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Login Problem Corrected

January 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Some of you might have encountered a MySatelliteSpy Member Login problem of late. Well, it’s been fixed!

Logging in via the Forum has been fine, but any member logging in using the normal Login form elsewhere on the website will have hit “ERROR – Incorrect Password”. Those who reset their password will have seen the same error.

I only learned of this a couple of days ago thanks to a MySatelliteSpy member, Chris Benson. He kindly spent some time investigating it and sent me a detailed ‘test report’.

I tracked it down to just a minor ‘engine room’ problem and corrected it today. At no time were your login details, passwords etc. at any risk, so you can relax on that score.
Please accept my apologies if this glitch has caused you any inconvenience.

THANKS CHRIS!

Filed Under: People

Wake Up Rosetta

January 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment

On Monday morning 20th January 2014 at 11:00am Central European Time (10:00am GMT) a snoozing spacecraft will be woken up nearly 1 Billion kilometres from Earth. It’s needed a long sleep, because it will have a lot of (literally) ground-breaking work to do.

It’s an interesting alarm call. ESA would have to send the wake-up call some 45 minutes in advance – it would take that long for the signal, traveling at the speed of light, to reach Rosetta from Earth! But it’s automated and here’s an excellent ESA explanation of the process (many thanks to Emily Baldwin – @AstroEmz on Twitter) of The Most Important Alarm Clock in the Solar System.

This mission is truly amazing – to get a spacecraft (Rosetta) to coincide and then fly with a comet 800 million kilometers from Earth, and hurtling towards the Sun. But not only that, to then deposit the Philae landing craft onto the comet itself to dig into the makings of this 4.5 billion year old fragment of the formation of the Solar System itself!
This can only be described as the biggest scientific and technological encounter in history and is the result of over a decade of planning and work by the European Space Agency (ESA), DLR, CNES, NASA, and many scientists, astronomers, universities and industry.

To put 800 million kilometres into perspective, it’s over five times the distance between the Earth and the Sun – Deep Space!

Filed Under: Deep Space Comms, Solar System

Thwart Hackers and Eavesdroppers – Get a Strong VPN

June 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Recent news stories about the possible interception and logging of people’s emails and internet activities have made Hacking and Eavesdropping very hot topics indeed. In a way, that’s a good thing because the majority of people have no idea just how prevalent hacking and interception already is. Not necessarily by Governments, but by the many criminal elements who are out there trying to steal your money and even your identity!

I carried out quite exhaustive research into Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) a couple of years ago, and there are a number of providers out there. However, many are fairly new and with limited offerings and track record, whereas Strong VPN has been operating since 1994. Now with a staff of 60 they operate some 440 servers around the world. I signed up for their VPN service 18 months ago and I’m a happy customer!

Do You Use Public WiFi? If so, then you are particularly exposed to being hacked.

Hot Spots can be found everywhere now, which is very convenient but also dangerous. Hot Spot hackers are on the rise and it’s far too easy now for criminals to do. Using a VPN service will significantly improve your computer security and prevent Hot Spot sniffing devices from viewing your logins, passwords and private data.

Use a VPN account to encrypt your traffic while using Public WiFi
Using a VPN account from a trusted VPN service provider is a requirement now when doing any type of online banking or personal business on WiFi hot spot areas. Remember, if you are on a Public WiFi you are passing your traffic along with everyone else on that network. Essentially you are on the same WiFi router. There are many easy-to-obtain tools that can compromise your security. Using a VPN account encrypts all your traffic and will prevent this problem.

If you want to read more about the dangers of Hot Spots and illegal sniffing activity, please read the articles below:

https://usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-04-13-hackers-wireless_x.htm

https://newser.com/story/16605/wi-fi-hotspots-become-hackers-delight.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513_7-5630181-1.html

Other Reasons for Using a VPN
Avoid Snooping: A VPN works by “digging a tunnel” between your computer and the VPN’s secure server (which you can choose to be in a different country). This means that there’s an encrypted link between you and the VPN server, so even your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has no visibility of your emails, surfing or other data flowing through the tunnel.

Prevent Attacks:
Virtual Firewall

A VPN can also prevent a direct attack on your computer. Attacks are often directed directly at your known IP address. With a VPN account your home computer IP will not be seen, but the VPN server IP will be. Luckily StrongVPN’s server is behind some of the best known hardware and engineers in the industry who monitor activity diligently and make sure the VPN server is protected.

Online Banking When Overseas: If you travel overseas you know the problems that can be had when trying to order something over the Internet. There are many scripts on the market that will analyze where the order is being placed from. If you are a Expat (Expatriate) living in China for example, and you would like to order something from an e-Commerce site, many times it will be blocked and marked as suspicious activity. This usually means you have to call the credit card company again and again to let them know it’s you and not fraudulent activity.
This also happens when you try to do your online banking from overseas. You need the IP of your home country to safely conduct your private business on the Internet while you are in another country. If e-Commerce and Banking companies see you conduct your banking from a foreign country, there is a good chance your account will be marked for fraud. Use a VPN account to prevent these unfortunate occurrences.

And it’s not just desktop or laptop computers that can have a VPN, there’s protection for mobile devices and iPhones too!

So if you’re concerned about identity theft, the security of your internet connection or anonymity for your online presence, then I most definitely recommend Strong VPN.

Filed Under: Security