Customer Service?
I've found myself browsing this site a lot - http://notalwaysright.com. Some of the stories seem more than a little farfetched, some are understandable, but the majority I can see happening (and are downright hilarious). If you work in retail, support or any other customer service role, I strongly urge you to check it out!
Wordpress Issues
The issue I mentioned on Tuesday for the local c turned out to be unsolvable by their web host (read: they didn't really want to help), so I gamely trooped in and took a look. Turns out it was related to an older Wordpress plugin, which contained an unwitting exploit. I've included a little info here - if you run a Wordpress site, or have seen this issue on another Wordpress site or blog, you might want to check these issues.
(Current Song:The Majestic Tale (of a Madman in a Box) - Murray Gold (Doctor Who Season 6 OST)
When using Google Chrome to view the site, you may get a warning message advising you that the site contains content from 31.184.242.102. This is a well known malware site.
It's javascript exploit, which means all of the files on the backend of your site that end with ".js" are likely to be infected. For the most part you have two options - do a fresh reinstall of the core Wordpress files, or download and edit the .js files, and reupload the result.
At the end of each of the files is a section of code which starts var_0x80d0= and contains a list of addresses such as x64, x6C and others. Delete this section of code.
Run through the following sites if you see the problem:
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/malware-detected-by-chrome
http://ocaoimh.ie/2008/06/08/did-your-wordpress-site-get-hacked/
And change all passwords on your Wordpress site at the end, just in case.
Once you're done with everything, use the site checker over at http://sitecheck.sucuri.net/scanner/. It's free, and will allow you to check your site over for any exploits, malware or otherwise.
It's an interesting problem, one that I've never seen before. I love dealing with problems I haven't seen before, they keep me interested.
(Current Song: Nothing can be Explained (Vocal Version) - Shiro Sagisu)
The week!
So, what else? The answer is, not a whole lot work wise. It's been pretty quiet what with half term kicking in, and so I'm looking forward to getting some time off next week.
After taking some time out from longer games (pretty recently I've put stints in to both Lost Odyssey and Mass Effect, both long, long games), I replayed one of my shorter titles to finish it up - Condemned: Criminal Origins.
It's one of the early titles for the 360 (coming out about 5 or 6 years ago now), and was made by the same studio that created F.E.A.R. - you can see the similarities between the two games. It's full of creepy moments, has a good detective story behind it, and plays pretty well, with a half decent melee system (something many games lack). I thoroughly enjoyed the replay (which is more than I can say for it's sequel, Bloodshot, which was pretty terrible, and took everything down a Scifi route). You can probably pick it up pretty cheaply, and it's well worth a look.
Weekend
Looking forward to the weekend. It's the first one Elle's had free for a while, now that her essay is done, so we get to spend some time together ^_^ plus, going with Elle and Paul to see the new Muppet's film on Saturday night, so it should be fun.
Finally, I'd like to direct you to the first ever Jaw Transplant using a 3D Printer to build the replacement - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16907104 - It's absolutely fantastic what technology is capable of now. A replacement joint could be custom built to a patient's skeleton, reducing healing time, weight, and time spent in the operation theatre. And although it's a long way off, it's probably not a stretch to imagine replacement organs being built the same way (if the Stem Cell debate is EVER fully settled), meaning less chance of rejection, less people needing to wait (and potentially pass away) for a replacement kidney, heart or other organ, etc.
I'll leave it there for now, I think. Have a good weekend all!
Thursday 16 February 2012
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Improvements
Man, I've been really up and down the last few weeks. Everytime I seem to improve mood wise, something else hits me and I'm right back down again. I'm fighting it, but damn is it hard.
Hopefully I'm back on an upward swing now though. Often when I'm struggling like this I tend to close myself off, and I keep forgetting those around me can really help out. So thanks to all who've helped with the recent funk, especially Elle. I really appreciate it.
(Current song: Zombies Ate My Neighbours (Panic of the Undead) - NoppZ, OCRemix)
So, where to start with this update? I guess with work so far. Today seems to have been mostly about Malware, and related. A colleague brought in their work laptop (which was infected). Once the infection was cleared up, the BSOD's starting kicking in - looks like the hard drive might be shot. It's a shame, but not a game breaker, everything was backed up, and the laptop IS around 5 years old, so a good age. We'll see if I can fix it, otherwise it's a transplant or replacement time.
(Current Song: Memoria - Nobuo Uematsu (FF9 Soundtrack)
Turns out the malware infection came about last night, when she visited a local charity's website. Low and behold, said website is infected with something nasty themselves. Hopefully it'll be resolved soon (they're in the process of sorting it with the webhost, and I've offered help if they need it) but until then, access to said site's probably not a good idea. Cue the all staff e-mail!
(Current Song: Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine)
Let's see, what else? Oh! Elle finished her essay over the weekend (an epic writing several weekends in the process), so this weekend'll be the first one we've had together properly for a while. Looking forward to it, especially with a week off next week too. Some much needed unwinding and relaxation time, bring it on!
I finally conquered one of my gaming achievements over the weekend as well. I said a little while ago I had a few game related things I wanted to get done in 2012, and while I haven't gotten to many of them, I can cross off the Treasure Trove achievement of Lost Odyssey, which means I've finally finished the game proper. T'is a good feeling.
(Current Song: Martha's Quest (Murray Gold, Doctor Who Series 3 OST)
On a slightly downer note, I'll be keeping a close eye on the results of the inspections of Apple's (and it's supplier, Foxconn) factories in China. For those who don't know anything about it, take a look http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17015824. Apple aren't the only company to be dealing with Foxconn and the other suppliers named in the report, but they are the one most frequently named (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are among the others). It's only recently this has been coming to light, and unfortunately it's taken several suicides to get the issue raised. It's pretty shocking.
And RIP Whitney Houston. I remember her voice being a regular thing in our house when I was younger (Dad is a massive Soul and Motown fan), and I'm aware she was due for a comeback soon. It's sad to see that she's passed so far before her time, fallen once again down the route of drug addiction.
(Current Song: Kara Remembers - Bear McCreary, Battlestar Galactica OST 4)
I think I'll leave it there for now. I want to post more, but as always, duty calls. Best wishes ladies and gentlemen!
Hopefully I'm back on an upward swing now though. Often when I'm struggling like this I tend to close myself off, and I keep forgetting those around me can really help out. So thanks to all who've helped with the recent funk, especially Elle. I really appreciate it.
(Current song: Zombies Ate My Neighbours (Panic of the Undead) - NoppZ, OCRemix)
So, where to start with this update? I guess with work so far. Today seems to have been mostly about Malware, and related. A colleague brought in their work laptop (which was infected). Once the infection was cleared up, the BSOD's starting kicking in - looks like the hard drive might be shot. It's a shame, but not a game breaker, everything was backed up, and the laptop IS around 5 years old, so a good age. We'll see if I can fix it, otherwise it's a transplant or replacement time.
(Current Song: Memoria - Nobuo Uematsu (FF9 Soundtrack)
Turns out the malware infection came about last night, when she visited a local charity's website. Low and behold, said website is infected with something nasty themselves. Hopefully it'll be resolved soon (they're in the process of sorting it with the webhost, and I've offered help if they need it) but until then, access to said site's probably not a good idea. Cue the all staff e-mail!
(Current Song: Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine)
Let's see, what else? Oh! Elle finished her essay over the weekend (an epic writing several weekends in the process), so this weekend'll be the first one we've had together properly for a while. Looking forward to it, especially with a week off next week too. Some much needed unwinding and relaxation time, bring it on!
I finally conquered one of my gaming achievements over the weekend as well. I said a little while ago I had a few game related things I wanted to get done in 2012, and while I haven't gotten to many of them, I can cross off the Treasure Trove achievement of Lost Odyssey, which means I've finally finished the game proper. T'is a good feeling.
(Current Song: Martha's Quest (Murray Gold, Doctor Who Series 3 OST)
On a slightly downer note, I'll be keeping a close eye on the results of the inspections of Apple's (and it's supplier, Foxconn) factories in China. For those who don't know anything about it, take a look http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17015824. Apple aren't the only company to be dealing with Foxconn and the other suppliers named in the report, but they are the one most frequently named (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are among the others). It's only recently this has been coming to light, and unfortunately it's taken several suicides to get the issue raised. It's pretty shocking.
And RIP Whitney Houston. I remember her voice being a regular thing in our house when I was younger (Dad is a massive Soul and Motown fan), and I'm aware she was due for a comeback soon. It's sad to see that she's passed so far before her time, fallen once again down the route of drug addiction.
(Current Song: Kara Remembers - Bear McCreary, Battlestar Galactica OST 4)
I think I'll leave it there for now. I want to post more, but as always, duty calls. Best wishes ladies and gentlemen!
Friday 3 February 2012
2012
First off, sorry to anyone who regularly read this blog. Life has been...problematic since the beginning of the year, and I haven't really had the chance to stop in and write some more. I'm hoping to be back regularly though, I find writing pretty cathartic, and enjoy it when I get the chance.
To start with, Arthur Christmas was a brilliant Christmas film, and well worth a watch. Bonus points for mentioning Cornwall. A good night was had with Elle, Paul and Kristian, really enjoyed it. I've not had a chance to catch up with them since though, which is a shame.
Christmas was nice, and pretty peaceful. I spent a lot of it with Elle and her family, along with her two nieces. I don't like kids much, but I really like them both, they're sweet. Many gifts exchanged, including Elle buying me the limited Zelda edition of the Nintendo 3DS. It's gorgeous ^_^
The time off was a nice break, and for New Years Eve we went down into town, met up with quite a few friends (including BK, who was down from Yorkshire) and had a blast. The night finished on a bit of a sour note though - I'd rather not go into it, since I'm pretty much past it now, but I had to bite my tongue a couple of times. Ah well.
Since I got back to work...well, I guess I could say I'm not really enjoying the place so far this year. I'm trying hard, but I just can't get my head back into enjoying the work I do. I'm considering a change, I don't know if that means somewhere else, or whether it means getting away from IT entirely...Time will tell.
Just a short update for now - I fully intended it to be longer, so I could get some things off my chest, but duty calls. Next time'll be longer, promise!
To start with, Arthur Christmas was a brilliant Christmas film, and well worth a watch. Bonus points for mentioning Cornwall. A good night was had with Elle, Paul and Kristian, really enjoyed it. I've not had a chance to catch up with them since though, which is a shame.
Christmas was nice, and pretty peaceful. I spent a lot of it with Elle and her family, along with her two nieces. I don't like kids much, but I really like them both, they're sweet. Many gifts exchanged, including Elle buying me the limited Zelda edition of the Nintendo 3DS. It's gorgeous ^_^
The time off was a nice break, and for New Years Eve we went down into town, met up with quite a few friends (including BK, who was down from Yorkshire) and had a blast. The night finished on a bit of a sour note though - I'd rather not go into it, since I'm pretty much past it now, but I had to bite my tongue a couple of times. Ah well.
Since I got back to work...well, I guess I could say I'm not really enjoying the place so far this year. I'm trying hard, but I just can't get my head back into enjoying the work I do. I'm considering a change, I don't know if that means somewhere else, or whether it means getting away from IT entirely...Time will tell.
Just a short update for now - I fully intended it to be longer, so I could get some things off my chest, but duty calls. Next time'll be longer, promise!
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