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Dangers of public wifi — and how to stay safe

Dave Farquhar security March 20, 2017November 28, 2018firewall, passwords, SSID, VPN

When it comes to the dangers of public wifi, many people tend to take one of two extreme approaches. Some don’t give it a thought at all. Some refuse to use it at all. Neither approach is completely practical. So what are the dangers of public wifi, and how can you avoid them?

Here are the dangers and the precautions to take against them.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Best Pfsense hardware

Dave Farquhar Hardware, security March 13, 2017July 11, 2018Broadcom, intel, kingston, micron, pfsense, podcast

The best Pfsense hardware is rather subjective. I think the ideal Pfsense box should deliver solid performance while being affordable.

Dave Farquhar

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How safe is my computer from hackers?

Dave Farquhar security March 11, 2017June 2, 2017apple, computer security, Windows 10, windows 7, windows 8, Windows XP

On Monday, March 13 at approximately 10:30 AM CST, I will be appearing on KFUO Radio’s Faith and Family program to discuss home computer security with host Andy Bates. One of the questions he’s planning to ask: How can I know how secure my home computer is? Or, to put his question another way, how safe is my computer from hackers?

I’m going to use this space to elaborate ahead of time on some of the things we are going to talk about. We could talk for an hour on any of the questions he’s going to ask, and he gave me three questions and 25 minutes. This is my workaround.

Dave Farquhar

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What can I do to improve the security of my digital information?

Dave Farquhar security March 11, 2017August 12, 20181990s, Adobe Reader, apple, computer security, Libre Office, Microsoft Office, office 2007, password strength, passwords, toshiba, USB flash drive, Western Digital

On Monday, March 13 at approximately 10:30 AM CST, I will be appearing on KFUO Radio’s Faith and Family program to discuss home computer security with host Andy Bates. One of the questions he’s planning to ask: “What can I do to improve the security of my digital information?”

This, fortunately, may be the easiest question to answer and the easiest step to implement.

Dave Farquhar

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How easily can someone hack my home computer and steal personal information?

Dave Farquhar security March 11, 2017antivirus, CIA, cissp, command prompt, computer security, leaks

On Monday, March 13 at approximately 10:30 AM CST, I will be appearing on KFUO Radio’s Faith and Family program to discuss home computer security with host Andy Bates. Here’s the scariest question he’s planning to ask: How easily can someone hack my home computer and steal personal information?

Someone asked me that question at work once, except it was about a work computer. I whipped out a copy of a book about Metasploit, flipped to page 137, and started reading. My point was that I could teach this guy how. He didn’t take it well, so I don’t recommend doing that.

My point that I could teach this guy how to do it still stands, though. And I think I could teach Andy how too.

Dave Farquhar

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Convert a list of hostnames to a list of IP addresses

Dave Farquhar security, Windows January 12, 2017December 29, 2017dell, excel, hp, IBM, ips, Roku, vulnerability

I had a client with a huge list of hostnames that they needed to convert to IP addresses so they could scan them. That’s common. I used to have a Windows batch file to convert a list of hostnames to a list of IP addresses, so I dug it out of my archives. This uses ping but isn’t like a ping sweep; they knew the machine names but their tool needed IPs.

I used the file to resolve lists of machines so I could load them into a centralized logging or vulnerability management system. This client had the same need and nobody there had a similar tool. So I shared mine with them. And I present it here so I won’t lose it again, and if you need it, you can use it too.

Dave Farquhar

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Best wireless security mode

Dave Farquhar security January 3, 2017February 9, 2018AES, decent password, NSA, passwords, WEP

What is the best wireless security mode? There are only four choices, and only one worth using, WPA2. But there are some other settings you have to use in order to make WPA2 secure.

Dave Farquhar

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Is DD-WRT safe?

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, security December 30, 2016August 25, 2017Bo Jackson

As a security professional, “is DD-WRT safe?” is a question I hear a lot. While there are options that I think are safer, I’m perfectly fine with admitting I use DD-WRT myself. I know a lot of other people like me do as well.

One thing is almost certain: DD-WRT is safer than what shipped on your router from the factory.

Dave Farquhar

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Asuswrt-Merlin vs Cisco

Dave Farquhar security, Servers and Networking December 16, 2016December 13, 2021asus, best buy, cisco, linksys, vulnerability

I recently saw advice to buy a Cisco RV130W instead of buying an Asus router such as an RT-AC66U and souping it up with Asuswrt-Merlin. I can see both sides of the argument but in the end I favor the Asus solution when I consider Asuswrt-Merlin vs Cisco. Here’s why.

Now, if you’re arguing business vs personal use, there’s no contest. In a business setting, buy the Cisco.

Dave Farquhar

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How to clean viruses off your computer for free

Dave Farquhar security December 14, 2016March 13, 2021antivirus, bitdefender, compaq, computer security, hp, malwarebytes, thumb drive, toshiba, Windows 10, windows 7

Whether you’ve gotten a tech support scam phone call or not, it can be helpful to know how to clean viruses off your computer for free. And yes, I do mean free.

A lot of people get ripped off due to virus scares and it makes me mad. I’m a computer security professional. I advise large companies on computer security for a living. Today I’ll take a few minutes to advise you.

Dave Farquhar

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