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Deep Firefox SQL optimization

Dave Farquhar Software November 1, 2011August 10, 2016firefox, mac os x, ocz, os x, profiles, SQL, sqlite, Windows Explorer, x86

I was looking deeper into Firefox optimization, and I found Adventures in Firefox-places.sqlite. It’s a pretty intense analysis that goes beyond the usual simple, in-browser SQL vacuum that I’ve mentioned in the past. It was written with Mac OS X and Linux in mind, which is fine, but if you run Windows, you might want to do the same thing.

It has two benefits. It speeds up Firefox, and it reduces the amount of disk space your Firefox profile occupies. The two things are related; smaller databases are quicker and easier to navigate than large ones. As for why you should care about the amount of disk space it takes up, well, on an SSD every megabyte counts.

Dave Farquhar

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.

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Don’t use software firewalls: Good advice or bad?

Dave Farquhar security October 10, 2011October 9, 2011amd, extra money, firewall, intel, linksys, malware, netgear, prison, vista, vulnerability, Windows XP, x86

A common piece of good-meaning advice you’ll hear is that you should never use software firewalls. But is that good advice, or bad?

On the surface, it’s good advice. It’s much better to use the firewall built into a cable/DSL router. But the software firewall built into Windows XP, Vista, 7, and (presumably) 8 makes for a good second line of defense, so I don’t recommend disabling it.

I’ll explain further.

Dave Farquhar

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Microsoft: No x86 apps for ARM

Dave Farquhar Hardware September 19, 2011September 18, 20111990s, acer, amd, ancestor, android, apple, DEC, IBM, intel, Intel Atom, IOS, power savings, Token Ring, unix, vista, windows 2000, windows 7, windows 8, windows me, windows nt, x86

So, The Register reports that Windows on ARM will not have compatibility with apps compiled for x86. Intel has been saying this for a while, while Microsoft has been mum. So now we know.

There are arguments both for and against having an x86 emulation layer.
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Dave Farquhar

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How to slipstream IE9 and hotfixes into Windows 7, step by step

Dave Farquhar security, Windows September 12, 2011April 7, 2012command prompt, ISO, thumb drive, windows 7, x86

Normally, after you install any version of Windows, you have a ton of patching to do. And that patching takes as long, or longer, than the installation takes, while leaving the system vulnerable to exploits in the meantime. Slipstreaming your hotfixes into your installation media sidesteps those issues, and reduces fragmentation. You get a faster performing system, you get the system up and running a lot sooner, and you save a lot of unnecessary writes to your SSD.

So I wholeheartedly recommend slipstreaming.

Dave Farquhar

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What to do when you need to clean-install Windows 7 and all you have is a restore disc

Dave Farquhar Windows September 3, 2011ISO, windows 7, x86

Many brand-name PCs, rather than giving you a regular Windows CD, give you a restore disc, which returns the laptop to factory configuration–junkware and all.

Just about the best thing you can do to pep up a brand-name PC’s performance is to do a clean Windows install. So here’s how to download a regular Windows CD so you can do just that, when needed.

And there’s one other situation where you’ll need this. If your PC came with 32-bit Windows and you want to upgrade to 64-bit, or it came with 64-bit and you need to downgrade to 32-bit for compatibility reasons, you can download the other version. The CD key for one will work with the other.

Dave Farquhar

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Run DD-WRT on an old PC

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, Servers and Networking May 24, 2011April 18, 20171990s, pentium ii, x86

DD-WRT is an extremely popular firmware upgrade for wireless routers, and for good reason. It’s extremely powerful, and allows you to use a cheap wireless router to perform the function of costlier hardware.

A commercial wireless router takes up a lot less space and consumes a lot less power than a PC, but sometimes you might find yourself needing a router for a short period of time. You could go spend $50 on a router, but if you have an obsolete PC and a pile of NICs laying around, why not just press that pile of junk into duty to get the job done and save 50 bucks?

That’s what DD-WRT x86 lets you do.
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Dave Farquhar

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Windows, ARM, emulation, misconceptions and misremembered history

Dave Farquhar Hardware May 22, 2011January 23, 20221980s, 1990s, 6502, amiga, android, apple, atari, atari st, Bill Gates, commodore, Digital Research, excel, IBM, intel, macintosh, Microsoft Basic, motorola, netbooks, Once Windows, unix, web os, windows 2000, windows 7, windows 8, windows nt, Windows XP, x86

I keep reading stuff about Windows and ARM and, well, I think people just aren’t remembering history.

I’m not saying that Windows 8 on ARM will save the world, or even change it substantially. It probably won’t, since Microsoft tends not to get things right the first time. But will I automatically write off the project? No. It could prove useful for something other than what it was originally intended. That happens a lot.

But I’m more interested in clearing up the misinformation than in trying to predict the future.
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Dave Farquhar

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Apple-Intel ARM partnership makes sense

Dave Farquhar Hardware May 6, 2011December 5, 20151990s, apple, DEC, intel, ipod, macintosh, marvell, samsung, x86

Rumor is that Apple is shopping around for a new manufacturer for the SoCs that power its mobile devices. And that Intel is interested in the business. I think it makes a ton of sense.
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Dave Farquhar

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What will you do with your Freedom Box?

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking February 17, 2011amd, intel, pogoplug, x86

Columbia Law Professor Eben Moglen has a great idea. He wants every household to have a server on the Internet.

It’s not as outrageous as you might think. The hardware exists today. and I’ve talked about it before. The Pogoplug is based on it. Right now it costs about $100. The trouble is making the software easy enough that anyone can plug it in and use it. But that can happen too, and that’s the part he wants to get done.

I can’t wait.
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Dave Farquhar

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