Month: January 2010

Categories
Random Ramblings

"Control" will the end-user be recognised?

Well the campaign against mandatory ISP filtering by internetblackout.com.au has certainly been causing a stir both in the media & on-line forums. Some statistics are always good viewing!

  • 500+ verified participating sites
  • 296,000+ unique visitors to the campaign site
  • 438,000+ views of the blackout info popup

Here is some information provided by Jonathan Barnett (via facebook) detailing the history of the proposed bill…

Internet Filtering Policy

Stuart Fenech

28 January 2010

The Internet filtering policy has changed around six times since it was an election policy back in 2007. The office of Brett Raguse MP has constantly raised concerns of constituents in this area since the 2007 election. This document aims to provide an overview of the current state of the policy.

Overview

The Internet filtering policy, originally a 2007 election policy, has evolved as a result of industry and community feedback. The current policy proposes two levels of Internet filtering:

1. Mandatory Internet filtering of Refused Classification (RC) material.

RC material includes child sex abuse, bestiality, sexual violence and similar material. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) already orders his material to be 'taken down' if is hosted in Australia. There is a credible debate about what this may mean on the edges and public consultation is taking place on this subject.

This system is proposed to block a list of Internet sites called a blacklist. This relatively simple technology is quick and used in many countries. I am advised by Information Technology professionals that this system will have a negligible impact on Internet connection performance.

The policy in this area was originally that there would be a mandatory blocking of 'offensive material'. This was narrowed to the 'ACMA blacklist' and has now been narrowed further to RC. This is a far more limited scope than that used in countries such as China and is similar to the systems in the UK, Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

2. Optional Internet filtering of broader 'offensive material'.

The second level of Internet filtering is the one that has attracted the most controversy. This is an optional higher level of Internet filtering to be offered by some Internet Service Providers (ISP's). Individuals will only have this 'clean feed' on their service if they request it. ISP's do not have to offer this 'clean feed' but may access Federal Government grants for providing this service.

Originally, it was planned for this level of Internet filtering to be mandatory for individuals and ISP's, with an 'opt out' option for individuals. This has been sensibly altered to the current policy, where individuals have to 'opt in' if they want a 'clean feed' and ISP's are not forced to offer such a service.

Current technologies for this level of censorship present technical issues including overblocking, underblocking and performance impacts. There are also critical social issues relating to the role of government in censorship. As technical barriers are inevitably eventually overcome, the social issues will become of more importance than the technical issues in the long term.

Policy

The following issues have been overcome:

The policies as proposed will not slow down the Internet unless people deliberately choose a censored connection.

Scope of censorship issues have been largely resolved – RC for all Internet connections, and higher levels only for people who want it.

Cost issues have been reasonably contained by limiting the scope and not forcing Internet Service Provider's (ISP's) to offer censorship beyond RC.

ISP competition issues have been resolved by assistance to implement the blacklist filter and not forcing them to implement higher levels of censorship.

The following issues remain:

The Internet filtering technology is likely to be overcome by technical experts.

The optional higher level of Internet censorship will still have overblocking, underblocking, effectiveness and speed issues, but this will not affect most people.

Oversight of sites to be blocked, though a discussion paper has been released by Minister Conroy on this subject.

Risks of scope creep in censorship.

There is a technical issue relating to the boundary between RC and illegal material.

So will you just sit and watch as your internet freedom is taken from you (like you are a child) or will you make a stand and voice your opinion to your local MP? The decision is yours to make, but do nothing… and well you just may not be able to view my blog as who knows it may get "FILTERED" …

Categories
Random Ramblings

"Control" will the end-user be recognised?

Well the campaign against mandatory ISP filtering by internetblackout.com.au has certainly been causing a stir both in the media & on-line forums. Some statistics are always good viewing!

  • 500+ verified participating sites
  • 296,000+ unique visitors to the campaign site
  • 438,000+ views of the blackout info popup

Here is some information provided by Jonathan Barnett (via facebook) detailing the history of the proposed bill…

Internet Filtering Policy

Stuart Fenech

28 January 2010

The Internet filtering policy has changed around six times since it was an election policy back in 2007. The office of Brett Raguse MP has constantly raised concerns of constituents in this area since the 2007 election. This document aims to provide an overview of the current state of the policy.

Overview

The Internet filtering policy, originally a 2007 election policy, has evolved as a result of industry and community feedback. The current policy proposes two levels of Internet filtering:

1. Mandatory Internet filtering of Refused Classification (RC) material.

RC material includes child sex abuse, bestiality, sexual violence and similar material. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) already orders his material to be 'taken down' if is hosted in Australia. There is a credible debate about what this may mean on the edges and public consultation is taking place on this subject.

This system is proposed to block a list of Internet sites called a blacklist. This relatively simple technology is quick and used in many countries. I am advised by Information Technology professionals that this system will have a negligible impact on Internet connection performance.

The policy in this area was originally that there would be a mandatory blocking of 'offensive material'. This was narrowed to the 'ACMA blacklist' and has now been narrowed further to RC. This is a far more limited scope than that used in countries such as China and is similar to the systems in the UK, Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

2. Optional Internet filtering of broader 'offensive material'.

The second level of Internet filtering is the one that has attracted the most controversy. This is an optional higher level of Internet filtering to be offered by some Internet Service Providers (ISP's). Individuals will only have this 'clean feed' on their service if they request it. ISP's do not have to offer this 'clean feed' but may access Federal Government grants for providing this service.

Originally, it was planned for this level of Internet filtering to be mandatory for individuals and ISP's, with an 'opt out' option for individuals. This has been sensibly altered to the current policy, where individuals have to 'opt in' if they want a 'clean feed' and ISP's are not forced to offer such a service.

Current technologies for this level of censorship present technical issues including overblocking, underblocking and performance impacts. There are also critical social issues relating to the role of government in censorship. As technical barriers are inevitably eventually overcome, the social issues will become of more importance than the technical issues in the long term.

Policy

The following issues have been overcome:

The policies as proposed will not slow down the Internet unless people deliberately choose a censored connection.

Scope of censorship issues have been largely resolved – RC for all Internet connections, and higher levels only for people who want it.

Cost issues have been reasonably contained by limiting the scope and not forcing Internet Service Provider's (ISP's) to offer censorship beyond RC.

ISP competition issues have been resolved by assistance to implement the blacklist filter and not forcing them to implement higher levels of censorship.

The following issues remain:

The Internet filtering technology is likely to be overcome by technical experts.

The optional higher level of Internet censorship will still have overblocking, underblocking, effectiveness and speed issues, but this will not affect most people.

Oversight of sites to be blocked, though a discussion paper has been released by Minister Conroy on this subject.

Risks of scope creep in censorship.

There is a technical issue relating to the boundary between RC and illegal material.

So will you just sit and watch as your internet freedom is taken from you (like you are a child) or will you make a stand and voice your opinion to your local MP? The decision is yours to make, but do nothing… and well you just may not be able to view my blog as who knows it may get "FILTERED" …

Categories
Random Ramblings

Take "Control" of your Internet…

Have your say against internet censorship

Who will be the one to decide what you will be "allowed" to do & see? and do you want Australia to be blacklisted as a rouge state?

It's time to act…  Say No to Internet censorship!


What's the problem?

The Federal Government is pushing forward with a plan to force Internet Service Providers to censor the Internet for all Australians. This plan will waste millions of dollars and won't make anyone safer.

  1. It won't protect children: The filter isn't a "cyber safety" measure to stop kids seeing inappropriate content such as R and X rated websites. It is not even designed to prevent the spread of illegal material where it is most often found (chat rooms, peer-to-peer file sharing).
  2. We will all pay for this ineffective solution: Under this policy, ISPs will be forced to charge more for consumer and business broadband. Several hundred thousand dollars has already been spent to test the filter – without considering high-speed services such as the National Broadband Network!
  3. A dangerous precedent: We stand to join a small club of countries which impose centralised Internet censorship such as China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The secret blacklist may be limited to "Refused Classification" content for now, but what might a future Australian Government choose to block?

Help turn the lights out on the proposed Internet filter by joining the Great Australian Internet Blackout.

[source:  http://www.internetblackout.com.au/]

I have implemented the internet blackout on my Home page, Blog and Profile avatars…

Categories
Random Ramblings

Take "Control" of your Internet…

Have your say against internet censorship

Who will be the one to decide what you will be "allowed" to do & see? and do you want Australia to be blacklisted as a rouge state?

It's time to act…  Say No to Internet censorship!


What's the problem?

The Federal Government is pushing forward with a plan to force Internet Service Providers to censor the Internet for all Australians. This plan will waste millions of dollars and won't make anyone safer.

  1. It won't protect children: The filter isn't a "cyber safety" measure to stop kids seeing inappropriate content such as R and X rated websites. It is not even designed to prevent the spread of illegal material where it is most often found (chat rooms, peer-to-peer file sharing).
  2. We will all pay for this ineffective solution: Under this policy, ISPs will be forced to charge more for consumer and business broadband. Several hundred thousand dollars has already been spent to test the filter – without considering high-speed services such as the National Broadband Network!
  3. A dangerous precedent: We stand to join a small club of countries which impose centralised Internet censorship such as China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The secret blacklist may be limited to "Refused Classification" content for now, but what might a future Australian Government choose to block?

Help turn the lights out on the proposed Internet filter by joining the Great Australian Internet Blackout.

[source:  http://www.internetblackout.com.au/]

I have implemented the internet blackout on my Home page, Blog and Profile avatars…

Categories
Random Ramblings

Statistics do provide interesting viewing!

I have the  Awstats service installed on my server, I realised recently that I was getting a lot of hits from one particular IP range. On further investigation it was reviled that they are (providing the IP isn't being spoofed) not too far away! (within 3Km)

whois 147.66.8.158

OrgName:    Asia Pacific Network Information Centre
OrgID:      APNIC
Address:    PO Box 2131
City:       Milton
StateProv:  QLD
PostalCode: 4064
Country:    AU

ReferralServer: whois://whois.apnic.net

NetRange:   147.66.0.0 – 147.66.255.255
CIDR:       147.66.0.0/16
NetName:    APNIC-ERX-147-66-0-0
NetHandle:  NET-147-66-0-0-1
Parent:     NET-147-0-0-0-0
NetType:    Early Registrations, Transferred to APNIC
Comment:    This IP address range is not registered in the ARIN database.
Comment:    This range was transferred to the APNIC Whois Database as
Comment:    part of the ERX (Early Registration Transfer) project.
Comment:    For details, refer to the APNIC Whois Database via
Comment:    WHOIS.APNIC.NET or http://wq.apnic.net/apnic-bin/whois.pl
Comment:
Comment:    ** IMPORTANT NOTE: APNIC is the Regional Internet Registry
Comment:    for the Asia Pacific region.  APNIC does not operate networks
Comment:    using this IP address range and is not able to investigate
Comment:    spam or abuse reports relating to these addresses.  For more
Comment:    help, refer to
RegDate:    2003-10-08
Updated:    2009-10-08

OrgTechHandle: AWC12-ARIN
OrgTechName:   APNIC Whois Contact
OrgTechPhone:  +61 7 3858 3188
OrgTechEmail:  search-apnic-not-arin@apnic.net

# ARIN WHOIS database, last updated 2010-01-21 20:00
# Enter ? for additional hints on searching ARIN's WHOIS database.
#
# ARIN WHOIS data and services are subject to the Terms of Use
# available at https://www.arin.net/whois_tou.html

Found a referral to whois.apnic.net.

% [whois.apnic.net node-1]
% Whois data copyright terms   

inetnum:      147.66.0.0 – 147.66.255.255
netname:      ANARE-NET
descr:        Australian Government Antarctic Division
country:      AU
admin-c:      TP161-AP
tech-c:       TP161-AP
status:       ALLOCATED PORTABLE
mnt-by:       APNIC-HM
mnt-lower:    MNT-ERX-AUSTANTDIV-NON-AU
changed:      hostmaster@arin.net 19920420
changed:      hm-changed@apnic.net 20030910
changed:      hm-changed@apnic.net 20070125
source:       APNIC

person:       Tim Parr
address:      203 Channel Hwy
address:      Kingston, TAS
address:      Australia  7050
country:      AU
phone:        +61 3 6232 3140
fax-no:       +61 3 6283 2140
e-mail:       tim.parr@aad.gov.au
nic-hdl:      TP161-AP
mnt-by:       MAINT-NEW
changed:      hm-changed@apnic.net 20070125
source:       APNIC

Now the person/persons who have some interest in my server kindly like to explain them selves?  😀

Categories
Random Ramblings

Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine and Prednisone.

Did I get your attention from the title? and what are those names?

Well for anyone who has recently or is still under going treatment for Lymphoma then these are some words that will affect you in a rather personal way. These are the chemicals that make up the treatment called CHOP. This is of course not the only treatment for such blood cancer, As this will vary depending on your individual type (B-cell, T-cell)

Now for me the word CHOP means a lot, but also disappointment! as I underwent 4 cycles of CHOP to only relapse part way through the 4th cycle. Of course this was no fault of the treatment, it had a lot  more to do with the disease that was consuming me. The next move for me was Radiotherapy, its strange how this is called a therapy! because depending where you have it it can be quite uncomfortable. The side effects don't usually present until you are well into your treatment. In concert with radiotherapy I was also subjected to a very high dose of Methotrexate, this is a nasty chemotherapy! as it made me very ill and I was left with a residual level in my body 3 weeks after it was administered. Folinic Acid is used to neutralise the effect of this when used in such high doses, this was also administered via IV. On the day that I went into hospital to have the Methotrexate chemo, there was a pretty purple sign on the wall (to indicate that I will be cytotoxic) this had 48 hours written on it, and I thought that it meant I would be home in 2 days! hmm… try 3 1/2 weeks 🙁

Extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma, nasal type (Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma) was my official diagnosis back in September 2006. I'm almost 3 years in remission and life has certainly changed since that day that I received the news. The person I have to thank for keeping me in good spirit and constantly being there is my wife Clare, with out her I certainly wouldn't have continued the journey I was subjected to…

If in doubt… get it checked out! 😉

Categories
Me TV Random Ramblings

Me TV 1.1.5

I realise that there has been a run on updates for Me TV of late! but any way here's another…

Here are the list of changes that were addressed in versions 1.1.4 & 1.1.5…

1.1.5

  • More tweaks to the EPG event UI
  • Added check for EPG events before starting EPG thread
  • Fixed information on meters dialog
  • Changed demux filter to only except exact table types by default

1.1.4

  • Heap corruption during channel scanning (LP: #505454)
  • EPG Detail "description" shows only the subtitle (LP: #503051)
  • Not removing display stream when stopping recordings (LP: #506078)
  • Added sl translation
Categories
Random Ramblings

Slow performance on my blog…

Over the last few days I have noticed that the performance has been rather "average" on my Blog! This is notably worse on the admin pages (taking anything between 30-60 seconds to load!) So I've gone through the usual debug things like firstly to disable ALL installed plugins (yes performance is restored!) So I then go onto enabling each plugin one by one to attempt to locate the plugin that is causing the grief, only to find that once I have 4 plugins enabled things start to slow down, So I've then gone back to disabling all and select another couple and again as soon as I hit 4 plugins enabled I was suffering again! So what is causing me this grief?

Well reviewing the logs there is nothing indicating that there is a problem! So I have upped the memory limit in PHP5 (was 64M now 128M) but his hasn't seemed to remedy the situation either! So I decided it was time to test a fresh install of WordPress to see if this suffered the same, and it did 🙁

So I'm still attempting to resolve the issue, all the other web applications installed are not affected it's only WordPress. I've been using the bleeding edge for a few months now (currently at 3.0 alpha) but the test install I used 2.9.1 (current stable) So I'm still scratching my head to find out where things aren't working as they should. I've also run some tests over the SQL table and they all check out just fine!

If you have any advice … I'm listening!

Categories
Random Ramblings

Web of Trust (WoT)

It was recently brought to my attention that my website domain had a very poor rating on WoT. I was concerned about this as I host a wiki for the TinyTrak4 community and also I mirror the TinyTrak4 Yahoo Group mailing list using mailman.

However unless you have the pluging that is available from WoT, then you wouldn't have been alerted to such! So I have added some widgets to my blog and main page indicating my WoT rating.

I thoroughly recommend installing the add-on for FireFox & IE as this gives you a better way to distinguish a site rating, and the ability to rate sites yourself.

To get more information about WoT and the browser add-on, then please visit http://www.mywot.com/

Categories
Me TV Nonprofit Random Ramblings

Me TV 1.1.3 released

In this release the following issues have been addressed…

  • Use GLib/Gio instead GNet (LP: #503214)
  • Removed deprecated libgnome/ui dependency (LP: #503219)
  • Applied patch from Ludwig Nussel to fix compile error on glibmm 2.16.1
  • Added PES type 0x80 to be a recognised video stream
  • Fix for FTBFS on Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (LP: #503910)
  • Removed GTK+ 2.16 requirement from UI file
  • EPG now honours the version number field and updates EPG events

The main differences here are that the dependencies for libgnome* have been removed and now is using libgtk* When you update to this version you will be prompted to either remove or update the SQLite database (Channel/EPG information)