When setting up your OpenDNS dashboard, if you are a home user on a Internet provider that gives you a dynamic IP address, you need to tell OpenDNS your IP address has changed or there will not be any relevant stats for your domain. In fact, it may report erroneously that a BotNet or Malware has been detected on your IP when, in fact, it is another OpenDNS user that happened to get your stale IP address.

Unfortunately, it is a bit confusing on the easiest way to set this up on a Linux machine. The confusion is elevated when the machine that can update OpenDNS is behind a NAT firewall and the software cannot run on that machine/box. The solution is to use a correctly configured version of ddclient. I have done this on both Ubuntu and Fedora with much success.

For Ubuntu, issue the following command to install ddclient:

sudo apt-get install ddclient

When installing ddclient on Ubuntu, it will present a nice configuration wizard. You can answer the questions however you want; you can alway go and edit the configuration files after the install. Here are my responses; you can follow along during the installation:

Dynamic DNS service provider: other

Dynamic DNS server: updates.opendns.com

Dynamic DNS update protocol: dyndns2

Username for dynamic DNS service: <username you use to log into OpenDNS>

Password for dynamic DNS service: <password you use to log into OpenDNS>

Network interface used for dynamic DNS service: <just press return as you will need to enter this later>

DynDNS fully qualified domain names: <Your OpenDNS Network name; substitute ‘+’ for ‘ ‘>

For Fedora, issue the following command to install ddclient:

sudo yum install ddclient

This will not lead you through the nice installation wizard, although there a few adjustments necessary.

With each Operating System, adjustments are necessary before this will work. Edit the configuration file,

/etc/ddclient.conf

as the superuser. Ensure it reads as follows. If on Ubuntu, it will be a short file filled with the values used in the wizard. If done in Fedora, there will be a number of lines that are commented, just append the following to the bottom of the file. the entries in bold need to be adjusted for your configuration. Note the OpenDNS network name is the friendly name you defined for you network in OpenDNS. If it contains spaces in the name, make sure to substitute each space with a plus (+).

If you are using Fedora, you will not need the ssl=yes line as it appears early in the configuration file, although there should be no harm in leaving it there.

The most important line in the configuration is the use=web: it tells OpenDNS to use the publically available IP address for your machine that live behind the NAT router.

##
## OpenDNS.com account-configuration
##

ssl=yes # use ssl-support
use=web
server=updates.opendns.com
protocol=dyndns2          
login=<username you use to log into OpenDNS>    
password=<password you use to log into OpenDNS>
<Your OpenDNS Network name; substitute '+' for ' '>

Now that it is configured, it is helpful to test to ensure all the settings are correct. To test, issue the following command after saving the configuration files:

ddclient -daemon=0 -debug -noquiet

If you prefer lots of output add the -verbose switch.

If it is configured correctly you will see output similar to the following:

DEBUG:    proxy  =
DEBUG:    url    = http://checkip.dyndns.org/
DEBUG:    server = checkip.dyndns.org
DEBUG:    get_ip: using web, http://checkip.dyndns.org/ reports 1.2.3.4
DEBUG:   
DEBUG:     nic_dyndns2_update -------------------
DEBUG:    proxy  =
DEBUG:    url    = http://updates.opendns.com/nic/update?system=dyndns&hostname=Home&myip=1.2.3.4
DEBUG:    server = updates.opendns.com

Note that I used Home as my OpenDNS network name and the public IP address is 1.2.3.4 – YMMV. Also note the hostname is case sensitive.

If you issue this command too often, you will get a warning to “Wait at least 5 minutes between update attempts.”. If you see this, don’t worry, just wait.

You can also attempt to enter the URL in your browser to check the status. If it comes back with nohost then something is wrong. If it comes back as good <IP Address> then the configuration is correct.

Finally, once the configuration is correct, enable ddclient to run as a daemon. This is done by editing /etc/default/ddclientand ensuring run_ipup = “false” and run_daemon = “true”.

You may need to manually start ddclient by issuing:

sudo /etc/init.d/ddclient start

This should keep OpenDNS happy and maintaining statistics for your network.

I love my iPhone 4 and have been a customer since the original iPhone. I truly believe it was rushed to market before many kinks were worked out. We all hear about some of the big ones (which frankly don’t affect me), but there are other major usability issues that need to be addressed.

My biggest gripe about the iPhone 4 is the ambient light sensor – it doesn’t adjust until after the screen is unlocked. So when I am outside in bright daylight, I cannot look at the screen to see who is calling until I swipe my finger; I can’t even check the time without swiping. This is a huge issue and I am surprised no one really complains about it.

Next, the screen is too sensitive; I have to consciously turn off the device before placing it in my pocket or who knows what will happen.

And yes, the software driving the proximity sensor needs adjustment; I hate it when my conversation changes to my headset while holding it to my face (or a number of other problems).

Finally, I have been noticing that it is more sensitive to bumps in the road while listening to music. If I go over a rough section of road, the iPod app will switch to another song. Good grief!

I believe these are all fixable through software; I hope the next version of iOS4 addresses these issues.

If you establish a Facebook page for a business and have emails that are regularly sent out, you can add more value to the email by ensuring the sender’s email address is linked to the Facebook account and the postings are public. If set up correctly, anyone using Outlook Social Connector for Facebook will see content related to the company (the page’s wall posts) with every email. This is an easy way to push out more information and entice someone to visit your Facebook page.

Of course this applies to all other Social Connectors and new ones as they are developed.

The Outlook Social Connector for Facebook is now available for download. This connector pumps Facebook wall feeds into Outlook for the sender of the selected email message and also within their Contact page. It’s usefulness is apparent as relevant and timely information is presented with the contact. It only displays the information which it authorized to view.

Similarly, the Outlook Social Connector for Windows Live Messenger is also available for download. This presents Windows Live feeds into Outlook for the selected contact.

Note when installing any of the Outlook Connectors you’ll need to match the architecture of Outlook with the architecture of the plug-in. For example, if you have 64-bit Outlook installed, then you’ll need the 64-bit version of the connectors installed, otherwise they will not work. At the time of this posting, the connectors for LinkedIn and MySpace do not support the 64-bit platform of Outlook.

While adding these connectors to your Outlook is helpful for you, it also potentially exposes your information to others who have installed the connector. If you don’t want your Facebook wall appearing in the Outlook of others you email, you need to ensure that your privacy and email settings are secure. Even if you don’t use Outlook, there will be someone with whom you communicate with, directly or indirectly, that does use Outlook and thus it is imperative to monitor your Facebook privacy settings. I would safely assume other email readers will soon offer the same integration so I suggest that you follow these security practices below.

Choose Your Privacy Settings

In Facebook, under the Account menu, select Privacy Settings and click Friends Only under the Sharing on Facebook section. This will limit reading of your information to only those you have selected to be your friends. Click On Apply These Settings to make your changes permanent.

Info accessible through your friends

Now make sure that your friends are not sharing your information. On the same Privacy Settings page, under the section Applications and Websites, click on Edit your settings. Then, click on the Edit Settings button in the Info accessible through your friends section. This dialog will present a list of things you permit your friends to share about you. I would suggest ensuring nothing is selected. Click on Save Changes to enhance your security settings. I would also suggest disabling instant personalization on partner websites under the Instant Personalization section.

Email Security

It appears that the Outlook Connector for Facebook searches all the email addresses you have for the selected contact to determine the Facebook account (or other Social Connector accounts). If you want to associate Facebook posts with your contacts, you will need to ensure one of the email addresses you have for that contact is associated to your Facebook friend. If not, even though your contact and you are connected on Facebook, you will not see that person’s wall feed in Outlook. If you do add a new email address for a Contact to associate it with the Facebook friend, you will need to restart Outlook for the Connector to be aware of the new email address and display wall postings.

To secure your own information, I suggest using an email account for Facebook that is not the same as the one you typically use to correspond. And please do not use a work email address on Facebook; that will make it much too easy for your personal and professional lives to collide.

If you only have one email address, get another one from Gmail and set that to be the primary (and only) email account on Facebook. Then forward the email you received on the newly created Gmail account to your regular account so you won’t miss out on any Facebook updates.

Finally, if you don’t want any of your friends to get your feeds, hide the Facebook email address. People can still send a direct message to you in Facebook without knowing your email address. To hide your email from everyone, go to the Privacy Settings page, selected from the Account menu. Click on the tiny Customize settings link near the bottom of the main section. At the bottom of the Customize settings page, under Contact information, click on the drop down next to your email address and select Customize. In the drop down under Make this visible to These people select Only Me. This will hide your email address from all Facebook users and make it difficult for others to configure their Outlook Facebook Connector to integrate your posts with their email.

Out of curiosity, within 15 seconds after publishing the expiring iTunes post to my web site, I googled for the phrase, “This copy of iTunes has expired” and it appeared as search result number five! That is very impressive.  I tried the same search on both Bing and Yahoo and neither search returned a hit for the post, even after more than 20 minutes had passed.