David Westerfield

Update (9.29.2014): a much better solution is to implement a spam-blocking service like zen on spamhaus.org.

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This solution has been incredible for cutting down on the number of spam emails I receive. I would say based on the hits I get on my mail servers from spam bots, about 95% of the spam that attempts to hit my mail server comes from over-seas. I mean who am I going to contact in Belgium, South Korea, and Peru anyway? And if someone has to get a hold of me from over-seas, they can just go to https://www.westerfunk.net/contact/email/ and send me an email. In addition, most of the people I know who would contact me over-seas could just email me using an American-based email provider (e.g. Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, Hotmail, etc). So this solution has been awesome for my personal email setup. I do understand this won’t work for larger organizations, but for those of you who run your own mail server and don’t have foreign contacts, give it a whirl. Here are the foreign subnets I looked up and banned at the mail server level (based off of this info @ http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv4-address-space):

41.0.0.0 – 41.255.255.255 (1 Subnet – Africa)
43.0.0.0 – 43.255.255.255 (1 Subnet – Japan)
58.0.0.0 – 62.255.255.255 (5 Subnets – Asia and Europe)
77.0.0.0 – 91.255.255.255 (15 Subnets – Europe)
121.0.0.0 – 126.255.255.255 (6 Subnets – Asia)
189.0.0.0 – 190.255.255.255 (2 Subnets – Latin America)
193.0.0.0 – 195.255.255.255 (3 Subnets – Asia and Europe)
200.0.0.0 – 203.255.255.255 (4 Subnets – Asia and Latin America)
210.0.0.0 – 213.255.255.255 (4 Subnets – Asia and Europe)
217.0.0.0 – 222.255.255.255 (6 Subnets – Asia and Europe)

This pretty much takes care of most foreign IP blocks. But you have to remember that these are country-registered IP blocks and may not cover every IP registered in a foreign country. Regardless, the only spam I have received up to this point has been from American IP’s that are not blacklisted on the spam database filters (such as www.spamhaus.org). But even that has become rare now as it seems more people are reporting spam hits and from what IP it originated from.

hMailServer – Best Open-Source Mail Server for Windows

By David Westerfield

On November 20, 2006

In Technology

http://www.hmailserver.com/
This is by far one of the best mail servers I have come across for the price – free. Gotta love open-source. I set it up over the weekend as my new mail server, and I can’t believe how efficient this thing is over against my old mailserver, ArgoSoft (which you have to pay for by the way). So I’ve dumped ArgoSoft for this. So far, the anti-spam tools in it work a lot better as well. Amazing stuff.

Also … the web admin interface:

Fort Worth Traffic Cams Now on Westerfunk.net

By David Westerfield

On November 16, 2006

In Personal, Technology

Check it out … TxDOT finally made their traffic cam images static, so now I have them listed on my site @ www.westerfunk.net/webcams/traffic. As of right now, they are up, but because of the nature of these cams (i.e. the random maintenance windows during the middle of the day the techs seem to impose) they may be unavailable at times. But nevertheless, it’s a good quick way to check on traffic in the Fort Worth area. I’ll be adding more in the near future …

AT&T Project Lightspeed Update

By David Westerfield

On November 15, 2006

In Technology

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=109292
I assume these writers obtained their information from legitimate sources, but regardless, it appears AT&T’s new FFTN (Fiber to the Node) service may be rolling out within the area here before years end. Actually, I’ll give some inside info I found out about recently as well: I was working on getting an internet connection setup and secured for someone I know and I logged into their DSL modem and the down speed cap said 6008 mbps down / 768 up. The maximum possible on the download was 7400 mbps. And they weren’t really close to the phone company’s CO which makes me think it is turned on already (they also possess the newest 2wire modem). Regardless, they’re getting ready to roll out an awesome service that should be pretty stable and fast. I’m excited!

Also:

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/79320
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/79450

Ahmadinejad: Iran Willing to Talk If U.S. ‘Corrects Behavior’ (AP)

By David Westerfield

On November 14, 2006

In Politics, Security, Terrorism

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229311,00.html
Are we this naive, that we would take the bait? Recently in the news we find out that a Chinese submarine was following a fleet of U.S. ships, going undetected for a time. In addition, Iran released a video clip of one of their drones viewing a U.S. aircraft carrier over in the Middle East. Could it be these countries are testing the waters to see where they stand in relation to us technologically? If they ever attacked us, would we have the guts and even the might to contain them? I’m just not so sure anymore. China has a massive military. If these and other countries have the same technology we do, who are we to think we couldn’t be taken over? Do we have the fighting spirit it would take to stop an attack here by these countries?

Well, this could make you fearful, but praise God that as believers in Christ, our status here or in the next world is not dependent upon any nation standing or falling but is dependent on Christ alone and His work on our behalf. Nations rise and nations fall, but the Lord Christ remains the same now and forever. This is our hope and in Him we should not fear. People will ultimately fail us, governments and nations will as well. But Christ will never fail us. In Him, we are “more than conquerors”! And His graces, purchased through His perfect obedience in His submission to the cross, sealed in His resurrection, is what makes us right before God. Even if America were attacked (and eventually I do not believe we will stand), we have perfect acceptance with God for all eternity because of Christ’s work for us. What could be better than that? God is for us in Christ! So if we live in peace, or go through tumultuous times and die, we have all we will ever need in Christ. This is our one perfect hope, that we get God Himself for all eternity. O Father, send your Spirit to change my heart that I may see Jesus Christ clearer. Your love to me is not defined by whether nations rise or fall, but on Christ’s work alone. Give me and others reading this a love for Jesus, Father, the only thing that matters, that surpasses all our circumstances.

Update (11:48 a.m.): Other Important Articles Related to This:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229360,00.html
http://www.westerfunk.net/archives/poli … ompletion/

Weather Section Updated on Westerfunk.net

By David Westerfield

On November 13, 2006

In Misc, Personal

www.westerfunk.net/weather
If you want to check it out, I’ve added some new features and changed up some things on my weather page on Westerfunk.net. I added streaming links to NBC5i WeatherPlus (including a stream to their live radar), added links to the latest forecast for the DFW area, including an hourly forecast that updates every 5 minutes (thanks to Weather Watcher), and I’m currently in the process of setting up live satellite images of the Earth. In addition I added a page that displays the current pollution levels for North Texas. Pretty sweet stuff.

New SysInternals Website: Microsoft’s Site

By David Westerfield

On November 11, 2006

In Technology

I’m sure a lot of you heard a while back that Microsoft purchased Sysinternals and so now has the rights to it. It’s now called Microsoft Sysinternals, and here’s the site.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysint … fault.mspx

My personal favorites are TCPView, Process Explorer, FileMon, ProcessMon, and Whois. Check ’em out!

My Grace is Sufficient for You – Various Quotes

By David Westerfield

On November 10, 2006

In Theology

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

– Ephesians 2:8-9

“Christian! The only thing that makes you differ from the vilest being that pollutes the earth, or from the darkest fiend that gnaws his chains in hell, is the free grace of God!”

– Octavious Winslow

“This [conversion of the will], I maintain is wholly the work of God, because, as the Apostle testifies, we are not ‘sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves,’ (2 Cor. 3: 5.) Accordingly, he elsewhere says, not merely that God assists the weak or corrects the depraved will, but that he worketh in us to will, (Philip. 2: 13.) From this it is easily inferred, as I have said, that everything good in the will is entirely the result of grace.”

– Calvin, Institutes, II.VI

“Christ has conquered all in his own person first, and he is ‘over all, God blessed for ever’ (Rom. 9:5), and therefore over sin, death, hell, Satan and the world. And, as he has overcome them in himself, so he overcomes them in our hearts and consciences. We commonly say that conscience makes a man kingly or contemptible, because it is planted in us to judge for God, either with us or against us. Now if natural conscience be so forcible, what will it be when, besides its own light, it has the light of divine truth put into it? It will undoubtedly prevail, either to make us hold up our heads with boldness, or abase us beneath ourselves. If it subjects itself, by grace, to Christ’s truth, then it boldly faces death, hell, judgment and all spiritual enemies, because then Christ sets up his kingdom in the conscience and makes it a kind of paradise. The sharpest conflict which the soul has is between the conscience and God’s justice. Now if the conscience, sprinkled with the blood of Christ, has prevailed over assaults fetched from the justice of God, now satisfied by Christ, it will prevail over all other opposition whatsoever.”

– Richard Sibbes

“I know that through grace you are saved, not of works, but by the will of God, through Jesus Christ.”

– Polycarp

“Now, the wonder of wonders is, that we are proved guilty, and yet we are justified: the verdict has been brought in against us, guilty; and yet, notwithstanding, we are justified. Can any earthly tribunal do that? No; it remained for the ransom of Christ to effect that which is an impossibility to any tribunal upon earth. We are all guilty. Read the 23rd verse, immediately preceding the text—’For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’ There the verdict of guilty is brought in, and yet we are immediately afterwards said to be justified freely by his grace.”

– C.H. Spurgeon

Well … the Dems Won

By David Westerfield

On November 9, 2006

In Politics

I have to say … we Republicans have brought this on ourselves. And here’s why … those touting the name Republican aren’t really conservative. A house divided against itself will not stand – and so it has indeed fallen in this campaign. Many within our party, for quite a while now, have not been truly conservative, but have used the label Republican simply as a way to get votes and maintain political control and power, all the while possessing blue-blood in many instances (as Rush put it). A majority of Republicans have become so political that they have lost what true conservativism was all about to begin with, taking “conservative” stances on abortion, the economy, of which I agree with them on, and yet really not accomplishing much in these areas. Bush has been full steam ahead concerning the war on terror, making bullheaded decisions that have not worked out. And yet while being so gung-ho about the war on terror (which I am also gung-ho for), he’s left the back door wide opened and now we have a massive illegal immigration problem. And on top of that he is more liberal on immigration reform than many liberals, promoting amnesty even! It makes no sense. Are you conservative or not? Are you actually concerned about the war on terror or just your legacy with this war? And yet this type of thought is what has characterized our party as a whole, now bringing about its demise, at least for now. And with this type of duplicity, it is no wonder we have now lost both the house and senate. Republicans really need to return to true conservativism and abandon what our party has become: fake, political, and dishonorable. Many Republican politicians have used “conservative values” as a smokescreen and I think people are tired of it.

Republicans must now regroup and go back to the drawing board. And ultimately, conservatives, particularly us Gospel-believing, Christ-loving conservatives need to apply the Gospel to politics once again and actually live the Gospel out. I think this win for the Democrats will be a good thing for the humbling of the religious-right and our Pharisaism. We need it, all of us. When we see people that we think are more sinful than us, take heed lest we fall too. We are not better than anyone else, we are all in a state of depravity that we in and of ourselves can do nothing about and we are all desperately in need of God’s grace in the granting of repentance and faith to turn from our own wickedness and instead turn to Christ, the author and founder of our faith. He and He alone, through the preaching of the Word and living out of the Gospel, is the only one who can bring about change in the hearts of people. Just attempting to make people moral by changing policies will not change people’s hearts. Only Christ can do this. The disciples asked Christ after the rich man ran away from Christ, “Who then can be saved?” And Christ’s response was, “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” The Holy Spirit alone is the only agent that can produce change in any of us. We must preach the Gospel in both word and deed. This is what the Republican party needs more than anything else: the Gospel.