Author: Dave Farquhar

Fare thee well, Radio Shack. Hello, Battery Shack!

Dave Farquhar Retail , , , , , ,

The new owners of what’s left of Radio Shack want to specialize in batteries. Although this isn’t a guaranteed survival plan, it makes sense to me.

Last week, I went to one of the few remaining Radio Shack locations to get some overpriced diodes and D-sub connectors for a project. My oldest son tagged along. He asked about the store. I tried to describe it, and finally I said, “It’s kind of like Batteries Plus would be if it sold electronic parts too. And phones.”

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The new firewall

Dave Farquhar security , , ,

Monthly patches and upgrades don’t always go well, but getting them down is increasingly critical, especially for applications like Flash, Reader, and the major web browsers. This week I called it “the new firewall.”

Twenty years ago, home users almost never bothered with firewalls. My first employer didn’t bother with them either. That changed in the late 1990s, when worms exploiting weaknesses in Microsoft software devastated the nascent Internet. Firewalls soon became commonplace, along with some unfortunate hyperbole that led some people to believe firewalls make you invisible and invincible, a myth that persists in some circles even today.

For this reason I’m a bit hesitant to declare anything a new firewall, but firewalls are necessary. So is protecting key software.
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Keep cordless phones from interfering with Wi-Fi

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking , , ,
Keep cordless phones from interfering with Wi-Fi

Long ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and knights in shining armor fought them, people had landlines. And they plugged cordless phones into them. Everything was great. Then phones started using the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. Wi-Fi came out using the same frequencies and the two interfered with each other. Now, it seems increasingly difficult to keep cordless phones from interfering with Wi-Fi.

Many people have neatly solved the problem by using cell phones exclusively. But what if that isn’t an option? You’re actually in luck, and you don’t have to dig up a 20-year-old 900 MHz phone and try to find a battery that works in it.

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The problem with open source, especially security

Dave Farquhar security

Security-minded open source software has taken a beating in the last year, as numerous projects have had holes exposed, or, in the case of Truecrypt, got audited heavily. This fanned the flames of the old debate whether open or closed source software was more secure.

This past week I heard a plausible theory about the state of open source security: It’s all about the money.

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Use asphalt roofing shingles for cheap and easy roads and ballast

Dave Farquhar Toy trains

I saw a great idea in a train layout photo last week–you can make ballast for your track out of asphalt shingles.

My first thought was that you can get asphalt shingles for free when someone in your neighborhood is getting a new roof. Just ask for a few of the old shingles. Hauling the old shingles away costs money, so they’re likely to oblige. Or, if you’re impatient, some stores will sell you damaged shingles cheaply if you come in when business is slow and you ask. For best results, be friendly, and buy more than just the damaged shingles.

My second thought is that you can use gray shingles for ballast, and if you can score a second slightly different color from a different house, you can use those to make roads.

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Extra ties for Marx, Lionel, and/or American Flyer train track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Extra ties for Marx, Lionel, and/or American Flyer train track

If there’s one question I see over and over again, it’s what to use to fill in the gaps between the three ties that American Flyer, Lionel, and Marx put under their track. I don’t recall anyone else ever suggesting what I do: I salvage the ties off discarded, rusty, or otherwise damaged and unusable track to get extra ties for my train track.

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How to find inexpensive routers to run DD-WRT

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, Servers and Networking , , , , , ,
How to find inexpensive routers to run DD-WRT

I’ve been using and recommending DD-WRT for years, but it’s getting harder to find inexpensive routers to run DD-WRT. Many inexpensive routers now use non-Broadcom chipsets that DD-WRT and other third-party firmware don’t support well, or at all.

But there’s still a way to get inexpensive, compatible routers that isn’t likely to change any time soon.

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How to make it harder for a scammer to file your taxes for you

Dave Farquhar security , , , ,

Tax fraud is one of big payoffs from data breaches. But there’s a simple thing you can do to make it harder for a scammer to file your taxes if your employer or health insurance provider gets breached and your social security number is one of the ones that gets stolen.

Change your social networking profile.

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Data breaches don’t cost anything–so here’s why they matter

Dave Farquhar security , , , , ,

What seems like a million years ago, when Sony Pictures got breached, some pundits were predicting that was the end of the company. I always thought that was hyperbole, but I have to admit I never went to the extreme of saying breaches are nearly harmless, which seems to be the current popular thinking.

Indeed, a financial analyst went on the Down the Security Rabbit Hole podcast and said breaches are an investment opportunity. Just buy the dip.

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How to winterize a lawn mower

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , ,

It’s very easy to winterize a lawn mower and I definitely recommend doing it–nothing gums up a mower like sitting in a garage for five months with a full gas tank. Taking fifteen minutes out of your day sometime in November can save you lots of heartache, and maybe 50 bucks, come spring.

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