Bell Canada Domain Name Registrations – Beware
By Ian Scott
I have a client that registered a .ca domain name with Bell Canada Hosting. They are also paying for a basic website hosting package which does not give them access to MySQL databases. In order to upgrade their website, they need access to PHP and MySQL. But they don’t want to pay the fee that Bell Canada hosting wants at 21.99 a month. So they decided they wanted to switch the hosting of their website.
But they cannot manage their own domain name through Bell Canada (even though they registered it through Bell Canada) unless they upgrade to Bell Canada’s “Enhanced” hosting package according to the company’s technical support.
This in my mind is fully unacceptable. A domain name registrant should be able to manage their domain name including changing the DNS at anytime they wish, regardless of hosting plans they are paying for. Registering a domain name with Bell Canada means that you do not have full control and security of your domain name unless you pay them more.
As well, Bell Canada’s technical support team are very difficult to deal with when a dns change has been made. It took one client of mine over six months to have Bell Canada remove his domain name from their nameservers. This meant that anyone on the Bell Canada network typing in his URL went to his old website located on the Bell Canada network instead of seeing his new one at his new hosting company. Also, emails sent by Bell Canada customers did not end up going to the correct network.
If you are thinking of registering a domain name and hosting the site with Bell Canada, you should be aware of their policies and procedures which can make life difficult.
Topics: Business/Corporate, Just Plain Silly |
Novatel U998 And OpenSuse 10.2
By Ian Scott
I found it extremely easy to get Bell Mobility’s U998 wireless stick to work under linux, opensuse 10.2 and KDE. It was far easier than the Roger’s “Rocket Stick” (and also better able to have internet connectivity too).
I just simply plugged it in, and then as root typed:
modprobe usbserial vendor=0×1410 product=0×7030
The device almost immediately appeared in KNetworkManager. To configure it in KNetworkManager, I needed to use the following on the configuration:
Number: *99#
APN: inet.bell.ca
No other configuration was needed. No username, password or PIN required.
For the summer and possibly until October, I’m living and working in a trailer park. I had tried Rogers Broadband service using the Rocket Stick and was unable to get any internet connectivity whatsoever. After trying out the Novatel U998 and Bell Mobility’s service, I do now have connectivity although there are places within the 31′ trailer that it does not work. Outside however, connectivity is pretty good.
Topics: Uncategorized |
Delete Facebook Part II
By Ian Scott
I just came across an interesting rant by Dan Yoder entitled “10 Reasons to Delete Your Facebook Account.” As well as privacy concerns, Yoder even mentions a suspicion about the ethics of Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerburg.
“Facebook’s CEO has a documented history of unethical behavior. From the very
beginning of Facebook’s existence, there are questions about Zuckerberg’s
ethics. According to BusinessInsider.com, he used Facebook user data to guess
email passwords and read personal email in order to discredit his rivals. These
allegations, albeit unproven and somewhat dated, nonetheless raise troubling
questions about the ethics of the CEO of the world’s largest social network.
They’re particularly compelling given that Facebook chose to fork over $65M to
settle a related lawsuit alleging that Zuckerberg had actually stolen the idea
for Facebook.”
There are some other interesting reasons out of ten as well, here.
Topics: Privacy |
Delete Facebook
By Ian Scott
May 19, 2010
I deactivated my Facebook profile on March 8, 2010. Admittedly, there are times I miss it – especially to play Lexulous. But Facebook became a major distraction for me in many different ways. There were times I was making Lexulous moves when I should have been working. There were times when things that I posted were taken out of context by others. There were times when others would post things and they would be taken out of context. Sometimes, the digital word loses a lot (or gains way too much meaning) than the spoken word. Or even words in a book where there is much more context available to read.
There were some advantages to Facebook as well, for sure. I got back in touch with friends I’ve not seen in years and could keep up with their lives. I managed to organize a “mini-reunion” of my high school soccer team partly through Facebook. And I was also able to do a wee bit of promoting of my fly fishing website.
Many have privacy concerns about Facebook as well and recently, a “movement” was started to encourage people to leave Facebook all together. In the Toronto Star today, there is an article discussing this movement and points out that the website, quitfacebookday.com has signed up 6,200 committed quitters.
The article also quotes web technologist, Joe Dee:
““People get hurt,’’ explains web technologist Joe Dee, Milan’s partner in QuitFaceBookDay.com. “It’s one of those things that you don’t think about until somebody near you gets really burned — until you get one of these stories that your friend got fired, or a relationship got destroyed or somebody has been stalked, or one of these worst-case scenarios — you won’t understand the implications of sharing that much.’’”
The goal of Dee and his associates is to make aware the issues of Facebook and have as many people as possible persuaded to quit the social website on Monday, May 31, 2010.
Well, they can count me as a Facebook quitter already as I don’t think I’ll be going back to it before May 31.
Topics: Privacy |
VeriSign Sells To Symantic
By Ian Scott
Just received this email from VeriSign:
“Dear VeriSign Partner,
I am writing to inform you that VeriSign has signed a definitive agreement to sell our Authentication
Services business to Symantec, a premier end-to-end Internet security provider with extensive
distribution, broad product offerings and integrated service delivery. Upon closing of the transaction, the
VeriSign Authentication Business, which includes the PKI, VIP and SSL assets, will become part of the
Security and Compliance Group at Symantec, and VeriSign’s network infrastructure and domain name
business will continue to exist as a separate independent company retaining the VeriSign name. Certain
Authentication related brands and trademarks, such as VeriSign’s check mark, will be included in the
transfer from VeriSign to Symantec. VeriSign will retain its corporate name and utilize it for our remaining
business.
In the last few years, the industry has seen consolidation in the security market, and we have heard
repeatedly from our customers, partners and resellers of their interest in having our offerings integrated
into a larger services suite. The combination of VeriSign’s market-leading SSL, PKI and VIP product lines
with Symantec’s broad portfolio of information security solutions delivers on this request. Organizations
will now be able to authenticate a business, secure a website and transactions, safeguard corporate
networks, and protect employee accounts and devices with a suite of products from a single company.
Over the years you have supported us with your business and helped guide us on our product
development and company strategy. It is because of this that VeriSign has category-leading products
and is a brand synonymous with trust on the Internet. I’d like to emphasize that we plan to continue this
effort during the transition period and onward. Additionally, you can expect the following from us going
forward:
- Continued product support and service. All VeriSign product and support contract obligations will
be upheld. Nothing changes here. All support procedures, announced support timelines, and contacts
remain unchanged, so please continue to use the same account management, sales, product,
business and customer support channels you’ve been using.
- Continued access to personnel and management. To help ensure a quick and seamless
integration in conjunction with uninterrupted continuity of your services, Authentication Business leads
Atri Chatterjee and Fran Rosch will remain with the business along with most of the Authentication
Service employees. Additionally, your VeriSign points of contact will remain the same throughout the
closing process, which we anticipate will be within 60 to 90 days. Any changes after that will be
announced well in advance ensuring that the transition is smooth.
- Improved technology and product synergies. We expect customers will benefit from the broader,
complementary product offerings brought by the VeriSign Authentication Business and Symantec:
from leveraging Symantec’s security research and analysis technology to including strong
authentication as a core component of data leak prevention.
We are dedicated to bringing world class services to our world class partners. Please do not hesitate to
reach out to your local point of contact if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Mark McLaughlin
President and CEO
VeriSign, Inc. Dear VeriSign Partner,
I am writing to inform you that VeriSign has signed a definitive agreement to sell our Authentication
Services business to Symantec, a premier end-to-end Internet security provider with extensive
distribution, broad product offerings and integrated service delivery. Upon closing of the transaction, the
VeriSign Authentication Business, which includes the PKI, VIP and SSL assets, will become part of the
Security and Compliance Group at Symantec, and VeriSign’s network infrastructure and domain name
business will continue to exist as a separate independent company retaining the VeriSign name. Certain
Authentication related brands and trademarks, such as VeriSign’s check mark, will be included in the
transfer from VeriSign to Symantec. VeriSign will retain its corporate name and utilize it for our remaining
business.
In the last few years, the industry has seen consolidation in the security market, and we have heard
repeatedly from our customers, partners and resellers of their interest in having our offerings integrated
into a larger services suite. The combination of VeriSign’s market-leading SSL, PKI and VIP product lines
with Symantec’s broad portfolio of information security solutions delivers on this request. Organizations
will now be able to authenticate a business, secure a website and transactions, safeguard corporate
networks, and protect employee accounts and devices with a suite of products from a single company.
Over the years you have supported us with your business and helped guide us on our product
development and company strategy. It is because of this that VeriSign has category-leading products
and is a brand synonymous with trust on the Internet. I’d like to emphasize that we plan to continue this
effort during the transition period and onward. Additionally, you can expect the following from us going
forward:
- Continued product support and service. All VeriSign product and support contract obligations will
be upheld. Nothing changes here. All support procedures, announced support timelines, and contacts
remain unchanged, so please continue to use the same account management, sales, product,
business and customer support channels you’ve been using.
- Continued access to personnel and management. To help ensure a quick and seamless
integration in conjunction with uninterrupted continuity of your services, Authentication Business leads
Atri Chatterjee and Fran Rosch will remain with the business along with most of the Authentication
Service employees. Additionally, your VeriSign points of contact will remain the same throughout the
closing process, which we anticipate will be within 60 to 90 days. Any changes after that will be
announced well in advance ensuring that the transition is smooth.
- Improved technology and product synergies. We expect customers will benefit from the broader,
complementary product offerings brought by the VeriSign Authentication Business and Symantec:
from leveraging Symantec’s security research and analysis technology to including strong
authentication as a core component of data leak prevention.
We are dedicated to bringing world class services to our world class partners. Please do not hesitate to
reach out to your local point of contact if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Mark McLaughlin
President and CEO
VeriSign, Inc. “
Topics: Digital Signatures, ssl |
Own An Apple? Get Your Java Updates!
By Ian Scott
May 19, 2010
A full year it has taken Apple to update some of the vulnerabilities found in Java for Apple – but finally, it is releasing a new version that fixes over 30 reported issues. Although Oracle provides updates for Java on Windows and UNIX/Linux, Apple issues it’s own for Java.
The oldest issue fixed was first reported in March of 200.
Updates may be obtained through Apple’s regular software update channels.
Topics: Computer Security |
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