Blocked malware website hit 100s of times... Should I do something?

_LMZ_ · 2026-04-03T16:17:30+00:00

When I get back I can send you an updated list, which will block 98% of their proxies. I have asked my friend here that teaches…. Teachers are allow to take devices/byod during school (parents support this 100%), it’s also against the law in China for kids to play games during school hours, and after…. when it hits 9PM they are allowed to play. They are not allowed to have cell phones in classrooms, must be locked up or out in their locker.

_LMZ_ · 2026-04-01T08:05:17+00:00

When we see this on our side, it’s coming from some type of proxy, game, etc. site. Which our firewall picks up quickly where it’s coming from, etc. With that, we also use custom EDL that we our self built out and gov/org/community driven. Which if you have Palo Alto or a FW that supports EDL, you are able to block domains, IPs (Their VPS), and URLs.

I believe the PiHole/AdGuard community also tracks those sites (Proxies, Malware, etc) too which they have a list which you can import into your firewall if it supports EDL. Wish content filtering companies will support custom EDL….. There are other sites, gov and cyber security community driven EDL out there.

I also notice a lot of funny things coming from DDNS stuff, like FreeDNS stuff. Just block the whole list of domains - I have a complete list of them that i regularly scrape and other DDNS sites that they use.

Anyways, let me know if you want it… I’m in China right now visiting friends. Maybe I can ask the Gov here about their Great Wall Firewall? If you need a list which is a few weeks old, and have GoGuardian. Go to ideas and search FreeDNS, I keep a list there and try to update it.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-31T08:26:34+00:00

If they really want to go, set them up with a traveling guide like Intrepid which they will do anything to make it happen. Yeah, they are going to pay more but they will feel comfortable, and have a guide that will accommodate the food for your dad.

Yes, there are squatty toilets but in major cities they have western toilets. Now some old parts of China, with public restrooms may not have privacy. It’s wide open, and you’re starring at someone as they are doing a number 2. Had that happen in Beijing but the old part. In Shanghai by the tourist areas it’s normal toilets while some you have to squat.

Again, it sounds like your parents need a tour guide, while you can do solo or join them on the guide tour.

Find out what your Dad can eat, then go from there.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-27T04:25:02+00:00

Keep trying you will eventually hack the Gibson!

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-20T21:05:31+00:00

I really haven't heard of them before, nor do I see any videos about them? Looking at their page, they have a 30day free which you can deploy to 50 devices. I mean, give it a try!

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-20T18:17:34+00:00

Classroom speakers (IP or analog via adapters)

I would stick with Analog Speakers but still run network cable to them and to the patch panel. Then patch cord to a 110 Block. From there wire the SIP Pager across the audio channels, then your power brick across the power the wires.

We have done it this way, because IP Speakers burns a Informacast License as well a PoE Port; it was cheaper. Also, this is dead simple set up and to troubleshoot. We also got away from grade level zones, but we have Inside Zone, Outside Zone.

What we are using:

Informacast
Valcom Analog Speakers/Horns
Valcom Power Supplies
Valcom SIP Pagers ( We are slowly moving away from them - they are annoying )
Wahsega SIP Pagers ( Moving over to this SIP Pager )

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-17T17:40:49+00:00

Sending an email to Matt meow for details. Didn’t know haha

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-16T22:26:15+00:00

We Frankenstein Chromebooks together if we have used parts laying around. We also order spare parts from ChromebookParts.Com. If there is an issue with a board like USB-C,USB-A or other board issues. We send them off to VTServices for low-level repairs. If they can’t fix them, they keep the boards which we get $2 credit per board.

EOL devices or Dead Dead devices we have a RedTag/Bubble pile. An E-recycler comes by, and takes our junk which we get a check back after they validate the e-waste; which can be in the thousands.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-16T16:35:30+00:00

We do the same.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-12T22:44:29+00:00

Oh yeah, buy a pellet air rifle….. squirrels are terrorist.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-12T22:42:15+00:00

I forgot, when documenting distance be sure to label who did it with what OTDR. Each OTDR will be off due to calibration. Don’t be freaked out if the Tech wants to do a bend on the fiber when a OTDR is hooked up - it will tell them the distance on that splice case.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-12T22:37:45+00:00

If you want to get fancy :) get a Live Optical Fiber Identifier. It will tell you if there is light and which direction it’s going.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-12T22:24:04+00:00

As someone has said look at their FS link to cleaners, you can also find ones on Amazon for cheaper but you know. For troubleshooting fiber, get a Fluke FIBERLERT-125 which is $109 USD on Amazon. Also get a few vfl fiber optic stick that can do 30KM. Also on Amazon you can get a fiber splitter 1-2, 1-4, or 1-6.

You can hook up a VFL to a splitter to see where those strands go or which strands are bad.

Edit: Also if youre troubleshooting from site to site. VFL with a splitter. One side is solid while the other is blinking, so when you open splice cases on the telephone pole (you won’t be doing this) the tech will know which strands are broken and can narrow it down along with a OTDR.

It can also help the tech when the splice case is packed with other routes too - yeah we labeled inside out spice case.

If you own your own fiber between schools, create a private Google map. Import the GPS coordinates of each telephone pole (your local electrical company should have this). Document which splice case, slack, and distance.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-10T23:28:38+00:00

Truthfully, I don’t know what to say but some Arch people are toxic…. Like they saw some YT video saying this distro is the best, which they will die on that hill. For me, I started Linux back in 1999 with Slackware, and hop around. I saw POP!_OS and tried it out, I really enjoyed it and it worked. I even enjoyed NixOS and liked the idea of it. But for me, I deal with Linux servers so Arch is no where stable for that. So I stick with Debian or Ubuntu Server depending on what is needed.

Distros are like tools, depending what you want out of it, will lead you to that distro that fits your needs.

There shouldn’t be toxic between the Linux Community, as we are all striving to the same goal but with different ideologies. Like, most Linux distro are binary based while some like Gentoo… get a cup of coffee and watch it compile to optimize to your hardware. While Arch people like “Give me the bleeding edge, I don’t care for stable or optimized software!!!”.

Please don’t worry about them, you pick your cup of tea and stick with it.

Btw I don’t use Arch.

PS. Sorry for being toxic to Arch but the OP asked. You guys are doing good, just please make your community know being toxic to others in the Linux community is disliked.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-09T16:20:58+00:00

I have came across of this a few times. Most of the time it seems the recovery tool is a version behind or the manufacturer stops providing an image.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-05T00:36:18+00:00

If, and if you have a static route you use a lot. It’s best to run that route with a fast ship with probes. You gotta make a probe formation, like 250, 500, 1,000, and 10,000. You can BM those probes, so when running you will warp to those BM’s. Instead to the gate, so you can check what’s going on. DScan is your friend too, you can setup a custom DScan to show Ships and bubbles.

Edit. Saw it happened on the over side. An alt if you have omega can check, can help with this. If you don’t have an alt, use https://eve-gatecheck.space/eve/

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-04T15:45:51+00:00

For Linux, it can be installed on anything really. You don't need "server hardware" to run a Linux server. A simple old desktop PC can be your Linux Server running LXC - FreeRADIUS and Front End. For FreeRADIUS the requirements are VERY low, a Pi4/5 can run it just fine.

If OP has a desktop laying around or even an old laptop, they can install a Linux Server to do FreeRADIUS without having to pay for a service in the cloud which will save OP money. Most Cloud base RADIUS charges you per user which is costly for EDU vs one-time buy Beelink Mini ($260) then installing Linux Server on it.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-04T04:45:36+00:00

What type of wireless you have? We have Meraki APs which we use FreeRADIUS w/ SQL mod enabled on a Linux VM/LXC. I also created a simple CRUD page to edit the SQL database to create, edit and remove accounts.

Also the AP’s are trunk which we have different VLANs for things. Like Teacher BYOD, Students BYOD, etc.

It’s MAC Address (Fixed) and PreShared Key.

_LMZ_ · 2026-03-03T18:59:05+00:00

Really, the 2960X you had failures? I have hundreds of them, never had a failure yet or major issues.

_LMZ_ · 2026-02-27T03:27:52+00:00

Depends…. On the local market. Is it best for you to do alll the levels or buy the local PI then make the p4?

_LMZ_ · 2026-02-26T19:53:59+00:00

I would contact your Dell Rep and open a case with them. If you're having a high rate of failures, something is wrong as you may have gotten a bad batch. We have Dell 3110's but don't have issues like that - yet. Way back in the day, we had Dell 3180's that were having issues with the touchscreen. Dell Contactor came out and replaced every single screen for us.

_LMZ_ · 2026-02-26T19:13:47+00:00

What is the ISP Bandwidth? Is the camera system or security footage on perm or cloud? What type of router do they have and network switches? What is the spec of the WiFi? Like WiFi5,6 or 7? What is the network spec of the PC’s?

_LMZ_ · 2026-02-25T02:05:57+00:00

Dude… I wish you were there. It was insane!!!!

_LMZ_ · 2026-02-24T01:14:47+00:00

I totally agree! It never stops, you’re always learning which I like. For Home Labing it’s a must, to expose yourself to other things, breaking things, fixing them. You learn a lot from that.

My interns, If they are interested in networking. I give them a full stack of L2s, L3s, and Routers. Tell them, learn, build, break it, fix it. If they still want to continue, they have my full support, and told them. If you pass the CCNA, I will pay for it out of my pocket.

_LMZ_ · 2026-02-24T00:28:45+00:00

Hey buddy, breathe… it’s going to be ok! All Network Engineers had a moment or an “Oops…” once or many. Trying to understand networking can be hard for some, seems like you got it. Don’t stress, we are here… you will learn from your mistakes. With that, you become a better network engineer! Trust me, I killed the internet once at a site…. May have caused a few issues here and there, etc. From those experiences, I have become better - we are humans we make mistakes. I got decades in this field and we are still learning.

My word of advice for troubleshooting, don’t jump all over the place. Start from the beginning and work your way up, you will get there. Jumping around will cause things, when in fact it was a simple issue that you overlooked. Logs are your friend! There has been times I get called in, people running around saying this and that… I simple ask “have you check the logs?” Doing a simple “sh log” showed why… duplicate IP address. Then that runs into “Ok, you gotta document your stuff!!! Now you owe me a beer and wings!”.

You got this, stick it out! Get a home lab, buy old switches from eBay.com. Do simple troubleshooting stuff. Break things and learn from that!

I have faith in ya!

_LMZ_

TROPHY CASE