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5276
I don't hide my SSID, though I keep meaning to do it. DO note, however, that the pundits do not consider this worth the time or the effort, either.

Interesting people these "pundits".

Hiding the SSID is usually nothing more than ticking a checkbox in your routers' config - so it can't hurt to do something that simple.
If anything, it will stop someone just turning on their laptop and clicking on 'DarwinNet' to connect :)

If given a choice between loading up software to do a scan for WiFi or clicking on 'EhtyarNet', (because 'DarwinNet' is invisible), to connect....what would you do ?  >:D

Zyxel routers are good for other things too...........like wardriving :)

Here's a couple of interesting papers on the Zyxel P660HW-T1:
Hacking Zyxel Gateways
ZyXEL Gateways Vulnerability Research (Part 2)

Only compelling reason to keep someone from stealing your bandwidth is that in some US states what someone does with YOUR bandwidth is your responsibility ie the onus is on you to secure your network.

I'd agree with that if WiFi routers were sold with secure settings in place from the beginning and it was your fault that you disabled them....but they're not.

Do they really expect Mr/Mrs Joe Public, (who only wants the convenience of being able to browse a website from their laptop while floating on an inflatable horse in the middle of their pool), to go into the config of a router and configure it for secure WiFi when a lot of people have enough trouble just getting the damn printer to work ?

But then if the router was sold with WiFi secured you'd have a lot of calls to tech-support, store returns, etc, etc because they just want to take it home, plug it in, turn it on and click the button that says 'Connect'.........only it wouldn't.

What they need, (and Zyxel implemented this in their WiFi adapters - OTIST, One-Touch Intelligent Security Technology), is a way to secure the WiFi by doing the same as they do for wireless keyboards and mice, (I'm talking w.r.t. home based WiFi not public area WiFi).

eg. Plug in the main WiFi station/router and then push a button, (hardware or software), and then for each client push a button in their hardware/software within a fixed time period, (say 30 seconds), of the initial router initiation.  Then through a unique device ID each device becomes known to that router and so has access, other WiFi clients are ignored or can be given ad-hoc access on a time limited temporary basis.
5277
Living Room / Re: make family tree in Visio - manually or automated via db?
« Last post by 4wd on January 09, 2009, 10:19 PM »
@4wd, do you know how does Personal Ancestral File do with regard to printing out a tree?

Attached are samples of the main types and they each have their own options to change how they look.  The easiest way would be to just download the software and grab the sample GEDCOM files at the Simple Family Tree site, import them and then have a play.

Pedigree chart
capture_01102009_145005.jpg

Family Group Record
capture_01102009_145022.jpg

Ancestors
capture_01102009_145049.jpg

Book (in Ahnentafelw format)
capture_01102009_145229.jpg

Individual Summary
capture_01102009_145307.jpg

Ancestor Chart (including photo, set at 7 generations per page and going back 4, if you have more than will fit on one page it will print them so you can just tape them together in a big wall chart)
capture_01102009_150313.jpg

Pedigree (including photo this time)
capture_01102009_151022.jpg

I also forgot, PAF can export to HTML effectively creating a complete website of your genealogy.

If it's all about how good an output looks though, then Family Tree Maker is probably better suited for presentation - however, it's not free.
5278
My understanding is that WEP is pretty much useless at keeping someone out, WPA can be cracked in minutes, and WPA-2 is secure. For now.

OK, so maybe 'cracked' was a bit premature on my part but the end is nigh  ;)

FWIW:
Pyrit takes a step ahead in attacking WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK, the protocol that today de-facto protects public WIFI-airspace.

I'm with 4wd on this, though - you really want to keep Joe Q. Public from stealing bandwidth...

As long as I can keep Joe Public out of my data I don't mind if he grabs a little internet action over my WiFi if that's what turns him on.
Mind you, he'd have to compete with my usenet downloader which runs max bandwidth 24/7/365(6) - the most effective bandwidth stealing deterrent is when there's no bandwidth left to steal  :D

5279
Experience with routers varies significantly. You'll find it difficult to pinpoint a brand that has good reviews across the board. If you're going to purchase a new unit I would suggest choosing something that it's brand new to the market and that has solid reviews.

Actually, I would have said something that's been on the market for a while and has solid reviews.

No use buying something that's 'brand new to the market' and then 8 months later everyone suddenly finds that the mCPU in it blows up due to the date matching and IP address ;)

The model that i have looking at the bottom of the router is Zyxel P-660HW-T1 V2. The password that you provided didn't work, maybe my ISP changed it? if i reset the router i should be able to configure it because the password would be cleared right?

Resetting will clear all settings including the login/password for your connection if there is one, so you'll lose your internet.  Ideally, you want to get in before you have to resort to resetting - I don't suppose your ISP would give you the password ?

Or, it may be something simple like your phone number or the ISP uses a default password for all their routers, doing a Google for your ISP name router "default password" might bring up something.
Also try things as simple as 'admin' or 'root'.

BTW gexecuter, if you manage to get into the config of your router BEFORE you do anything, go through every single config screen and use a screen capture program to note the settings.  Also, find out what your login/password for the connection is from your ISP is before you change anything.

While I am running MAC filtering on my DLink WB-1310 router, it is a waste of time, according to the pundits. If your hardware supports it, you should be running WPA-2 encryption.

Yes well, one of the 2 or 3 things that used to cause problems on the Zyxel was spontaneous reboot when using WPA - ergo, don't use it.  Don't know whether it's been fixed with a firmware update or the implementation is slightly different on the T1.

WPA-2 has been cracked anyway, so it's not much better than WEP.

128bit WEP, MAC filtering, non-broadcast SSID, static IPs and the SPI firewall are a lot simpler and just as good - the idea is to keep Joe Public out, you've got no hope against someone who's determined to get in.

gexecuter, there are two other things that affected the 660HW-61 that you can try before having to get into the config:
1) It's susceptible to power blips, it'll go into TTM1.  Try and put it on an UPS if you're in an area with supply fluctuations.
2) It's susceptible to heat.  Under the middle base it gets warm and then just stops communicating.  Either support it at both sides on something, (I use 2 matchboxes - hi-tech, huh), or mount vertically to let air flow and cool it.

1 - Thumb Twiddling Mode
5280
So recently my sisters got a notebook as a christmas gift and we decided it was better if we had WIFI in our house so that they could connect to the internet using the notebook. Anyway my ISP installed a zyxel router and ever since then i have been having some problems. sometimes i can't surf at all because i get redirected to 192.168.1.1/zCfgTryAgain.html and i see the following message :

"object not found

The requested URL '/zCfgTryAgain.html' was not found on the RomPager Advanced server."

Turning the router on and off seems to fix it tough but it's very annoying. Another thing is that i am worried that someone might leech off my bandwidth even tough it's password protected and i have been thinking how to prevent that, any software i can use to detect thiefs?. Also I know that the 192.168.1.1 address is for router configuration but it's password protected so i can't access it, do i even need to access the router configuration?.

Anyway help would be apreciated since you guys seem pretty knowledable.

I've been running a Zyxel Prestige 660HW-61 for more than 2 years and it's been very reliable apart from 2 or 3 small problems.

The only protection I use for the WiFi is 128bit WEP, MAC filtering and no SSID broadcast

IIRC, the default password for Zyxels is: 1234

I can probably help you with the configuration of it, what model are you running ?
5281
Living Room / Re: DC T-Shirts idea.
« Last post by 4wd on January 08, 2009, 05:12 PM »
Here's a plugin for Firefox: Mobile Barcoder

Let's you generate a QR Code for the page you're viewing and zap it with your mobile.

Although the use the site gives for it is rather strange, ie. why would you generate a barcode for a site you're browsing with Firefox on a PC just so you can then have the pleasure of squinting while trying to read it on your phone ?

I'd much rather have a plugin that let's me read QR Codes from within Firefox.
5282
Living Room / Re: ASUS eee PC - Any owner?
« Last post by 4wd on January 08, 2009, 03:59 PM »
I'm perversely tempted to buy another for myself, just because it's a neat little machine.
Were I to do so, I'd probably wait for the new tablet version(s) to appear in local stores.
-cranioscopical (January 08, 2009, 01:14 PM)

If I were going to buy one again I would wait to see what the new Intel chipset designed to compliment the Atom is capable of, (since the current 9xx based solutions aren't optimised for it), if it had a X3100 or X4500 based GPU I'd be sorely tempted.

nVidia are bringing out a chipset for netbooks, (even though I wouldn't buy another desktop nVidia chipset based PC).

Also, AMD are bringing out the "Athlon" again, revamped for low power devices but true dual core, maybe with integrated GPU ala the Geode.
5283
Living Room / Re: ASUS eee PC - Any owner?
« Last post by 4wd on January 08, 2009, 01:57 AM »
one year on with more manufacturers throwing their hat in the ring, is there any outstanding models? i know lenovo's ideapad is getting rave reviews. just wondering, how many in the DC community have adopted netbooks?

I picked up an Acer Aspire One, (AOA110 8GB SSD Linpus), for AU$320 after a AU$60 MIR - it will go on my forthcoming Sth America/Antarctic/Turkey/Hong Kong jaunt and keep me sane.

Added 1GB for a total of 1.5GB and installed a much nlitened XP Pro, installed EWF to speed it up, (the supplied SSD is rather shockingly slow), and I have to say I'm rather impressed.  Runs Delta Force Land Warrior and Task Force Dagger rather well.  I think I'll do it a favour and pick up a 1.8" HDD in Hong Kong while I'm there :)

It won't replace the P4 laptop I drag over to the UK for 3 months every 2-3 years, (mainly because I record a lot of TV shows on it), but for 'throw in the car' use in conjunction with my GPS it'll be good - lots better than a PDA.
5284
General Software Discussion / Re: The Monkeys Have Hit The Button
« Last post by 4wd on January 07, 2009, 10:06 PM »
One more reason to be glad I only use IE when MS forces me to: at update time.  :D

And not even then if you're still using XP:  WindizUpdate
5285
General Software Discussion / Re: photo duplicate scanner
« Last post by 4wd on January 07, 2009, 07:24 PM »
Finally, I didn't see a mention of XnView in this thread. Among its myriad attributes, this excellent freeware image viewer at http://www.xnview.com/ works amazingly well in finding similar images via "Tools/Find similar files". With its adjustable similarity/tolerance level, it doesn't get much easier to process an image collection.

OFGS!!!   :wallbash:

I've been using XnView for years and I've never known about that feature because I don't use Browser mode.

Thanks sajman99!!  :Thmbsup:
5286
Living Room / Re: make family tree in Visio - manually or automated via db?
« Last post by 4wd on January 07, 2009, 06:42 PM »
You could try the free Personal Ancestral File - reports are able to be customised to a degree, you can add media, and all the standard family tree stuff, (it's what my wife uses).

And once the data is in there you always have the option to export as a GEDCOMw file to another database, online site, (eg. Genes Reunited) or create your own website using a free GEDCOM to HTML converter, (eg. PAF above, check here or use the excellent phpGedView if you have access to a decent server).

If you like you can use phpGedView as your family tree program, you can run it stand-alone on your PC and enter all your data in.  It uses MySQL database, (or variants), so should be able to be read by anything else that can read MySQL, (don't quote me on this, I'm not database literate :) ).

If you want a simple program that allows entering/displaying of basic family tree data and notes, then it doesn't get much simpler than Simple Family Tree - good if you just want to put the executable and the database on an autorun CD and then send to relatives.
5287
Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!
« Last post by 4wd on January 07, 2009, 06:16 PM »
Don't do it - if it is anything like my experience before you know it you will fill it up on your old system and then you'll have to go and buy another one ;)

That is so, so true.....
5288
Living Room / Re: Recommendations for small, 4-port USB hub?
« Last post by 4wd on January 03, 2009, 12:25 AM »
I recommend APACER PH150:
http://emea.apacer.c...ages/product/454.jpg

I have two of them and works with now problem with low price. It's 4-port device.
Innovative rotating USB port design, Plug-and-play, High-speed data transfer USB2, Over-current detection and protection
more info here:
http://emea.apacer.c...n/products/PH150.htm

Looks nice but I don’t believe that is externally powered, which means that you could only run small, non-power-intensive devices on it.

From the specs on it:

Power source     Bus-powered mode (max. 500mA)
                        Self-powered mode

Self-powered means you can plug in an external 5VDC supply.

Also, listed under Accessories:

External power adapter(optional)
- Input: 100-240V~0.3A, MAX 50-60HZ
- Output: +5V - 1.2A

I use a cheap Sansai 4 port USB hub I bought at a local $2 shop, (contrarily it cost AU$11), it has the option to plug in an external 5VDC adapter, (I already have a couple), and it just works..............when/if it blows up, I'll buy another.

As can be seen from the posts above, a brand name product does not guarantee quality - they're probably all made in 3 factories in China, (nothing against Chinese made items, in fact I'm sure I more than contribute my fair share to their economy :) ).
5289
Living Room / Re: GPS and Google earth
« Last post by 4wd on January 02, 2009, 05:56 PM »
I want to by new car's GPS and budget not over $300, which one is the best product? (I never use it before)
:-[Bestsellers Car's GPS Listing from Amazon.com

The one that gives that best features, (that you will use), map coverage and detail in the areas that you want for your selected price range.

Unless you provide a lot more detail on where you want to travel and what features you want then the only way to decide is for you to visit each manufacturers website and discover what maps are available and what the unit can do.  Or visit a store where you can play with the actual units.

Anything we could recommend is biased towards what we use the units for.

For example, I have no need of a SatNav unit, (AFAIAC it contributes to the dumbing down of the species :) ), however I do have a GPS that can tell me where I am, (coordinates only), but I still require a map and knowledge of how to read it to locate my position with respect to the environment.  So anything I could recommend definitely won't apply to someone who wants a unit to tell them where to go.
5290
Living Room / Re: Vista has gone nuts: [Major] Help please?
« Last post by 4wd on January 02, 2009, 01:41 AM »
I have a games list that people literally awe at (GRAW2 is a great game, btw, I have it as well :D)

[OFFTOPIC]
Unfortunately, I find it too annoying to be worth more than playing once a month for an hour or so, (aside from its extremely stupid bugs, ie. try and get any multi-player game to run consistently with any mods or even just run without crashing).

eg. I have a weapon that can shoot the nuts off of a fly at 200 meters, yet in GRAW2 I can't hit the guy at 102 meters.

Why?  Because the maps are so small that they have to artificially reduce the range on ALL the weapons.  If they're going to make what is basically a CQB game then don't give us weapons that aren't suited to it.

Also, the name is Ghost Recon yet there is no sign of binoculars.  WTF!?  It's why I end up carrying a rifle with a scope all the time - so I can actually recon locations.

This is why I always end up returning the Delta Force/Joint Operations games despite their faults - they have HUGE maps and you can shoot the nuts off the guy at 800+ meters with your M82.

They are just plain fun.
[/OFFTOPIC]
5291
Living Room / Re: Beware the Google Threat - Big Fat Ass Brother (BFAB)
« Last post by 4wd on January 02, 2009, 12:48 AM »
Most of those features are rendered moot by cookie blocking, NoScript and POPS with Thunderbird. It occurs to me though that you use Customize Google to prevent clicktracking and removal of UID.

I don't block all cookies, (third party only), but all cookies are cleared when I exit Firefox.  And blocking cookies won't give me back the screen space occupied by Google's ads.

Using Thunderbird is OK when I'm sitting at my PC, however when I'm on the road with a laptop I use the web interface - I don't keep email on my laptops.

And it's not removal of UID, it's anonymising it.

So to sum up:
Allow cookies = get ads, waste screen space.
Disallow cookies = No Google account access at all.
Use Customize Google = Google account access, no ads, customised search, force Google pages into https, lots of other options to happify my Google experience.

I could whiz up a GreaseMonkey script to do the https, no ads, etc, but why bother when someone has already created a add-on that takes care of it and adds a few more things ?

Why would you be concerned only about Google and no other corporate entity?

I visit corporate websites very rarely and NoScript is still running when I do.

And what's with the Spanish Inquisition, (not that I expected it) ?

You, being paranoid, should just accept that the more layers of obfuscation between yourself and everyone is a Good ThingTM :)

EDIT: Sorry, noticed you said corporate entity.  Oh well, there's still NoScript, AdBlock and OSS has a rather large list of sites to block.
        Plus while I can't do something about all of them, I can at least do something about one of them.

BTW, getting back to Carnivore which links to Magic Lanternw, there's a reason right there not to buy or use USA based anti-virus.
Instead, take advantage of the current Lifetime special on the Russian based Outpost Security Suite.   :greenclp:
5292
Living Room / Re: Beware the Google Threat - Big Fat Ass Brother (BFAB)
« Last post by 4wd on January 01, 2009, 10:18 PM »
**Ehtyar boots f0d man out of the tin-foil-hat-brigade and inducts kartal as an honorary member.

I think Kartal should be President actually, he's way too paranoid to be an Honorary Member :P
WTF? I'm easily equally paranoid, shutup :P
No way - he actively discourages people from posting Google links as an answer to his posts  :D

Any suggestions? No googleing advices please.


If you're going to deal with Google then at least deal with them on your terms and use Customize Google.
I tried it and wasn't too impressed. Which features do you find most valuable?

All the 'Remove Ads' selections, (increases screen space for more info) - except in Products and Books for obvious reasons.
'Anonymize Google UID' - so I don't have to block the cookies - I have a few GMail accounts.
'Add links to other search sites' - just in case I want to check other results.
'Remove Click Tracking' - because I don't want to be.
'Switch to https' - wherever possible.

Plus a few others to preset Google Search, etc.
5293
Living Room / Re: Beware the Google Threat - Big Fat Ass Brother (BFAB)
« Last post by 4wd on January 01, 2009, 09:55 PM »
**Ehtyar boots f0d man out of the tin-foil-hat-brigade and inducts kartal as an honorary member.

I think Kartal should be President actually, he's way too paranoid to be an Honorary Member :P

I also use NoScript and cookie blockers.

If you're going to deal with Google then at least deal with them on your terms and use Customize Google.
5294
Living Room / Re: Portable MP3 player recommendations
« Last post by 4wd on January 01, 2009, 09:45 PM »
Here's the official statement: http://www.zune.net/...s/support/zune30.htm

From the above page:
"Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used)," reads a new statement from the company.

Kind of implies surprise that they expect anyone still to be using that old a model.

Obviously their planned obsolescence has back-fired  :P
5295
Living Room / Re: Vista has gone nuts: [Major] Help please?
« Last post by 4wd on January 01, 2009, 09:20 PM »
System Restore is... (I'm going to get shunned to death for this) - completely disabled. Disk space is EXTREMELY scarce (111GB for Vista, Programs, Games, Programming projects, and backups (before they are moved to a different location)). So that obviously is a lost cause.

And no, I have no place nor method of doing disk imaging (I was going to post asking about that later on here @ DC, my backup server PC needs 2 new HDs </offtopic>).

Normally I would go and just wipe the whole thing and go "Yay, fresh install!", except I used Windows Anytime Upgrade on this machine, and it is an absolute ***** to get working. Format, install, remove crap, install drivers, upgrade, remove crap, install programs, update for 8 hours, install games, replace documents & whatnot, reactivate Vista, call Microsoft, talk to machine... ugh. And Microsoft wonders why piracy for Windows is still common.

No offense but if you need to image at least 111GB for basic system integrity then I'd have to say that your system is a bit disorganised.

eg.

My OS partition is 20GB, it contains the OS and the few programs I use that require installation - of that 20GB, 9GB is in use, (5.25GB of that is the pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys).  I realise that Vista is no where near as space efficient as XP but even so, I don't see a reason for your OS partition to be over 30GB.

All my games, (65GB+), Documents and all other programs are on another partition or HDD - and only Documents and programs are regularly backed up.  Games will be fully re-installed if catastrophic HDD failure happens.

Regarding games, I have very few games that actually require re-installation - I'm mainly a FPS person but most run without requiring re-installation or just re-entering location/key data back into the registry.
If I had to do a full OS install there's only two games that require anything more than a simple reg file:- Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 requires me to re-install the PhysX driver and only UT3 requires a full re-installation, (and I'll get around to working that out one day).

Programs, if I can find a program that can do what I want without requiring installation, (or even better, it's portable), I use that because it means I don't need to re-install it - so it resides on a non-OS partition.

When I image my OS, (I use True Image), I tell it to exclude pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys - they're not required, the system will recreate them on restoration.

So a full OS image that will enable restoration of the system to a full-before-catastrophe state will require me to image approx. 4GB of data and at maximum compression that ends up as 2GB or less, (ie. it will fit on one of my many 2GB flash drives).

I could even do a format and install of the OS and it will have minimal impact, games will still run, all the programs that didn't require installation will still run.  I could boot off of an external USB HDD and most of my system will run, (dependencies aside).

If you're going to go to the trouble of a full OS re-installation I suggest you seriously look at re-defining your HDDs and/or partitions for ease of backup and system recovery.

BTW, if you are after a drive imaging program I'd suggest the free version of Macrium Reflect which is well regarded.  Or, if you'd like a more Ghost like offline imaging solution, try PING.
5296
Living Room / Re: Vista has gone nuts: [Major] Help please?
« Last post by 4wd on January 01, 2009, 05:29 PM »
System Restore is... (I'm going to get shunned to death for this)........

Not from me, I think it's a waste of space  :P
5297
Living Room / Re: Vista has gone nuts: [Major] Help please?
« Last post by 4wd on January 01, 2009, 05:09 PM »
Have you tried Vista Safe Mode and what was the result, ("everything Windows has as far as diagnostics" doesn't mean much) ?

If Safe Mode made no difference then you'll probably have to format and re-install because nothing should be running under Safe Mode except the base OS.

You might also try uninstalling all Vista updates that appeared from just before the problems started, wouldn't be the first time that an OS update has broken something, (I also recommend you don't set it for Auto Update in future).

Did you try System Restore before you tried Repair Installation ?

You could still try a System Restore if you imaged the drive before the Repair Install...............

You did image the HDD before you tried working on it, didn't you, [SOP #2 which is right after SOP #1 (a.k.a The Hammer)] ?

HDD imaging should be the very first step for anyone who starts trying to repair a PC, whether it's their own or especially if it isn't theirs.
5298
If you don't let bad things in you won't have bad things going out.

I didn't mention malware or similar, just that I want to know what's trying to get out.  eg. The strange way HP printer drivers can report printer usage to HP as well as other non-necessary communication.

Call me cynical but security apps in general areplaying a game of smoke and mirrors with users ...

Don't quote me but I've heard that Anti-Virus companies actually create the virii  ;)

By the way Vista's firewall has outgoing protection (FWIW).

Just too bad the whole OS is:

vomit-fake.jpg
5299
Living Room / Re: Happy New Year, DC, and watch out for fire hazards!
« Last post by 4wd on January 01, 2009, 04:03 AM »
Considering I live in one of the most bushfire prone areas in the world, that picture wasn't really necessary   :)

mmmmm.......smoked venison.......

Merry New Year!!!!
5300
Living Room / Re: GPS and Google earth
« Last post by 4wd on December 31, 2008, 06:23 AM »
one last thing... I bought a TyTN II smartphone which has a gps built in. It came bundled with "mapking" maps and they're supposedly specialists in asian maps. I'm not recommending them, just pointing out an alternative mapsource to look at. They're at http://www.mapking.c.../eng/home/index.html or http://www.mapking.c...m/tc/home/index.html (chinese)
no, here's the last thing... have you looked at google maps for mobiles? (http://www.google.co...le/default/maps.html).

There's also The GPSMap Project - bidirectional interaction between your GPS and Google Maps.

cGPSMapper - Create your own maps for Garmin GPS's, (note that you'll need a mapping GPS unit which the Gecko 201 is not).
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