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Is Windows Firewall enough protection?

Dave Farquhar security, Windows August 17, 2017August 6, 2018antivirus, firewall, spam, steve gibson

Windows versions from XP onward include a built in firewall. But is Windows Firewall enough protection?

Yes. And no. Security answers are almost always complicated. But I’ll explain.

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

dfarq.homeip.net

What happened to Digital Equipment Corporation?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing June 20, 2017October 3, 20181980s, 1990s, altavista, amiga, apple, commodore, compaq, computer security, d-link, DEC, Digital Equipment Corporation, Digital Research, firewall, hp, IBM, intel, lexmark, linksys, macintosh, netgear, PIP, spam, syntax, unix, windows nt, x86

Digital Equipment Corporation was perhaps the second most important computer company in history, behind IBM. Its minicomputers challenged IBM, and, indeed, Unix first ran on a DEC PDP-7. DEC’s Alpha CPU was one of the few chips to make Intel nervous for its x86 line. It created the first really good Internet search engine. In a just and perfect world, DEC would still be dominating. Instead, it faded away in the 1990s. What happened to Digital Equipment Corporation, or DEC?

There’s a short answer and a long answer.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Common security attacks and countermeasures

Dave Farquhar security May 3, 2017May 25, 2020Adobe Reader, chrome, denial of service, excel, firewall, password database, passwords, SEO, SQL

As a security professional, I talk to a lot of people about common security attacks and countermeasures. I’m not always certain the people I’m talking to know what these things mean. I am almost certain they aren’t willing to ask.

I know it’s more complicated than it was when I took my Security+ exam a decade ago. The stakes are much higher now. The attacks I had to identify caused inconvenience, but someone conducting a successful smurf attack on your printer won’t get you in the headlines. Today’s attacks will.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

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

dfarq.homeip.net

Linksys vs TP-Link

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking February 21, 2017August 1, 2017belkin, cisco, FCC, firewall, linksys, TL, wrt54g

If you’re looking for the pros and cons of Linksys vs TP-Link, I have experience with both and I’m glad to share it.

Linksys is a well established brand. From 2003 to 2013, they were Cisco’s consumer products division. Since 2013, they’ve been part of Belkin. Prior to Cisco buying them, they were an independent company, founded in 1988. Linksys was the first company to sell 100 million routers.

I don’t blame you if you’ve never heard of TP-Link. They were founded in 1996 but if you were buying their stuff before 2005, you’re well ahead of me.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Asuswrt-Merlin vs DD-WRT

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT December 12, 2016February 18, 2018asus, FCC, firewall, TL

I’ve been using DD-WRT for years, but a friend convinced me to try Asuswrt-Merlin and now I’m a convert. DD-WRT is still my second favorite solution, but here’s why I favor Asuswrt-Merlin vs DD-WRT.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

What is a router DMZ? Is it safe to use?

Dave Farquhar security November 29, 2016March 21, 2021dell, firewall

Most consumer routers have a feature they call a DMZ, or demilitarized zone. You may hear networking types talk about the DMZ at work. So what is a router DMZ, exactly?

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Using the DD-WRT firewall

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, security July 29, 2016November 25, 2018firewall

I get a lot of questions about the DD-WRT firewall. There’s a lot of talk out there that goes deep into theory and advanced firewall usage, but what if you just want to know how to set up your firewall to protect your network and open up a few ports?

Here’s how to set that up.

Note: If you have multiple DD-WRT boxes running as access points like I do, only the one directly plugged into the Internet needs to be configured this way. Disable the SPI firewall on your internal access points.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Do I have enough CISSP work experience?

Dave Farquhar security June 15, 2016October 8, 2016antivirus, CERT, cissp, firewall, passwords, vulnerability

It seems like about once a month an aspiring coworker asks me how to get enough CISSP work experience. I think this shows a misunderstanding of the requirement, so I’m going to try to clear it up.

You don’t have to get your five years of work experience in one big lump. And that’s a good thing, because that would be hard to do. Sometimes you can get a security job without a cert and work your way toward it, but a lot of employers want you to come in with the certification already.

But that’s OK. As long as you’re doing something more than selling computers at retail, odds are you have some security experience that can count toward the requirement.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Recommended DD-WRT settings

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, security December 24, 2015January 26, 2022AES, AP, chrome, DDWRT, firefox, firewall, lowercase letters, malware, nintendo, SSID, vulnerability, WAN, WEP, wi-fi

I’ve been asked a few times now for my recommended DD-WRT settings, or at least my good-enough settings. I think that’s a great idea, so I’ll walk through how I configure a DD-WRT router. Follow these steps and I can almost guarantee you’ll have the most secure network on your block.

For the purposes of this tutorial, I am going to assume you are configuring DD-WRT as your primary router.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

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