Tag archive for ‘security’ at bioneural.net

Tag archive for 'security'

The dark art of AirPort networking

Published by Bruce on April 5, 2009 in Mac. 7 responses

Until recently I was using the dodgy BeBox supplied by my Internet access provider as both a DSL modem and wireless router. The ST585v6 could create a wireless distribution system (WDS) to extend my home LAN to the attic iMac, but only over insecure WEP. So we bought a new dual-band (2.4 and 5GHz, 802.11b/g/n) Apple Time Capsule, thinking it would simplify connecting to an AirPort Express and at the same time provide wireless Time Machine backups with shared network-attached storage (NAS). In the event fully integrating this new device consumed hours, with victory arriving only after the discovery of occult keystroke trickery—not at all the Apple experience I have come to expect.
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Gearing up for SSL to WordPress with Safari

Published by Bruce on September 17, 2008 in Internet. 2 responses

A friend brought an impending WordPress security exploit to my attention, in the form of a CookieMonster. Your data might be at risk if you administer your blog from a public Internet connection (e.g. WiFi in a café). Securing your authentication cookies with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) provides a defensive countermeasure for your admin loggins, and WordPress.com users now have a checkbox to "Always use HTTPS when visiting administration pages". That checkbox is absent in self-hosted WordPress 2.6.2, but here's how to enable HTTPS and accelerate your admin sessions using Google Gears via Safari.
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ATMs should be avoided. The Internet too.

Published by Bruce on March 13, 2008 in Rant. 9 responses

Some cretin recently cloned our debit card, in reflection of rising UK and international rates of card fraud despite technological countermeasures like "chip and pin".
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An exercise in wireless frustration

Published by Bruce on January 11, 2008 in Mac. 5 responses

Having spent the better part of two half days trying to achieve the impossible, I wish to recount an exercise in wireless frustration. The challenge was to hook up an iMac G4 (Flat Panel) with no Airport Card, located in the attic room, to my home LAN (and thus to the Internet). One purpose of this machine was to serve as a screen for streamed video that could be watched while using the exercise cycle. A TV had provided such distraction, but that had broke. To cement the challenge, the problem should be solved using equipment already to hand i.e. at no additional cost.
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Stop Gmail sending passwords in the clear

Published by Bruce on July 9, 2007 in Quicklinks. 1 response

Make Gmail Notifier use a secure HTTPS connection when checking your inbox: hold down Command and Option keys while clicking Preferences in the Notifier menu and enter "SecureAlways" (without quotes) for Key and "1" for Value, then Set before quitting and re-launching (via maxoshints.com).

OpenDNS cure for slow net?

Published by Bruce on February 10, 2007 in Quicklinks. 3 responses

I've been hearing about OpenDNS a lot lately: a solution for slow Xtra connections; Stamatiou calls it über; Lifehacker named it one of the best apps of 2006. Not only faster, but safer (auto-corrects common URL misspellings) and smart (warns against phishing), it's simple to use—just tell your broadband modem the IP addresses of the OpenDNS nameservers.