Asus routers are excellent but choosing a model can be tricky due to all the variants available.

If you don't want to invest in the ultimate beast, you can still get some great value for money in budget-friendly models like the RT-AC1200 and RT-AC1200GU once you know where and what to look for...

IP Cameras are getting increasingly smart, easy to use and affordable.

They are convenient security add-ons but they also have potential to be exactly the opposite!

While being a security device by vocation, an entry-level IP camera is rarely secure itself: the embedded server does not offer any way to encrypt your login and the data stream. Fortunately there are ways around it, as well as common sense practice to reduce the risks.

There are many WiFi-N routers on the market, but add the Gigabit requirement, and this choice drops dramatically. Add a further requirement for an embedded ADSL modem, and you're left with just a handful of candidates left.

Until recently, setting up a PPTP VPN passthrough on my Billion  7402GXL router was impossible, and for once, it turns out it was not all my fault...

If you're working with 2 Windows computers side-by-side (or more), you will probably adopt rightly this excellent tool from "The Garage" (a Microsoft geeks nest).

It would already be great if it was only a software alternative to KVM's but it also allows you to share your clipboard between computers as well.

True geeks come usually with 3 major faults:  they don't do backups, they don't quarantine new fishes, and, they never read the manual!

What follows is actually quite well explained in the IP camera manuals, but remains the most frequently asked question:

I became increasingly concerned by the safety of my data after that some loss and corruption occurred on my NexStar LX NAS, apparently following episodes of heavy disk activity. I'm still not sure who to blame: the NAS or the old Seagate Barracuda inside.

I must confess that I bought this item by mistake: I expected this tiny wireless storage to be the perfect companion for my DVR (Digital Video Recorder). But I neglected to ensure that it would have a USB Host type of port, and it's not the case. So it cannot act as a flash drive for the DVR, if you follow me.

Still, it's a nice device: small enough, using a 6.3cm (2.5") hard drive, and running on a mini linux OS (telnet access to it can be enabled). Mine came as a SMC WAPS-G flashed with the latest WMU-6000FS firmware from Ovislink. This brand offers a convenient download manager (BitTorrent, HTTP and FTP) as part of its embedded software and while it's not exempt from bugs and typos, it does the job quite nicely, sending you an email when the download is done. Last seen just below €50.- (without the hard drive).

The site macsat.com and its wiki are the places for push the limits further with custom firmwares. However, you should decide if you really need those additional features and make yourself familiar with the recovery techniques (jtag) beforehand as it seems quite common to end up turning that wi-fi storage into a useless brick.

Pros:
+ affordable storage solution
+ mini Linux kernel on board
+ highly tweakable (source codes are available from some manufacturers)

Cons:
- Official development abandoned (latest fw dated 2007/12/07)
- Disputable reliability
- Some bugs

See also: Hacking MGB100

Other known clones:
Level-One (WAP-0007), Comet Labs (MGB100), Conceptronic (CHD2WLANU), Micronica (MGB100), Safecom (SWSAPUR-5400), Pearl (PE6643)

I was looking for a simple way to create a nice map of my network at home. While not so big, it grew fast with the addition of various wifi-enabled devices in the last years.

A colleague brought my attention to a freeware called Network Notepad.

I initially overlooked it as being too basic, but it turned out to be actually exactly what I needed: not too big (about 3 MB), not too simple either.

This tool allows you to create an interactive map of your network elements: it is possible to access the network elements (ftp, telnet, http, ...) by selecting their corresponding icon. You can also define custom actions (like launching the CDP Tool).













The icon library may seem somewhat incomplete but, once you discover how simple it is to create your own, this little tool really starts to stand out of the crowd.

All you have to do is to open the object libraries window,
go to File menu > New, and paste pictures of your choice into the empty library space. The object library allows to resize the elements to a proportion suitable for use in a diagram.










Nice alternative:
Draw Anywhere is a Flash based web application to achieve a static diagram. There's is no installation, and the free registration is optional. It also allows you to add your own images.