Unadopted Podcast Session 030 Out Now!

Posted on by Aaron B. Russell
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Here’s a much more mainstream one, including Alex Metric’s awesome Fenech-Soler remix, Delphic, PUZIQUe, and some noisy upstarts called Be Quiet. Shout Loud!, whoever the hell they are. :) I’ve been sitting on this one for almost a month now, so I think it’s well overdue a release!

If you love the Unadopted Podcast, please add Unadopted on Facebook and tell your friends about the podcast, then tune into Unadopted Radio!

Want to send music in to the Unadopted Podcast? Now you can! Visit the Unadopted Soundcloud and send your music in (it’s dead easy). If I like it, I’ll try and get it into one of the sessions!

  1. Cassius – Cassius 1999 (Tim Green Remix)
  2. PUZIQUe – Don’t Go
  3. Duck Sauce – Barbara Streisand (O-God Remix)
  4. Fake Blood – I Think I Like It (Tommie Sunshine & Figure EC$TACY Edit)
  5. Lee Mortimer vs M&S – Bootsoul Nugget
  6. Be Quiet. Shout Loud! – Rock N Roll Disco (Unadopted Remix)
  7. Fenech Soler – Lies (Alex Metric Remix)
  8. Chemical Brothers – Swoon (Boys Noize Summer Mix)
  9. Boys Noize – Shine Shine
  10. The Black Ghosts – Any Way You Choose To Give It
  11. Drop The Lime – Hear Me (Radio Edit)
  12. Delphic – Acolyte

Listen now over at unadopted.co.uk/podcast/. If you haven’t already set it up, click the “Subscribe” link on the right-hand-side when you get there to get the podcast automatically delivered right into your iTunes or RSS reader whenever I release a new session!

Posted in Posts | Tagged Alex Metric, Digital audio, Entertainment/Culture, Facebook Inc, unadopted, unadopted podcast, Unadopted Radio | Leave a reply

My Koobface / Facebook Roadblock experience

Posted on by Aaron B. Russell
3

I figured I’d write up my experience with the Facebook Roadblock, as it might come in useful for other people who get locked out.

Last night I noticed Adium started spinning away on my dock, unable to connect to one of its configured networks, which turned out to be Facebook. A few minutes later I closed whatever browser tab I had open, and noticed that Facebook tab I had open behind it was showing the “Please login to continue” dialog over my previous session. Clicking the login button took me to something I’d not seen before, the Facebook Roadblock:

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The Facebook Roadblock

A few minutes of checking the SSL certs, retyping bookmarks, checking for DNS spoofing, and even trying from my iPhone over the 3G data network (which still didn’t work, it instantly logged me out once it loaded and didn’t let me back in), I received an email claiming to be from Facebook. And the headers seemed valid too:

Return-Path: <notification+z4o6=66@facebookmail.com>
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.2.4 (2008-01-01) on
  server01.filesanctuary.net
X-Spam-Level:
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-99.0 required=5.0 tests=AWL,BAYES_50,
  DNS_FROM_OPENWHOIS,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_LOW,SPF_PASS,USER_IN_WHITELIST autolearn=no
  version=3.2.4
X-Original-To: aaron@unadopted.co.uk
Delivered-To: aaron.unadopted@server01.filesanctuary.net
Received: from mx-out.facebook.com (outmail013.snc4.facebook.com [66.220.144.145])
  by server01.filesanctuary.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id CF77B315237
  for <aaron@unadopted.co.uk>; Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:04:33 +0100 (BST)
DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha1; d=facebookmail.com; s=201006181024; c=relaxed/relaxed;
  q=dns/txt; i=@facebookmail.com; t=1288289073;
  h=From:Subject:Date:To:MIME-Version:Content-Type;
  bh=qEIXppA9YVJnzP16lPu8knjBLI4=;
  b=R8irJgwrt6XVn16hAvSUFeIlM++vWMcDyAYhNXrhKnQ6ItFMnyMlWp5Mpop9/8qW
  RBXeIrBlbl9R+MhQ7tTzmYKGcHpDpA4sMc27xKmYwDphIdANX0rgfCfxLzsRwYvJ
  wu+CZxtaBphfkFdMo0RZabSpGN4v5Q0WCW12jqDxKBM=;
Received: from [10.30.185.191] ([10.30.185.191:35133])
  by mta018.snc4.facebook.com (envelope-from <notification+z4o6=66@facebookmail.com>)
  (ecelerity 2.2.2.45 r(34222M)) with ECSTREAM
  id F6/5B-27367-13BB9CC4; Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:04:33 -0700
X-Facebook: from zuckmail ([MTI3LjAuMC4x])
  by localhost.localdomain with local (ZuckMail);
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:04:33 -0700
To: "Aaron B. Russell" <aaron@unadopted.co.uk>
From: Facebook <notification+z4o6=66@facebookmail.com>
Reply-to: Facebook <notification+z4o6=66@facebookmail.com>
Subject: Security Warning From Facebook
Message-ID: <9202ff1cbcd06add33c763f96edc88cd@localhost.localdomain>
X-Priority: 3
X-Mailer: ZuckMail [version 1.00]
X-Facebook-Notify: roadblock; mailid=333b85fG1e289220G6f8ad57G7b
Errors-To: notification+z4o6=66@facebookmail.com
X-FACEBOOK-PRIORITY: 0
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

Dear Aaron B. Russell,

We have detected that your Facebook account is infected with a form of
malware, or virus, called Koobface. You downloaded the virus after
receiving a message from a friend, which invited you to view a video.

To restore your account, please log in to Facebook and follow the
instructions you see there. You can also learn more in our Help Centre at:

www.facebook.com/help/?topic=koobface

Thanks,
Facebook Security Team

Hmm. So I really was locked out. But was I really infected? As I use a Mac, I wondered if I’d been hit by the (supposedly harmless) OSX/Koobface.A virus (Intego Security Memo). But if that was the case, why didn’t VirusBarrier X6 tell me about it? And why didn’t I get the Java applet warning? My mind wandered back a couple of days and I remembered I’d logged in on my Windows 7-based HTPC recently too, so there was a slim chance that I got infected that way.

So off I went to set some scans running. Kaspersky Internet Security finished on the HTPC first due to it’s relatively small HD, but that was clean, which only left my MacBook Pro as a potential candidate for infection. After discovering just how long it takes to scan a 500gb hard disk (more than 8 hours)… VirusBarrier told me that it didn’t find anything on my laptop either.

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VirusBarrier says "no virus detected"

Both Kaspersky Internet Security and VirusBarrier X6 claim to be able to deal with various versions Koobface worm/trojan hybrid, but neither of them picked anything up despite having the latest virus definition updates, so my systems seem to be clean. Having checked my systems meant that I was now “allowed” through the Roadblock (Facebook requires you to certify that you’ve checked your system — that said, it’s only a checkbox to tick and you could easily lie, but if you receive genuine reports that your computer appears to be compromised, it’s better not to chance it), and I went through this sequence of steps…

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Facebook give you a few options to prove your identity

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I opted for SMS message verification

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Facebook then try to educate you about what happened...

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... which is a really good idea (though they should detect I'm on a Mac)

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... and then they forced me to reset my password (also good!)

And then after a confirmation screen, my account was restored.

So… what the hell happened? Well, from what I can tell my machines are not infected, so either my account was compromised, or it was a false alarm (possibly due to Adium’s frequent reconnects to Facebook Chat, because it drops the connection often). Either way, I think Facebook handled this very well from a security point of view. They also offered me a (Windows-only) 6 month free subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus on the final confirmation screen, but I skipped that as I’m on a Mac and already use Intego VirusBarrier X6, but it’s good to be offering protection to people who might not be protected.

I’m interested to hear if anyone else has gone through this (especially Mac users), so if you have a similar story to share, please drop me a comment.

Posted in Posts | Tagged Antivirus software, Computer virus, Computing, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Intego, Internet Security, Koobface, Online social networking, OSX, Social information processing, System software, Technology/Internet, web 2.0, World Wide Web | 3 Replies

Unadopted Podcast Session 029 Out Now!

Posted on by Aaron B. Russell
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The Unadopted Podcast is back with a whole bunch of stuff I’ve been listening to in the three months since I last put one of these thingies out. Some of it’s new, some of it’s not. Expect nice electro things like Late Of The Pier, The Black Ghosts, Goose, Foals and … Saint Etienne? :)

If you love the Unadopted Podcast, please add Unadopted on Facebook and tell your friends about the podcast, then tune into Unadopted Radio!

Want to send music in to the Unadopted Podcast? Now you can! Visit the Unadopted Soundcloud and send your music in (it’s dead easy). If I like it, I’ll try and get it into one of the sessions!

  1. Crookers feat Soulwax & Mixhell – We Love Animals
  2. Justice – Phantom Pt. II (Boys Noize Remix)
  3. Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity Of Huge (Dada Life Guerilla Fart #10)
  4. Fever Ray – Triangle Walks (Tiga’s 1-2-3-4 Remix)
  5. Federico Franchi – Cream
  6. Fake Blood vs I-Robots – Mars Frau (Tss Mashup)
  7. Joe And Will Ask? – Surge
  8. The Black Ghosts – Any Way You Choose To Give It (Fake Blood Remix)
  9. Late Of The Pier – Best In The Class (Soulwax Remix)
  10. Goose – Bring It On (Boris Dlugosch Remix)
  11. N.E.R.D. feat Nelly Furtado – Hot ‘n’ Fun (Boys Noize Main Remix)
  12. Foals – Spanish Sahara (Deadboy Remix)
  13. Saint Etienne – Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Richard X 2009 Extended Remix)

Listen now over at unadopted.co.uk/podcast/. If you haven’t already set it up, click the “Subscribe” link on the right-hand-side when you get there to get the podcast automatically delivered right into your iTunes or RSS reader whenever I release a new session!

Posted in Posts | Tagged Digital audio, Entertainment/Culture, Foals, Goose, Late Of The Pier, Podcast, unadopted, unadopted podcast, Unadopted Radio | Leave a reply

Google gives up on Wave

Posted on by Aaron B. Russell
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This is a pretty huge disappointment: Google’s admitted defeat on Wave, citing poor uptake, and plans to cut it loose later this year.

“despite these wins, and numerous loyal fans, Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked. We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects.”
– Urs Hölzle on the Official Google Blog [link to post]

I’ve found Google Wave to be very useful as a meeting and collaboration space for working with people hundreds or thousands of miles away from me, but I guess not enough people saw just how useful it actually is. It does have a pretty steep learning curve initially, so I can see why a lot of people probably didn’t bother, or didn’t get what it was for. I guess it’s back to IRC, IMs and Campfire for now.

Posted in Posts | Tagged Computing, Google, Google Inc., Google Wave, Instant messaging, Self-organization, Social information processing, Social Issues, Technology/Internet, Urs Hoelzle, Urs Hölzle, Wave | Leave a reply

FaceTime missing on your iPhone 4? Here’s how to fix it.

Posted on by Aaron B. Russell
35

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I discovered today that FaceTime didn’t work on my iPhone 4: people couldn’t start FaceTime calls with me and I didn’t have any of the FaceTime buttons present. Turns out that this problem is caused when restoring from an iPhone 3G running iOS 4 — it seems the FaceTime on/off setting is imported from the iPhone 3G (which has it turned off as it doesn’t support FaceTime). Going into Settings > Phone and then flipping FaceTime on solved it for me.

Other people seem to have had to jump through a couple of extra hoops to get this to work, if flipping the switch didn’t get you going, take a look at this post over at the Rusty Brick blog.

Update 2010-08-22: Still having trouble? Did you jailbreak your iPhone 4? There’s something else that might stop this working too.

Update 2011-08-20: Did you find this post helpful? It would be awesome if you’d take a moment or two to check out File Sanctuary, my hosting company. We’d love to help you with web hosting, email hosting, radio station hosting, domain registration, SSL certificates, and even giving you a safe place on the Internet to back your computers up to. We really care about the service we provide, and our prices are really good. Have a look around our website to find out some more, then get in touch and tell us what you need, and we’ll do everything we can to accomodate you. Thank you for reading my shameless plug! :)

Posted in Posts | Tagged 3G, Apple Inc., Computing, Digital audio, FaceTime, iPhone, Multi-touch, Smartphones, Technology/Internet | 35 Replies

CJ Garland & Co goes into administration

Posted on by Aaron B. Russell
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“More than 1,000 employees working for a North East call centre have been made redundant.

Garland Call Centres, based at Hartlepool Marina, Middlesbrough and South Shields, announced it had gone into administration on Monday.

The centre employed 1,158 people – 178 based in South Shields, 621 in Hartlepool and 359 in Middlesbrough.

Administrators said the company was unable to support trading after the “termination of key contracts”.”

– BBC News: “Jobs blow for Garlands North East call centre staff”

I feel awful for anyone who worked there and got fired the way they did, but at the same time I’m highly amused they went under.

I told them years ago that they cared more about targets than customer satisfaction, and that it’d cause them problems in the long run. They should’ve listened.

Posted in Posts | Tagged CJ Garland & Co, Garlands Call Centres, Hartlepool, Hartlepool Marina, Middlesbrough, North East England | Leave a reply

Make a perfect Ubuntu AFP file server with Time Machine support

Posted on by Aaron B. Russell
4

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Just found an awesome guide from Mattias Kretschmann on how to create a perfect AFP file server for Mac clients that supports Time Machine backups over the network out of the box. It worked for me with a Mac OS X 10.6.3 client and an Ubuntu 10.04 server, with just one small change to the /etc/netatalk/afpd.conf file. The final line simply needed to read:

- -transall -advertise_ssh

Beautiful, thanks Mattias. :)

Posted in Posts | Tagged Apple Filing Protocol, Computer networking, Computing, Cryptographic software, file server, Mac, Mac OS X, Netatalk, Network architecture, Network file systems, Network protocols, Secure Shell, Technology/Internet, Ubuntu | 4 Replies

Unadopted Podcast Session 028 Out Now!

Posted on by Aaron B. Russell
Reply

This one’s so lively it should probably come in its own cage! Fantastic tunes this time from the likes of Passion Pit, Justice, and a couple of truly brilliant remixes from Last Japan.

If you love the Unadopted Podcast, please add Unadopted on Facebook and tell your friends about the podcast!

Want to send music in to the Unadopted Podcast? Now you can! Visit the Unadopted Soundcloud and send your music in (it’s dead easy). If I like it, I’ll try and get it into one of the sessions!

  1. Passion Pit – Little Secrets (Jack Beats Remix)
  2. Touché – Vampires
  3. Booka Shade – Mandarine Girl
  4. Kidda – Feel Too Good (Jack Beats Remix)
  5. Soft Toy Emergency – Critical (Last Japan Remix)
  6. Boris Dlugosch – Bangkok
  7. Kissy Sell Out – This Kiss (Jack Beats Remix)
  8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (Passion Pit Remix)
  9. The Bingo Players – Devotion
  10. Crystal Fighters – Xtatic Truth (Last Japan Remix)
  11. Justice – D.A.N.C.E. (Beau Damion Mashup)

Listen now over at unadopted.co.uk/podcast/. If you haven’t already set it up, click the “Subscribe” link on the right-hand-side when you get there to get the podcast automatically delivered right into your iTunes or RSS reader whenever I release a new session!

Posted in Posts | Tagged Digital audio, Entertainment/Culture, Facebook Inc, Human Interest, Podcast, Technology, Technology/Internet, unadopted, unadopted podcast, Web syndication, Word of the year | Leave a reply