awa

Small Site Glitch

This morning the site was unavailable for a few minutes as we updated software. At the same time we ran some more site testing code to verify that the site is “cleaner”.

Over the next few weeks we will be working with Miguel in order to remove plugins and themes that are not in use. This might cause a few hiccups along the way but we expect them to be short lived.

As Miguel has stated, this might affect the look of the site slightly but nothing major.

GRRR Grump, Darn hackers, Get OFF MY LAWN

So Miguel might be unhappy tomorrow. And J.Kb might be talking to Miguel in clipped tones.

Once again somebody got into the files that drive gunfreezone and modified them. Not nearly as badly as last time.

They added a simple “redirect” to a site that claims to be upgrading chrome. It didn’t it doesn’t, it is a nasty site designed to get you to install software on your PC that you shouldn’t.

If you did “upgrade chrome” form the update-googlechrome(dot)site please know it was a bad thing. Run you virus protection software. You have been infected.

I’m personally sorry this happened to you.

I’ve locked the site down. Miguel can’t make changes to the site software. This might mean that our intrepid bloggers might have issues uploading images. But between Miguel and myself, we’ll get if figured out.

Again, sorry.

Shelter In Place – Part B

In the best of all possible situations, you are at home and are going
to shelter there. As I said in Part A, my lady prefers to sleep in her
own bed. If you are in your own home, you should be able to sleep in
your own bed.

So what is needed to shelter in place?

You need to be able to:

  • stay out of the elements, wind, snow, rain, sun
  • stay warm when it is cold out
  • stay cool when it is hot out
  • stay clean and healthy
  • stay hydrated
  • stay fed.

If your home is undamaged, it is currently keeping the elements at
bay. Unless something happens to break your home, it will continue to
keep the elements out.

Read More

Shelter In Place – Part A

The second rule within the rule of threes is “shelter”. Shelter
includes everything that protects you from the elements. When
evaluating “shelter”, start at your skin and work your way out:

  • Socks
  • Underwear
  • Gloves
  • Hats
  • long johns
  • pants/skirts
  • shirts
  • scarfs
  • coats/vests
  • Rain coat/rain suit/poncho
  • umbrella
  • blankets
  • sleeping bags
  • sleeping systems
  • tents
  • improvised shelter
  • car/truck
  • camper
  • huts/cabins/caves
  • boats
  • houses

In addition to the above, “shelter” includes those things that modify
your environment to make it better for you.

So what are you prepared for?

A few years ago we were at a range day and one of the people that had
been brought as a guest was bragging:

I spent a year living in the back woods. When the SHTF, I’ll just
grab my go bag and disappear into the woods again. I can survive in
the woods as long as I need.

What are you going to do, you’re fat and out of shape?

And my lady, to her credit, had the perfect response:

I’m going to go home, cook dinner, read a book and go to sleep in my
own bed.

Yes, it is good to be able to “survive” in the woods for an
extended period of time. Knowing how to hunt, trap, fish, collect,
and grow your own food is wonderful. So is knowing how to create a
primitive shelter that keeps the rain off.

But the best shelter you likely have right now is your own home, be it
a single family house in the middle of nowhere or a tiny apartment in
the big city. After that, the next best shelter you likely own is
your vehicle.

Read More

Keep Breathing: Medical and Personal Hygiene Preparations

It might sound trite, but if you aren’t breathing you aren’t going to
be surviving. So the first rule of three is to keep on breathing.

In the short term, this means medical preparations. Longer term, it
means personal hygiene and preventatives. For instance, there are
multiple studies that correlate mouth health to overall health. So
while a toothbrush might not be something you would consider to be
“medical preparations,” it should be.

Duration of the Event

Medical events take place in different time frames and with different
response times based on the situation and location.

Read More

Site security update

Sometime in the last few months, there was an issue with accessing the admin side of the site.  During this time, a black hat inserted malware into the site.  This added code to the javascript that runs on your browser.  We have evaluated that code and all it does is send back a short message to the site which in turn forwards that message to “home”.

No information was taken from the site.  No information was taken from your computer.

If you ever see anything on the site that makes you go “hmmmm” please contact Miguel and let us know.

Thanks, AWA

P.S. we removed code from some 1300 different files, we evaluated some 3000 files in the process.

Site Issue

This is a heads up that the site might be a little bit wonky today.  A reader brought a security alert to our attention and we are doing some security work on the site.  During this time there might be situations where the site “doesn’t look right” or it is unresponsive.

We will be back live with updates from J.Kb and Miguel shortly.