Topics

1

Post New Requests Here / Show IP Address from domain name

« on: October 14, 2020, 09:51 PM »

Before I ask anyone to do any coding, does anyone know of a utility that allows a (list of ?) domain name(s) to be used, and the current IP Addresses that each resolves to ?

The scenario is that a game I play does have Connect by IP (only). It used to allow putting a domain name in and it all worked well, until the ability to connect via a domain name was removed.

Because the game server is behind a dynamic IP, which changes more frequently than I'd like, everyone else that plays on the server needs to open a command prompt and issue a ping request to see what the IP Address may have changed to, so they can enter that in the Connect by IP field. A number of these players haven't even heard of a command prompt nor should I need to teach them the arcane art of pinging something.

I'd like the simplest method possible, to have a portable utility (maybe C# ?) that may only have a single saved domain name, that shows the current IP of that domain name.
I can see that this would be useful for more than 1 domain name but for now, 1's all we need. Probably need a Refresh so that a timed check (every x minutes) can be overridden and have it checked immediately.

I've actually done a bit of hunting on the net and there's any manner of dns and hostname and domain name checkers but even if they work they often have screeds of other bumpf that just isn't relevant.

Anyone got any bright idea's / suggestions ?

2

DC Website Help and Extras / Securing the DC website with HTTPS

« on: March 26, 2017, 08:23 AM »

Starting with Firefox 51, users were shown a grey padlock with a red strike-through, to indicate that the (DonationCoder) website they were visiting was not secure (passwords are transmitted insecurely and subject to MITM sniffing).
From Firefox 52, there's now a dropdown box on the user login field that shows in plain language that "This connection is not secure. Logins entered here could be compromised."

I understand that there is a little more work to do to set up a site with SSL but in this day and age it is becoming more and more of a concern that the criminal element are getting more pervasive and taking username/password pairs from unprotected sites and using them on the more important sites.
It's also a fact of life that in order to make our (online) lives as simple as possible we tend to reuse that favourite password or login combo on several different sites which increases our chances of one day really getting pwned by some low-life.

I'm prompted to write and ask about this on the very day that Pwned ( https://haveibeenpwned.com/ ) sent me an email advising my login at Evony was pwned in a breach in 2016 (took their time telling me but sometimes that data is not immediately available). Haven't played that game for a number of years and frankly have no idea what password I used but it serves as a reminder not to be too complacent about security.

My question is : (not if but) when will DC get an SSL Certificate to encrypt the login information and protect this data ??

Using a site such as Let's Encrypt ( https://letsencrypt.org/ ) which became active April 2016, provides an automated service to obtain free SSL Certificates (and which I can vouch for works well as it's part of our setting up Test environments on various Cloud Servers)

3

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: .Net Unhandled Exception handler

« on: December 12, 2014, 03:25 PM »

At it's simplest I'd like to have a utility that runs as a service (or at least while running as an app if not a service) to be able to intercept the Windows debugging handler when .Net Unhandled Exception errors occur in C# software, store the error title and message in an SQLite db, and forward the capture to the coder.
As the error message will be passed to the coder, the ability to facilitate sending these to a selectable contact on Skype as a file transfer is needed. (While other methods are/may be made available, via Skype is the preferred option.)

Ideally, storing these in an SQLite db with a front-end that allows filtering and review of captured instances, along with system date & time of occurrence, with a screenshot of as much of the screen as necessary (Some people capture too little of the issue in screenshots which makes it difficult to place the error in context of the user action and the date/time the error occurred), and a note field to detail what the user was doing when the error occurred, and a field for the users name (the coder at the other end may get lots of unhandled exceptions and needs to know which ones are from whom) would be a welcome bonus.

Given this is a coding forum having something of this nature available might be very appealing to a dev themselves to use but this is aimed at allowing complete non-techies to capture the relevant info as quickly and simply as possible so it can be sent to the coder who needs this info to assist with a fixit for the issue. The situation is ripe for having a variety of additional supporting facilities but the core concept is capture and forward the .Net Unhandled Exception error messages preferably as a Skype file transfer (to avoid the limitation of the number of characters allowed to be typed in any one message)

I have done some research into "invoking the JIT debugger" that occurs at the bottom of each .Net UE, and seen a variety of how to enable it (which I don't need as I'm not the person debugging) and how to disable the JIT but that's not the required outcome because this info should be captured and passed on to assist with the resolution ! Similarly a search on the DC forum shows lots of references to UE's occurring but nothing about capturing and making it available to the coder in the shortest, but still accurate, timeframe and method possible.

I don't have the skills to code something at this level (just a dabbler ) so I'm throwing it out there for someone to think about.

4

General Software Discussion / Fast Network Notetaking...

« on: July 16, 2012, 10:26 PM »

I often find myself wanting to just jot a very quick note down, sometimes with a "classification" (ie to what the note refers in terms of where, how, who, etc it applies) but there's not a system out there that I am currently aware of that does what I need. I want to be able to make each note by using a single or maybe dual hotkey to bring a single small window into focus on any of my 9 PC's around the house/workshop (so it MUST be networked at least on a LAN to start with), and likely tick a few 'classification" boxes (unclassified, ToDo/bring up today, 7 days, Need to invoice, Need to assign this to a client, Add to Business Contacts, Add to Personal Contacts, Add to "one of my XYZ clubs" Contact Lists, Assign to XYZ person or company, and so on). Complete action may take 15-30-45 seconds tops to get the thought into the system so it's not lost and can be actioned when time permits.

The idea is that it is VERY quick and simple to at least capture an initial thought of an action required or action taken so it is not lost nor breaks the workflow, and at a quieter moment can be inspected and further classifications added, from any station on the network. I feel it would be vital to have an auto-classification system based on keywords typed. It MUST also have "filter and show results AS YOU TYPE" method of searching exactly as Evernote does it. This would be a separate "list" used to locate any item of information in whatever list(s) the note(s) you're after currently resides in (including note maintenance to get rid of dupes, orphans, merge notes, etc)

I noted that several others are still on the hunt for the "right" notetaking system that suits them and was particularly interested in "urlwolfs" comment a few posts ago in another thread that capture and classification are separate and should not disturb the workflow". I tend to agree but further qualify his statement by suggesting that possibly some minimal tickboxes and/OR (more likely) the words used in writing the note can be used to automatically classify which list a note is shown on when sitting down to manage notes many times during the day. That way the note is made and classified simply by the choice of words used, initially. Remember that this is for "bullet point" style of notes, not a complete dissertation on the history and likely future events that may surround the reason for the note).

It is quite possible that such a system could be standalone, maybe use an SQLite db ? but with an API that allows it to be treated as a front end to other information software ?

I have been a big fan of Evernote for a long time, and still am but a bit disappointed with its increasing bloat and cluttered navigation, but Evernote does not have a single small(ish) text window available immediately (as it used to) with absolutely minimum clutter PLUS allow you to set some preliminary note classifications (within a 10 to 15 second window of activity to specify classifications)
I like the idea of Evernotes assigning a classification to a note as that does allow you to have multiple categories/folders watching/assigned to a single note depending on the way you are retrieving info, but even that method of selecting categories is too slow (and yes I have done many auto-categorisations in Evernote based on keywords) Last decent version of Evernote was their v2.1.327, then it went online. (Evernote as my Contact List beats any other system on the planet for finding a contacts multiple details FAST, including ancillary notes.)

I am trialling (free) Sticky Notes (www.sticky-notes.org which is a redirect from http://sticky-notes.net) and while I like the hotkey to call up or hide every note simultaneously (which I am treating as lists that I add to or transfer to a Done list (with a date when actioned)) am finding it unstable with (hotkey) showing or hiding every window if the program does not have focus, and standard text formatting keys (CTRL-I, B, U for eg) are dysfunctional and often have to use highlight with mouse then rightclick for italic/bold/underline which is very clunky (slow!). Notes shared over the LAN are not interactive notes either. While this Sticky-Notes shows a great deal of promise, again, it's not quite right (and yes I know I'm using it as (short) lists instead of an individual note per box.)

I use Lists for all completed actions (Done), plus individual lists for Personal, Now (Clients only as Personal is for my private actions), Later, Friends, Invoicing and some others.

Would like to be able to enter a QUICK note and use the appropriate words to have it appear on the relevant list(s) (as per Evernote an action may be seen from more than one perspective so I might see something for writing out a client invoice appear on both the "Invoicing" and Now (Client Actions) lists. Lists should not appear when a note is entered - the lists need to be called separately by global hotkey. Drag and drop notes between lists once made. Right click a note on a list and select Done (auto date/time as it transfers over to the Done list. Personally I don't like seeing actioned items (with strikethrough) on a list of things yet to be done but do agree for the need to confirm that something was actioned ! Some people like seeing strikethrough notes of completed actions on the same list as items to be actioned but AFAIC that clutters things up.)

Has anyone heard of any software that may do this cleanly (I detest cluttered UI's) or has any coder had any thoughts along these lines for a new project ?

5

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: Single hotkey to call an AddressBook

« on: April 13, 2011, 06:25 PM »

I don't know if anyone else struggles with this but I always feel like I'm jumping through hoops (multiple clicks/menu's) to use any software in the world (or on my mobile but thats a separate matter) to _quickly_ find someones phone number or contact details.

Is it possible to build a program that no matter what else I'm running I can push a single (definable?) hotkey to start or bring into focus an address book ?

Requirements are :
 that it must be a single key (ok maybe a 2 key combo if nec)
 that it is a 'shortlist as you type" search field on combined name, address, any phone number
 that it can be called from anywhere (you could be knee deep in Excel, or Latex, or some Python coding, but you can still call up your AB at the drop of a hat)

The ramifications of linking to anyone elses AddressBook system I really don't want to go near. Far too convoluted to build an API to handle whoever has what. However, any approach that allows other systems to access the data in the AddressBook system suggested here would probably be of interest to many (even if it's a capability for manual import into any other AddressBook such as Outlook/Express, Windows (Live) Mail, T'bird, etc)

To be functional it must be QUICK and straightforward. Straightforward does not mean simple, it will likely be quite sophisticated, but the aim is to very quickly find someones appropriate phone number(s) to contact them, send a fax, or know the address to send an email to (capability to auto-call default email program if addy clicked or go to website if URL clicked ?). Possibility of dated notes regarding contact detail changes (phone number or address changes but you can still search on the older information to see correlations with other contacts ? ie. Maintain a history of previous contact details per person or business ?)

At the risk of seeming ignorant (with 30 years in the IT industry) there may be something around that does it the way I'm suggesting, but to my mind (so far) every AddressBook supplier seems to have focused on what information is required not how people actually need it to work to be efficient ? Here's a thought.. imagine Outlook with a single hotkey approach (from anywhere in your PC) to bringing up your Contact List !? Productivity may well soar ! (I know my stress levels would reduce but I prefer T'bird any day)

At present my preference is to use Evernote because of the free-format approach (to add notes to the contact data, and I do have a structure within each note that is applied) and Evernotes very powerful search & shortlist approach plus its ability to call programs from email addresses and URL's within the note.

Anyone else struggle with QUICK access to their addressbook ?

6

General Software Discussion / Username & Password Logging Program

« on: October 22, 2010, 06:22 PM »

Does anyone know of a cheap or free Username & Password Logging program at all ?

Not the sort that (necessarily) logs all attempts to access any system but something that would help me keep a track of all the forums, mailing lists, newsgroups, online subscriptions, any usernames/passwords used in any browser. POP3, FTP, etc etc - you get the picture.

I've done several hours looking at network snooping and at keylogger programs, some of which will even use your laptops webcam to take snapshots of who's using it but they are way overkill for the concept in mind.

The idea is NOT to record any part of any conversation or multiple _failed_ attempts to log in, just those specific fields that relate to when I had to put in the Username and Password and possibly associated fields such as security question fields (but not Captcha) that were VALID. To have software maintain a neat and tidy listing of my unique and valid access codes would be a godsend. (I have and still continue to use KeePass but are there any more automated systems out there ?) Browsers for instance will ask if you wish to store usernames/passwords but how about a system that looks across all your access codes for all your software ?

The possibility for abuse of this by installing on someone elses system is high but looking at it from the usefulness point of view to run only on my machines I'd be QUITE happy to have some secure software to monitor and manage EVERY access code I need to get into the heaps of systems I've somehow managed to sign myself up for, or have contracts to access for maintenance. How many times have you had to use the "Did you forget your password" option for any given website ? (You know you have it 'somewhere' but where ? OR, as is quite common, because it does take a discipline to always write down your access codes and in the SAME system/software/electronic or physical notepad, did you either forget to write it down because "you'll remember" or you just didn't have the time to jot it down ? How about getting into your own websites ?

Just throwing this into DC because I have read acres of fantastic threads and very concise threads too, on software thats available for other tasks. In fact I can't think  of any other site that does software comparisons as good as DC (or comes up with so many good alternatives to investigate).

I'm very busy with my work so please don't expect responses too often but I will check in from time to time and see what everyones been able to come up with that might give some leads.