Author: Rob the Geek

  • Credential Security …again

    So, with another major collection of user credentials being uncovered (and reported in the mainstream media), there is a slight increase in interest in people, their data, and the credentials they use. For those who may not yet have caught up with the news (or those reading this in the future and wondering which massive credential theft I’m referring to), this is the uncovering of the work done by ‘Cyber Vor’ who managed to snare around 1.2 billion (yes, with a B) unique user credentials.

  • Tweaking the Home Network – pfSense Firewall [Part 2: Initial Configuration]

    Initial Configuration (via Web Browser) In the previous article, we set up (at least) two network interfaces. The first, facing the Internet (the WAN) and the second facing the internal network (the LAN). In our instance, our WAN interface will simply pass traffic onto our existing internal network, where it is subject to existing rules and management, […]

  • Tweaking the Home Network – pfSense Firewall [Part 1: Installation]

    So, now we have teenagers, I’ve realised a need to create a little more separation with our home network. The intent of this is to give them a segment of the network where they can connect their wireless devices, use the internet and allow their friends to also connect their devices when they visit. With freedom comes responsibility, so we also want to be able to enforce limits on the hours of use, conserve bandwidth, and attempt to protect them from malware and viruses. Future enhancements may include traffic reporting, content filtering – but for now we want to get them off the core network, and onto their own segment.

  • When USB goes bad…

    So, I decided to give running a linux distro *solely* from a USB 3.0 flash drive… the install itself was fairly simple and painless, the pain only started on the reboot. The drive failed, and I was dropped to the rather unfriendly >initfs prompt. I tried a few things, from fixing the failed superblocks dumpe2fs […]

  • Linux for Kids

    My best mate dropped over on the weekend and left me an ancient Sony Vaio that he’d acquired for his 7-year-old daughter. After shooting the breeze over the beer, we got to talking about his daughters computer use. Essentially he (and she) just wanted “something she can use and have for her own” – he’d […]

  • This is water

    A bit of a deviation from my standard fare of techy news and opinion, but I’m bundling this under “Community & Social” – I think it fits well. This video gave me pause for thought… It’s a well produced, visually engaging excerpt from an address to graduates in 2005 by novelist David Foster Wallace. Sadly, […]

  • Standing on the Wall

    Today I was discussing the recent work by the New Zealand Police in bring a number of people up on charges for their part in an international pedophile ring. While I’ll save you from the details (you can do your own reading using this article as a starting point), some of the alleged offenses are […]

  • Path of Exile – Crowdsourcing Funds

    The very excellent MMO “Path of Exile” by Kiwi game developer Grinding Gear Games has managed to raise US$2.5 million (yes that’s million, little finger to the corner of your mouth Dr Evil styles…) through crowd-sourcing future development funds from the online gaming community. This is not the first success they’ve had with funding via […]

  • Technology and Recreation – a recipie for AWESOME

    For gadget geeks like myself, there’s always been an opportunity to mix technology with what we do when AFK (away from keyboard). My first heart monitor watch *had* to be imported because no one in this country was selling the IR receiver (connecting through a DB9 (serial) cable no less.. for the more normal, serial […]

  • Social Scams and Why They Work

    Over the last week, as New Zealanders begin to change their jandals (flip-flops / thongs) for shoes, I’ve noted a significant increase in the number of “warnings” being posted in my social network feeds. This is not uncommon and it’s not unique only to my network of contacts as these articles point out. Now, for […]