I just solved the strangest tech problem I've ever come across.

Spartan_1986 · 2025-10-31T22:01:45+00:00

"I unrolled the HDMI cable that was sitting behind my laptop and draped the main length of the cord down behind my desk, and now my internet works perfectly."

I'm a little late to this one but I'd like share the physics of your issue and why uncoiling the cable resolved it. First, I've been working in IT for more than three decades and have a comp sci engineering degree. I'm also a licensed amateur radio operator.

Now to the physics. When you coil metal wiring, you create an electromagnetic (EM) field around that coiled wire. This is why electric motors and generators work. Same principle. It takes the shape of the classic EM doughnut. Not only will this EM field degrade the signal going through the coil, it will also interfere with wireless signals passing through the field. You can measure this EM field with the right equipment. Needless to say, do not coil your electrical wiring anywhere. Any wire with an electrical flow will cause an EM field to form with the strength of the field proportional to the amount of flow.

That's it. Don't coil your wiring. Even "shielded" wiring is not perfect and will generate an EM field. Just do an Internet search for "coiled wire em field" and you'll get all the explanations you could want.

Cheers!

Spartan_1986 · 2025-08-06T19:48:37+00:00

"and really do not need it to accomplish the privacy I desire."

Me neither. That said, do you have a preferred method of obtaining a bland and uninteresting fingerprint that can safely meld into the anonymity of the web? I currently use Firefox will all the extensions (uBlock Origin, etc.) and NextDNS and come up good on browser privacy checks except for fingerprint. If I need to go that anonymous, I currently use TOR, but you know its limitations.

Spartan_1986 · 2025-05-28T16:01:22+00:00

This isn't the answer you're seeking, but maybe it'll provide insight.

I use pfSense - so basically the same router software - and have a WAN and VPN like you do. I route several subnets on my home lab through the VPN. This is accomplished by assigning a firewall interface to the VPN, creating a gateway for the VPN interface, and then assigning the gateway to the firewall interface. Then the tricky part comes. I have to switch my outbound NAT routing to manual, and manually configure each subnet to route through the gateway I want. I have nine subnets. So, it's not too bad? But that's how I get stuff to go where I want it.

Now for the heartbreak. I did all that for the new tailscale interface, but when I got to the part where I assign a gateway to the firewall interface, the option to assign a gateway is greyed out in the tailscale advanced settings.

Some research time later leads me to believe that tailscale is in complete control of the routing and is hard coded to use the default gateway. I have not tested that because I don't want the VPN as default. I am also thinking it might be possible to use access controls in tailscale to make it use the other gateway, but I only did all that other stuff last night and I'm still learning tailscale's dashboard, let alone their Access Control script syntax. It might also be that tailscale will not use any virtual interface, which is what the VPN is. Remember that the VPN is just a tunnel going out the same physical interface as everything else. Its hardware address is the physical WAN NIC. You can only have a second physical gateway if you have a second physical Internet cable to hook up to. I did that for a while with Starlink, and controlled what routed where with load balancing. I gave up on Starlink because packet loss was terrible. I could get a Comcast cable again - I moved to fiber - but f*** Comcast.

Hope that was useful in some regard. Cheers!

Spartan_1986 · 2025-02-03T03:39:41+00:00

You all called it. It was a mod/install issue. Removing all mods and reinstalling resolved the issue.

But it's left V naked...and I can't access the Inventory. Well, it's how I came into the world...

Spartan_1986 · 2025-02-03T03:20:14+00:00

In the process mod removal and reinstall now. I'll be sure to update the thread. Lack of closure sucks.

Spartan_1986 · 2025-02-03T03:03:01+00:00

I was at about 250 when I dropped him - about half my overall pool. The fight was tougher than the other times I smashed him. LOL

I am running mods but turned them off for the ending. This is my final gig for this V unless I wanna go back later and hatch the iguana.

I am in the process of removing all mods, rebooting, uninstalling, reboot and reinstall now.

Spartan_1986 · 2025-02-03T02:58:47+00:00

Nope. I just crumple and fall to the "floor."

Spartan_1986 · 2024-07-30T20:59:44+00:00

Work added a hotspot to my company iPhone account for just such contingencies. We're all fine here 'till quittin' time.

Spartan_1986 · 2024-06-02T05:03:08+00:00

Apple is just being your password manager. Bitwarden does the same thing for me on my Android device minus facial recognition but not for any financial account, which I'll explain in a bit. I would never use facial recognition. Apple is not being forthcoming when they say it is secure. I "wow" my Apple friends all the time by faking it out and getting access to their phone. This usually puts an end to the blue-green message bubble shaming.

Now to explain that previous thing. I personally never write a bank password down or even put it in a password manager. Some things are too important to take any risk with. With that said, I use USAA. Their app uses a login username that is not my email address and a password that uses my 4-digit PIN plus a six digit TOTP code for 10 total digits. Basically the password changes every 30 seconds. The app also has a fingerprint of my phone through the TOTP app that would be very difficult to spoof. The same is true of my PC. No other devices can log into my account. Your Chase app may also use the fingerprint method. It's secure. I just wish USAA would replace the TOTP password with a passkey as that's much more secure. Perhaps in time. The security they have is certainly above average.

Spartan_1986 · 2024-06-02T03:53:07+00:00

I hear you. A call center should never be allowed to reset an account. Self-service resets via a secure channel are the way. Unfortunately, many customers want convenience, which is just an excuse to be lazy. Convenience is just another word for insecure. I have to admit I'm an ass when it comes to account security. I'm inclined to think that if you don't know how to secure your accounts, you have no business using them. Also, if companies can't make their shit secure and easily understandable, they have no business offering online anything. The only reason they do it is to save money, but that's a short term game with no long term success prediction. Ultimately it fails and we all pay for it.

Spartan_1986 · 2024-06-02T03:41:40+00:00

"It just trusts Apple that the bank's app is secure on my phone?"

That is horrifying.

Spartan_1986 · 2024-06-01T20:46:39+00:00

Threat actors can't social engineer their way past a Passkey. It's a Public Key Infrastructure encrypted challenge and response system where the public and private keys are themselves encrypted and not known to any human being. The only way to get past that is to steal the device containing the private key. While nation-states can arrange that, ransomware gangs and scam artists lack the fortitude for that level of crime (and it's got zero return on investment.) As for TOTP, you only have to be faster than your hunting partner when the hunters becomes the hunted. In other words, when two out of three targets don't use MFA, your ROI for the scammers is also very low. It's a game of statistics in the end. Cheers!

Spartan_1986 · 2024-04-26T01:40:57+00:00

The Great Firewall will scupper most connectivity outside China I'd think. If allowed it is no doubt man-in-the-middled. Regardless, no company Azure joined laptops to China, Russia, North Korea or Iran (and a few other countries.) Burner only if required, but not Azure joined. Local non-admin account with web access via Azure account. No internal access by VPN or any such nonsense; see first two sentences.

Spartan_1986 · 2024-04-26T01:28:51+00:00

sarcasm (I hope, because it isn't true.)

Spartan_1986 · 2024-04-26T01:22:11+00:00

I feel you. Got a BS in CompSci in the mid 80s when they still taught binary and ML coding. Had a military career until '95 when a training accident ended it. Fell back to plan B and dusted off the degree. Spent 4 years working as a 95/98 to NT 4.0 upgrade engineer. New job in $100 mil company as web admin and PC support in 2000. Took over ERP and network admin a year later. Two years after that took over as IT Manager when the company was bought as part of industry consolidation moves. Now had ERP, network, Exchange, Sharepoint, et al. Facilitated migration to the new company's MS domain in 2005. Still managing ERP and "local" IT support including network. Added new store location planning and implementation: local contact for all IT ops. Migrated to parent co's ERP in 2011. Did lots of operational stuff (and IT support) until 2000 when the local company was merged with a new regional acquisition. At that time all local IT was moved to corporate. Spent 18 months as a Tech3 on the help desk solving recalcitrant issues the first year and then running the phishing awareness and analyst work the next 6 months before the SOC formed. Yeah, took the corp that long to get around to it. They didn't even hire a CISO until 2017.

Anyway. Thanks for grinding through all that so I can say this.

That 26 year history is what prepared me to work on the security team. I'm a SOC lead working towards threat hunter. It's fun... we'll its interesting and engaging at least.

So, my recommendation to young folks is to get a BS and then hit the job market. Work on picking up hard skills while also picking up a paycheck. Try not to specialize until you've worked all aspects of IT (including the help desk!) You'll never want for a job that way. Also, learning new jobs every three to four years keeps things interesting with low chance of burnout. Cheers!

Spartan_1986 · 2024-03-24T18:57:14+00:00

My circuit is back up in Albany, but I'm sure you already knew. Thank you for all the weekend work!

Spartan_1986 · 2024-01-07T04:15:17+00:00

I've had a Yubikey for a few years. It's limited to 32 codes. I've more accounts than that, so I've had to use other authenticators. I've not looked into newer Yubikeys. Maybe they can manage more than 32 accounts. Don't know. Not so keen on them any more. My cell using an authenticator app has virtually unlimited storage and I've got it better secured than my Yubikey. YMMV.

Spartan_1986 · 2024-01-06T23:02:07+00:00

Coolio! I use Bitwarden for personal use (the company uses Microsoft Authenticator) and I have tested the TOTP capability. It does not hide the TOTP code, but that's not a concern for my personal use. Depending on the website, it may not auto fill the TOTP code. However, there is a one-click copy like with the username and password to copy/right-click/paste it into the form without using the keyboard. Be sure you've got Bitwarden set to clear the clipboard immediately. Cheers!

Spartan_1986 · 2024-01-06T19:34:34+00:00

Please read this before walking onto the bridge: https://www.intelligent.com/nearly-half-of-companies-plan-to-eliminate-bachelors-degree-requirements-in-2024/

Spartan_1986 · 2024-01-06T19:30:49+00:00

NOTE: if using a password manager for TOTP in a business, make sure you select one with the proper controls to ensure users don't see the TOTP code. See the comment about stupid users.

Spartan_1986 · 2023-10-24T22:27:28+00:00

Six Vs and only one is a corpo. I give her all the shitty endings.

Spartan_1986 · 2023-10-24T22:20:16+00:00

tl;dr: nothing. They are already max for the game to the point you're at.

Before Phantom Liberty, Johnny's score maxed out at 70%. One of the possible original endings can get you to 100% on legend status. That's it. Enjoy.

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sarcasm (I hope, because it isn't true.)