats ass about the unethical behavior of its users, I’d file a complaint and have you thrown off your ISP. However, I know they don’t care and will continue to allow you to attempt to hack to your hearts content.

In the meantime, and for right now, I’ve got your IP blocked.  And if you try again with another IP address, I’ll just block that one, and the next, and the next until the entire country has been banned.

I’m not challenging you. I’m just telling you that I’m NOT stupid and I highly resent you assuming I am.

And for anyone else out there who thinks that they are getting away with something, be forewarned. I have your IP address too.  I have my own version of “Trip Wire” installed here and I know where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing.  Keep it up and you’ll be banned too.

Needless to say, I’ve had enough!

If you’ve had enough too and want your site secure, contact me and I’ll send you my rate information.  For as little as $50, I’ll secure your blog.  But you can pay me now, or pay me more later after you’ve been hacked.  It doesn’t matter to me.  Although this may sound very callous, I’m done trying to tell you folks that you need to worry about this.  You’re not listening.  Eventually, you will! Because if Mr. or Ms. Bosnia is trolling my site, he/she is trolling yours!

EXTENDED 1 MORE DAY BY REQUEST FOR CYBER MONDAY!

First, I’d like to share my Holiday greeting to you!

I hope you enjoyed my Holiday Greeting! That was done with JibJab in conjunction with Office Max, and I purchased it to share with you!

That being said, I have a special offer for this weekend only – today – Black Friday – November 27, 2009 through Sunday, November 29,2009 Monday, November 30, 2009 at 11:59 PM. Although this is a blog post and remains in the archives, this offer will expire at midnight Sunday Monday! I will not be able to honor requests made after that time.

I will perform the following service FREE as long you use the link that follows this blog post to sign up for LunarPages web hosting service.

TIIM* Disclosure: This is my affiliate link and I earn $65 if you sign up using this link.  This compensates me partially for what I will do for you.

Here are the services that I will provide under this offer FREE:

• Move an existing (see restrictions below) blog or website from your current web hosting account to your new LunarPages account. So if you’ve ever wanted to get on a secure and awesome web host now is your chance to make the move effortless!

• Move an existing hosted blog (see restrictions below) from Blogger, WordPress.com, or others, to your own self-hosted blog that I’ll set-up for you on your new LunarPages account.  And no, you will not lose any of your blog posts that you posted before.  This includes getting you setup with all the necessary plug-ins and widgets that you need to not only protect you but enable you to connect to your social networks.

• Create a brand new WordPress blog for you on your new LunarPages web hosting account (see restrictions below).  And if you’re new to blogging, I will provide you support for up to 3 months to help you get started! This includes getting you setup with all the necessary plug-ins and widgets that you need to not only protect you but enable you to connect to your social networks.

Restrictions:

The website cannot have any scripts, auto-responders, or other software running like Joomla or Drupal. This move would require a lot of additional setup and potential complications that cannot be included in this offer.

If you are not sure what’s running on your website, use our Contact Page to contact me and give me the URL of your website in the message section and I’ll check it out and let you know if it’s doable. But the request must be made before midnight on Sunday, November 29, 2009 Monday, November 30, 2009!

If you are moving an entire blog from another host or a blogging site like Blogger, or WordPress, there cannot be more than 1,000 blog posts to move.

Your Part:

I will need access to your current host BEFORE you move the domain to the new name servers so I can get your website or blog downloaded for the move unless you already have a full back-up copy of the files yourself.

For blogs, I would like to do the back-up myself to insure I can transfer them properly.  (I’ve done this before and my method works.  See: our Creative page or read the testimonial below.)

If you are new to this or unsure of any of what I’m saying, use our contact page to have me take a look at your site or blog BEFORE you sign up with LunarPages.  I will honor any outstanding inquiries made during this offer. But you must at least put in an inquiry! There is not cost for me to look at your site!

And of course, this comes with our guarantee that you will be satisfied!

Start the New Year with a secure, reliable web host!

Remember, all you pay for is the web hosting service when you sign up – which is also ridiculously inexpensive – I’ll do the move free (applicable the restrictions listed above).

And you just never know what might happen! You may discover what Michelle from Accurate Process discovered when we moved their site and did a redesign! They were suddenly listed in the search engines, getting traffic, AND that was before we even finished our magic! It just might happen to you!

So, if you do nothing else this weekend, at least submit an inquiry on our contact page to preserve this offer!

If you’re ready to make the move, click the image below – it contains our affiliate link so we get credit.

Happy Holidays!

Debbie

Charles Taggart

You wouldn’t rely on your next door neighbor to perform surgery (unless your neighbor was a doctor!) Why do business owners hire non-professionals to design their websites? If the life of your business relies on a strong Web presence, you need a qualified Webmaster to build your site and keep it running.

Join us on this eye-opening segment of Technical Tidbits when the ArtWorks of Candor Studio – Charles Taggart – discusses the difference between a “blog” and a “Web site” (and why your business can benefit from both.)

Taggart shares his experience and knowledge about Web 2.0, social media and Web development for business owners, including the risks of designing your Web site yourself or hiring someone without the savvy and know-how to do it right.

A passionate artist, graphic designer and Webmaster, Taggart has 20+ years experience in the technology field.

Join us LIVE at 10 AM CDT: www.blogtalkradio.com/technicaltidbits