Usksider's Photo Blog

Hello Blogland.

I did something very stupid on Monday and thought I'd share my experience with you. Please feel free to totally ignore this and move on... but if you're an avid net browser, I suggest you stick with it and read on.

Okay so I'd been up half the night and was tired when I committed my act of gross stupidity, but I'm not offering that up as an excuse... just kind of setting the scene, so to speak.

I was browsing a site offering a full list of somewhat dubious software... ...when my anti virus software picked up an error. I looked at the message Alias Trojan Detected and thought to myself "Ah ha! We'll soon deal with that!"

I donned my helm, grabbed my trusty shield and slid my sword from its scabbard... I'd dealt with Trojans before and knew I'd be able to slay this little beast. I rushed into the fray and left my network connections open...

Big mistake!

It took perhaps two minutes to isolate Alias.C and dump him in the quarantine bin. While my back was turned however a second generation of the Alias Trojan snook in and dumped its bloody payload all over my freaking laptop...

I found myself with numerous versions of ZLOB and AGENT roaming my hard drive, spawning temporary files by the thousand and ripping through my Outlook contacts list...

I disconnected and ran a deep anti virus scan...

I located no less than 39 errors and was able to isolate each and every one. I quarantined 37 of them; the other 2 were in my restore files and I'd need to take action to clean them out.

I disabled System Restore and re-scanned, killing the final 2 nasties.

The next task was to reboot with a clean system.

Big mistake number two!

When my laptop rebooted I was expecting to find things back to normal, but no. No programmes list, no shut down or log off buttons, Task Manager disabled, hard disk hidden, Administrative Tools disabled, my user account compromised, my network settings fritzed.... BUGGER!

I set to and began the long process of checking through my Windows registry, editing or deleting the Trojan's work... this was early on Monday afternoon.

I guess I should add here that messing with your registry settings is NOT a good idea unless you know what you're doing... if you're not sure, leave well alone!

By midday on Tuesday I was starting to get a tad frustrated because it seemed everything I did was having completely no effect. Worse than that, my eyes were going square!

Using another PC I pulled information from the net (via Microsoft's developers web) about the problems I was experiencing and struggled on.

I made some progress, but couldn't resolve all the problems... I finally gave up yesterday having wasted almost three days and did what I should I have done to start with... namely, reformat my hard drive and start a brand new installation!

Thankfully I keep my data backed up, but the installation process takes hours and hours and frankly I do have other things I'd rather be doing...

So, here's the point...

This new breed of Alias Trojan is a real pig of a thing because primarily it's no more than a spoof. Very easy to clean and very low threat value in itself; the real problem lurks in the dark and slips past when you're not looking...

A little research tells me these AGENT Trojans are often attached to software websites promising free downloads, while the ZLOB Trojans are often attached to codecs for music or video files.

If you're downloading stuff from the net, beware of these... they can make life very difficult if you let them.

Or at least tries to...

...since I posted some of these...

Rusty Usky Returns

Just an old image to remind Jack Frost of his favourite tree species...

Weeping Willow

...I just like this image.

...Chestnut Tree

UNDER a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And watch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 1807–1882

I'm guessing we all know the old Irish tree fellers joke... not that the joke has any relevance here...

It would be a sacrilege to fell this tree

At least in my opinion it would be a sacrilege to fell this tree...

Just a few more images from Hailes Abbey...

View through an arched doorway

A couple of examples of masonry bosses

The year is 1246 and Richard, Earl of Cornwall (brother of Henry III) is suffering as his ship is tossed in one the worst storms ever recorded at sea.

Richard is so frightened by the tempest he makes a vow to God, swearing if his ship is saved he will found a magnificent religious house. Richard survived and kept his vow.

Henry III granted him the manor of Hailes, and there Richard established an abbey with the help of Cistercian monks from the abbey of Beaulieu in Hampshire.

Construction of Hailes Abbey was completed in just five years, and the abbey was consecrated in 1251. A celebration feast was held attended by Henry III, Queen Eleanor of Provence, and 13 bishops.

A vial said to contain the blood of Christ arrived at the abbey in 1270, authenticated by the patriarch of Jerusalem.

The east end of the abbey church was extended, and there the vial was kept in a special shrine.

With the holy blood in its possession, Hailes became one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in medieval England.

During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the validity of the holy blood was questioned; it was said at the time the blood was actually that of a duck and renewed by the monks on a weekly basis.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries destroyed the Abbey in 1539, the enshrined liquid was examined in London and announced to be a mixture of saffron and honey.

After the Dissolution, Hailes Abbey was granted to Katherine Parr (sixth wife of Henry VIII), remaining in family. The abbey church was demolished during this period and some of the monastic buildings were converted for use as a family home.

By the end of the 18th century the site had suffered extensive destruction and was left in an overgrown and decaying state until excavation began some 100 years later.

Managed to escape for a couple of hours on Thursday afternoon with the apprentice photographer, otherwise known as the daughter. We'd talked a couple of times about visiting some old ruins, so hatched a plan to visit the 13th-century Cistercian abbey at Hailes in Gloucestershire... the trip also provided the opportunity to say "Hello" to a fellow blogger and put another face to a name.

Hailes Abbey was founded in 1246 and once a celebrated site of pilgrimage. Today the building stands in ruins, but has some interesting points. I'll be sharing a few of my images from the trip with you today.

Here's another great lump of stone....

....but who stole the rest of the house?

Hello world....

Just a quickie to say contrary to unfounded rumours I haven't fallen down a hole in the ground... ...in fact I'm still around... just been a bit busy.

This, so I'm told, is just a bit of a tree...

...the imaginative among you may see something else though.

Absolutely no idea who owns this property, but it has been empty for about five years now...

I wonder if they'd sell?

From the BBC web...

Supermarkets reduce petrol prices

Retailers Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's have all said they will lower the price of petrol, prompted by falling oil prices.

Asda said it would cut the price of unleaded petrol and diesel by 3p per litre and soon after, Morrisons said it would cut both prices by 4p.

Sainsbury's said petrol would be 5p cheaper, but only for customers who spend £50 or more.

While oil prices rose at the start of the month, they have fallen recently.

Asda said the price change will be effective from Tuesday, making unleaded petrol 113.9p per litre while diesel would cost 128.9p.

David Miles, Asda's trading director, said: "We are seeing a more stable reduction in oil prices, allowing us to pass on the savings to customers.

"We urge other retailers to follow our lead at a time when customers need as much help as possible."

Morrisons said its price change would come into effect on Monday "ensuring customers reap the benefit by passing on the saving quickly, for cheaper prices at the pump".

My tank is near to empty, so guess who's off to Morrison's this morning?

Okay people, last night I left you with a full barrel of ale and what do I find when I wander into Blogville this morning?

Well it seems to me old Usky is the victim of some dark and dastardly deed....

Was I raided by that band of ne'er do wells from the Lollipop?

Did Meno have an unquenchable thirst?

Is the moon made of green cheese?

Come on, own up....

Which one of you rotten so-and-so's buggered me barrel?

Where's Jack Frost and his band of coppers when you need him....

Thought it might be time to tap Usky's last barrel of home brew!

Now... who's got a big mug?

The choice is yours...

Or maybe you don't like either?

Just thought I'd share this with you...

No, this has absolutely nothing to do with Uncle Bill's Evil Empire... ...it's much more aesthetic than that.

This is the last image I'll be posting today from the ruined church I first posted earlier today.

Hope you like.

Have a great Sunday evening all.

In photography when you've left your specialist kit at home and macro isn't an option you have only one choice...

Pop a 50mm lens on your DSLR and get in as close as you can - mine focuses down to approx. 8 inches (20cm) and that means I can still grab images like this one.

Now I'm not saying this image is in any way spectacular, but it's quite acceptable as a close shot. Of course it doesn't really compare to using a macro lens, which allows you to get in very much closer...


...but even so, geting up close and personal to your subject can be a lot of fun.

Look Through Any Window

Look through any window, yeah
What do you see
Cloudy skies and plants abound
Everywhere you look around...

Not quite the Hollies I'm afraid... but I quite liked the view through this ruined window.

I wonder who used to gather and worship here? A small congregation I'm sure, since the remains of the church indicate a tiny building. I'm sure of one thing though...

...whoever built this now derelict church did so with pride and passion... I'd bet they would be horrified to see it in such a poor condition now. I guess this arch will last a few years yet...

Natural high contrast thanks to Mother Nature.

Sorry.... I couldn't resist...

Way past its best, but isn't the colour lovely? I wouldn't mind some of these in my garden.

Just wanted to offer up a great big Thank You to everyone who offered advice to my Family Life post this morning. Reading your thoughts has been extremely useful.