Comments on: Who’s That Behind Wikipedia? http://saveourtacotrucks.org/2008/09/14/whos-that-behind-wikipedia/ Save Our Taco Trucks! Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:09:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: admin http://saveourtacotrucks.org/2008/09/14/whos-that-behind-wikipedia/#comment-10251 admin Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:44:43 +0000 http://saveourtacotrucks.org/?p=79#comment-10251 Vance, Thanks for the insight, and you are correct about the many possibilities. We realized as much--I mean that it might be coming from from somewhere as benign as the County library. And while it is entirely possible that one of Gloria Molina's young fans frequently visits the County library and then takes their limited internet time to "clean up" the Wiki page of his/her favorite politician, I prefer to lean more towards Occam's Razor. Is that really the simplest explanation? Also true, of course, is how many computers filter through that one single IP address. But then, who outside County offices has such a vested interested in repeatedly clearing out public information... All we can do is wonder. Thanks again! Aaron Vance,

Thanks for the insight, and you are correct about the many possibilities.

We realized as much–I mean that it might be coming from from somewhere as benign as the County library. And while it is entirely possible that one of Gloria Molina’s young fans frequently visits the County library and then takes their limited internet time to “clean up” the Wiki page of his/her favorite politician, I prefer to lean more towards Occam’s Razor. Is that really the simplest explanation? Also true, of course, is how many computers filter through that one single IP address. But then, who outside County offices has such a vested interested in repeatedly clearing out public information…

All we can do is wonder.

Thanks again!
Aaron

]]> By: Vance http://saveourtacotrucks.org/2008/09/14/whos-that-behind-wikipedia/#comment-10250 Vance Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:14:24 +0000 http://saveourtacotrucks.org/?p=79#comment-10250 A little insight on the County Internet system. Most County departments go through Internal Services Department (ISD) to provide their Internet access. Each department has to pay ISD a certain amount of money per month to access the Internet, as opposed to the default access, which is only restricted to sites within the lacounty.gov or co.la.ca.us domains. Some departments also have a second tier of "whitelisted" sites which are other sites that have a relation to the job description and/or type of work done by the department, so they can give employees access to a broader range of sites without having to pay the ISD toll for full Internet access. (These departments also tend to be stricter on Internet access than the ones without the technical sophistication to create their own proxy server.) Looking at some logs, it does appear that each computer has a unique IP address and they are not shared. The proxy server changes the address coming out, so that at work, I might have a 10.x.x.x address, but when seen on the Internet, I have a 159.83.x.x address. No, you can't tell which department is accessing your computer from, not without asking ISD. For all you know, it could also be coming from the public library, which uses the same ISD system. Most of the big departments do Random Internet Monitoring anyway, but in the case of Board of Supervisors staff, the deputies are essentially at will employees (not civil service) so they can do as much as their boss, the elected politician, will let them. A little insight on the County Internet system. Most County departments go through Internal Services Department (ISD) to provide their Internet access. Each department has to pay ISD a certain amount of money per month to access the Internet, as opposed to the default access, which is only restricted to sites within the lacounty.gov or co.la.ca.us domains. Some departments also have a second tier of “whitelisted” sites which are other sites that have a relation to the job description and/or type of work done by the department, so they can give employees access to a broader range of sites without having to pay the ISD toll for full Internet access. (These departments also tend to be stricter on Internet access than the ones without the technical sophistication to create their own proxy server.)

Looking at some logs, it does appear that each computer has a unique IP address and they are not shared. The proxy server changes the address coming out, so that at work, I might have a 10.x.x.x address, but when seen on the Internet, I have a 159.83.x.x address. No, you can’t tell which department is accessing your computer from, not without asking ISD. For all you know, it could also be coming from the public library, which uses the same ISD system. Most of the big departments do Random Internet Monitoring anyway, but in the case of Board of Supervisors staff, the deputies are essentially at will employees (not civil service) so they can do as much as their boss, the elected politician, will let them.

]]> By: buzzcowboy http://saveourtacotrucks.org/2008/09/14/whos-that-behind-wikipedia/#comment-10244 buzzcowboy Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:18:32 +0000 http://saveourtacotrucks.org/?p=79#comment-10244 Interesting post - I mentioned it today in our recap of the great taco debate law. http://blog.cafepress.com/?p=977 Mmm. Tacos. Interesting post - I mentioned it today in our recap of the great taco debate law. http://blog.cafepress.com/?p=977

Mmm. Tacos.

]]> By: db http://saveourtacotrucks.org/2008/09/14/whos-that-behind-wikipedia/#comment-10242 db Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:39:38 +0000 http://saveourtacotrucks.org/?p=79#comment-10242 A NSlookup returns this name for that address: Name: pc9631.temp2.co.la.ca.us Address: 159.83.252.234 I'm wondering if <i>pc9631</i> might refer to a specific PC within the county network. Though it obviously could be any kind of device, it doesn't look like a name which would be assigned to a router. So, just where is PC-9631? A NSlookup returns this name for that address:

Name: pc9631.temp2.co.la.ca.us
Address: 159.83.252.234

I’m wondering if pc9631 might refer to a specific PC within the county network. Though it obviously could be any kind of device, it doesn’t look like a name which would be assigned to a router. So, just where is PC-9631?

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