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Canon Vixia HF M31 HD Camcorder Review

Ian Lee — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:40:15 +0000

This post is a review of Canon’s new mid-range HD camcorder, the Canon Vixia HF M31. As a detailed, technical write up on the pros and cons of this new HD camcorder has been published by Camcorderinfo.com, this review will deal solely with my first-hand experience of having used this video camera for a few weeks. Hopefully, others considering the purchase of an HD camcorder will find this article useful in their research. Note that the HF M31 / HFM31 (32GB internal memory) is part of a series from Canon that includes the HF M30 /HFM30 (8GB internal memory) and HF M300 / HFM300 (SD/SDHC memory card only).

HF M31 Product Overview

The new HFM line of HD camcorders from Canon is easy to use. The small size is great as a secondary camera for a camera bag already loaded with a large dSLR. But don’t let the small size fool you, this HD camcorder is a very capable piece of technology. Canon upgraded last year’s highly regarded HF20 and HF200 models with better image stabilization and a touchscreen LCD to produce the new HFM series. Colour, noise and sharpness performance was very good for a model in this price range. Image quality wise, Canon could have done better with low light performance. Having said that, indoor video quality was not poor but it also was not great; it contained a little more grain than I prefer and the image was not as bright as it could be. Overall, the HF M31 / HFM31 produced very high-quality videos.

HF M31 Compression & Media

The HFM series line of HD camcorders uses AVCHD compression (which is based on the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec) just like most consumer HD camcorders. It has 5 levels of HD quality settings but no standard definition recording just in case anyone absolutely needs this. At up to 24 mbps, we really did see very good quality image on a 50+ inch progressive LCD screen. Keep in mind that the camcorder’s three frame rates (60i, PF24, and PF30) can be used for recording with each quality setting. Do note that the PF24 and PF30 frame rates are not recorded natively. Recordings made using these frame rates are converted by the camcorder and recorded onto memory as 60i. In the real world, we saw good results from PF30 and would not consider using PF24 for any scenes with panning or lots of movement. In fact, just shoot at 60i as it has been around for a long time and very compatible across technologies. And, if needed, deinterlace the final video when you output from your video editing software. Note, to edit AVCHD files, you will need the right software and hardware. Even on a 64-bit quad core computer with lots of RAM, rendering out 1080p videos from AVCHD files required a lot of computing power.

HF M31 Handling and Usability

One of the biggest strengths of the HFM series is its small size but that is also its largest downfall in my opinion. Small size means you tend to use the gear more often; we all know how large cameras can sometimes deter it from being used. But small video cameras have a pitfall in that it is not as easy to get a steady shot. So I was quite surprised that hand-held footages were very acceptable. In fact, even when zoomed in at 15X optical (or even 60x digital), one press of the Power Image Stabilization button coupled with the right breathing and camera holding technique, you can get an extremely steady image. This is when the subject is not moving of course. By default, Dynamic Image Stabilization is enabled and this mode is meant for your everyday shooting. It does an ok job when used with care, even during a walking scene as you will see in the video above.

The biggest update from last year’s HF model was a new touchscreen LCD. Most controls are now accessed using the LCD screen. Think of it like an iPhone screen but less sensitive to touch. Images produced here are bright and saturated. The best use of the LCD screen has to be the focusing system. When face detection and tracking are enabled, the camcorder does a very good job at “finding” faces and making sure focus lock is on them. To override, just touch another subject on the LCD screen and the camcorder will lock and track this new subject. A segment of the video above will show you exactly how this works. The LCD focus system is probably the neatest and most useful update in this new HD camcorder.

Things to Improve on the HF M31

As mentioned above, I think low light performance and image stabilization could be better on this unit. But given all the pluses discussed above, I can live with some grain and a slightly darker scene during low light recordings. On the other hand, what I really dislike is Canon’s proprietary hot-shoe size. You have to buy proprietary Canon gear, such as microphones or accessories that attach to a hot-shoe because the shoe provided on this camcorder is slightly smaller than the standard size. You can always purchase a shoe adapter such as the ones found at DM Accessories but that adds costs and you may lose the “hot” side of things if you go this route.

The second thing that Canon should have provided was a mini HDMI to HDMI cable. If you choose to use HDMI to send a signal out to your TV or computer, you will have to purchase this cable as it’s not provided.

Lastly, when the camcorder is powered off, there is no locking mechanism for the image stabilization system. You should never shake sensitive equipment like a camcorder but even more so with this unit. You will hear the rattling of something loose inside. That is actually the image stabilization system! I am surprised that there is no way to park the mechanical parts of this system when the power is turned off on the unit. Once power is turned on, there is no more rattling as the stabilization system is activated and locked down.

Conclusion – Canon Vixia HF M31 / HF M 30 / HF M300

The Canon Vixia HF M31 is easy to use, fun and capable of recording very high-quality video. For a camcorder that records HD video at up to 24 mbps, I can live with, at least for now, a somewhat darker and slightly grainy image during low light shooting. In normal and bright light conditions, video footage is sharp, vibrant and smooth. For those of you considering the purchase of a new HD camcorder, you can check out the video above. All footages were taken on a cloudy day and no post-processing was applied; only transitions and titles were added. Happy shooting!

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Microsoft Gives Away 6300 Top 100 Songs to Promote Bing iPhone App

Ian Lee — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:04:14 +0000

One of the benefits of mass consumer adoption of mobile technology is that many companies are beginning to develop some very cool and useful applications. Not all Smartphone apps are useful but the latest app offering from Microsoft is an interesting one and the way they are making the offer is sure to trickle to other app providers. For a limited time, you can download the Top 100s by Year by Bing iPhone app for free. As the name of the app implies, you can literally listen to the Top 100 songs between 1947 and 2009… for free. No strings attached. You will, however, get popup reminders in between a few songs to remind you to download the Bing app. To be able to listen to thousands of songs for free, I think this is something all users can live with. I can only imagine how royalty payments (if any) are tracked and how long Microsoft will offer this for free. If you love music and have an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, install the app now.

Do you think this free giveaway will help Microsoft increase Bing app installs? Only time will tell but giving mobile users the ability to listen to thousands of Top 100 songs for free is definitely a great incentive for any campaign in my opinion; one that only few companies can even consider offering.

Note that you will need a US iTunes account to download and install the app. Here is the official description

Hear thousands of the greatest songs of all time.

This $1.99 app is offered for FREE by Bing for a limited time.

Please help keep this app free longer by downloading the Bing app now.

What were the top songs for 2009, the year you were born or graduated from high school?

Spin the wheel to find the year you want to hear. Click and listen. View the list to find the #1 song for that year, from 1947 to 2009.

These lists are not solely based on the Billboard charts and record sales, instead, these are lists of songs that have stood the test of time based on their initial and lasting popularity, and on their impact on the overall scope of musical history.

Feedback is welcome at forums.nutsie.com.

The songs are streamed in shuffle mode like a web radio station through 3G, Edge or Wi-fi.

Enjoy!

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Chinese Government Leading the Fight Against Spammers?

Ian Lee — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:02:54 +0000

A recent move by Google to pull its business out of China made top headlines around the world. As Google controls nearly two-thirds of the world’s search results, it is definitely a big story when it makes a fundamental business decision to up and leave potentially the largest economy in the next 50 years to come. Yesterday, a story published in the Washington Post announced that GoDaddy, the largest domain name registrar, is also ceasing its service to lease out .CN (China) domain names. Does it not send a strong message to the Chinese government when two of the largest internet players are not interested in doing business in your country? Before we draw any hard conclusions, the reason for Google leaving China was due to censorship issues. Now GoDaddy is closing shop there due to recent Chinese regulations that any registrant of a new .CN domain name must provide a color head shot and other business identification, including a Chinese business registration number and physical signed registration forms to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), a quasi-governmental agency. On the contrary, most domain name registries require only name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. One can only guess at what the Chinese government is trying to accomplish when imposing such strict guidelines but there may actually be some validity to this heavy-handedness.

Ability to Easily Hide Online Leads to More Stolen Content and Malware Sites

Consider this trend. Is there not an increasing amount of spam and hacking coming out of .CN IP addresses? You just have to ask your data center. Or read publications like The Register who published that “Domains in the PR of China rank second behind only those in Cameroon (.cm) as the most likely to harbour malware, according to a survey by McAfee published earlier this month.”

I for one think it makes good sense to know exactly who owns a domain name as this brings accountability to a world where hackers can easily hide behind IP addresses. For what it’s worth, I believe services that allow a domain owner to stay hidden are doing a dis-service to all web site owners out there. Whatever the reasons may be for some domain owners to hide their contact information, I am willing to wager that most of the domains that have their WHOIS info hidden are in fact hiding for a reason. Most likely, they are using these domains as a place to publish black-hat content; whether that be copyright infringed content or other types of spam and malware related content.

What Will Happen to GoDaddy Customers?

Every organization has a say as to how they want to do business. GoDaddy’s response was to leave China. The one question now is what will happen to the current customers who have already registered .CN domains through GoDaddy? I wonder how / if the company will help them renew these .CN domain names.

A Day When There is No More Copyright Infringement

What China has put into policy is a little strict in my opinion but I for one welcome the day when more accountability comes into the world of domain registration. There has got to be a way for great companies like GoDaddy to pioneer the way and help protect their customers from all the spamming, site scraping and malware web sites out there. I can only dream of an Internet where there is no need to police and shut down websites for copyright infringement or malicious activities. If the new policies in China are effective, we can hope that day will come sooner rather than later. But that will only be true if the rest of the world will follow China’s policy to up requirements for registering a domain name. We can only wait and see. Let me end this article by asking domain owners this question. Similar to verifying a Paypal account with a valid email, bank account or credit card number, do you think the industry should be moving towards some sort of a verification system for renewing and registering a domain name?

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Photos of 2010 Winter Olympic Teams

Ian Lee — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:22:51 +0000

I attended the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies last evening and it was definitely a chance of a life time experience. Here are photos of all, or rather, most of the teams that are participating in the 2010 Winter Olympics. I may have missed photographing a few teams during the march-in as I was also busy enjoying the moment. In accordance with Olympic tradition, Greece entered first and Canada being the host country, marched in last. It was quite amazing seeing all the participating teams in their unique uniforms enter the stadium. Enjoy!

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Top 50 Canadian Marketing Blogs

Ian Lee — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:02:15 +0000

Since AdAge launched its daily ranking of marketing blogs, there have been over 1,000 marketing blogs added to it. In the spirit of Scott Weisbrod listing the Top 30 Canadian Marketing blogs based on the AdAge rankings, here is a quick update of the current Top 50 Canadian marketing blogs for 2010. I am definitely honoured to be part of such a distinguished list and a big congrats to my fellow bloggers! Don’t forget to grab your badge at the bottom of this post if you are on this list. And for those who want to re-publish the list, raw HTML codes are also below. Scroll down, copy and paste.

Top 50 Canadian Marketing Blogs for February 2010

The Michel Fortin Blog

WebTrafficROI

Twist Image

adgoodness

David Leonhardt’s SEO Marketing Express

Pro PR

Profectio

shape+colour

InspiredMoneyMaker.com

The Praized Blog

ideasonideas

Ian Lee – ADS-Links.com

Buzz Canuck

Blogging Me Blogging You

Canadian Marketing Blog

Leo Burnett Toronto

ASK Enquiro

Search Engine People Blog

MediaBadger Monitor, Measure, Manage

Burning the bacon with Barrett

For anyone wanting to re-publish the above list, here is the HTML code. Just copy and paste.

Top 50 Canadian Marketing Blogs 1. <a href="http://www.johnchow.com/">John Chow dot Com</a> 2. <a href="http://www.doshdosh.com/">Dosh Dosh</a> 3. <a href="http://dannybrown.me/">Danny Brown</a> 4. <a href="http://ittybiz.com/">IttyBiz</a> 5. <a href="http://davefleet.com/">Dave Fleet</a> 6. <a href="http://www.getelastic.com/">Get Elastic</a> 7. <a href="http://www.webanalyticsworld.net/">Web Analytics World</a> 8. <a href="http://www.radian6.com/blog/">PowerShift</a> 9. <a href="http://www.michelfortin.com/">The Michel Fortin Blog</a> 10. <a href="http://www.webtrafficroi.com/">WebTrafficROI</a> 11. <a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/">Twist Image</a> 12. <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/">adgoodness</a> 13. <a href="http://www.seo-writer.com/blog/">David Leonhardt’s SEO Marketing Express</a> 14. <a href="http://propr.ca/">Pro PR</a> 15. <a href="http://profectio.com/">Profectio</a> 16. <a href="http://shapeandcolour.wordpress.com/">shape+colour</a> 17. <a href="http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/">InspiredMoneyMaker.com</a> 18. <a href="http://blogs.praized.com/seb/">The Praized Blog</a> 19. <a href="http://www.ideasonideas.com/">ideasonideas</a> 20. <a href="http://www.ads-links.com/"> Ian Lee – ADS-Links.com</a> 21. <a href="http://buzzcanuck.typepad.com/agentwildfire/">Buzz Canuck</a> 22. <a href="http://edlee.ca/">Blogging Me Blogging You</a> 23. <a href="http://www.canadianmarketingblog.com/">Canadian Marketing Blog</a> 24. <a href="http://lbtoronto.typepad.com/">Leo Burnett Toronto</a> 25. <a href="http://ask.enquiro.com/">ASK Enquiro</a> 26. <a href="http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog">Search Engine People Blog</a> 27. <a href="http://adjoke.blogspot.com/">AdJoke</a> 28. <a href="http://blogcampaigning.com/">Blog Campaigning</a> 29. <a href="http://www.azaroff.com/">azaroff.com</a> 30. <a href="http://chromainc.typepad.com/">chroma</a> 31. <a href="http://www.onedegree.ca/">One Degree</a> 32. <a href="http://www.mediabadger.com/">MediaBadger Monitor, Measure, Manage</a> 33. <a href="http://www.ppc-advice.com/">PPC Advice</a> 34. <a href="http://www.scottweisbrod.com/">Experience Planner</a> 35. <a href="http://www.great-ads.blogspot.com/">Great-Ads</a> 36. <a href="http://www.radicaltrust.ca/">Radical Trust</a> 37. <a href="http://www.everyjoe.com/topic/marketing/">Behind the Buzz</a> 38. <a href="http://www.brandinfiltration.com/dailygrind/">The Daily Grind</a> 39. <a href="http://www.burningthebacon.com/">Burning the bacon with Barrett</a> 40. <a href="http://www.emailkarma.net/">EmailKarma.net</a> 41. <a href="http://www.ryananderson.ca/">The New PR</a> 42. <a href="http://www.advertnews.com/">Advertnews.com</a> 43. <a href="http://www.mynameiskate.ca/">My Name is Kate</a> 44. <a href="http://www.saulcolt.blogspot.com/">Saul Colt</a> 45. <a href="http://www.theclientsideblog.com/">The Client Side Blog</a> 46. <a href="http://davejones.ca/">PR Works</a> 47. <a href="http://inmedialog.com/">The inmedia blog</a> 48. <a href="http://www.socialmediagroup.com/">social media group</a> 49. <a href="http://advertfan.com/">The Advert Fan</a> 50. <a href="http://www.flacklife.com/">FlackLife</a>

If your blog is listed above, feel free to grab your Top 50 Canadian Marketing Blog badge below.

300 Pixels Wide

125 Pixels Wide

Text Link

Top 50 Canadian Marketing Blogs

<a href="http://www.ads-links.com/index.php/top-50-canadian-marketing-blogs.html">Top 50 Canadian Marketing Blogs</a>

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Syncing iPhone to a New Computer

Ian Lee — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:52:36 +0000

Did you get a new computer and now want to sync all your iTunes and iPhone data to the new computer? For anyone going through this process, take comfort in knowing that there is a simple way to seamlessly transfer all music, photos, data and iPhone apps to the new machine. There are quite a few articles discussing this but having to wade through all the technical data is daunting. In short, here is a simple process that worked for me. Note, I installed Windows 7 on a new harddrive so I still had all my old data after the new install. If you are doing an upgrade, be sure to backup all your data for the move and you will still be able to use this migration method.

Deauthorize iTunes

Install the latest version of iTunes

My original setup on the old iTunes machine was pretty much default and I just let it control most of the settings. So by setting iTunes up on the new machine similarly, I was able to just copy the entire My Music folder (where the iTunes folder is stored in) and let iTunes re-sync everything. iTunes did not miss a beat and did not complain about any missing libraries (or anything else) on the new machine. To my delight, it just continued to sync with my iPhone as if it was running on the old machine.

So if you are moving to a new computer and want to sync your iPhone to a new computer, give the above process a try. As with any computer move, just be sure to have backups of all your data before the move. Smooth syncing!

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Upgrading from Microsoft Vista to Windows 7 – Microsoft Ripped Me Off

Ian Lee — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:52:04 +0000

There was a time when a personal computer would just do what it was supposed to. I am referring to the tried and true Windows XP operating system. Over the last two years, newer computers came loaded with its successor Windows Vista. I have to admit, I liked the new user interface and some of the powerful tools that came bundled with Vista. In fact, the install disc contained a tool that fixed one machine (twice) when Vista just refused to boot. I can remember both times thinking to myself how cool it was that a corrupted OS can self heal. Thinking back now, if Vista did not break itself, I would have had to use that boot-up disc at all! Enough about Vista. The following is a recap of my own experiences upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 and why I feel ripped off by Microsoft. It is not what you may think.

After much encouragement from a colleague, I finally dedicated some time to upgrade my Vista Business machine to Windows 7 Professional. The funny thing was, this colleague had never even used Windows 7 but like many others (including myself) had just heard many good things about this newest operating system from Microsoft. I had a gut feeling that they just wanted me to be the guinea pig and report back. Nonetheless, I performed a clean install of Windows 7 Pro on a new hard drive in my machine.

Microsoft Ripped Me Off

Since installing Windows 7, I felt totally ripped off by Microsoft over the last 2 years having to endure Vista all this time. It was not until I installed Windows 7 on my first machine that I realized I had been forced into a life of time-wasting; either waiting for Windows Vista to load, trying to fix software and hardware incompatibility issues or unknowingly agreeing to run my computer slower than the hardware would dictate otherwise due to all the overhead that comes along with running Windows Vista. Based on the overwhelming comments on one single article I posted called How to Fix Windows Vista Slow Network Transfer, I know that there are many other frustrated Vista users out there.

No cure for a deadly disease was discovered and it has only been a few weeks or so since the Windows 7 upgrade but I must admit, I feel completely liberated – if there is such a thing when describing about a piece of technology. Just knowing that my personal computer will once again do what it’s supposed to and do it rather quickly is a comforting feeling. Nonetheless, I still created a recovery disc for Windows 7. You never know when that might come in handy. I am hoping never.

Benefits of Upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7

As a heavy computer user, here are a few things that I can share with you about upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7.

tweak Vista to get decent transfer speeds

higher transfer rates were not sustainable

hard drive thrashing

More Reasons to Upgrade to Windows 7

For many of you sitting on the fence and wondering if you should upgrade your Vista machines, take comfort in knowing that when you do upgrade to Windows 7, your effort will be highly rewarded. Of course, remember to download and run Windows 7 Advisor to make sure your computer is ready for the new OS. In addition if you do plan to upgrade instead of do a clean install, do your research and know which version of Windows you currently have as there is only one specific version of Windows 7 that will allow you to smoothly run the upgrade.

I have performed a clean install as well as upgraded a Vista Business computer to Windows 7 Pro and both times, it brought new life to these machines. I am very happy to announce that I have been completely purged of Windows Vista. Three cheers for Windows 7 – hip, hip hooray! And yes, the more I use Windows 7, the more I feel that I have been ripped off by Microsoft for having to put up with Vista all this time. It’s going to be smooth computing with Windows 7 and XP from here on. We must have hope right?

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Fixed – Windows Vista Network Slows Down Over Time

Ian Lee — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:52:15 +0000

While you may finally be able to achieve fast LAN transfers under Windows Vista, the high speed you managed to have gained may not last. The annoying symptom of moving large files over a LAN in Windows Vista’s is that network performance may simply slow down before the file is fully transferred. The problem was not easy to detect since it was not an issue when transferring smaller-sized files. No need to pull out any more hair, here is the solution.

After systematically shutting down services inside Windows Vista SP1, here is a fix that resolved the issue of a slow down in network performance as you transfer large files. My internet security suite is was Shaw Secure and it turned out that 1 particular setting was causing network performance to drop during large LAN transfers. In order to achieve maximum network performance and sustain high transfer speeds, Shaw Secure’s real-time antivirus protection had to be disabled. Here is a network bandwidth graph of transferring a large file over the LAN with real-time scanning enabled. See the drop in transfer speed after a while and it just never recovered.

If you run Shaw Secure or another security software and your Windows Vista network speed slows down over time, try disabling your real-time anti-virus scanner to see if it fixes the problem. Of course, if you do decide to disable real-time protection, be sure to schedule frequent scans of your computer to keep yourself protected.

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Fixed – Wordpress Admin Pages Slow

Ian Lee — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:52:05 +0000

Recently, something very odd has happened to Wordpress that powers this blog. Front facing pages load fast but the back end Wordpress admin pages are extremely slow to load. So slow that at times, when I save a draft, the new content would not even take. Nothing times out but many admin pages are just extremely slow to load. It turned out to be one of the plugins. Luckily I don’t have many plugins on this blog and just systematically deactivated each. The culprit was an older Google Sitemap plugin. Simply made a quick update to a new one and admin sluggishness was gone! Can’t believe how fast Wordpress can be when it’s working right. If you are also experiencing Wordpress admin pages loading slowly, try deactivating your plugins.

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What I Won From HomeServerLand

Ian Lee — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:52:12 +0000

Last year, I setup a Windows Home Server (WHS) to run as a file and backup server. During the time, I connected with some of the industry leaders in the WHS realm. This was when I met a WHS expert by the name of Alexander Kent. Alex had developed a powerful Add-In for WHS called Grid Junction. Simply put, Grid Junction is a “must-have” Add-In for anyone who powers their WHS with an uninterrupted power supply (battery backup). During a lengthy power outage, Grid Junction can be scheduled to safely power down your Windows Home Server and networked PC’s to prevent data loss or Windows corruption. Through the tweaking of Grid Junction, I got to know Alex via instant messaging and email. I learned that Grid Junction won the Best Windows Home Server Add-in of 2008 Award and that Alex had received Microsoft’s Prestigious MVP Award for his contribution to the Microsoft Home Server. In short, this guy knows his way around Windows Home Server. Recently, Alex held a contest at HomeServerLand.com to give away copies of Windows Home Server and I am happy to report that I am a recipient of one of these! In fact, the above image shows what actually arrived in the mail; a copy of Windows Home Server, a paperback copy of “Mommy, Why is there a Server in the House?”, a paperback copy of “Server Feng Shui”, a WHS Pen with stickers to match! So a big thank you goes out to Alex for not only sending some cool items but for all your help in tweaking my Windows Home Server.

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Thank You to a Great Partner – Doclix / AdSide

Ian Lee — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:43:19 +0000

Throughout the years, I have worked with some really good partners. Whether it is being very responsive, super proactive or just plain easy to work with, every so often, a particular partner would stand out from the rest. Today, I wanted to give a quick shout out to one particular partner that is all of the above… and more! That partner is Doclix’s AdSide Network.

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of participating on an AdTech San Francisco / AdSpace panel with Leora Blumberg, VP of Business Development from Doclix. To make a long story short, Leora and I immediately connected and we are now partnered with AdSide (Doclix’s advertising network) to delivery their ads. Not only was it a pleasure to meet Leora this year, but I also began working with AdSide’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Yael Yekutie. I only need to say that both of these ladies are simply fantastic people! Period.

It was definitely great to have built another good business relationship this year, but the icing on the cake actually came last week. To my surprise and delight, AdSide sent us a holiday care package. Here are the goodies from Harry and David that arrived in the mail a few days ago. There were actually some delicious mint chocolate cookies as well but they did not make it to the photo shoot. I had eaten them already.

It’s nice enough to be able to work with great people in the advertising industry but it gave me extra warm and fuzzies this Christmas when a great business partner cared enough to send a nice gesture. So a giant thank you goes out to the AdSide team. Not just for the yummy goodies but as a partner, you guys & girls completely rock! Know that the goodies will be thoroughly enjoyed over many movies throughout the holidays.

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Microsoft Banned for Port Scanning

Ian Lee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:52:28 +0000

Recently, a client contacted me to share that their web server’s firewall was busy banning IP addresses from port scanners. Sure enough, a quick peek at the server logs show that there were indeed multiple IP bans lately. Most of these were temporary bans as the firewall did not deem these infractions critical enough to be permanent bans. When looking at the notifications, a particular domain in the ban list caught my eye. It was a microsoft.com domain along with an IP address. A WHOIS lookup shows that this IP does indeed belong to the software giant Microsoft Corp, manufacturer of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. The reason for permanently banning this IP was that the IP itself had too been temporarily banned too many times in a certain time frame. So after a few warnings, the server’s firewall permanently banned this Microsoft IP from hitting the client’s web server again.

131.107.0.114 (US/United States/tide544.microsoft.com)

After some more digging around and research, could this be a case where it is a false positive result for port scanning? Since we do not want to hinder any of MSN’s servers, whether it’s Bing.com or MSN search, from crawling our web sites the more important question is actually should I unban this IP address? Anyone else also experience your firewall banning Microsoft IP addresses for port scanning? What would you do?

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