Strange problems are happening with some STC AFAQ DSL Shamil servers. It used to happen on some websites depending on your IP address. But now there is a problem with all HTTP connections on some of STC servers. You can still ping but no HTTP access.
Check your IP address from your DSL modem admin page or simply visit this website (but since you are offline then this site will be useless). If your IP address is one of the following: 94.99.119.* / 94.99.22.* / 94.99.117.* (there are others but those are the ones that I confirmed) simply disconnect and reconnect and you will get a new IP address. I have confirmed that the following IP addresses work: 77.31.250.* / 77.30.90.* / 94.97.48.*.
STC as usual isn’t helping. How can you tell them that some of their proxy servers (I assume) are broken. Just keep those IP numbers in mind.
It appears there is a Saudi mad scientist living in Jeddah. From The Local, a German site:
A Saudi inventor filed a patent for a “killer chip” which, once implanted, would monitor “undesirables” using a GPS. Oh, and it also comes with an extra feature: a remote-controlled cyanide dispenser, for murder.
The tiny electronic device, dubbed the “Killer Chip” by Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger, would be suited for tracking fugitives from justice, terrorists, illegal immigrants, criminals, political opponents, defectors, domestic help, and Saudi Arabians who don’t return home from pilgrimages.
Do we seriously need to invent something this stupid? And how can he put pilgrims and terrorists in the same sentence? This is stupid and disturbing.
Sprint has announced the release date of the Sprint Palm Pre is a CDMA/EV-DO smartphone and will only work with the Sprint network in the United States. It will be released on June 6th for $299 (before a $100 mail-rebate) and a two year commitment with the Sprint network.
The release date is 2 days before Apple’s 2009 WWDC keynote, where Apple is expected to announce the third generation of the iPhone (which is a GSM phone). No news about the international 3G UMTS/GSM Palm Pre until now though. Via engadget.
Update: Softland listed as a OCZ distributor in Saudi Arabia (different url).
Softland is one of the older computer hardware stores in Saudi Arabia. I remember visiting them back in 1995 and trying Doom! Their original store in Riyadh was on Tahliah street in Riyadh then they opened a second branch in Olaya computer market (haraj). The old branch was renamed to “Binaries” and was moved to the Olaya computer market as well. They also have a third store named Technology Roof also in the same Olaya computer market. Since they have multiple names we will refer to them with their original name, “Softland”.
Softland is one of the few computer hardware stores that specialize in importing computer components directly from the United States and they don’t usually rely on the Saudi Arabia dealers and distributors. That means that you can easily find the latest high end video cards and CPUs. The only disadvantage of course will be the high price that you will pay but it’s acceptable considering the limited alternatives.
The exception is when Softland actually have a distribution deal with the hardware maker. Softland is the only distributor in Saudi Arabia for OCZ and Thermaltake. The prices for these products are more decent than other hardware that they directly import.
Softland also have the best warranty on all the products that they sell. If they can’t fix the hardware then they are willing to replace it with either the same or a better model (you pay the difference).
Contact info: email: softland@sol.net.sa Tel: 966-1-462-8922 Tel: 966-1-466-5039 Fax: 966-1-462-1387.
tinyurl.com, a long url shortening service, has been blocked in Saudi Arabia for a very long long time. Internet.gov.sa and CITC did not give a real reason for blocking it. Even though many alternatives are available and not blocked.
Currently there are 2 methods of bypassing the block: using untiny.me, a short url parser developed by Saleh Al-Zaid or altering the url from http://tinyurl to https://tinyurl.
Abdullah has made a bookmarklet (javascript bookmark) for bypassing the block on tinyurl using the https method which can be found here. Just drag the bookmarklet to your bookmark toolbar in your browser.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t petition for tinyurl unblock. To do so fill the form at internet.gov.sa, write an email to unblock@internet.gov.sa or send a fax to +966(1)2639290.
A computer forensics course will be held in Riyadh. Titled “SEC 508: Computer Forensics, Investigation, and Response” and will cost $4,500. You can register at this website. From the email invitation:
Government regulations and organizational policy might require computer forensic investigators to investigate intellectual property theft, harassment, and regulatory compliance. Investigators must master a variety of operating systems, investigation techniques, incident response tactics, and even legal issues in order to solve their cases. This course will teach you forensic techniques and tools in a hands-on setting for both Windows- and Linux-based investigations. This course emphasizes a hands-on approach where you will learn in-depth forensic functionality and how to solve a variety of incidents. Most incident response and security personnel will need to be familiar with core forensic techniques in order to respond to a variety of incidents for their organizations. This course teaches investigators how to follow the trail typical for intrusions and incidents that they might encounter. Incident responders should learn how intruders breached the infrastructure to identify additional systems/networks that are compromised. You will learn how to investigate traces left by complex attacks using the latest exploit methodologies. Learning more than just how to use a forensic tool, you will be able to demonstrate how the tool functions step-by-step. You will become skilled with tools, such as the Sleuth-kit, Foremost, and the HELIX Forensics Live CD. We will rapidly move on to advanced forensic and investigation analysis topics and techniques. This SANS hands-on technical course arms you with a deep understanding of the forensic methodology, tools, and techniques to solve even the most difficult case.
It will be a full week starting from Saturday May 23rd to Wednesday May 27th 2009 at Al-Muthana Hotel in Riyadh.
Welcome to the new home of Saudi TechView. Starting today all tech posts usually posted on the old site will be posted on this new site sauditechview.com/en. www.khaled.us will be a personal website from now on.
As for the RSS feed we will still use the same one from the previous website: feeds.feedburner.com/SaudiTechView so just keep this subscription.
I hope this did not cause any inconvenient and I hope that you will find this new website and format informative and useful. Thank you. ~Khaled.