The advantage of a good antenna

Posted on 09/02/12 by Noven

We all get frustrated at the lack of poor mobile coverage once we get away from the major centres – especially when we rely on it for our internet. Like anything relying on wireless signals, its all about signal strength – and the best way to increase signal strength is with a good quality antenna.

We recently did some testing with an 18 DBi mobile antenna mounted on the car, hooked into a little router to create a wireless hotspot (powered off the car charger). In Port Augusta, as expected, signal was great. All the way to Quorn we had constant strong signal – even through Pichi Richi – and internet was great (for everyone except the driver of course!)  Between Quorn and Hawker there is normally a massive dead spot where you can’t even get an SMS through – we fluctuated a little but could always keep flicking through articles on the Register and get Facebook updates. Then came the real test – Parachilna. We dropped down as low as -100dBm, but could still get email through. Not far up the road we got in range of the Mount Scott tower that services Leigh Creek and could check the bank for fuel and food funds. It only got better from there into Leigh Creek.

So by simply adding an antenna and router for ~$800, we now have mobile internet all the way up the Flinders Ranges. Next test will be out to Marree – stay tuned!

Posted in 3G, Business, Regional | Leave a comment

3G Usage alerts

Posted on 07/01/12 by Noven

We all love our shiny new smartphones / ipads and the convenience of working on the go with 3G connections. Many businesses are providing them to staff. However have you looked at the costs of excess data usage? The costs of overrunning your plan can be very significant, we’ve seen people stung with excess usage charges of over $1200 for a single month! And the person responsible wasn’t doing anything untoward, simply using pretty much everything at their disposal, including applying updates.

While the best solution is to pick the right plan, its not always possible to predict usage, and of course things change with new software and systems coming online.

So to ensure you do not get stung it is very important to set up your usage alerts so you will be informed when bandwidth usage reaches trigger points, allowing you to take steps early to avoid the punitive charges mobile operators love so much. Call your mobile provider for specific details on how to do this.

Posted in Business | Leave a comment

Mikrotik SSH Bruteforce Prevention Script

Posted on 16/12/11 by Noven

Its really annoying to have some stupid script kiddy fill your logs with failed ssh login attempts, and there is always a risk they eventually will get lucky.
I found this script in the forums some time ago and always use it to lock out bruteforcers. Its also a really good template for other dynamically created blacklists.

/ip firewall filter
add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=22 src-address-list=ssh_blacklist action=drop \
comment=”drop ssh brute forcers” disabled=no
add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=22 connection-state=new \
src-address-list=ssh_stage3 action=add-src-to-address-list address-list=ssh_blacklist \
address-list-timeout=10d comment=”" disabled=no
add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=22 connection-state=new \
src-address-list=ssh_stage2 action=add-src-to-address-list address-list=ssh_stage3 \
address-list-timeout=1m comment=”" disabled=no
add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=22 connection-state=new src-address-list=ssh_stage1 \
action=add-src-to-address-list address-list=ssh_stage2 address-list-timeout=1m comment=”" disabled=no
add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=22 connection-state=new action=add-src-to-address-list \
address-list=ssh_stage1 address-list-timeout=1m comment=”" disabled=no

Posted in Mikrotik | 1 Comment

Redoing Websites

Posted on 11/11/11 by Medeis

It’s always a journey, rebuilding your website. Analysing the purpose, regenerating content, integrating new applications and updating the design. It’s a big mission. But maybe it’s the kick in the pants I need to fire up the old blog again. Things are interesting enough right now to be worth noting.

First thing of interest is my shiny new website. Yay! It involves Joomla, WordPress, Kayako and WHMCS all tied  together. And a fresh new look. And most importantly, it makes sense to the average person.

I think. I hpoe so. Let me know your thoughts, you early visitors.

Posted in Websites | Leave a comment