Website Rebuilt & Ready To Go

So I was hacked.  Truth is, every time I removed the malicious code, it reappeared with 72 hours.  I do not understand why it happened, but Hayden believes there may have been a WordPress bug.

I used the opportunity to rebuild my site, using the TwentyTen theme, with modifications.  I also changed the rotating images to a selection I have taken from our balcony at sunset.  I use Photsynth on my iPhone which does a “good” job of stitching my pics to create a dramatic panorama.

So hopefully stainsbyte.com is up and running, ready for our big adventure starting mid-February.

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Hacked!!

I have been hacked.

I am not sure how or to what extent or even who did it.  All I know is that this web site didn’t look right – just the header with the flowers and menu were displayed and no body.  Lucky you can see text now!

It took some work, but I finally discovered that some of my .PHP files had some strange code tacked to the bottom of them that started like this

A quick Google search told horror stories of compromised code and a fantastic blog explaining how code can be compromised at Why You Should Never Search For Free WordPress Themes in Google or Anywhere Else.

I also discovered that I can check the code at Sucuri SiteCheck, thanks to a post on WordPress.

Interestingly, I found each theme I had installed was compromised for both this site and Ev’s at The Silent Partner.  The compromised files included (but not limited to) index.php, header.php, footer.php – common files in WordPress.  All the compromised files had the same date/time stamp of 21 October 2011 at 6:33:05pm – a date and time that I was not logged on to my computer(s).

The theme PrimePress caused most issues, and I had used snippets from it to build the rotating pics in the header.  Other themes didn’t display the issues, although they were clearly compromised.

I didn’t investigate what the compromised code did, but surely it was pushing another web site for Google analytics or sending spam or viruses around the world.  Something that was not nice.

I suppose it is time to change passwords and secret keys to better protect myself.

 

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Home from the “Sunday Drive”

It took 4 Sundays and the 18 days in-between for our “Sunday Drive”. We got all the way west to Cape Naturaliste and south to Albany and covered 9,044 km.

It was a great journey of stunning Aussie landscapes, beautiful Western Australian wild flowers and lots of good food and wine.

We saw the big koala, the big galah, the big orange and the super pit at Kalgoorlie – biggest, thanks to Alan Bond.

Now to edit the 2,365 photos we took between us, and to get some of them onto this site.  Places first, flowers to follow at stainsbyte/Travelling/Nullarbor 2011

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West as West can be

We reached the western edge of the South West region of Western Australia, and felt closer to Hayden in Barcelona from there, at least 3,000km closer!

By now we have travelled 4,500km and we are ready to turn around and go east – home.

We started and finished the Cape to Cape walk. The walk is about 138km long. We managed just a few km at the northern and the southern ends.

The walks were extremely different – a well paved and beautifully managed track full of wild flowers at the north from Cape Natulaliste and a rugged track, overgrown, with discreet wild flowers, at the south from Cape Leeuwin. Both walks were beautiful.

More details at stainsbyte/Travelling/Nullarbor 2011. More photos will be added in time!

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We have crossed the Nullarbor!

We made it! Crossed the Nullarbor – in the Astra. A lone “car” amongst the trucks, 4-wheel-drives pulling caravans and camper trailers and motor homes of all shapes and sizes!
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Blue sky and gums blowing in the breeze at Norseman for proof.

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After expensive food, wine and fuel en route, it is off to the south west corner to eat, drink and be merry, before the return trip.

For more on our travels watch the “Travelling/Nullarbor 2011” page.

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Spring is in the hair

It is delightful to walk on the beach as the days get warmer and brighter. However Sally’s Winter coat was catching everything – sand, grass, seed pods, burrs. So it is time for a haircut,

Here are the befores and afters – yes it is the same girl!!

Sally after 5 beach walks and before her wash-and-groom


Sally, washed-and-groomed for Spring

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North Road to Mordialloc

We have completed part of my quest to search for water bubblers between Port Melbourne and Mordialloc. Now we just have to cover the Port Melbourne to North Road bit.

Steve from the City of Kingston was very helpful with a list of bubblers in playgrounds around Kingston, however I had to find the GPS locations on Google Earth.  That challenge took me deeper into Google Earth as I came to understand the KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files and zipped version of KMZ files.

Our walk last Sunday took us to Mordialloc pier, where I found the new bubbler version – it is neat…

Drinking fountain near the playground at Mordialloc Beach, with doggy bowl

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Finding Water

Hayden’s latest iPhone app “Water Water Everywhere”, which he wrote for Ben Kay’s water project, is up and running. It is primarily designed for the UK market, however we have decided to contribute as much local content as we can.
I aim to find water fountains along the foreshore from Port Melbourne to Mordialloc. Meanwhile Bruce is working on getting the locations of water fountains in Melbourne’s CBD.

Port Melbourne to Mordialloc

It is amazing just how easy it is to find water fountains along the beach paths.

Water fountains along Sandringham foreshore

When we have exhausted local water fountains, I guess we will have to start wandering around the world, looking for more.

NOTE May 2018

The web site and app used for this project seems to have fallen off the radar – no longer available.

 

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Water Water Everywhere

Hayden’s newest iPhone project is an app for Ben Kay’s Water project (refer:  If This Is A Blog Then What’s Christmas).

Drinking water is a must for me, I don’t feel well when I am dehydrated. I really hate buying water when what comes out of the tap in most of Australia is the best in the world. So I love any opportunity to rehydrate or fill a water bottle at a public tap.

Yesterday I saw the best taps of all time – even doggie friendly. Congratulations to City of Kingston (where this photo was taken) and Frankston City Council for providing these wonderful Bubblers along the Long Beach Trail between Mordialloc Creek and Patterson River. I will look out for more of them!!

City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia

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Eldy – empowering our older family and friends

A good part of my computer career has been working in cutting edge technology.

My first job as a computer operator was in the days when “computer” was a magic word.  I loved showing family and friends around the Control Data 3200 at CSIRO behind Monash University.  That computer is now in the Melbourne Museum!

I started working on Personal Computers (PCs) in the early days.  I loved helping local families, kindergartens and small business become computer literate.

Now it is time to help at the other end of the scale – older people at risk of missing out on communicating with their younger friends and family becuase they

  1. don’t have the computer skills
  2. lack mobility

In my travels I came across Eldy “… software that turns any standard PC into an easy-to-use computer for people that have never used a computer before”.  I have installed both single-user and multi-user versions and I am impressed.  I think it is a perfect option to simplify the user experience for our older friends.  

Eldy – front page

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