The New LANTERN TIMEGLASS JOURNAL
Special report by Jim Lantern
Originally published Friday 12 September 2014 – republished 31 July 2015
Interest continues in this subject.
Note to WordPress users about “blockOptions.cgi” showing up in Stats Report
WordPress > Your blog/site > Stats > Referrers
If you find a link under Referrers that looks like this…
155.150.1.220:15871/cgi-bin/blockOptions.cgi?ws-session=-644223537
…then this is what it is and what it means…
The “blockOptions.cgi” part of it is a service used to block people from seeing your blog/site.
Most likely scenarios…
- A school blocking students from seeing and reading your blog/site.
- A business blocking employees from seeing and reading your blog/site.
- A government agency blocking employees from seeing and reading your blog/site.
- A branch of the military blocking civilian and/or military personnel from seeing and reading your blog site.
A connection is still made from the visitor’s computer terminal to your blog/site, so the visitor is still counted in Stats, but what the visitor sees is a black box covering about 99% of your home page for example – just the outer edges still visible.
Most likely reasons…
- To block employees on the clock from spending employer’s time on personal interests.
- To block children or students or others from seeing and reading what the censor considers to be offensive.
How to identify the visitor? Example – In the case of…
155.150.1.220:15871/cgi-bin/blockOptions.cgi?ws-session=-644223537
…the first 4 sets of numbers is the IP address of the visitor. In most cases, it will only be identified by the name of the Internet Service Provider. However, for some, it will be the name of the company, or school, or government agency, or branch of the military. In this case…
155.150.1.220
…is identified by ARIN WHOIS IP Address Database Search as…
CCAD-CADD, Headquarters, USAISC (HEADQU-3), Fort Huachuca, Arizona 85613 US.
That kind of visit was not counted by StatCounter, a free service I use in addition to WordPress Stats, but it was counted by WordPress Stats.
It is rare for me to see it happening – I can only think of two other times in the past, and back then I did not know what it meant.
By the way – more information about that visitor…
Fort Huachuca, Arizona, Headquarters, USAISC, NETCOM (United States Army Network Enterprise Technology Command), 9th Army Signal Command, U.S. Army Cyber Command (155.150.1.220): NETCOM plans, engineers, installs, integrates, protects and operates Army Cyberspace, enabling Mission Command through all phases of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental and Multinational operations. Additionally, the commanding general is designated as the Deputy Commanding General for Network Operations, U.S. Army Cyber Command and 2nd U.S. Army. With the headquarters at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, the NETCOM Team has nearly 16,000 Soldiers, Department of the Army Civilians and Contractors stationed and deployed in more than 22 countries around the world, providing direct and indirect support to Army, Joint and Coalition forces.
Previously, according to StatCounter, which did list visitors who did access and read my blog/site articles included…
- Fort Huachuca, Arizona, US Department Of Defense Network 140.153.173.93
- Fort Huachuca, Arizona, US Department Of Defense Network 147.71.10.254
Apparently, someone there didn’t like personnel visiting my blog/site, and then they were blocked by using the service that does that and blacklists my blog/site. I believe it amounts to a commander not wanting personnel to pursue personal interests while on the clock at work, rather than any political differences – I mean rather than someone who does not like my political editorials. However, keep in mind, The White House does have a “Dissidents List” created by the Obama Administration, confirmed by news media and an attorney I know in DC and New York. As Commander-In-Chief, Obama can use the Department and Defense and the Navy Network Information Center to monitor Americans – what we are writing about him – especially against him. Controversy has surrounded the NSA for spying on Americans, but it is the DoD and NNIC that actually does it, as well as the Department of Homeland Security. They have shown up in my StatCounter reports I use in addition to WordPress Stats.
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Lantern Timeglass Journal 