About me
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@defensivecomput
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My latest website: DefensiveComputingChecklist.com is a list, both of things to be aware of, and specific defensive steps that we can take in response to assorted threats. Don't miss the VPN page and the page with
Domain Name rules. The site went live in March 2019.
My other website is RouterSecurity.org which I started late in 2015. On March 7, 2022 it passed 8 million page views.
My most important blogs
My recent blogs
A new aspect of Google's spying February 16, 2024
Defending Yourself From Apple's Design Mistakes April 21, 2023
The Best VPN January 27, 2023
Kicking the tires on the pcWRT router Jan. Feb 2022
Windows 10 spies on your use of System Settings October 23, 2021
The Adobe PDF Reader occupies a massive 2 Gigabytes on Windows October 13, 2021
Using ProtonMail encrypted messages with a normal email account October 2, 2021
A firewall rule can help block ransomware August 29, 2021
Hiding on a Wi-Fi network August 4, 2021
Lowering the Shields - the down side to ad/tracker blocking July 31, 2021
More strange network activity from an iPad May 20, 2021 (updated May 22)
Bing prefers miserable Router Security advice May 15, 2021 (updated June 22)
Asus router firmware: How do you prefer your bugs? New or Old? May 11, 2021
Banned by Bing April 26, 2021 (Updated May 16))
First impressions of the Lenovo Thinkpad C13 Chromebook April 13, 2021
The misery of a Linksys router January 2, 2021
Location Tester What does your browser know about your location? November 10, 2020
Two Chromebooks compared - the Lenovo Flex 5 and Google Pixelbook Go November 5, 2020
Another miserable visit to an Apple September 21, 2020
You will be spied on August 27, 2020 (updated Sept 4)
My Android tablet spied on me while we both (me and the tablet) were sleeping June 29, 2020
What is my iPad doing? It made strange outbound connections. June 18, 2020
Windows Update vs. a Router May 28, 2020
Windows 10: Default apps by file type (Microsoft makes miserable software) May 11, 2020
Internet Speed Tests Testing the testers. March 24, 2020 (updated April 1st)
Shame on American Express and evaluating a phishing email March 18, 2020
Submitting Data with HTTP and HTTPS February 27, 2020 | Updated Dec. 30, 2020.
A sample Mixed Mode web page February 27, 2020
Hover a mouse over a link - just don't trust the results February 16, 2020 (updated Sept 30, 2021)
A nifty router firmware trick December 23, 2019
Web browser fingerprinting - testing the testers November 27, 2019
Judging a VPN by its website November 22, 2019
Tracking down a port 53 (DNS) mystery October 25, 2019
Private IP addresses on the Public Internet What the heck? October 20, 2019
The only way to fight Windows 10 spying is in your router October 15, 2019
Faster Backups - Tales From The Trenches September 25, 2019
Hidden Wi-Fi Networks on a Synology Router September 20, 2019
Firefox Send is broken in many ways September 11, 2019
About the Guardian iOS Firewall App August 2, 2019
Strange network things: the Brave Browser and UDP port 137 July 15, 2019 (Updated Aug. 17, 2021)
Twitter has a few problems with email June 20, 2019
Debugging a Chromebook Powerwashing has a side benefit June 14, 2019
Asking the Wrong Question The Elephant in the room. Commentary on the state of IT May 30, 2019
Barbarians at the gate Attacks/Probes of a router May 28, 2019
Ticketmaster fails three times I could not buy tickets on their website April 30, 2019
Why I like my router About the Pepwave Surf SOHO April 26, 2019
Is Word 2016 spying on users? April 18, 2019. Updated Nov 27, 2020
Saved by my router - debugging a network problem. March 4, 2019
Two things about Eero routers having nothing to do with Amazon February 18, 2019. Updated Feb. 26th.
Reporting a UPnP quirk in a Netgear router February 16, 2019
I found a Windows 7 PC still infected with GWX (Get Windows 10) software January 14, 2019
Blocking Windows Update on Windows 10 with C disk freespace January 8, 2019
A case of bad IT at Lord & Taylor Normal, ordinary screw-ups January 4, 2019
Killing Windows Update on Windows 10 - a cheat sheet Sometimes stability trumps patching December 5, 2018
Defending against Windows 10 bug fixes Anyone using Windows 10 should read this. Last updated Dec 18, 2018. First released Oct 20, 2018.
Spying on web browser history. News or not? November 5, 2018.
Using a router to defend against Xiongmai video devices October 10, 2018
Tales from the trenches - Ethernet LEDs October 8, 2018
Windows Update on Windows 7 is not secure September 24, 2018 (and its buggy too)
Making Windows 10 a bit more private by blocking Cortana with firewall rules September 3, 2018
Audio problems with the MLB At Bat app A story from the trenches of technology July 30, 2018
A hidden Firefox feature easily verifies websites July 15, 2018
Debunking the New York Times on Router Security and VPNFilter Lots of errors in an article.
June 17, 2018
VPNFilter router malware - just the bad stuff June 4, 2018
An insecure credit union website in Texas. A trend? May 6, 2018
Insecure bank websites South Central in Kentucky and First National in Pennsylvania May 3, 2018
Routers are constantly being probed - An examination of a firewall log March 19, 2018
Some Routers can force their DNS servers onto all devices to make them safer March 5, 2018
Using a Ubiquiti AmpliFi Mesh Point to extend a non-AmpliFi Wi-Fi network February 27, 2018
Windows 10 Forced Updates Yet another reason to dislike Windows 10. January 30, 2018
Windows 7 users without 3rd party antivirus can get the January patches without manually updating the Registry How? MSE. January 19, 2018
Explaining a CPU flaw with an analogy January 5, 2018
Donating privately to NPR December 9, 2017
Some thoughts on the F-Secure Freedome VPN December 6, 2017 (updated Dec. 12, 2017)
NBC News promotes a web browser extension that can spy on you November 26, 2017
Net Neutrality Explained by Examples November 24, 2017
People do care about Router Security November 22, 2017
Lying to non techies November 9, 2017
A tale of two cable modems Netgear vs. Arris October 25, 2017
The downside of Security Software on Windows October 23, 2017
The Best Security for Wireless Networks October 17, 2017 at eSecurity Planet. A thorough revision of an introductory article that stood the test of time.
ComputerWorld Defensive Computing Blog: For 8 years, I blogged about
Defensive Computing at Computerworld
WifiInfoView is a great Wi-Fi utility for Windows Now with extra data. September 18, 2017
Testing
an AmpliFy mesh point as a Wi-Fi extender Initial setup. August 7, 2017
Tweaking Internet Explorer to only use TLS 1.2 July 24, 2017
If you're going to lose a laptop, better it be a Chromebook July 21, 2017 This was the basis for a follow-up article at Chromebook Live (in French)
Verifying and testing that Firefox is restricted to TLS 1.2 July 16, 2017
Restricting Firefox to TLS version 1.2 makes browsing safer July 13, 2017
A Chromebook can increase the protection of air gapped computers June 28, 2017
Are Android bug fixes worth $510 when buying a phone? June 20, 2017
Flash Player Updated just 3 days after an update June 18, 2017
The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool has been updated for WannaCry May 26, 2017
Windows Defender does not defend Windows 7 against WannaCry May 21, 2017
The Windows firewall is the overlooked defense against WannaCry and Adylkuzz May 19, 2017
Patching Windows XP against WannaCry ransomware May 14, 2017
Third party antivirus programs interfere with Windows Defender critical patch Avast, in particular May 10, 2017
7 mistakes Google made updating my Google Wifi router May 8, 2017
Asus router warnings on privacy and security May 5, 2017
Bookmarking some IP addresses now provides easy DNS debugging later May 1, 2017
How seven mesh routers deal with WPS 5 of 7 don't support it. One does push-button only. April 28, 2017
An introduction to six types of VPN software April 15, 2017
How to test your home network for a Telnet vulnerability April 12, 2017
VPNs on a Chromebook: a scorecard of VPN providers April 6, 2017
Triple your privacy with a Chromebook and two VPNs March 31, 2017. Thinking out of the box
Ubiquiti called out for security flaw March 19, 2017
Defensive Computing for email attachments March 15, 2017
Computers in the news -- how much can we trust what we read? Hint: Not much. March 9, 2017
A hard learned lesson in VPNs and secure websites March 6, 2017
Defensive Computing and the Academy Awards March 2, 2017
How to immediately update Flash in Chrome February 14, 2017
President Bannon Chrome Extension is a security problem, not a joke February 6, 2017
Spyware on a Chromebook Applies to all instances of the Chrome browser January 25, 2017
2016
The Netgear router flaw post mortem -- plenty of blame to go around December 24, 2016
Updates and more on the Netgear router vulnerability December 17, 2016
Easily exploited Netgear router flaw
discovered December 10, 2016
Blame the ISPs rather than
the routers December 3, 2016
Getting started
with the Ubiquiti AmpliFi mesh router November 23, 2016
Bloomberg says Apple is getting out of the router business Not really the topic. November 22, 2016
Another HNAP flaw in D-Link routers And, how to test if your router supports HNAP. November 11, 2016
Windows Update on Windows 7 is fast again Yippee. November 6, 2016
The continuing slowness of Windows Update on Windows 7 November 4, 2016
Why
OpenDNS succeeded where ISP DNS failed when Dyn was unavailable October 25, 2016
Testing for vulnerable IoT devices using
ShieldsUp! port probes. October 22, 2016
Today's Internet DNS outage and
me About DNS. October 21, 2016
Tweaking WSH helps defend Windows PCs from malicious email attachments October 16, 2016
Taking a break from Windows Update October 9, 2016
Kim Komando offers flawed advice on router security October 8, 2016
What the Ubiquiti AmpliFi mesh router is missing
Hint: Remote Administration. October 1, 2016
The Social Security website is now secure Some good news for a change. September 25, 2016
Dealing with
VPNs on a Chromebook running Android apps September 23, 2016
A Defensive Computing term paper on privacy: VPNs, Tor and VPN routers September 18, 2016
Apple websites can leak Apple ID passwords September 14, 2016
Trusting the Social Security Administration?
September 4, 2016
Windows Update update -
You're welcome everyone August 17, 2016
A router security cheat sheet August 16, 2016
ISP outage: my personal disaster recovery August 12, 2016
A bug fix bake-off Comparing how Windows 7/8,
iOS9, OS X Yosemite and Chrome OS install OS bug fixes. August 5, 2016
Backing up to the cloud? Read the fine print About accidentally deleting files. July 30, 2016
TP-LINK
lost control of two domains used to configure routers and Wi-Fi extenders July 4, 2016
This got some traction:
here ,
here ,
audio ,
here ,
here ,
here ,
here ,
and here .
Blocking JavaScript can stop some Windows malware June 29, 2016
Lessons
and observations from the GoToMyPC hacking incident June 24, 2016
Windows 10 forced updates - lots of blame to go around June 13, 2016
Upgrading to Windows 10 and questioning the
New York Times Note: two pages long. June 2, 2016 And, at AskWoody.com, Michael Horowitz takes on the Win10 FUD and hits the New York Times .
A web page consumes a constant 25% of the CPU - after it has loaded May 25, 2016
Dealing with a
problematic Chromebook - Part 2 May 20, 2016
Dealing with a
problematic Chromebook - Part 1 May 17, 2016
Windows Update on Windows 7 is still a problem May 15, 2016
The shame of Windows Update on
Windows 7. May 8, 2016
Patching Windows 7 can be painfully
slow But, there are 4 patches to fix it. April 27, 2016
An
experiment with a secure web browser fails Remotely control a Chromebook? Nah. April 18, 2016
A handy tip about updating Flash in the Chrome browser April 14, 2016
More Adobe
mistakes with Flash April 11, 2016
Screwed by a VPN April 5, 2016
Blocking Windows 10 with Never10 March 31, 2016
Router Security done wrong
February 29, 2016
Poor Wi-Fi security - my visit to the dentist February 3, 2016
Defending a network from the NSA
February 1, 2016
Defending yourself from Amazon.com
January 29, 2016
Sub-optimal computer advice from
the New York Times January 14, 2016
Flash has been updated again. Seriously. Really. No joke. January 2, 2016
2015
When it comes to bugs, the Adobe Flash Players cup runeth over December 28, 2015
To share or not to share - a look at
Guest Wi-Fi networks December 13, 2015
Buying a surge protector remains hard
December 6, 2015
The D-Link DIR860L router - how secure can
it get? Extra long, don't miss page 2 November 20, 2015
How secure can your router get? November 10, 2015
Controlling Chrome plugins:
Lessons learned the hard way October 26, 2015
Trusting Lenovo A follow-up to the prior blog. October 20, 2015
Lenovo collects
usage data on ThinkPad, ThinkCentre and ThinkStation PCs September 22, 2015. This got some traction:
Lenovo issued an official response Statement on Lenovo Statistical Data Collection 3 days later
Steve Gibson picked up on it in his Security Now podcast. I am 44 minutes in
Cory Doctorow went a bit overboard
Matthew Hughes at MakeUseOf said not to buy Lenovo PCs
Lenovo updated their
documentation on the subject at least 3 times since the blog
Wi-Fi at DEF CON -
dealing with the worlds most dangerous network August 23, 2015
Flash click-to-play on Chrome breaks
Ticketmaster August 19, 2015
Stop the Flash Player madness - 5 new bugs a week
August 16, 2015. This was picked up on by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols in Adobe Flash: Kill it now
A look at the security
of Wi-Fi on a plane August 6, 2015
Reviewing the Windows Scheduler with TaskSchedulerView from Nir Sofer August 2, 2015
Windows 10 is for Suckers
July 28, 2015
Linksys Smart WiFi makes
a stupid Guest network June 25, 2015
The
NetUSB router flaw Part 2 - Detection and Mitigation June 20, 2015
What
most people don't know about the NetUSB router flaw - Part 1 June 16, 2015
Some perspective on Flash Player bugs And, 4 defensive strategies May 17, 2015
Insecure routers hacked yet
again May 13, 2015
Security issues at the HP online store May 5, 2015
SSL/TLS/HTTPS: keeping the public
UNinformed A rant. April 13, 2015
Web browsers are
also to blame for Lenovo's Superfish fiasco Tell us the CA vouching for secure sites. Also at cio.com March 7, 2015
Bloatware free
Windows computers Both buying and keeping February 28, 2015
Using a router to block a modem
A follow-up to the previous blog February 23, 2015
Talk to your modem February 5, 2015.
Steve Gibson discussed this on his Security Now podcast
(Question 7)
Down the rabbit hole
with NOD32 antivirus January 19, 2015
Recovering lost bookmarks in the Chrome
browser on Windows 7 January 5, 2015
2014
Fighting with a broken Windows
Update - Part 2 November 24, 2014
Windows Update is broken on XP
November 21, 2014
Wi-Fi security vs. government spies
November 3, 2014
What's new with Java
October 31, 2014
SSL,TLS, POODLE,
email, Fastmail, Popcorn and me October 15, 2014
Fallout from the JPMorgan Chase
breach October 11, 2014
A router firmware update goes bad
(and, what to do about it) October 6, 2014
Scammed by EarthLink
September 23, 2014
In Aug. 2014 Computerworld re-did their website. Initially, the reader comments disappeared, then many of them returned. The re-design has left a lasting effect on page layouts. If the blogs below have images all over the place, that's why.
Financial firms
not offering two factor authentication (so use Chromebook Guest Mode) August 12, 2014
Consumer Reports
drops the ball on airport Wi-Fi August 7, 2014
The security flaws in
Tails Linux are not its only problem July 25, 2014
Protecting email at a hacker conference
July 10, 2014
Comcast XFINITY WiFi: Just say no
June 27, 2014
Five days after this article was published, PCWorld covered the exact same topic. Co-incidence? Xfinity WiFi we're all hotspots, but you don't
have to be July 2, 2014
The Woops of
WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) raises its ugly head again April 12, 2014
Why
Chrome OS should have fewer bugs than other operating systems March 12, 2014
Chromebooks are
a revolution in Easy March 4, 2014
Chromebooks
defend against the Flash Player February 26, 2014
A
Chromebook offers Defensive Computing when traveling February 14, 2014
The
Adobe Reader consumes mass quantities of hard drive space February 6, 2014
How and
why to check port 32764 on your router January 27, 2014
CNET Defensive Computing Blog From July 2007 through November 2008 I wrote a Defensive Computing blog for
CNET. Here is an index of those blog postings.
My old retired websites
JavaTester.org has been retired after 30 million page views. An applet that I wrote reported the version of Java used in your browser. For now, the site still exits.
FlashTester.org started off as just a link to the Adobe tester page that reported on the version of Flash used in your browser. Then, I added a monthly Flash release history, and did so from 2003 through 2019. The site was retired in January 2020 and someone else now owns the domain and uses it as an ad for gambling. Here is what it looked like at the end.
My First Public Blog
I started out at Blogger from January through July 2007.