skips a beat …
Originally written 05.21.2002.
by the promise ring is perhaps the best pop song ever. well, maybe that’s an overstatement, but it’s pure pop bliss and i think it’s rad. i wanted an album that was just cheesy and pure pleasure so i grabbed the very emergency album off audiogalaxy and have been in a good mood ever since. by no means their best stuff, but it’s good stuff nonetheless.
this album is so wussy. iain’s going to make fun of me and then turn on guns and roses or motorhead or something and make fun of me some more, but i don’t care. i love it. simple happy songs. a good prelude to the summer, and a good way to get my mind off of impending exams. i’m getting stuff sorted out for this summer, seeing lights at the ends of tunnels (and being pretty sure that they’re not trains) and this record offers a perfect soundtrack for that. i don’t care what iain will think. besides, there’s no way i’m going to take shit from a guy who bought the new korn single. sucka!
shows, shows, shows
Originally written 05.21.2002.
so i’m pretty sure i’m going to go see tguk and superchunk on 06.30 in dc and i’m heading down to ky (that’s loo-a-vil to you sucka) to kick it with the youth crews and scenesters at krazyfest from 06.21-06.23. if anyone’s reading this is going to be at either show, drop me a line at ghing at pa dot net and we’ll hang out.
basic windows xp network security
Originally written 05.21.2002.
my friend yon’s computer is totally brain fscked. she has a couple of viruses
and from the fact that she says that her computer mysteriously types "national
rifle association" every once in awhile, she might have a cracker getting
in through a back door. so, to help her out and to help anyone else who wants
to make use of basic windows xp security features, i’m writing this little howto.
enabling the internet connection firewall (icf)
most computers on the network (including yours) run programs that open up various network ports which allow incoming connections to your computer. while this can provide useful functionality, it can also open up vulnerabilities to system intrusions. a firewall is a program which prevents or restricts connections to your computer. windows xp has a built-in firewall that can be used for this purpose. it’s probably a good idea to run it though it might cause some network software (e.g. peer-to-peer file sharing applications like morpheus or kazaa) to be unable to work properly. no worries, you can configure the firewall to allow these connections, but first, let’s just start with enabling the basic firewall.
- open the network connections control panel (start->control
panel->network and internet connections->network connections) - open the settings for your internet connection by clicking the icon under
lan or high-speed internet. the connection will probably be labled local area connection this should open a window titled local
area connection properties. - click on the advanced tab.
- check the box labeled protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the internet.
- click the ok button.
enabling firewall logging
this is useful if you want to keep track of the network address of who connects or tries to connect to your computer. you’ll need this if you want to report would-be crackers to your isp.
- open the network connections control panel (start->control
panel->network and internet connections->network connections) - open the settings for your internet connection by clicking the icon under
lan or high-speed internet. the connection will probably be labled local area connection this should open a window titled local
area connection properties. - click on the advanced tab.
- click the settings button (at the bottom of the window).
- click on the security logging tab.
- check the log dropped packets and log successful connections.
- click the ok button.
viewing the firewall log
so you want to see who’s been trying to acces your computer. here’s how.
- unless you changed the log file in the log settings (as described above), the firewall log should be in the file C:\WINDOWS\pfirewall.log.
- open notepad (start->all programs->accessories->notepad)
- click on the file menu and select open.
- in the field labled file name: type the log file name (this should be C:\WINDOWS\pfirewall.log).
- click the open button