Alarming Trend: Private Police Forces

Not to imply that all applications of government police powers are righteous, but Schneier on Security reports on increasing numbers of private police forces operating in public spaces without many of the checks and balances in place with government police forces.

Router-Firewall Troubles

I have what I consider to be a fairly typical high-end consumer-level local network. Aside from a NAT router, the network contains two gigabit switches, two 10/100 switches, several Apple Airport Express units, and a few other odds and ends. I don't need wireless much, since the premises are wired, but it is convenient for laptops (less docking effort), guests, and a few other occasional uses.

Ars Technica has a good review of the new Apple Airport Extreme (draft) 802.11n wireless router (though I would have liked more detail on access control features). It's a nice form-factor, fully-featured, and of course has Apple's ease of use. Though this is a tempting option, I have yet to find a consumer-level router that really meets all of my needs well. For several years, I used an Asante FR3004C Cable/DSL Router, which was very stable and had some nice, but limited, access control features. I briefly tried a Linksys BEFSX41, but returned it almost immediately because it was very unstable and it was very quirky and limited in how it implemented some features that I wanted.

I recently switched to a D-Link DGL-4300 wireless "108G" gaming router. Though I don't really need many of the gaming aspects of it, I liked the gigabit switch (makes it easier to interconnect my gigabit-capable computers), and it does have some interesting advertised features. The wireless access is nice, but not strictly necessary, though it does give some added range to my wireless access. The D-Link DGL-4300 has some nice access control features, but like the Asante FR3004C, they are limited. My biggest complaint with the DGL-4300 is its instability. I've had to work around (access control) and even not use certain advertised features because they are so buggy or just plain don't work, and too frequently I have to reboot it because it gets into a mode where it doesn't operate properly. D-Link customer service is pretty much non-existent, an extremely frustrating experience. And unfortunately the documentation, like that of the Linksys, doesn't describe the features in enough detail to make an informed decision about whether the router will meet needs. There's not much choice but to buy it and experiment. Reviews aren't much help either, the reviewers are too enamored of the "cool" Flash banner at the top of the administration window (which of course I block in Firefox anyway with the Flashblock extension) to delve into the features.

Since I still have a mix of 802.11b and 802.11g devices, I'm not even sure yet how I'd configure my network if I were to find a suitable (draft) 802.11n router. 802.11b (11Mbps max) is pretty painful these days for all but simple surfing and email. 802.11g (54Mbps max) is fine for many uses, but at typically less than half the speed of old-fashioned 10/100 Ethernet, it's still slow for large transfers. Even 802.11n is still typically much slower than wired gigabit, but as with many modern technologies, the public generally allows convenience to trump function. Needless to say, I'm always in the market for a new router. I'm not really holding my breath. I'd like to buy an appliance that just works, but maybe I'll have to bite the bullet and either get an open model that I can reprogram with a custom feature set, or set up a dedicated server to operate as a NAT router.

Geolocation

Ever wonder how some ad servers seem to know where you are located? Here's a simple utility [via geoiptool.com] to show where a user's IP address appears to be originating:



There are of course much more comprehensive (typically for-fee) services tracking locations of IP addresses (based on reverse lookups, information sharing between web sites through 3rd-party services, etc.), so don't count on a dynamic IP address to fully anonymize your location.

Related Posts:
Basic Browser Privacy

[Updated 9 Sep 2007. The previously used utility went offline]

Privacy Apparel

Masked Hoodies [via boingboing] (or, for most of the privacy without drawing too much attention to yourself, try a ball cap and sunglasses).

Computing Hoods (or try a privacy filter on your screen and put your back to the wall).

Anti-thermal paint for those really serious about not being seen [via boingboing]

An RFID-blocking wallet with a built-in Faraday cage. Stainless steel mesh wallets are also widely available, but does anyone know if stainless steel makes a good shield? It's more resistive than copper, but is it good enough for RFID?

UPDATE (March 16): How about color-coded threat level advisory system T-shirts? [via 27B Stroke 6].

UPDATE (April 11): More Faraday-caged wallets, including one for passports.

UPDATE (April 27): Flickrblockrs.

UPDATE (25 Apr 08): The Body-laptop interface is knitted from Thneed which nobody, Nobody, NOBODY needs [via schneier]

UPDATE (9 Nov 09): The original of the body-laptop interface seems to be at Sternlab by Becky Stern. Another version is here.

Worried about someone sniffing your WPA2-protected 802.11 network? Try wi-fi blocking paint.

Taser-proof clothing - "garments that incorporate a layer of conductive foil, which dissipates this paralysing charge"

More masked hoodies: The Ninja Hoodie.

Related Posts:

- Surveillance for the whole family
- Surveillance Light

Really Scary RFID Powder

Hitachi is developing a barely-visible RFID chip, 0.05 mm square, with a capacity of 128 bits. While I'm sure there are plenty of constructive uses, the potential for abuse is frightening. Once again, technology has outpaced our laws and cultural norms. More reason to create a market for RFID chips that consumers can use as chaff to overload and confuse RFID readers. [via boingboing]

UPDATE (Feb 16): solove has weighed-in on the matter.

UPDATE (Feb 23): Wired News carrries an AP report.

UPDATE (Mar 3): Schneier highlights BBC News and Yahoo! News [AP] articles.

Gadget Freaks

When I first "discovered" RSS, I included in my subscriptions several gadget site feeds. But it wasn't too long before I realized that they were mostly marketing drivel in the guise of editorial material. I tend to be a bit of a Luddite gadget freak (if that's possible), insisting that my gadgets improve my life in some way. For example, even though I've used iTunes from the beginning, I only recently found an iPod (2G Shuffle) that met my needs. Now, here comes some scathing commentary on the gadget site genre from a former Gizmodo editor. [via boingboing]

TSA Web Site Cookies

Ryan Singel (co-author of Wired blog 27B Stroke 6, and one of my favorite freedom fighters) made my day yesterday. I apparently inspired him to research and post his "Are TSA's Tracking Cookies Legal?" article after commenting (about cookie behavior of the TSA's web site) on his "Homeland Security Website Hacked by Phishers? 15 Signs Say Yes" article.

So I suppose that if it wasn't already, my file is now flagged. We'll see if I get "special" treatment next time I travel. While I'm being cavity searched, I can take some comfort in knowing that my IDs are safely stored in an RFID-blocking wallet.

UPDATE (Feb 16): "TSA Removes Online Traveler Redress System" Also, a here's a direct link to Brian Krebs' washingtonpost.com coverage.

UPDATE (Feb 20): Schneier and Cory take notice.

UPDATE (2008 Jan 09): "Uh-oh. house.gov at IP address 143.231.249.xxx (Information Systems, U.S. House of Representatives) just hit this post today. Nice to know that someone is watching?

Power Management

Useful power management tools for mobile workers and other gadget freaks:

1. Power Strip Liberatorsfor a quick extra outlet, or when your outlet strip doesn't give you enough room for a brick.

2. A USB-powered charger for rechargeable batteries.

3. A battery-powered USB power source for USB-powered devices.

Federal DNA Database

The New York Times reported yesterday on a chilling new expansion of DNA collection. It's bad enough that fingerprints aren't destroyed when an individual is not found guilty. DNA has vastly greater potential for abuses, by government, and by private parties (through subcontracting, leakage, fraud, hacking, etc.). Should we really be creating this kind of DNA database, with no means to appeal or have samples and records removed? [via solove]