GoDaddy Wants to Save You Money

Like any business, GoDaddy frequently tries to attract new customers and keep old ones by offering special discounted rates for many of its services. Since my renewal dates were coming up and I wanted to buy additional domains, I decided to browse the web for awesome savings on hosting and domains purchases. I was blown away by the number of coupon codes I found and was left wondering, “Why didn’t I do this earlier?!” After picking myself up off the floor, I began comparing the various coupons available.

While there are many coupons available, as far as I know you can only use one coupon code per order and the codes can only be used once per customer. In addition to this, it is worthwhile to have pen and paper available (or a calculator) to compare the offerings. Some codes offer a set discount, such as $1.00, while others reduce the cost by a percentage. What is best for you is going to depend on the grand total as well as the products you are ordering. For example, you cannot use a hosting coupon code for domain purchases and vice versa. To keep this short, without further adieu I present you with the following codes, courtesy of GoDaddy.com and livecodes.blogspot.com.

Godaddy Coupon Codes

•  Register any domain for just $1.00: biggame1
• Up to three domains for $4.95 each (can do multiple years!): gfnf2tu01
• 20% off all hosting plans: cjcchp20
• 27% off orders: gdx124a
• Save more than 50% off SSL certificates: cjcssl12t2

There are many more codes around the web and the ones above won’t last forever! To find out the latest and greatest in coupon codes, come back to this post often, Google or check out the page where I found many of the codes listed here: http://livecodes.blogspot.com/

Hot Tip: GoDaddy will frequently display available coupon codes in a yellow box on the screen just before the Order Summary page.

I have also attached this because I noticed this to be popping up quite a lot in different places with new twists every time and have had to a few machines of it now. Some variants will spread through flash ads, some will spread through the network, or both. Some variants use different types of root kits. I’ve seen 3 flavors. The virus changes its name based on the OS installed. It does no real damage except that it will break services and you will need to fix the registry.

Many antivirus programs do not detect it because it is not a virus per se. To prevent future infection, run Minix (jk!), use NoScript, FlashBlock and AdBlock in Firefox and /or set up privoxy or similar correctly. Run good AV and AM software and keep Windows up to date (or run Debian!).

NB: Be VERY careful using UVK. It may delete things you don’t want it to since when executed it can operate in a streamlined fashion with no user interaction. I included Sophos in addition to TDSSKiller because I found that sometimes Sophos found more than TDSSKiller. You should run them both to be sure.

EditPad delivers everything you need to accomplish tasks in a timely, efficient manner. One of the problems I had using multiple operating systems is transferring and editing files without corrupting them because of the differences in how Windows and Linux handle carriage returns.

For example, imagine you have an Apache web server with various shell scripts you want to execute. If you need to edit those scripts and–for whatever reason–only have access to Windows, just use Notepad and you’re good to go, right? Save your changes and upload the file again. Wrong! Opening the file in most Windows text editors will show a jumble of smashed together text. Instead of having separate lines of code, it will essentially be one continuous line of text with no breaks. Take a look:

Whoops! Looks like you’re going to have the loathed HTTP Error 500 Internal Service screen if you’re modifying your .htaccess file. We all know how picky Apache can be if you make a mistake in spacing, etc. Plus, there is the remote chance some garbled line may actually be executed and do … god only knows what!

Normally, you can get around this problem with text documents by using DOS2UNIX or UNIX2DOS. These programs, available for *nix systems and Windows, convert text documents to their appropriate formatting. While this is an effective solution, why not have the ability to simply save the document into *nix format natively in a text editor? This is one feature where EditPad really shines. Not only can you convert files to *nix format using the Convert > To UNIX (LF Only) menu option, but it will also convert to Windows and Macintosh formats. In fact, if you simply paste the smashed together text into EditPad from a lesser text editor, it will fix it for you–on the fly!

In addition to supporting multiple file formats, the paid version of EditPad, EditPad Pro, supports syntax for HTML, XML, CSS, Delphi, Java, C#, C++, VB, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Eiffel and even SQL! Ah, a programmers dream. Take a look at how it neatly colors functions and keywords:

PHP Syntax Coloring

SQL Syntax Coloring

While the syntax coloring options shown (which are fully customizable) only come with EditPad Pro, which costs $49.95, EditPad Lite comes with many of the features the average user would need to edit documents:

1. Open as many files in EditPad at a time as you want.
2. Change between the open files by clicking on their tabs. No hassle with heaps of overlapping windows.
3. Unlimited undo and redo.
4. Undo changes after saving them, as long as you did not close the file.
5. Directly edit Unicode text files and text files.
6. EditPad supports all Windows and ISO-8859 as well as DOS, KOI8 and EBCDIC code pages.
7. Block functions: save parts of the text to disk and insert a file in the current text.
8. You have the option to keep the EditPad window on top of all other windows.
9. Fully supports double byte character systems (DBCS) such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean.
10. Word wrap, line numbering and auto indent can be made for each file type individually.
11. Configure appearance to your own taste and eyesight.
12. Uppercase, lowercase, invert case and initial caps conversion.
13. Free for non-commercial use. (Professionals should use EditPad Pro).
14. Quite a bit more!

As you can see, no matter which version of EditPad you try, there are features available which are intelligently designed to help you get things done simply, smartly and effectively. I encourage you to check out EditPad Lite. If you like it and want the syntax coloring or other advanced options, go ahead and buy the Pro version. It will be money well spent.

Back it up!

Backing up your database is a very important step in preventing the mayhem that could ensue if you have issues with your server in the future. If your database goes, in most cases you’ll have nothing. Zilch. Zero. Nada. No posts, no users, no links, no tags. You get the point. Thankfully, this is fairly easy to do using a shell script.

Instructions

You may have problems copying and pasting the code into your text editor. Windows uses a different format for carriage returns than Linux, so use a Linux-compatible editor or convert the saved file with dos2unix. If you have problems, please use the first set of instructions!

1. Create a directory called ‘database’ inside your /html/backups directory (your directory structure may differ).
2. Download the backupdb.sh file at the bottom of this post and put it in the /html/backups directory.
3. Set the folder permissions to this directory as 0700 (if you get permission errors, try 0755 or 0777, but password protect your directory).

-or-

1. Create a directory called ‘database’ inside your /html/backups directory (your directory structure may differ).
2. Create an empty file called backupdb.sh and put it inside the /html/backups directory.
3. Set the folder permissions to this directory as 0700 (if you get permission errors, try 0755 or 0777, but password protect your directory).
4. Copy and paste the following code into the bottom of the backupdb.sh script:

#!/bin/bash
#Compliments of www.fortasse.com
#Displays a greeting and backs up files
#Begin Script
TERM=linux
export TERM
NOWDATE=`date +%m%d%y` # Sets the date variable format for zipped file: MMddyy
clear # clears terminal window
echo
echo "Backing up WordPress database"
mysqldump -h YOUR.DBSERVER.COM -uUSERNAME -pPASSWORD DATABASENAME > $HOME/html/backups/database/$NOWDATE.sql
gzip -9 $HOME/html/backups/database/$NOWDATE.sql
echo
echo "Job finished!"

Customization

Replace YOUR.DBSERVER.COM with wherever your database is stored. It might be locally stored on the machine, or it could be located on a remote server in the case of Godaddy. Replace USERNAME with your username, PASSWORD with your actual password and DATABASENAME with the name of the database you want to backup. Keep the spaces, all dashes and everything else you see intact. -p and PASSWORD are supposed to be connected. Do not make a space between them, or it may not work. Like the file backup script, this will back up the database, zip it and put it in an archive with a time stamped file name.

Final steps

You will need to set this script to run through your hosts CRON Job manager. In Godaddy, this is a very simple task. You need to upload the script, open up your Hosting Control Center, go to Cron Jobs and select the file and time you wish to run the shell script. NOTE: You may get a ‘Permission Denied Error!’ In this case, try setting the permissions of the backup.sh file to 755.
Summary

So to briefly summarize everything, the script backs your SQL database and zips it in a nice little time-stamped file using gzip. Simple enough, huh?

Out of curiosity, I decided to see how much the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (which funds PBS and NPR) would cost if the federal budget were equal to average American worker’s salary. Get your pencil and paper ready! The results speak for themselves:

Don’t peak yet! If you’ve finished, scroll down some more.

As a tongue in cheek, I decided to do the same for total military spending:

Ready for more algebra? Hopefully you get the same results:

Sure, the extra credit question is an oversimplified generalization. However, the fact remains that Congress can certainly find other places to trim fat before taking the the hatchet to PBS and NPR.

Do You Need to Get Tested?

In a word: yes! Everyone who has been or is currently involved in a sexual relationship–regardless of gender, sexual identity or age–should be tested at some point in their lifetime. That is not to say that individuals should be tested if there is no reason to think that disease could be present. For instance, if you have never had sex, or are in a committed, long term, monogamous relationship, there is generally no reason to test unless circumstances dictate otherwise.

Currently it is thought that at risk populations should consider annual or bi-annual testing to screen for STDs. Several STDs, such as Hepatitis C and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), may not present symptoms even though you are actually infected. In general, at risk groups would include: individuals who participate in open relationships or who have multiple partners, couples where one partner has cheated on his or her spouse with someone who has an unknown infection status, individuals who identify themselves as homosexuals, and individuals who are beginning a new relationship with someone with an unknown status (preferably before intercourse has taken place).

Where To Get Tests Done

Many state and local governments offer free HIV and Hepatitis C prevention programs. As part of these programs, free condoms and blood tests are generally available at your local health department. In addition to this, lab testing companies, such as LabCorp and Quest, offer testing to individuals who would like to have it done through online resellers. One of the most popular of these, STDTESTEXPRESS, is currently offering private tests for $79.

However, if you have insurance, you might be better off asking for a test when you see your doctor again for a physical. It is often cheap or free, and will be kept in your private record as a reference in case a problem arises in the future. In some cases, insurance companies will not cover this unless you sign paperwork that implies that you have reason to believe you may have had sex with a person with a STD positive status. That’s fine. It shouldn’t be held against you, and if you really do not know the status of your partner(s), it should be assumed that they do potentially have a sexually-transmitted disease.

Are there Alternatives?

Absolutely. The Home Access Health Corporation has unveiled an in-home STDs test kit. It is the only test kit currently on the market that is FDA approved. You should NOT use a test kit which is not FDA approved as they may have unreliable results. Home Access Health offers testing for HIV and Hepatitis C, with the former coming with the options to have next day results versus results in 2-4 days.

The kit comes with a special envelope, pre-paid posted, two lancets used to get blood samples and a special identification number. This number is given to you in two copies: one is on the blotter that you send to the lab company for testing, and the other is on a piece of paper you keep for yourself.

A few days after sending in the sample, you simply call a 1-800 number and punch in your identification number. After a few prompts, you will be given your test results. If you have a positive status, you will be connected to a counselor who will talk to you about your results, offer suggestions and possibly a re-test, and get you connected to places where you can find out about assistance programs and treatment.

The Home Access Kit is a quality product with reliable testing procedures. In addition to being available in your local pharmacy (behind the counter), you can also order it from the online stores of Walgreen’s and CVS. In other words, if you are ashamed or embarrassed about asking for test kits from the pharmacist, or lab orders from your doctor, or a lab company, you can get all of your testing done in the comfort and security of your own home.

The Home Access Kit currently retails for around $59.99 at the Walgreen’s website and $44.99 at the CVS website.

Testing, 1,2,3

There is absolutely no reason to not get tested, especially if you are part of an at-risk demographic. There are many options available to individuals regardless of income or location and testing has never been easier, more reliable and discrete as it is today.

The Truth

Despite the passage of the Affordable Care Act by the Obama administration, insurance companies can still deny coverage to adults with pre-existing medical conditions until 2014. This brings one important question to mind though: how exactly do you know if you have ‘pre-existing conditions?’

Know Your Medical History

You may think you know your health history like the back of your hand, but a quick visit to your doctor’s office may surprise you. There may have been a temporary bout of dermatitis, a one time quirky lab result or even a legitimate, long-term health concern, such as high blood pressure. Perhaps the dermatitis, or the phantom lab results are indicative of the coming on of an illness that has not yet manifested itself. It is possible, particularly in the early stages of disease, to have intermittent medical flukes that may come up in blood tests and office exams. Unfortunately, many times these issues cannot be definitively diagnosed and linked to a specific disease or disorder until more symptoms present themselves. These issues may also be benign. The body is a dynamic microcosm that is constantly changing, so there will be fluctuations from the norm, within defined boundaries. If you are applying for insurance and have been uninsured for more than 63 days, all of these things, which may be on your medical diagnosis sheet, can be held against you.

Why Find Out for Yourself?

Insurance companies will look for everything you have been treated for or diagnosed with when pondering whether or not they should risk insuring you. After all, they will be paying for whatever issues you may have. It is in their best interest to weed out people who have serious issues and, in most cases, they will not pay for problems which existed before you became insured. You need to be prepared to defend yourself.

So how do you find out what may be on your medical history? Call your doctor’s office and ask their secretary for your medical records. Explain to the secretary that you are applying for insurance and you need to know what you have been diagnosed with. If they aren’t quite sure what you are looking for, ask for a diagnosis sheet or your complete medical records. With computers slowly creeping into doctor’s offices, many of them will have a computer program, such as Allscripts, which keep track of all of your information. In most cases, all you will need to do is go in to the office and sign disclosure form. You may need identification, so it’s a good idea to bring your driver’s license or passport so they can confirm that you are who you say you are. Call and request this document from all of the physicians you can remember that you have seen in the past few years. It usually costs nothing or very little and you are entitled to see it. Too many of us are disconnected from our health care: all you need to do is invest a little of your time.

Decide

If you were able to secure the diagnosis sheet(s), highlight any chronic problems that you know you have that are on the sheet that you were or are being treated for. High blood pressure or diabetes are good examples. Next, in another color highlight other problems that you know may have recurred. For example, you may be prone to getting rashes which require steroidal treatment.  This is important, because all of these illnesses, no matter what the cause, can result in you being denied treatment if you have not been covered within the past 63 days. In fact, it is possible that anything on the diagnosis sheet can be denied coverage for.

You may end up with a sheet that has few items on it or it may have dozens. When I received diagnosis sheets from my primary care physician, I was surprised to see 13 issues which were marked as chronic symptoms. Many of the symptoms or illnesses ended up being attributable to an underlying condition I was later diagnosed with. However, because these symptoms or illnesses are on your diagnosis sheet, your future insurer could deny coverage for their treatment if they require treatment in the future.

The important distinction here is that your sheet may contain only illnesses you were diagnosed with (diabetes or narcolepsy, for example), or it may also contain symptoms (headaches, palpitations). Those illnesses which are diagnosed explicitly will most likely result in denial of coverage. Any symptoms which may seem related could also be denied.

However, now that you know what is on this sheet you can ask yourself the following questions: is it financially responsible for me to buy insurance, if there is a high risk I may not be covered? will the medications I may need be affordable to me if I have to purchase them on my own? will I need treatment or surgery that could be denied? Whatever the case: do not throw your money away! If you buy insurance and have a serious problem which needs treatment, you will be stuck paying for your treatment for the next year. For many cases, this is fine. The medication or treatment may be somewhat affordable and you may be able to pay for your expenses out of pocket until your coverage for those problems comes in to affect.

However, if you are in a financially precarious situation and cannot even afford paying for your medications while you are uninsured, buying insurance right now may not be the best thing to do. You will not only have to pay for your treatments out of pocket, but will also be saddled with paying for the insurance which will not work for you for an entire year. In my case, I discovered that the lab work and medications I will need are not very expensive at all. In fact, they are cheaper than the monthly insurance premium. You NEED to examine the situation to find out if this is going to be worth it for you. It is your money and, ultimately, your health.

If you don’t think your prospective insurance company will cover your needs, you may look into free health clinics, Medicaid, Medicare and other programs which may be available from your hospital. However,

Important Facts

1. If you have become uninsured for more than 63 days or have not had insurance, your pre-existing conditions may not be covered.
2. If you do purchase insurance and your conditions are not treated due to a pre-existing conditon, your coverage for them will be rejected until a year has passed with you staying insured.
3. There are many free or low cost options available if you cannot afford insurance: apply for Medicare or Medicaid, check your area for free health clinics, such as those affiliated with the Good Samaritans and call your local hospitals and ask about patient assistance programs. Your state, county or city may also offer low cost coverage or have clinics which provide basic care.
4. Insurance companies will be able to reject payment for pre-existing conditions for adults until 2014.
5. You are not alone. In the United States in 2010, there are over 50 million Americans who have no insurance whatsoever.

Coupon Mountain: Merry Giveaways

That’s right! Coupon Mountain is giving away a Free Sony 3D TV (valued at $1999), 3D starter kit, and blu-ray DVD player. All you need to do is browse through the web site and check out the latest deals they are offering. After you find it, reply to the post I have linked below and include your name, e-mail address and which coupon you think is the most enticing!

I know what you’re thinking: could it be that easy? do I have to subscribe? what’s the catch? The truth is, there is absolutely NO catch! Coupon Mountain really is just that awesome. Not only are you browsing for great deals, but you’re also able to enter the contest just by doing so! Your e-mail will be protected and not used to fill your inbox up with junk, trust me.

So really, there is nothing to lose! You must enter the contest by November 28, 2010 at 11:59 pm. That’s only six more days left at the time of this post and it only takes minutes to do.

Here is a quick preview of some of the rules:

*Participants must be at least 18 years of age
*To win, you must be a legal resident of the United States
*This offer is void in New York and Florida and wherever prohibited, and is subject to federal, state, and local laws
*One entry per person. Entries that appear to be duplicates will not be valid.
*You can enter in more than one contest, but each winner can only win once in the contest series. If, by chance, your name is selected twice, we will select an alternate winner.
*We’re going to do our best to make sure that you receive your prize by Christmas Eve, but there are no guarantees.

• Official Rules: Read first

• Read the post: Enter now!