MySQL Got an error reading communication packets

Dec 10, 2008 by Paul White

Aborted Connection to db. If you have ever had this little error in MySql and asp.net, you have most likely spent countless hours googling for an answer.  I have your answer read more the solution.

SQL injection IP blacklist from the botnet

Aug 26, 2008 by Paul White

The BotNet seems to be growing faster than ever.  I have included a list of all the IPs, I have caught attempting SQL injection via querystring.  If you have your own blacklist, feel free to add these to your list.

Get Higher Google Ranking using CSS

Aug 25, 2008 by Paul White

Even though this has been known with webmasters for sometime, Here I go over a few of the reasons why you can significantly increase your google ranking by using websites based on CSS

protecting against SQL injection attacks using querystring

Aug 15, 2008 by Paul White

If you run a website that is based on SQL, or MySQL. This is a must read.  Some of my websites recently have been under attack by bots that are trying a new method of SQL injection attack. 

Awesome AS3 tutorial

Jul 9, 2008 by Paul White

Today as I was searching the web for tutorials on Flash AS3. I came across a very nice tutorial.  This tutorial helps explain some of the main differences between AS1, AS2 and AS3.  Thus far I am liking AS3, but it does have a steep learning curve.  In AS1 and AS2 the language was very simple. It didn't require a lot of code to do anything. Even graphic designers who traditionally curse at the thought of coding were able to understand how to use flash.  AS3 is written for the hardcore programmer in mind.  This is good because it gives you more control over things, but the result is you write alot more code.   I tend to learn better from examples.  I see code formatted in a particular way. I see what is does, then I make changes to it, and see how it affects the results.  Learning how to Code with the new AS3 is like moving into a new big city.  After a while you get a logical feel for where everything is, and how to get from point A to point B.  This guy did an awesome job explaining AS3 in words and examples I understand.  Check it out!

Using Caching to make your ASP.NET website more scalable

Jul 3, 2008 by Paul White

If you make dozens of SQL queries within a single webpage this is not the most scalable way to build a website.  ASP.NET supports Caching, allowing you to store information directly in the server's memory.  Here I give you a little information on caching and how to use it to make your websites load faster.

Getting back into Flash with AS3

Jul 2, 2008 by Paul White

Its been a while since I have played around with flash.  I am finally getting around to building a new portfolio website for whitesites.com.  The current one gets the job done, but my potential clients aren't really given any taste of my flash skills.  Even though my current skill set could help build a very nice website, there are few things I specifically wanted to utilize in my new website.  The main one being the use of 3D.   Flash as a stand alone package does not support 3D.  If you want 3D you are left to program your own 3D engine using actionscript.  If you aren't a fan of Trig it could cause you some stress.  Thankfully there is an open source class called Sandy 3D, designed to run on Flash AS2 and AS3.  This gives developers a very easy way to integrating 3D into their Flash Apps.  Since AS3 is the latest and greatest to come out of Adobe, I will put my focus on catching up to learn it.  AS3 is a true Object Oriented Programming Language.  I am used to working with alot of C# in my asp.net Apps, so learning AS3 should be that bad.  But considering how intense it could be, I might actually buy a book on the subject.

HTTP black lists stop comment spammers

Jun 4, 2008 by Paul White

I got sick of seeing failed viewstate in my event logs. so I wrote some code that checks visitors against a HTTP blacklist.  I found that one of my blacklists was full of false positives.  Not that the given IP wasn't abusive at one point in time but I found it was full of proxies of which are frequently used by legitimate users.  After comparing some user logs I found that I was blocking a few of my member.  The HTTP blacklist from Project Honey Pot works, but had the problem with proxies as I stated above.  However one that I have had much better luck with is the one by stopforumspam.com.
If you are looking to stop comment spammers from seeing your site, I highly recommend them.  Read on for a code snippet that shows how I implimented this block

How to make your CSS look the same in IE and firefox

May 27, 2008 by Paul White

I was fighting some design issues on my client's new site.  But I found some CSS code that did the trick.  I guess the trick is to reset all your tags inside your CSS before starting to implement your own custom attributes.  If you have been struggling with getting your CSS to look the same on both your firefox and IE 7 pages. This code snippet will do the trick.

How to Decompile a .NET DLL

Apr 1, 2008 by Paul White

I am not a huge fan of precompiling my code into DLL files, Simply because it makes it harder for other to diagnose problems, and trouble shoot your application.  Repairs should be possible with notepad if you are desperate.  I had a client that called with this exact situation.  Their Old Developer was a hard core Visual Studio Man, and all the code was in DLL files.  I found a little tool that allows you to open the DLLs and see the source code.  Opening DLL files may not be legal in some situations, but in my case it was to help my client get their application back up and running.  I was rather impressed with this tool.