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Blocking IP Cameras from Talking to the Internet
The recent distributed denial of service attack is said to have been caused by the Mirai botnet which basically turns IoT devices in attackers. One of the devices that is vulnerable is an IP camera that has a default username and password. While I don't have that brand of camera, my cameras have accounts that I can't remove and apparently one ONVIF account with a username/password that can't be changed. I'm pretty good at securing my network from people coming in, but what about things going out? A lot of these IoT devices talk to a server for firmware updates or whatever. Since my IP cameras only need to talk to my server that is recording video, there is absolutely no need for them to connect to the Internet. I decided to see what I could do to isolate the traffic; this is something I've wanted to do for 3.5 years ever since I got a Cisco router that did VLANs, but couldn't figure out a reason and didn't have the knowledge to do it. However, times have changed.
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Native vs Web App for IoT Devices
Recently I was chatting with a friend about a new WiFi router. I hadn't heard of it and he sent me a link to it. The first thing I noticed about it was that the configuration was done via an iOS or Android app. As an iOS developer, I know that a native app is going to generally provide a better user experience than a web app. However, as a consumer, I shy away from devices that only have a native app interface. If the app stops working, isn't updated quickly when an OS gets updated, or the company stops supporting the app, I'd be out of luck. In addition, I like being able to configure devices using my desktop machine and most devices don't have a Mac app for configuration.
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Keeping Network Devices Updated
Some time ago, IPv6 disappeared from my home network. After a bit of research, I found out that Time Warner Cable had a problem with my cable modem (Motorola SB 6183) and IPv6 so they pushed out a firmware that disabled IPv6. Recently I read in the Time Warner forums that a firmware update would be out soon that has this fixed.
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Review: Plantronics BackBeat Fit Headphones
It seems that every year I look for better headphones for running. The last 4 or 5 years, all the headphones that I'ved used have been wireless, but something either happens to the headphones or there is something that I don't like about them. This summer was no different than past summers in that I wasn't satisfied with the headphones I had. My previous pair were the Plantronics BackBeat Go. They performed adequately, but I was never able to keep them in my ears and spent time on my runs adjusting them. Sometimes they stayed in and required little adjustment, but most of the time, they just kept falling out. I initially liked them and was able to have them properly positioned, but that might have just been a fluke. I had bought them at Costco so that I could try them out and if I didn't like them, they'd go back. However, they worked OK and I ended up keeping them for about a year.