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It’s easy to transfer movies from computer to TV with the help of a device that allows your TV to play a movie right off your USB flash drive, hard drive, or network.

I currently use a WD TV to play my movies off of a USB drive on my TV. It supports just about every video format without any issues. Mine is a basic device that is now getting older since it does not play HD movies or connect to a network. I am definitely considering upgrading to a newer device that does all of this including stream Netflix, which to me is a big plus. Netflix recently announced their new streaming plans which has got me thinking about trying it out.

One of the latest Western Digital WD TV devices is only $89 brand new, and will plug into your TV via HDMI, composite, or component. It also has an Ethernet port to plug into your network, or you can purchase a wireless USB adapter as well for about $12.

You have the choice to connect to your network to access your files, or plug in your external hard drive or USB drive and play your media. The WD TV definitely gets a lot of use by me.

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Lately I have noticed an enormous increase in mobile traffic to my WordPress blog. With the large number of mobile devices now running Android, iOS, and others; it is very important that your WordPress blog is optimized for mobile viewing.

I quickly researched several free plugins available for WordPress that will automatically detect, and display a mobile version of my blog to users with mobile devices. I needed a free plugin that could automatically create a great looking mobile version of my blog. It needed to be able to automatically detect and display an optimized version to user’s with mobile browsers.

The absolute best plugin that I could find is called WP Mobile Detector. I am currently using it on this blog as it was very simple to set-up. I just installed then activated the plugin, and it immediately started working without having to insert code anywhere else on my WordPress install.

It comes with several mobile themes to choose from. There is also a paid version where you are able to perform advanced customization, including a built-in interactive theme editor.

To the creator of WP Mobile Detector, great job on a fantastic plugin!

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At times my job requires me to switch between a Verizon feature phone and a smartphone. This will cause unnecessary data charges if not done correctly. Sometimes I need to go out in the field I am not taking my precious expensive smartphone with me. Instead, I have an old junk “feature phone”  that I take.

I found out after having this problem twice, that you will be billed for data on the feature phone that you never used. This will add up fast and your bill will certainly surprise you. The first time I called about it they immediately reversed the charges since they have a one time data charge reversal. The second time this occurred I did not get a courtesy data charge reversal right away.  After an extensive call to Verizon’s customer support I was able to get the charges reversed. I also found out that when you switch off your unlimited data plan that you have with your smartphone, and don’t carry over any data plan to your feature phone they are unable to track which phone actually used the data. The one with, or without the data plan.

The second time I called Verizon’s customer support, I was told that the charges were legitimate and I had to pay. They told me that the smartphone was probably not turned off and continued to access data when I had switched to my feature phone. This was not true since I pulled the battery in my smartphone before even activating my feature phone. But, I was able to talk to the supervisor and she explained to me what was happening.

The easiest way to prevent this is to make sure that when you switch to your feature phone you also add a data package. I recommend you just add the unlimited data package again since you already pay for it. This will insure you will not receive any unnecessary data charges.

I wish Verizon would correct this issue because I am sure I am not the only one who switches between my feature phone and smartphone.

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I receive one of these “Domain Service Notice” spam emails every once in awhile. They are really annoying because they look official, but they don’t actually mean anything. It originated from the email address domain_services@ymail.com. Basically they want you to pay up to $499 to submit your site to search engines. Wow, that’s something us webmasters can do ourselves in a couple of clicks.

I definitely get a kick out of how this spam email was written (I obviously replaced my personal details with X’s below). I hope nobody actually falls for this and pays such a ridiculous price for just search engine submissions. Save your money!

Attention:  Important Notice

DOMAIN SERVICE NOTICE

Complete and return by fax to:
1-310-579-8655

4310 W. 190th St.
Suite # 63546
Torrance, CA 90504
United States of America

 ATT: XXXXXX
 ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT
 -
 XXXXXXXX

Domain Name:  XXXXXX
Search Engine Submission

Requested Reply
JULY 19,2011

PART I: REVIEW SOLICITATION

Attn: XXXXX
As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification

for your business Domain name search engine registration.  This letter is

to inform you that it's time to send in your registration and save.

Failure to complete your Domain name search engine registration by the

expiration date may result in cancellation of this offer making it difficult

for your customers to locate you on the web.

Privatization allows the consumer a choice when registering.  Search engine

subscription includes domain name search engine submission.  You are under

no obligation to pay the amounts stated below unless you accept this offer.

Do not discard, this notice is not an invoice it is a courtesy reminder to

register your domain name search engine listing so your customers can locate

you on the web.

This Notice for: XXXXXXX will expire on July 19,2011 Act today!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

DETAIL OF SERVICE: ANNUAL WEBSITE SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION FOR DOMAIN NAME

XXXXXX

Detail of Service:
SEARCH SUBMISSIONS

Reply by Date:
07/19/2011

For Domain Name:
XXXXXX

Select Term	 Your Existing Domain	 Period Covered	 Price
 	XXXXXXXXX
 [  ]  1 year	 	07/19/2011 - 07/19/2012	$42.00
 [  ]  2 year	 	07/19/2011 - 07/19/2013	$72.00   (save 15%)
 [  ]  5 year	 	07/19/2011 - 07/19/2016	$159.00 (save 25%)
 [  ]  10 year	-Most Recommended-	07/19/2011 - 07/19/2021	$295.00 (save 30%)
 [  ] Lifetime (NEW!)	Limited time offer - Best value!	Lifetime	$499.00

Please ensure that your contact information is correct or make the necessary changes.
Full Name: XXXXXX                             	 Email:    XXXXXXX                          

Email 2: ____________________  

Phone:  _____________________
Want to receive this notification for other domains you own? simply list them below:

_____________________                     _____________________

_____________________                     _____________________
Today's Date: _____________________	 Signature: _____________________
Payment by Credit Card
PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN BY FAX: 1-310-579-8655
(Please do not include your credit card number on this form just fill the

information above and fax it to us, once we receive your fax we will send you

instructions on how to make a payment by credit card)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

By accepting this offer, you agree not to hold DN liable for any part. Note

that THIS IS NOT A BILL. This is a solicitation.  You are under no obligation

to pay the amounts stated unless you accept this offer. The information in this

letter contains confidential and/or legally privileged information from the

notification processing department of the DN.  This information is intended only

for the use of the individual(s) named above. There is no pre-existing relationship

between DN and the domain mentioned above.  This notice is not in any part associated

with a continuation of services for domain registration.  Search engine submission is

an optional service that you can use as a part of your website optimization and alone

 may not increase the traffic to your site.  If you do not wish to receive further

updates from DN send an email to domain_services@ymail.com and in the subject line

only put remove to unsubscribe.  If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby

notified that disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance

on the contents for this letter is strictly prohibited.  * 100% satisfaction guaranteed,

you may request a refund within 30 days.

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I saw a weather stick for the first time when I vacationing at the beach but I didn’t know what it was at first. I saw this little stick hanging off of a post on the outside porch of the house I rented, and didn’t think much of it. As the week progressed, I noticed that the stick magically seemed to move. I thought I was going crazy at first, but with some research I was able to figure out that I was looking at a well known thing called a weather stick. They actually work very well as I observed during the week long vacation. The stick curved up when the weather was good, and pointed down when the weather was bad.

The stick was actually used by Native Americans as a way to predict the weather. They are simply balsam fir or birch wood.

If you are looking to purchase one, they are very reasonably priced at around $10. Below is a link where you can purchase them from Amazon.

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Nelson Mandela turned 93 today. It is also Mandela Day which is an annual international day created by the United Nations to honor the popular figure. He is well known for his work in South Africa opposing apartheid. He was elected president of South Africa in 1994 where he served as the first leader elected democratically until 1999. He devoted 67 years of his life promoting equality in Africa. Happy Birthday!

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

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Recently, it came to my attention that someone was attempting to perform a SQL injection on this blog. I figured I would write a post about SQL injections, and share with you the attempt on this site.

First off, SQL injections are a technique used by hackers to take over a server and website. Most websites on the internet (including this one) use a SQL database to store information. The information stored in a SQL databases will vary depending on the site. They may contain website content, user accounts, phone numbers, email address, and even credit card numbers. Therefore, keeping your server and SQL database secure is essential.

Now, lets look at the recent SQL injection attempts on my site: 

There were 4 advanced SQL injection attempts coming from the same IP address. The IP address was traced to a server running Apache located in Kansas that was rented from a hosting company.

The first attempt was this SQL query:

‘ declare @q varchar(8000) select @q = 0x57414954464F522044454C4159202730303A30303A313527 exec(@q)

The long string of characters beginning with “0x” is HEX code which can be translated to “?WAITFOR DELAY ’00:00:15′”.

The second attempt:

1 declare @q varchar(8000) select @q = 0x57414954464F522044454C4159202730303A30303A313527 exec(@q)

Basically the same as the first minus the first character. The Hex code is the same as the first (“?WAITFOR DELAY ’00:00:15″).

The third attempt:

1) declare @q varchar(8000) select @q = 0x57414954464F522044454C4159202730303A30303A313527 exec(@q)

Notice the addition of the “)” in the beginning. The remainder of the query was the same including the “?WAITFOR DELAY ’00:00:15″.

The final attempt:

‘) declare @q varchar(8000) select @q = 0x57414954464F522044454C4159202730303A30303A313527 exec(@q)

You can see the first two characters are different in the final attempt. The remainder of the query was the same including the “?WAITFOR DELAY ’00:00:15″.

Basically the purpose of these 4 SQL injections were to check the response times of my server/database to see if they could use a blind SQL injection to gain access. This was most likely done with an automatic vulnerability scanner.

In the end it failed.

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