Serious security flaw found in IE

Well, it's not like I found the security flaw, nor the article that is written about the security flaw, but this just might frighten 6 people into using an alternate browser to Internet Explorer.
link

Tracing from my PC

Tracing from my own computer to the Curtin server (in Perth? because technically, it could be anywhere in the world), I can see 192.168.2.1 which is my wireless router, but everything else is way over my head..

C:\Users\Nagamori>tracert 134.7.179.53

Tracing route to 134.7.179.53 over a maximum of 30 hops

1 2 ms 2 ms 1 ms 192.168.2.1
2 10 ms 9 ms 9 ms 10.62.0.1
3 11 ms 9 ms 13 ms riv4-ge1-1.gw.optusnet.com.au [198.142.160.125]
4 83 ms 76 ms 89 ms mas3-ge11-0-0-821.gw.optusnet.com.au [211.29.156.11]
5 24 ms 33 ms 24 ms sun1-ge12-0-0-811.gw.optusnet.com.au [211.29.155.13]
6 23 ms 23 ms 23 ms sun4-unk8-1.gw.optusnet.com.au [198.142.160.226]
7 112 ms 77 ms 24 ms 61.88.144.161
8 86 ms 73 ms 93 ms 61.88.226.115
9 198 ms 181 ms 137 ms AARNET.o6ssc76fe.optus.net.au [61.88.166.134]
10 71 ms 69 ms 71 ms ge-1-0-3.bb1.b.per.aarnet.net.au [202.158.198.6]
11 252 ms 210 ms 219 ms gigabitethernet0.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au [202.158.198.178]
12 69 ms 69 ms 73 ms gw1.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au [202.158.198.186]
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 * * * Request timed out.
15 * * * Request timed out.
16 73 ms 71 ms 71 ms 134.7.179.53

Trace complete.

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping centralops.net

Pinging centralops.net [70.84.211.98] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=319ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=466ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=682ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=419ms TTL=112

Ping statistics for 70.84.211.98:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 319ms, Maximum = 682ms, Average = 471ms

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping curtin.edu.au

Pinging curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.53] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=796ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=773ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=756ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=573ms TTL=114

Ping statistics for 134.7.179.53:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 573ms, Maximum = 796ms, Average = 724ms

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping curtin.edu.au

Pinging curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.53] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=604ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=434ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=551ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=326ms TTL=114

Ping statistics for 134.7.179.53:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 326ms, Maximum = 604ms, Average = 478ms

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping centralops.net

Pinging centralops.net [70.84.211.98] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=870ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=791ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=795ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=806ms TTL=112

Ping statistics for 70.84.211.98:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 791ms, Maximum = 870ms, Average = 815ms

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping centralops.net

Pinging centralops.net [70.84.211.98] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=232ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=216ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=215ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=214ms TTL=112

Ping statistics for 70.84.211.98:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 214ms, Maximum = 232ms, Average = 219ms

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping centralops.net

Pinging centralops.net [70.84.211.98] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=254ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=227ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=214ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=215ms TTL=112

Ping statistics for 70.84.211.98:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 214ms, Maximum = 254ms, Average = 227ms

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping curtin.edu.au

Pinging curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.53] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=73ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=134ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=142ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=71ms TTL=114

Ping statistics for 134.7.179.53:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 71ms, Maximum = 142ms, Average = 105ms

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping curtin.edu.au

Pinging curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.53] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=70ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=76ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=75ms TTL=114
Reply from 134.7.179.53: bytes=32 time=72ms TTL=114

Ping statistics for 134.7.179.53:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 70ms, Maximum = 76ms, Average = 73ms

C:\Users\Nagamori>ping centralops.net

Pinging centralops.net [70.84.211.98] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=216ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=284ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=218ms TTL=112
Reply from 70.84.211.98: bytes=32 time=214ms TTL=112

Ping statistics for 70.84.211.98:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 214ms, Maximum = 284ms, Average = 233ms

Funnily enough, the first few pings to Central Ops were 471ms and to Curtin it was 724ms and I was thinking that the Curtin server is in Australia, so it should definitely be faster from here(Sydney) to Perth, than it is from Sydney to Texas.

After a few pings, a faster route is found and Curtin settles to 73ms and Central Ops to 233ms.

Internet Tools

Tracing route to curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.53]...

hop rtt rtt rtt ip address domain name
1 0 0 1 70.84.211.97 61.d3.5446.static.theplanet.com
2 29 1 1 70.87.254.5 5.fe.5746.static.theplanet.com
3 7 0 0 70.85.127.109 po52.dsr02.dllstx3.theplanet.com
4 0 0 0 70.87.253.21 et3-1.ibr03.dllstx3.theplanet.com
5 193 3 7 157.238.225.5 xe-4-4.r03.dllstx09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
6 0 0 0 129.250.2.173 ae-2.r21.dllstx09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
7 44 44 44 129.250.4.25 as-3.r21.snjsca04.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
8 48 46 46 129.250.4.118 ae-0.r20.plalca01.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
9 46 46 46 129.250.3.79 p16-0-0-0.r05.plalca01.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
10 46 47 46 129.250.10.226 p4-0.aarnet.plalca01.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
11 204 204 204 202.158.194.173 so-3-3-1.bb1.a.syd.aarnet.net.au
12 201 201 203 202.158.194.198 ge-0-0-0.bb1.b.syd.aarnet.net.au
13 216 216 216 202.158.194.33 so-2-0-0.bb1.a.mel.aarnet.net.au
14 227 225 225 202.158.194.17 so-2-0-0.bb1.a.adl.aarnet.net.au
15 253 253 252 202.158.194.5 so-0-1-0.bb1.a.per.aarnet.net.au
16 253 253 253 202.158.198.178 gigabitethernet0.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au
17 253 253 253 202.158.198.186 gw1.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au
18 * * *
19 * * *
20 * * *
21 254 254 254 134.7.179.53
Trace complete

-- end --

From Curtin to the Central Ops server there are 21 hops. From 3 traces, the average time is 254 milliseconds. :O Walking from my computer to my living room is like 7000 milliseconds.

Also on trace one, it looks like there was a bit of server searching to be done, as hop 2 and 5 are 29ms and 193ms respectively, while subsequent runs bring that time down to 1ms and 3ms.



What I find particularly interesting, is:

12 201 201 203 202.158.194.198 ge-0-0-0.bb1.b.syd.aarnet.net.au
13 216 216 216 202.158.194.33 so-2-0-0.bb1.a.mel.aarnet.net.au
14 227 225 225 202.158.194.17 so-2-0-0.bb1.a.adl.aarnet.net.au
15 253 253 252 202.158.194.5 so-0-1-0.bb1.a.per.aarnet.net.au

What I see is, coming in from the US, the path taken are through the aptly named servers/?routers Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, which ?geographically makes sense to me.

Finally the IP NUMBER of the hostname curtin.edu.au must be 134.7.179.53, which is the last stop(hop?).

Magical text flying over electrical wires chat

Just had a chat with Richard.

Will expand on this later.

ICQ - TASK & LOG ENTRY: Arrange with other students in the unit to meet up for a chat record observations from this chat in your learning log.You may want to think about and reflect upon what you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy about that chat method and what problems or benefits you think that method offers for internet communication.

MSN - LOG ENTRY: Record your outcome and reflections of your experiences and thoughts on this task in your learning log

I had my dad shout at me once or twice during the time I was using the computer, because basically, I can't multi-task at all, and I honestly didn't hear him speaking to me... ..

I'm gonna leave these concepts here to marinate, copied from the 'Module 2 - Tasks' page.

GROUP TASK ~ all students : 
All students regardless of the chat method and option you chose you must now: 
Using either ICQ, yahoo chat, Messenger, virtual or webct chat, arrange a discussion with your peers. You may do this in small groups if you like. Talk about which chat service you prefer, and what forms of communication chat is most useful for. Think about the following question: how does the method you are familiar with appear to differ from other chat or messaging such as ICQ, MSN or AIM? Which system do you prefer? 

kind of OT: Not sure, but I think it's related to one of the earlier concepts, but.. one of the things that changes how you interact with people over the net is, that you can't immediately assess (that you usually can) is the person's age. Like someone you meet IRL can put up a façade, but over the net, it's entirely a different thing.. there's no body language, blah blah. And in some ways, interactions with other people over the net are more personal, yet more distant blah blah.

I remember in that first survey of NET 11, there was a question (though not related specifically to this course) like : Would you put more time and effort into contributions to an online unit (as other students will read them)?

And I would in most cases, say yes. Excepting, the mostly informal chat that I had before where my answers were just more direct and therefore less 'time and effort' in some ways, though I did consider quite carefully what I was writing before I sent each line of text.

Module One - Tasks Log

Telnet

So... I run Windows Vista, so I had to Google and search for instructions to install the Windows Telnet Client application. 

After that I open command prompt and type in: telnet library.deakin.edu.au ->Author-> Bennahum->Display title and location->Print->E-mail printer and then...

What is my Curtin email address? -_-

Easy, log in and find out what it is. Luckily it was on the first page, or I would have had to e-mail myself..

I Alt+Tab back to the Telnet application and I get this:

Well.. No biggie... except that I forgot the name of the Author I was supposed to be looking for.. T_T

Regarding 'telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl'.

Well, I haven't seen any of the Star Wars movies, so.. ;_;

FTP

I used Windows Explorer for FTP, because, it works well enough for this task.

And, for now the obligatory response. 

According to the readme file, '_______ MATTERS' - what word goes in the blank?

The word is 'CAPITALIZATION'.

edit: In the end, I was able to e-mail myself the book titles.

I have a poll going. I felt like it.

Look to the right.

I use Google Chrome primarily, because I found it useful that you can re-arrange the window tabs.

Second (big) reason for choosing Google Chrome (even though it is still in BETA), is that my mouse for some reason, refuses to scroll (up and down pages) on any other browser without immense lag....

So, people... Which internet browser do you use, and why?

Module One

Is this how I'm going to spend my precious Sunday?

currently reading.... XP

Words to find out:

wetware

Things to keep in mind:

Module One - Introduction - Concept 27 - The Persistence of History

Module One - Tasks - Concept 23 - Human-computer interfaces

Things I will look over again:

DNS (Domain Name Servers)

WHOIS

Usenet

Telnet

IRC

Things that hit me like an arrow:

Your machine, on the other hand, is probably providing no services to anyone else on the Internet.

(Quite true, but it makes me want to go and do something more useful with my computer...)

edit: reading stalled; I'm gonna go have breakfast first.

edit2: my computer had a BSOD, except it came back like this:

edit3: one restart and it's back to normal.. :)

edit4: blockquote is painful

Top Five Tips for New Bloggers

5. Look at other peoples' blogs..   Seriously, there are soo many good looking blogs out there.

4. Turn off the TV - well, it isn't really helping me right now... -_-

3. Jet into it - just write something first, get a feel of the interface, and if you really want, you can edit it later - it is supposed to be a log of progress.

2. Follow other peoples' blogs - it is too convenient and you get to keep up with people.

1. This one might not be that obvious, but everytime you blog, make a new post...

Also, if you haven't already, I'd recommend you take a look at Rhys' blog and Monique's blog.

edit: use tags to mark your posts - I haven't got around to it yet.. but, one day they'll magically appear. :)