ab7 - youtube inactivity

ab7 - youtube inactivity

This screenshot is of a message from Youtube which was quite upsetting.  The user had zero uploaded videos, so they were surprised to see a screen of strong language. They felt guilty for no good reason.  Maybe the terms violated were due to no logins over an extended duration but they have not looked into it.

ab6 - Newbie Changes permissions GoFlex Hard drive

ab6 - A Newbie Changes permissions in Free Agent GoFlex External Hard drive
======= [written Sept.20.2011 by JCPMA]

This Spring I purchased Seagate's© portable Free Agent© GoFlex© USB 3.0 External 500 GB hard drive.
Straight out of the "box", it is a "Plug-n-Play" device and seemed to work well. However, when I tried to write a file to the root drive, or alter a root file's attribute, say ... to Read-Only, I was denied this action, or I was asked to confirm that I had permission to do so. Well this seemed strange, as my other hard drives never showed this behavior.
I was free to create and fill as many folders as I wanted, so, my work-around was to create files inside the folders and subfolders and then copy the particular file I wanted to the root of the drive. I don't have or even need many files in the root drive so this has never been an issue, ... until today.
Those of you who are familiar with the Truecrypt© application will know that it is a program to create and mount encrypted data containers/volumes. In other words it creates virtual hard-drives. I have used Truecrypt to create containers at the root of my Western Digital© digital external hard drive. I have never had a problem doing so. Truecrypt however, refused to create a container in the root of the GoFlex© drive, saying I did not have permission to do so. I could have tried to create the volume inside of a folder but I wanted the volume at the root. This is how I overcame this issue.

1. I took (virtual) ownership of the GoFlex device (hard drive).
2. I changed User's permissions to "Full control".

After this, Truecrypt© was able to create a virtual container at the root.

Now I'm far from having the skills needed to be an "IT guy" and I have never changed the permissions for anything. The accompanying picture will help show the details of this puzzle.
Straight from the factory, the GoFlex hard drive is configured with at least 3 user groups. They are :
-Everyone;
-Creator Owner;
-System.
Of these, user group "System" has full permissions.

On first connection to your computer, the GoFlex Drive, must apparently, create 2 more user groups:
-Administrators (JaneDoe\Administrators);
-Users (JaneDoe\Users)
Administrators is now listed under Properties>Security... as having full permissions. So far so good. Users is listed as only having partial permissions. This is where I think the problem lies. GoFlex calls you the User, even though you are also the Administrator. Writing files to the drive's root or altering root file's attributes are met with disdain.

Windows' help-file suggests that the most important thing to do when changing permissions is to take ownership of the drive. So, under Advanced Security Settings, I changed the current owner to "my name" (ie. Users(my name\Users)).
After doing this Truecrypt still refused to cooperate.

Next, I did something even simpler, I clicked on the Edit button of the main Security tab and changed permissions of "Users (my name\Users)" by checking the permissions box "Full control". This causes all the other boxes below to automatically fill up with checkmarks. When this is done, the hard drive for the next 30-60 seconds marks the meta-data in all your existing GoFlex hard drive files giving you permission over them. At least, this is what I think happenes. Anyway, it took about a minute. As a result, Truecrypt is able to create a container at the root of the hard drive.
This is the best I can do, being a lay-person. I'm left wondering though, if taking ownership of the root drive was necessary in the first place.

[entry Sept.30.2011]
I use Windows 7's Backup and Restore program to save a system-image and personal data to a non GoFlex hard drive, another brand of external hard drive. I open the resulting files in the external hard drive to see what they look like. And, I am met with prompts telling me I don't have permission to access the folder or the file(s).
Maybe the problem isn't with the GoFlex hard drive as I stated above, but this issue maybe due to Windows 7!
Anyway, if you click on the folder the proper way, eventually you do get to view it. Permissions are a frustrating feature for the average home computer user (me). Unless you know what you are doing, changing permissions requires what seems to be layers upon layers of navigation.
Summary of what I think is the important points of this article:
1.) fiddle with the hard drive, (or folder's) properties/security/permission settings until you get ownership linked to your username.
2.) Play with the permission settings so that your username has the checkbox(es) marked to "Full Control".

ab5 - screensave 4 resource meters

ab5 - A Screensave of 4 Resource Meters
Sept.27.2011

lh!t-682

ab4 - Wordpress suspending my friend's blog

ab4 - Wordpress suspending my friend's blog

Recently my pal opened up a Google Blogger account. She has started posting immediately and regrets not heeding my advice earlier.
Her blog on Wordpress.com gave her this warning on her dashboard:
"Warning: We have a concern about some of the content on your blog..."
Wordpress has suspending her account from further posts until she satisfies any violations (if any). She contacted Wordpress as instructed as is waiting for a reply, to see what the problem is. As far as we can tell all references are in place, there are no copyright violations and there is no slander or negative messages. So far her blog has been a personal "scrapbook".

"nothing lasts forever, especially digital data, and digital data sites!", I told her, "hope for the best, but don't be surprised if you don't get a reply or if the blog doesn't get its suspension lifted."

A funny thing is that Wordpress.com software indicates all the browsers she is using is outdated ie InternetExplorer, Firefox, etc, but this hasn't happened when using Blogger.
One last note, she complimented Blogger on its ease in set-up and user-friendliness. The irony is she chose Wordpress in the first-place because she thought it would have a longer "life" than the Blogger service.

[Here is an update]
Update=
Wordpress contacted her, reasonably quick, within a few days. It turns out their 'bots made an error when they flagged her blog for an alleged terms-of-service violation. Her Wordpress blog continues to be active.

ab3 - nokia 2760 phone themes

ab3 - nokia 2760 phone themes

here are 2 links to folders containing my customized phone themes for the nokia2760 handset. There are 11 unique themes. Download them while you have a chance. (nothing lasts forever, especially digital data, and digital data sites!)

Some of these are unique mashups and some are 100% created from scratch. The ones that I have mashed-up are for the most part, altered to specifically fit the model-2760 phone. Ring-tones have been altered to suit my own tastes, but the ones that I enjoyed in the original theme remain. CREDITS & REFERENCES can be found inside the theme file listed in an .xml file.
Many of the source themes for these creations were downloaded from www.zedge.net, but not particularly for the model-2760 phone. Initially I intended to upload these themes TO zedge.net, but the site-software didnot appreciate my small screenshots so it automatically restricted/rejected the uploads.
There are eleven (11) themes as of today, July 12,2011:
1. Clownfish8 (fish)
2. Coleco4 (Colecovision flavor) -(made from scratch)
3. Fresh Air 2h (nature)
4. HKitty Anim 1r (HelloKitty - mix)
5. HodgePodge10 (some of my favorite manga et al misc)
6. HybridHKitty7 (HelloKitty - pink)
7. MrDoDiamond3 (Colecovision Mr.Do) - (made from scratch)
8. NeonColse 2i (neon art flavor)
9. Penguins7 (penguins) - (made from scratch)
10. RainbowKitty 23i (HelloKitty -rainbow)
11. StarTrek2760 ae (mashup of Star Trek pics etc)

Here is the link to the sharing folder "nokia2760themes" on www.box.net :
http://www.box.net/shared/9ju2gcftbhlcqgxbvux9

here is the same same box.net folder, "nokia2760themes" embed into this blog post entry & its "embed" code:
<embed src="http://www.box.net//static/flash/box_explorer.swf?widget_hash=9ju2gcftbhlcqgxbvux9&v=0&cl=0&s=0" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="220" width="300"></embed>




Here is the link to the sharing folder, "nokia2760theme", (for redundancy) on www.mediafire.com:
http://www.mediafire.com/?82jhxitma2451

ab2 - About some old DVD-R data

ab2 - About some old DVD-R data

First, on the previous post, "ab1" & "abo", Google/Blogger has recovered the lost post of Thursday May 12 2011. I got all excited for nothing. One should know better, that Google, with all their power and resources would have redundant data capabilities. (Thank you Google). One thing I didn't notice was the day I posted "ab1" happened to be Friday the 13th! This year, it is the only Friday the 13th on the calendar. Is this a coincidence? (There are no coincidences.). There is a small quirk in my "ab0" post's tag/label. The tag "cd-rom" now has two funny characters next to it:

Summary, Google/Blogger has efficiently and professionally dealt with the data loss and data recovery.

For today's post, "ab2", I want to document a similar issue as post "ab0", only that instead of data loss from a Cd-rom, I want to talk about data loss from a DVD-R disc. I have discovered 3 of my DVD-R discs are unreadable in my DVD-RW drive. These discs are approximately 3 and a half years old. When I burned them originally, I immediately verified the data after the burn. Recently, once inserted into the drive, the discs spins for 10 - 20 secconds, and then Windows thinks the discs are blank. The good news is that on a different computer & drive, the disc(s) becomes readable. I have been able therefore to recover this data. I don't know what to attribute this loss to. Perhaps one of my drive's has faulty/different laser alignment. Could it be due to DVD-R rot? Is there such a phenonmenon?

ab1 - Will Yesterday's Blogger Post Return

ab1 - Will Yesterday's Blogger Post Return?
Yesterday, Thursday, May12.2011 just before lunch time (so, approximately 27 hrs ago), I posted a short essay discussing data loss due to aged cd-r media discs, i.e., "Cd-rot". Today, when I clicked on my "blogspot" or the post's permalink is: http://jianchomeshi.blogspot.com/2011/05/ab0.html , Blogger indicated that there is no such page. See the ScreenShot (sss):

A part of me thought I was becoming more insane than usual, because I remembered writing the post. After logging in & out to Blogger several times I went to the "dashboard" etc.. to see if my post was sent to "draft" status, but I could find no evidence.

Even as I write this, yesterday's post is still absent. (sss).


I am reassured after I searched for my post in Google, that evidence of its existence is shown.
.
Blogger-Buzz reassures posts' retrieval by explaining the technical difficulties: http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/05/blogger-is-back.html . .
Anyway, I am keeping my fingers crossed and I hope yesterday's post will return. Briefly the post was about how some of my 10 year old cd-r discs have deteriorated and the data/files is either partially or totally corrupt. I bear no hard-feelings against Blogger as they provide this wonderful service for free. I am not surprised that digital information is so fragile. I was somewhat stunned when I looked at my Blogspot and discovered my post was missing.

ab0 - A Case of Cd Rot

ab0 - A Case of Cd Rot

Recently, I have experienced first hand cd-rom degradation. Some data cds (homemade), 10 years ago have corrupt files or the entire disc is unreadable by the computer's optical drive. Four or five of my discs have 10-20% files unreadable. One disc was very poor. It refused to be read in 4 different optical drives! This one is a brand-name disc. I'm not going to reveal the brand, but I am very happy with their equipment and their media. Disc rot, I believe happens to any/all brands of media. (It may happen more with generic, no-name discs, but I can't prove this.)

I had read about disc rot in a computer magazine 5+ (?) years ago. The way I understand it: The bits degrade with time and your data becomes corrupt. The computer will be unable to read it &/or give an error message of "cyclic redundancy check error" (or similar). Blank optical discs have a layer of pigment/dye/ink sandwiched in some type of plastic/polymer. The cd-writer laser(s) burn concaves into this dye which is later read as data (ie 1's and 0's). Over time, the dye degrades and so does you data.
One doesn't believe they are susceptible to Cd rot until it happens. It also happened with my commercial discs; but fortunately the corrupt data was only about 5% unreadable. (Perhaps commercial discs are manufactured differently or with different materials.)
Again the moral of the story is to make regular backups of your digital data.
A friend purchased some archival quality cd-r's designed for digital photographs, but they use it for their data. I'm assuming/hoping that these cd-r's would degrade slower than regular quality cd-r's. So far not enough time has passed for an opinion to be made.

aa9 - Nokia 2760 User's Manual for Dummies

aa9 - Nokia 2760 User's Manual for Dummies

Intro| Although I am relatively new to cell phone use, I have used other brands of cell phones, and their Operating Systems are equally dreadful. "What kind of dread?" you may ask. The kind similar to a newbie buying a Windows98 computer (back in the late 1990s). The purchaser (me) had inadequate directions/instructions included with the package. I had to revert to buying guidebooks and computer magazines just to get the pre-requisites.
On the 'net, there are no guides are user-friendly instructions that I could find. Nor, are there any magazines or guides in bookstores regarding the Nokia 2760.

This is JC's work in progress. It includes tips/hints that other users like me should know. Enjoy. Its direct url is http://www.box.net/shared/5i4hmkqj2u







box.net:gish ~.e4t (Please disregard the outdated material below, Jian)



.- direct link for the above widget contents Jian-nokia2760manual box on box.net
http://www.box.net/shared/cuq7xpeaj9 -------Please refer to the bigger box above.
.-

aa8 - braviax figaro beep trojan virus

aa8 - braviax figaro.sys beep.sys trojan virus virantix.c sophos

Summary
=======
I have succumbed to the figaro.sys aka beep.sys aka braviax.exe trojan/virus.
How: surfing using internet explorer looking for an application to change ringtones.
Possible (speculative) source sites:

thepoon.rinnovate.com/cgi-bin/viewpost.cgi?p=20050916040436

www.esnips.com/doc/8167f6de-5b19-4b2d-990d-0331f31abe07/3GP_Converter031

Symptoms: All of a sudden, the computer beeps, and shutsdown. When restarted there is a warning in the system tray about an infection. dvd drive doesn't appear to be working. it recognizes blank dvd. it won't recognize blank cd. it won't recognize an audio cd. it won't recognize dvd with stuff already burned on it. (Late Entry:) on second thought, maybe my dvd-drive is faulty. With the assistance of some more intelligent souls, we have discovered that the autorun feature settings for the dvd-drive have been modified, but this shouldn't affect the dvd-drive's ability to read.

Viral Files found:
figaro.sys
beep.sys (2 copies)
rkpg.exe (2 copies)
delself.bat
braviax.exe
34rdft.bat
ld12.exe
~TM6.tmp
1.tmp

Remedy: Discard the computer and buy a "Mac".

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Some info about this virantix.c trojan:
www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2008-050916-1055-99&tabid=2





other notes:
beep.sys is overwritten
browser used = internet explorer
dvd drive doesn't appear to be working.
it recognizes blank dvd.
it won't recognize blank cd.
it won't recognize dvd with stuff already burned on it.

virus-like file:
----------------

found:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache\figaro.sys ... Found the FakeAlert-C.dr trojan !!!
The file has been deleted. (this op done by antivirus software; manual removal not possible)
found:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache\beep.sys ... Found the FakeAlert-C.dr trojan !!!
The file has been deleted. (this op done by antivirus software; manual removal not possible)

found:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\drivers\beep.sys ... Found the FakeAlert-C.dr trojan !!!
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers beep.sys size approx 33 kb original file created file modified Thursday, March 19, 2009 approx 11:26 p.m.


action taken:
original archive copy of beep.sys size 4,224 bytes (modified Friday, August 17, 2001, 1:47:38 PM) extracted (from BEEP.SY_ modified Wednesday, August 04, 2004, 5:00:00 AM) and copied back to
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers --- note: i changed its properties to "Read Only".


found:
C:\ rkpg.exe size approx 125 kb file created Thursday, March 19, 2009, 7:47:11 PM
(** see also: myDoc_delself.bat.jpg and delself.bat below)


found:
\My Documents\ delself.bat size approx 176 bytes file created Thursday, March 19, 2009, 7:47:12 PM
(note: this file wants to delete itself and rkpg.exe ** see myDoc_delself.bat.jpg and rkpg.exe above)

found:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ braviax.exe size approx 11 kb file created Thusday, March 19, 2009, 7:47:12 PM
notes: your registry is altered/re-programmed to run braviax.exe when your computer boots up:
example: registry categroy HKCU/Run: path C:\WINDOWS\system32\braviax.exe
example: registry category HKLM/Run: path C:\WINDOWS\system32\braviax.exe
braviax.exe is probably the program which appears as a "red x" in your tray, warning you that you have been infected by spyware and to click its message to have windows download and install a remedy.

found:
C:\WINDOWS\ 34rdft.bat size approx 208 bytes file created Thursday, March 19, 2009, 7:47:13 PM
notes: this batch file wants to delete itself & delete 1.tmp (* see also: 1.tmp below and Windows_34rdft.bat.jpg)

found:
C:\WINDOWS\ld12.exe size approx 26 kb file created Thursday, March 19, 2009, 7:47:12 PM

found:
C:\Documents and Settings\7777777\Local Settings\Temp\ ~TM6.tmp size approx 36 kb file modified Thursday, March 19, 2009, 7:47:?? PM

found:
C:\Documents and Settings\7777777\Local Settings\Temp\ rkpg.exe size approx 47 kb file modified Thursday, March 19, 2009, 7:47:?? PM

found:
C:\Documents and Settings\7777777\Local Settings\Temp\ 1.tmp size approx 27 kb file modified Thursday, March 19, 2009, 7:47:?? PM note: most likely the same/related file is ld12.3xe (see above)(* see 34rdft.bat above and Windows_34rdft.bat.jpg)