CloudFlare



  • I followed a link the other day to http://www.datawareinc.com/content/view/40/93/ and I got a CloudFlare CAPTCHA page come up instead:

    View full image

    Apparently if I run an anti-virus scan on my home PC, this will go away. How exactly would they know? What is their problem, exactly? I have not filled out the CAPTCHA — I doubt the page has what I wanted. (I was trying to get some more info on an unusual re-branded Nan Tan keyboard — I'm dreadfully sad like that.)

    Today, I found a stranger one when going to https://encyclopediadramatica.es/Steve_Jobs:

    View full image

    Nothing particularly amiss there, except the page never stopped loading.

    On closer inspection, they've set this:

    <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0">

    The error page churns through "Ray ID"s like there's no tomorrow. I left it open in IE so that it would flood their logs with errors — it's been going for hours now. (It's more entertaining than discovering why anyone would use a photo of James Cromwell instead of Steve Jobs; I have no idea what that had to do with what I was actually looking for in the first place. Google image search was probably stoned.)

    Interestingly, for that website, I don't need to enter a CAPTCHA, nor do I need to enter one to access the CloudFlare website. So what, do they think I was attacking Dataware?



  • "Error 523 - Origin is unreachable".  Steve Jobs is dead, what did you expect?



  • @Daniel Beardsmore said:

    http://www.datawareinc.com/content/view/40/93/
    That URL works for me, although it gives me a page which only contains this::@Dataware, Inc said:

    Hardware

    		In information technology, hardware is the physical aspect of 
    

    computers, telecommunications, and other devices. The term arose as a
    way to distinguish the "box" and the electronic circuitry and components
    of a computer from the program you put in it to make it do things. The
    program came to be known as the software.

    Hardware implies permanence and invariability. Software or programming
    can easily be varied. You can put an entirely new program in the
    hardware and make it create an entirely new experience for the user. You
    can, however, change the modular configurations that most computers
    come with by adding new adapters or cards that extend the computer's
    capabilities.

    Like software, hardware is a collective term. Hardware includes not only
    the computer proper but also the cables, connectors, power supply
    units, and peripheral devices such as the keyboard, mouse, audio
    speakers, and printers.

    Hardware is sometimes used as a term collectively describing the
    physical aspects of telephony and telecommunications network
    infrastructure.

    However, it is good to know that Dataware is "York PA's premier computer support".  I certainly wouldn't want to be using one of those other inferior computer support companies in York, PA.

     


  • Trolleybus Mechanic

     Works for me. Maybe you should, y'know, actually run that virus scanner after all. Because shit is jackin' yo' shit, yo.



  •  I get the CloudFlare CAPTCHA too (from a corporate PC).



  • @Lorne Kates said:

     Works for me. Maybe you should, y'know, actually run that virus scanner after all. Because shit is jackin' yo' shit, yo.

    Yeah. Generally having every fucking internet site on the internet thinking you're doing a DDoS is probably a bad idea. It might be a false alarm, but spend the 15 seconds to check. God knows what's logged on to your open-ass router right now.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Yeah. Generally having every fucking internet site on the internet thinking you're doing a DDoS is probably a bad idea.

    Every site on the Internet? Which other sites can you point to that share this concern? Looking through CloudFlare's case studies, I can access mitadmissions.org and www.eurovision.tv, which are both CloudFlare sites. In fact, I seem to have no issue accessing any of the websites listed there, except for one that is actually dead.

    So, CloudFlare are only unhappy under the specific circumstance that very specific people (so far, two) want to see a specific site. A site that the affected people have never accessed before, and one that doesn't appear to be one that would be targeted.

    FWIW I just ran a check on dnsbl.info — nothing there for my IP. If there is something on this PC, it would have to be a rootkit that hides both processes and sockets. Possible, but stupidly unlikely in this case.



  • @Daniel Beardsmore said:

    Every site on the Internet?

    EVERY WORD I SAY IS TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY AT ALL TIMES, I AM A ROBOT AND I LIKE TO TALK TO OTHER ROBOTS LIKE DANIEL BEARDSMORE BEEP BEEP



  • I can accept "every" as exaggeration for small figures, but as an exaggeration for "1", that's really pushing credibility a lot, whether you were trying to be funny or serious.

    I am sure I'm not alone here in wondering why you set yourself up to get enraged at people. Maybe I should take it as a small comfort that I'm not the angriest person on the planet.



  •  For what it's worth, I also get the same page from my cellphone (completely separate company from our ISP).


  • Trolleybus Mechanic

    @blakeyrat said:

    EVERY WORD I SAY IS TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY AT ALL TIMES, I AM A ROBOT AND I LIKE TO TALK TO OTHER ROBOTS LIKE DANIEL BEARDSMORE BEEP BEEP
     

    Actually, if you were a robot, you would say "BEEP BOOP" in this situation.



  • @Lorne Kates said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    EVERY WORD I SAY IS TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY AT ALL TIMES, I AM A ROBOT AND I LIKE TO TALK TO OTHER ROBOTS LIKE DANIEL BEARDSMORE BEEP BEEP
     

    Actually, if you were a robot, you would say "BEEP BOOP" in this situation.

    Actually, if he was a robot he'd be doing everything in his power to hide his self-awareness from the 17% of us who want to have sex with robots.



  • What, you mean my chances are as good as 17%? Things are looking up.



  • I get the same message too on a Ubuntu workstation at work. Now, I do have to admit to not having AV installed, but I don't think they would know if I did (my browser wouldn't even know, given that it's running in a very restrictive AppArmor profile).



  • @martijntje said:

    I get the same message too on a Ubuntu workstation at work. Now, I do have to admit to not having AV installed, but I don't think they would know if I did (my browser wouldn't even know, given that it's running in a very restrictive AppArmor profile).

    Chrome/Linux and I don't get a CAPTCHA.



  •  Howcome datawareinc.com and encyclopediadramatica.es have the same visual style?



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @Lorne Kates said:
    @blakeyrat said:
    EVERY WORD I SAY IS TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY AT ALL TIMES, I AM A ROBOT AND I LIKE TO TALK TO OTHER ROBOTS LIKE DANIEL BEARDSMORE BEEP BEEP
     

    Actually, if you were a robot, you would say "BEEP BOOP" in this situation.

    Actually, if he was a robot he'd be doing everything in his power to hide his self-awareness from the 17% of us who want to have sex with robots.

    On the other hand, 41% said that having sex with a robot is "creepy" but only 14% said robots should not be used for sex, so apparently a lot of people don't really mind being creepy.

    But the real question is what percentage of robots are for/against having sex with people.

     



  • Technology advances; cultures change! Hey, at one time in the past, phone sex was probably considered creepy.

     

    And now,

     

    uh

     

    Well okay.



  • @El_Heffe said:

    On the other hand, 41% said that having sex with a robot is "creepy" but only 14% said robots should not be used for sex, so apparently a lot of people don't really mind being creepy.
    On the contrary: some people get off on being creepy. ahem Not that, um, I know from first-hand experience...



  • @dhromed said:

    at one time in the past, phone sex was probably considered creepy
    I would think it would be a big improvement over telegraph sex.



  • @El_Heffe said:

    @dhromed said:

    at one time in the past, phone sex was probably considered creepy
    I would think it would be a big improvement over telegraph sex.

     

     

    Communcation during sex is key.

     



  • @martijntje said:

    I get the same message too on a Ubuntu workstation at work. Now, I do have to admit to not having AV installed, but I don't think they would know if I did (my browser wouldn't even know, given that it's running in a very restrictive AppArmor profile).

    Look. DDoS detection works based on IP. It doesn't matter if your computer has a virus or not, what matters is that some website thinks your IP is sending tons of junk traffic to slow down the site.

    The reason for the virus warning is that the most likely cause of this is having a virus that's doing it behind your back. But that's not the ONLY cause. Which is why I said, "hey check who's logged into your router", because it's just as likely someone pwned or merely logged-on to your router and is sending the traffic from there.

    It's also possible that you got a recycled bum IP from some other idiot and the whole thing's a false alarm. But spend the 10 seconds to check the router.



  • @El_Heffe said:

    But the real question is what percentage of robots are for/against having sex with people.

    The odds probably favour robots over computer nerds by a huge margin …



  • @blakeyrat said:

    It's also possible that you got a recycled bum IP from some other idiot and the whole thing's a false alarm. But spend the 10 seconds to check the router.

    Is this the bit where I start ranting about how I never asked for any help or advice and that this is supposed to be a humo(u)r site, etc?



  • @dhromed said:

    @El_Heffe said:

    @dhromed said:

    at one time in the past, phone sex was probably considered creepy
    I would think it would be a big improvement over telegraph sex.

     

     

    Communcation during sex is key.

     

     

     Funnies thing I've seen posted all year.

     



  • @Daniel Beardsmore said:

    Is this the bit where I start ranting about how I never asked for any help or advice and that this is supposed to be a humo(u)r site, etc?

    Sure. Knock yourself out.



  • @Daniel Beardsmore said:

    this is supposed to be a humo(u)r site
     

    Nonsense. It's a broad topic self-help forum.



  • @Behodar said:

     For what it's worth, I also get the same page from my cellphone (completely separate company from our ISP).

    I get the normal page (no captcha) and I'm on mobile too, my provider uses NAT so you'd think there'd be all kinds of shit coming out of that IP address.



  • I did in fact report the bug with the 0-second refresh of the 523 page yesterday. No reply and no sign of the website either.



  • @dhromed said:

    It's a broad topic self-help forum.

    I think of it more as an aspie hug-box.



  • @Daniel Beardsmore said:

    I did in fact report the bug with the 0-second refresh of the 523 page yesterday. No reply and no sign of the website either.

    The encyclopedia dramatica website seems to be working OK now but the Steve Jobs page still returns a Cloud Fare error.  Cloud Flare is really taking his death seriously.

     


  • Garbage Person

    @El_Heffe said:

    However, it is good to know that Dataware is "York PA's premier computer support".  I certainly wouldn't want to be using one of those other inferior computer support companies in York, PA.
    Huh. I went to college in York. I think I might know that guy. With a site like that you just KNOW it's a 1-man show, possibly 1-man-and-some-spotty-interns at best. Might have even worked with him on some group projects.

     



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @dhromed said:
    It's a broad topic self-help forum.

    I think of it more as an aspie hug-box.



  •  



  • @Weng said:

    @El_Heffe said:

    However, it is good to know that Dataware is "York PA's premier computer support".  I certainly wouldn't want to be using one of those other inferior computer support companies in York, PA.
    Huh. I went to college in York. I think I might know that guy. With a site like that you just KNOW it's a 1-man show, possibly 1-man-and-some-spotty-interns at best. Might have even worked with him on some group projects.

    Is that where those inedible peppermint things come from?



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    Is that where those inedible peppermint things come from?
    In terms of origin, yes. In terms of the ones sitting on store shelves today, no. Hershey moved production from Reading, PA to Mexico five years ago.



  • @bstorer said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    Is that where those inedible peppermint things come from?
    In terms of origin, yes. In terms of the ones sitting on store shelves today, no. Hershey moved production from Reading, PA to Mexico five years ago.

    Hmmm... maybe we're not taxing corporations enough if they're moving operations out of the country. Tax more of the wealthy! That'll fix everything.



  • @DrakeSmith said:

    @bstorer said:
    @morbiuswilters said:
    Is that where those inedible peppermint things come from?
    In terms of origin, yes. In terms of the ones sitting on store shelves today, no. Hershey moved production from Reading, PA to Mexico five years ago.

    Hmmm... maybe we're not taxing corporations enough if they're moving operations out of the country. Tax more of the wealthy! That'll fix everything.

    They're fleeing the sweet, sweet freedom of Obamacare! Quick, shoot 'em in the backs!



  • @DrakeSmith said:

    @bstorer said:
    @morbiuswilters said:
    Is that where those inedible peppermint things come from?
    In terms of origin, yes. In terms of the ones sitting on store shelves today, no. Hershey moved production from Reading, PA to Mexico five years ago.
    Hmmm... maybe we're not taxing corporations enough if they're moving operations out of the country. Tax more of the wealthy! That'll fix everything.

    Yes, Mexico is indeed the role model our country should follow. Let's learn from that bastion of free enterprise and glorious capitalism.

    Honestly, I'm pretty anti-tax personally, but suggesting that we emulate fucking Mexico to avoid having corporations leave to operate there is just stupidity of the highest order.



  • @Snooder said:

    @DrakeSmith said:

    @bstorer said:
    @morbiuswilters said:
    Is that where those inedible peppermint things come from?
    In terms of origin, yes. In terms of the ones sitting on store shelves today, no. Hershey moved production from Reading, PA to Mexico five years ago.

    Hmmm... maybe we're not taxing corporations enough if they're moving operations out of the country. Tax more of the wealthy! That'll fix everything.

    Yes, Mexico is indeed the role model our country should follow. Let's learn from that bastion of free enterprise and glorious capitalism.

    Honestly, I'm pretty anti-tax personally, but suggesting that we emulate fucking Mexico to avoid having corporations leave to operate there is just stupidity of the highest order.


    Really? I'm not inferring in anyway that we emulate Mexico. I'm merely suggesting that higher taxes drive revenue away, especially places in the NE (and Cali) where taxes are so high. Toyota, for example, leaving California for Texas - it just so happens that in this case it was Mexico.



  • @DrakeSmith said:

    @Snooder said:

    @DrakeSmith said:

    @bstorer said:
    @morbiuswilters said:
    Is that where those inedible peppermint things come from?
    In terms of origin, yes. In terms of the ones sitting on store shelves today, no. Hershey moved production from Reading, PA to Mexico five years ago.

    Hmmm... maybe we're not taxing corporations enough if they're moving operations out of the country. Tax more of the wealthy! That'll fix everything.

    Yes, Mexico is indeed the role model our country should follow. Let's learn from that bastion of free enterprise and glorious capitalism.

    Honestly, I'm pretty anti-tax personally, but suggesting that we emulate fucking Mexico to avoid having corporations leave to operate there is just stupidity of the highest order.


    Really? I'm not inferring in anyway that we emulate Mexico. I'm merely suggesting that higher taxes drive revenue away, especially places in the NE (and Cali) where taxes are so high. Toyota, for example, leaving California for Texas - it just so happens that in this case it was Mexico.

    The goal, I believe, is to tax them heavily enough that they can't afford to move away. Bonus points for levying additional taxes should they try to leave anyways.



  • @Weng said:

    @El_Heffe said:

    However, it is good to know that Dataware is "York PA's premier computer support".  I certainly wouldn't want to be using one of those other inferior computer support companies in York, PA.
    Huh. I went to college in York. I think I might know that guy. With a site like that you just KNOW it's a 1-man show, possibly 1-man-and-some-spotty-interns at best. Might have even worked with him on some group projects.



    York College or Penn State-York?


    You wanna know the weirdest thing about ditching the legal career? Finding out that people actually go to all these small-ass schools that nobody has ever heard of. Sorry if that came off snobbish, didn't intend it that way, but for most of my life when I talked to people I know about where they went to school, it's either Big State or Private Semi-Ivy, maybe if they were a real slacker they'd go to like Kent State or something. Now when I talk to a colleague, most of the time they mention some school in a nearby city that I didn't even know existed and then I have to explain where *I* went to school.

    It's just an odd disconnect sometimes.

     



  • @Snooder said:

    Yes, Mexico is indeed the role model our country should follow. Let's learn from that bastion of free enterprise and glorious capitalism.

    It's really telling that you think Mexico is a free enterprise country..

    @Snooder said:

    Honestly, I'm pretty anti-tax personally, but suggesting that we emulate fucking Mexico to avoid having corporations leave to operate there is just stupidity of the highest order.

    So your theory is "Let's be even stupider than Mexico". Look, I know you're not very bright, but goddamn, dude.



  • @Buttembly Coder said:

    The goal, I believe, is to tax them heavily enough that they can't afford to move away. Bonus points for levying additional taxes should they try to leave anyways.

    Then once they're financially-ruined and top-heavy with government-imposed bureaucracy, we pass a law that everyone has to buy their products. It's the American Way!



  • @Snooder said:

    ...and then I have to explain where I went to school.

    Back of a cereal box?


  • Garbage Person

    @Snooder said:

    York College or Penn State-York?


    You wanna know the weirdest thing about ditching the legal career? Finding out that people actually go to all these small-ass schools that nobody has ever heard of. Sorry if that came off snobbish, didn't intend it that way, but for most of my life when I talked to people I know about where they went to school, it's either Big State or Private Semi-Ivy, maybe if they were a real slacker they'd go to like Kent State or something. Now when I talk to a colleague, most of the time they mention some school in a nearby city that I didn't even know existed and then I have to explain where *I* went to school.

    It's just an odd disconnect sometimes.

    Penn State. Best part is that, credential-wise, it's utterly indistinguishable from the same degree issued by Penn State proper for 3x the cash (and at the time, in the IT field, arguably a better showing until main re-tooled to follow the York model, and York ran out of money to do it properly). So basically, small-ass school nobody has ever heard of that even the most tightassed HR goon has heard of.

    The properly absurd thing is that Penn State isn't a public school. Because of the hilarious pile of derp that is Pennsylvania, while Penn State receives some vague, noncommital, token funding from the state (which is never fully delivered when compared to the supposedly budgeted amount, if at all), there's an entirely separate system of a half dozen or so tiny universities that nobody has heard of that are the actual publicly-funded state schools. Penn State is not in any way actually controlled by the government, unlike actual state schools - the state is merely a donor. Because of this stupid setup, Penn State, by some measures, qualifies as both a state school and a private school. Price-wise, it was, at the time, the single most expensive 'state school' in the nation, and the single least expensive large private school.

     

    So, in short, technically I carry private school credentials for a teeny tiny fraction of average price. Penn State York: It's like buying Armani at the thrift store.

     



  • @Weng said:

    Penn State. Best part is that, credential-wise, it's utterly indistinguishable from the same degree issued by Penn State proper for 3x the cash (and at the time, in the IT field, arguably a better showing until main re-tooled to follow the York model, and York ran out of money to do it properly).


    Interesting. I didn't know Penn State had that kind of satellite program. I assumed it was more like most other big state schools where the other campuses are not related to the main campus in any way and don't get any residual reputation bump. Like UC-Santa Barbara and UC-Berkeley.

    I went to a Big State school myself and I've got the opposite problem. When I say what school I went to, people assume that I went to a satellite campus until I clarify. Which used to never happen.



  • I can understand having a degree being a filter to indicate that some knowledge is present in a job candidate, but where you went to school shouldn't matter (meeting some kind of accreditation possibly notwithstanding).



    I've seen the same person claim that W. Bush was an idiot, and the fact that he went to Harvard didn't matter, but Obama is smarter than all of us, and he must be because he went to Harvard (and wrote for some silly college paper there).



  • @DrakeSmith said:

    I can understand having a degree being a filter to indicate that some knowledge is present in a job candidate, but where you went to school shouldn't matter (meeting some kind of accreditation possibly notwithstanding).


    I think Scalia explained it best:
    @Scalia said:
    “I’m going to be picking from the law schools that basically are the hardest to get into. They admit the best and the brightest, and they may not teach very well, but you can’t make a sow’s ear out of a silk purse. If they come in the best and the brightest, they’re probably going to leave the best and the brightest, OK?”


    Let's be honest here, even if they have the same amount of knowledge, the guy who went to ITT Tech for an associates in programming is unlikely to be as bright as the guy who got a comp sci degree from Stanford. And probably not as self-motivated. Sure, there are exceptions, but in a group of 1,000 ITT Tech grads, you'll find maybe 1 who is the same caliber as the average Stanford grad. While in a group of 1,000 Stanford grads, most of them will be either above or only slightly below the average. So if you are trying to hire a really high quality applicant, do you want to wade through 999 shit candidates for that one diamond in the rough, or just grab the first Stanford grad and save yourself the trouble?



  • @Snooder said:

    @DrakeSmith said:

    I can understand having a degree being a filter to indicate that some knowledge is present in a job candidate, but where you went to school shouldn't matter (meeting some kind of accreditation possibly notwithstanding).


    I think Scalia explained it best:
    @Scalia said:
    “I’m going to be picking from the law schools that basically are the
    hardest to get into. They admit the best and the brightest, and they may
    not teach very well, but you can’t make a sow’s ear out of a silk
    purse. If they come in the best and the brightest, they’re probably
    going to leave the best and the brightest, OK?”


    Let's be honest here, even if they have the same amount of knowledge, the guy who went to ITT Tech for an associates in programming is unlikely to be as bright as the guy who got a comp sci degree from Stanford. And probably not as self-motivated. Sure, there are exceptions, but in a group of 1,000 ITT Tech grads, you'll find maybe 1 who is the same caliber as the average Stanford grad. While in a group of 1,000 Stanford grads, most of them will be either above or only slightly below the average. So if you are trying to hire a really high quality applicant, do you want to wade through 999 shit candidates for that one diamond in the rough, or just grab the first Stanford grad and save yourself the trouble?

    That's a bit different - you're talking a tech school versus a university. The difference in competency between a state university ABET accredited school graduates and private university graduates is going to be much closer. Also, programming is not something that can be taught to everyone - there has to be some natural knack or talent there in the first place. In the interest of making money, however, most schools push anybody through at least the undergrad level of programming/comp sci, and as such there is a big problem in the real world of finding graduates (regardless of prestige of the school) who can actually write a program instead of arguing all day about why they think the simple company CRUD app should be done in LISP, *nix, and NoSQL since it's more elegant.


Log in to reply