Faster, better…

Archive for September, 2009

Another brazenly aggressive telemarketer using an off-shore call center is harassing our family now. The caller ID either says “not available” or “International.” The connection is terrible. The telemarketer wants information for a yellow pages listing. Despite asking the person at the other end to cease and desist they keep calling. Anyone know who the caller from 860-739-4331 is? These people are truly annoying.

My CGAUX flotilla gave me the opportunity to create a new website. It is almost one month old and has been submitted to the Auxiliary chain of leadership for final approval. Creating yet another WordPress blog has been great fun and yes many hours of work initially. Local folks curious about the Coast Guard Auxiliary please check out DrumPoint.org. Find an article or two to comment on if you have time.

I added the Twitter Tools plugin to a few of my websites that has a plugin for the URL shortening service bit.ly. I’m troubled though. When the plugin is active the bitlybot is repeatedly trying to access my admin area using multiple IP addresses, usually right after I have been in the admin area. Is anyone else running a WordPress noticing this? In the interim the bitlybot is banned. Bye bye bitlybot.

IP: 174.129.127.192 September 13 2009 10:24:54
Request: /wp-admin/page.php?action=edit
Code: On our user agent blacklist
Accept: */*
Agent: bitlybot

So there I sat trying to send an email with a small attachment to two friends, both on the Comcast network. The email service I was using was a web mail application at Network Solutions. When I sent the email I received a bounced copy of the message with an error 554 BL000000 that said my IP address was a SPAMMER! I looked like and acted like a SPAMMER! I got the same message last week trying to send to Comcast.net from a local email client application on another domain. Very frustrating.

Well I called Comcast and spoke to folks there. (They have always been exceedingly polite, respectful, and helpful.) The rep told me that my mail was rejected because of a PTR lookup failure (reverse DNS.) They suggested I call Network Solutions. I called Network Solutions and they claim they are not being throttled en-masse by Comcast.net. The rep at Network Solutions did say that my home Comcast IP address was listed at Symantechs http://investigate.brightmail.com as a BAD SPAMMER IP address! Oh swell.

We run NO Symnatech products on our PC’s at home yet this third party company is creating a reputation file on our IP. We have never been compromised, we don’t spam, we just use the Internet like everyone else. We have virus programs on our computers. The ONLY issue we had once was a dopey FaceBook worm. McAfee’s product furnished by Comcast killed that.

Network Solutions can’t restore my email service. Comcast will not issue a new IP. Comcast claims I simply need to issue a release and renew but that has not worked in years. We no longer have a dynamic IP address and they have no way of changing the IP.

I DID discover something I was NOT aware of, something Comcast has still not told me COULD be the problem. Why it would prevent me from using a webmail client at Network Solutions is unknown. According to this link at Spamhaus ALL comcast customers are REQUIRED to use their Comcast OUTGOING email server and MAY NOT use another provider’s server. I have ALWAYS been able to use the outgoing servers at my other domains at Network Solutions. This really yanks my chain. I can’t use services that I PAY FOR and I AM NOT A SPAMMER!

Now my family is apparently at the mercy of company whose services we do not use and neither Comcast or Network Solutions will resolve this mess for us. They just point at each other or at Symantech. Internet security has run amok.

This after I discovered that my web host also throttles large FTP uploads for security reasons after I tried to upload more than six files into my web directory. Customers are being protected to death and customer service has tanked. Customer Service agents everywhere are having trouble with two plus two equals four. They just have no idea how to help or alleviate the conditions they themselves create with their own security inventions. Customers are losing freedoms and services we used to take for granted because of the spies, cretins, bottom dwellers and spammers compromising accounts. I am so frustrated. The situation is out of control and just is not right.

• RT @TeamRonMiller: My latest at Southern Maryland Online, "Enough with the Race Card Already – It's Grownup Time" http://bit.ly/2LajjR #
• What misinformation was generated by opponents of health reform? You mean the truth don't you? #

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• RT @TeamRonMiller: My latest at Southern Maryland Online, "Enough with the Race Card Already – It's Grownup Time" http://bit.ly/2LajjR #
• What misinformation was generated by opponents of health reform? You mean the truth don't you? #

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• I Support #GlennBeck. Get out of the way #BillOreilly. #

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• I Support #GlennBeck. Get out of the way #BillOreilly. #

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Calvert County’s Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla is now at http://www.drumpoint.org

Shameless promotion, because I created the site. Check it out. Southern Maryland’s boating safety website.

• @waynek Nice shot of Gibbs there on the bridge. http://twitpic.com/gu84a in reply to waynek #
• RT @TeamRonMiller: My latest at Regular Folks United, "Blacks Promised False Liberty" #TCOT #MDCons #MDReps http://bit.ly/10PDbH #
• Why is the bit.ly bitlybot so interested in my #WordPress ADMIN area and Wassup pages? Strange behavior for a URL shortening service. #

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• @rbss4 I don't advocate the language but I understand the anger and it is MILD in comparison with the American left e.g. MoveOn etc. in reply to rbss4 #
• @rbss4 You think even the nicest folks get really really angry when liberty is threatened with socialism? in reply to rbss4 #

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• RT @GlennBeckClips: All Three Morning Shows Skip Any Reference to Radical Obama Czar and 9/11 Truthers ACCORDING TO PLAN #
• RT @GlennBeckClips: RT @OxyConservative RT @TheMRC #tcot All Three Morning Shows Skip Any Reference to Radical Obama Czar and 9/11 Truth … #

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• Trigger = extortion. #
• Does Biden know that a home run means the batter gets to home plate? #
• Is Van Jones trending yet? #
• Obama has a truther in his government. How special for Van Jones. New meaning to the term, 'looney left." #
• @TeamRonMiller Oh darn! You need anything big guy? Magazine? Fluids? Prayers enroute. in reply to TeamRonMiller #
• Van Jones had better be explained by our President. You think? #
• RT @HeyTammyBruce: RT @JTlol: I propose that from here on in, we refer to MoveOn as MunchOn.[ROTFLMAO!!] #
• RT @USCG: HQ, Coast Guard emphasizes boating safety year-round http://bit.ly/6QzVM #
• @CoastGuardNews Are pictures available? I want to see my brick! in reply to CoastGuardNews #
• RT @worklawyer: @joanginsberg some case law says that "overqualified" is a proxy for age discrimination. #
• RT @USCG_AWW: Have a safe and secure holiday weekend. Report suspicious activity on the water to to the USCG at 877-24WATCH #
• RT @wusa9: Former Maryland State Trooper Arrested For Sex Assault : State Police say the trooper's police powers were http://bit.ly/eMeAP #
• Taylor West you are a SPINNER. You couldn't do anything but SMILE at Cavuto. Hogwash. #

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• Robert Gibbs was very disrespectful to Chaney yesterday. How does Gibbs sleep at night? Very sad presenter. #

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