Two steps forward with DND...

So, the other day I read that Blogspot sites may be getting blocked by the DND firewall at KAF. It's anecdotal, so I ask a couple of people I know in uniform to tell me if it's true, and if so, why DND would be doing that.

I mean, we got a link in The Maple Leaf not a week ago, and I was kind of hoping to get some new readers out of that.* Kind of tough for those in theatre to follow the link if this Blogspot-hosted milblog is blocked at KAF.

Turns out some folks in Kandahar can't access The Torch right now. Here's what I found out:

Many sites use technologies which are not well supported by the current firewall configuration. For technical or security reasons these technologies are being blocked (ie.: JAVA, ActiveX, VBScript). This often results in poor functionality on certain sites. If an essential site functionality is being blocked, please contact your local Helpdesk with the specific URL of the site and a short description of the problem.

So, if The Torch posts a link to a JAVA script, it may be blocked by the firewall. If the next post is purely text, the site will likely be accessible. Regardless when a site is blocked, DWAN users do have the option to contact their IT help desk to get permission to view the site if there are no technical or security concerns. Over the coming days we'll see if the site continues to be blocked at KAF, or whether this is a result of site content at the time that the member was trying to access.

I've also been told that this blocking is just for "official" computers and not for the recreational stations set up at the base for off-duty troops. Of course, you have to be on the base itself to access those computers, and a good number of troops don't spend a lot of time at KAF itself.

A bit of navel-gazing, I know, but interesting from a deployed information access point of view as well. This bears watching.

* For anyone who's counting, I get more traffic in half an hour from a link at Small Dead Animals than I've gotten all week from The Maple Leaf. Just sayin'.

Updaty-goodness: A correspondent currently at KAF has indicated he's accessing my site on a regular basis, no problem. That's good to hear.

It's even better to hear he's over there, because I know the sort of dedication and talent he brings to a problem. So best of luck to my Campbell's Correspondent: fair winds, et cetera, and come home safe.