Site Navigation
Feedback and Hints, January 2003.
If you have a question regarding any of the articles in this journal, or some comments please send them in. If there are any general questions about Unix or Database Administration, I will attempt to answer them.
Feedback:
Spam Diaries:
Hints for this month:
Creating the Oracle Services when using the coldclone script.
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 12:03:14 +0100 From: Frederic Hoornaert Hello Sir, I've just found your script for cloning an Oracle Database. I found your document very nice and I have tried it out right away. Everything worked just fine until I had to start up the copy of the database. That is when I stared having trouble. I managed solving the problem, but I just wanted to know if I did anything wrong. (For your information, I'm working on a Win 2000 Server and an Oracle 8.1.7.4 database) After setting the "ORACLE_SID" to the new SID, i could perform the connect statement in SVRMGRL. Oracle gave me a message "Unable to resolve service name". That sounded like a problem in TSNNAMES.ORA. I have seen that my new SID was not in that file so I have modified it to add my new SID. When I tried for the second time, oracle couldn't get a handle to the process. After looking up the error on the internet, it became obvious that I had to modify the LISTENER.ORA and restart the service I just created. When I restarted the listener service after having modified it, it all worked fine. Now, I'm wondering why you don't mention in your document that these two files have to be modified. Does this had to be done manually, or should it be done by creating the new service ? In my case, it wasn't done. I hope you can give some feedback on this problem. Kind regards, Frederic Hoornaert Desktop Software Engineer Transics NV European Headquarters
Yes, you do have to modify those two files. And yes you have to do it manually. However it only has to be done the first time that the new instance is copied. Now that the new instance is working you should be able to copy over the data using the clone script. This was the original intent of this procedure. It is meant to make it easy to keep a cloned copy up to date with the original database. You can even schedule a task to run on a regular basis.
Gerry, Thank you for letting me know. I have another small question if you don't mind. When you are creating a new database using the Oracle Database Assistant (8.1.7.4), you can choose between the wizard and the batch file to generate the database. When you choose the bact method, oracle creates a number of SQL files and a batch file which automate the process and give you the ability to modify the process. Before the batch files are being creates, Oracle also adds the new database to TNSNAMES.ORA and LISTENER.ORA. Is there any way to automate this process with a command line tool from Oracle ? Or is the only way to manually edit them with notepad ? Thanks in advance, Frederic Hoornaert
I don't know of a (command-driven) Oracle tool which does this, although there may be something available from someone besides Oracle. As far as the the Database Assistant goes, I have found that it can be useful for (easily) modifying the listener setup and for updating the tnsnames on a (Windows NT/2000) PC. However strange things can happen if you later add manual modification to the mix. In general I have found it more predictable to use one method exclusively. i.e. only use the assistant or only use manual. Personally, usually I opt for manual modification, because it gives better detailed control, and ultimately enhances one's understanding of how the systems are configured.
If your site has a standard format for configuration files, then you could develop a script to add the necessary names yourself. However this then means that if someone one fails to adhere to the standard format, your script might break.
Now A Word From A Drug Peddler ...
NOTE: The headers have been altered to remove my own e-mail address, and the links in the HTML have been removed. I received the following spam last month. The headers were as follows:
From hgh@genuinerewards.com Fri Jan 17 00:52:52 2003 Return-Path: <hgh@genuinerewards.com> Received: from xxxx.xxx.xx (pc3-nfds1-3-cust61.nott.cable.ntl.com [213.107.115.61]) by pgts04.xxxx.xxx.xx (8.11.6/8.11.6) with SMTP id h0GDqks98906 for <gerry@xxxx.xxx.xx>; Fri, 17 Jan 2003 00:52:50 +1100 (EST) (envelope-from hgh@genuinerewards.com) Message-Id: <200301161352.h0GDqks98906@pgts04.xxxx.xxx.xx> From: HGH <hgh@genuinerewards.com> To: <gerry@xxxx.xxx.xx> Subject: News from the American Anti-Aging Society Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 17:42:12 2003 17:42:12 +0000 Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2911.0) Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Here is the HTML that was sent with the message (links removed):
News line:
12/10/2002, The Following information was taken from a clinical trial
conducted by
the American Anti-Aging Society, Knoxville, Tn. Click Here for Entire Study.
Hello,
My name is Dr. Don Johnson, President of the American Anti-Aging
Society.
Our well known and established organisation is constantly
researching and
developing methods and products to slow down and even
reverse the effects
of aging. I'm writing to
share with you an important medical breakthrough in
the treatment of
aging.
Very recently, a product was released by the name of HGH.
This revolutionary product is clinically proven to reverse the aging process.
Many physical, mental and
blood chemistry tests were performed
(Studying IGF-1 & HGH levels over
3 & 6 Month Periods). Our team
of scientists witnessed a stunning
reversal in the human aging process!
The average IGF-1 level, (IGF-1 is
the amount of Growth Hormone stored in
your blood which declines
significantly with age), showed an increase
of 402.4 percent in our
clinical trial, effectively REVERSING the Aging Process!
This is an incredible result, completely unparalleled by any other
HGH product
on the market today. Tests showed that people who had taken
HGH
noticed significant results even in the first week. These
results include:
|
| |
|
|
Moreover, people have reported a significant increase
in their energy levels, similar
to what they felt in their
20's.
HGH is not a Stimulator,
Replacer,
or a Steroid. It is
a 100 percent
natural growth hormone Secretagogue, with a new active
Homeopathic HGH Enhancer
in an easy to swallow capsule form. It can
be absorbed effectively by the body to
reactivate
your Dormant Pituitary Gland and give an Extra Boost
of HGH into the
blood stream to be picked by the liver for conversion into IGF -1. This process
will start to
reverse the aging process at a much faster
rate.
Click here now to find out more about this exciting
product or visit us here
If you have any questions please do not hesitate
to contact us.
Sincerely,
Dr. Don
Johnson
President
American Anti-Aging Society
If you do not wish to receive further
messages
simply reply here with
"unsubscribe" in the subject line.
NB: Due to the inclusion of the above HTML, this docmument is not W3C valid.
As stated previously, I have removed the links. They all pointed to specific pages that gave misleading and exaggerated information about the benefits of self-administered Human Growth Hormone. All of the so-called references were in the domain www.pillmedics.net. Those of you who check this domain, will observe that it is typical of the type of site that would send spam. Spam seems to go hand in hand (if that is the correct analogy) with offers to enlarge one's penis. And www.pillmedics.net not only offer the usual dubious service of enlarging the male member, but also seem to be offering a range of dangerous and probabably illegal drugs. It is equally obvious that although the spam may not have originated from within this domain, it was commissioned by them. According to whois the information for pillmedics is as follows:
Registrant:
Pillcrazy
P.O.Box 6111
Perth, WA 6064
AU
Registrar: DOTSTER
Domain Name: PILLMEDICS.NET
Created on: 06-OCT-02
Expires on: 06-OCT-03
Last Updated on: 09-FEB-03
Administrative, Technical Contact:
Bower, Mike mike@pillmedics.net
Pillcrazy
P.O.Box 6111
Perth, WA 6064
AU
0403444017
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.JNZTECH.COM
NS2.JNZTECH.COM
I sent an abuse notification to abuse@jnztech.com. Here is the reply that I received from jnztech:
From abuse@jnztech.com Sat Jan 18 17:34:14 2003 Return-Path: <abuse@jnztech.com> Received: from consultadoctor.com ([157.237.254.2]) by pgts04.xxxx.xxx.xx (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id h0I6Y9s04309 for <gerry@xxxx.xxx.xx>; Sat, 18 Jan 2003 17:34:13 +1100 (EST) (envelope-from abuse@jnztech.com) Received: from jnzzruo7cc2dqg [68.147.181.208] by consultadoctor.com (SMTPD32-7.13) id A0D9300206; Fri, 17 Jan 2003 23:23:05 -0800 Message-ID: <034901c2beb9$cc3a3870$d0b59344@jnzzruo7cc2dqg> From: "JNZ Technologies Abuse Team" <abuse@jnztech.com> To: "Gerry Patterson" <gerry@xxxx.xxx.xx> References: <20030117014332.A98928@pgts04.xxxx.xxx.xx> Subject: Re: Mail abuse commissioned by www.pillmedics.net Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 23:20:22 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2720.3000 Disposition-Notification-To: "JNZ Technologies Abuse Team" <abuse@jnztech.com> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 Hello Sir, Thank you for reporting this spam, we will look into and contact the customer about. PLEASE NOTE: No offense to anyone but us being a company cant just shutdown anyone on a third party's complain we also have to abide with our AUP just like the customers have to. And according to our AUP we cant shutdown anyone with a prior 72 hours notice Thank you JNZ Technologies Abuse Team
It seems possible that some one may have communicated with the spammers. Because the next spam that I received about Human Growth Hormone did not include any URLs or e-mail addresses. It invited me to contact them by telephone. Details of this spam were as follows:
From Grow_Youngerihta@desertmail.com Tue Feb 4 22:09:08 2003 Return-Path: <Grow_Youngerihta@desertmail.com> Received: from desertmail.com ([218.0.76.160]) by pgts04.xxxx.xxx.xx (8.11.6/8.11.6) with SMTP id h14B8ns37752 for <gerry@xxxx.xxx.xx>; Tue, 4 Feb 2003 22:09:00 +1100 (EST) (envelope-from Grow_Youngerihta@desertmail.com) Message-ID: <000800d8ba68$cca70527$16616786@yejdxyv.fox> From: "Yes" <Grow_Youngerihta@desertmail.com> To: <gerry@xxxx.xxx.xx> Subject: Anti Aging Report Date: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 04:33:28 +0600 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_00D5_85D16D4E.B5755A13" X-Priority: 3 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.2616 Importance: Normal
The attached HTML promoted the benefits of HGH. There were no URLs or genuine e-mail addresses in the document. However the number 1-888-621-7300 was mentioned several times. Although there is no evidence that these spams are related, the fact that both samples promote HGH suggests that they may share a common origin. If so, the fact that the second one is devoid of URLs, after I lodged a complaint with jnztech.com might suggest that JNZ Technologies are in league with the spammers or perhaps even a front organisation for them. In any case, the address abuse@jnztech.com is probably not a genuine abuse notification point. If you are interested in such matters, you should update your records accordingly.
Don't forget about Google Cache ...
In an earlier feedback column (August 2002), I confessed to the offence of apostrophe abuse. At the time, I must admit to being a trifle annoyed that my habitual crimes against the English language had been publically exposed. One question kept re-occurring: "How on earth did those !@#$%^* apostrophe police get onto me!?" Aware of my own failings, I often check documents after I have posted them. In this particular instance, I had already checked the document, seen the mistakes myself and (I thought) removed the evidence. The offending passages had only existed on my website for about 24 hours! I refrained from answering my critics with defiance, and took my cuts in silence. After all, when it comes to apostrophe abuse, I am a persistent repeat offender, and I deserved the punishment.
But the question remained ... "How did they get onto me?". The answer came to me while viewing the log-files. I saw several hits from users who were not fetching HTML, but only the icons. It soon became apparent that these users were fetching the HTML text from Google Cache.
As the vast hydra-like GoogleBot methodically crawls its' way across the world wide web, the pages searched are added to the monstrous index somewhere in the bowels of Google central. However previous versions are also kept on file. This has implications for query users as well web sites owners. Web site operators should be aware that fixing something in situ does not immediately remove the evidence of past misdemeanors. Researchers on the other hand can have a second bite at the cherry if a document is no longer available or has been recently altered. Also defenders of the English Language should check the latest copy of a document to see if the offending passage is still offensive.