Man, Sometimes This Stuff Is Just Weird...

[Jud]

All of a sudden beginning shortly before bed last night, my system is crackling, spitting, popping. Between last night and tonight I move and change all sorts of wires, switch DACs, refresh all the settings on the microRendu, reboot microRendu, change software, change software settings, restart my network switch - nothing helps.

 

I remember that there are some beta settings for my network routers, and that one of them, local network DNS caching, has acted up before.  Turn off local network DNS caching, reboot network - everything is perfect.

 

Local network DNS caching.  Of course, intuitively obvious.

[Jud]

5 hours ago, PeterSt said:

I would look for a loose wire on an XLR ground pin somewhere.

 

I looked for all loose wires everywhere - twice in most cases - unplugged/replugged the XLR connections, RCAs, speaker cables, high and low voltage power connections, changed USB cables, took ISO Regen and LPS-1 out of the system, put them back, replaced Pro-Ject DAC with iFi, uninstalled and reinstalled software, tried players on Windows, Mac and Linux, rebooted the microRendu, dumped the mpd cache in the microRendu and rebooted again, switched to NAA and rebooted again, updated Windows 10 to latest Fast Ring build...and there's probably a bunch more I'm forgetting. No change.

 

The giveaway that it was something to do with network was when I noticed 3 different network players with wonky timing - 6 minutes left in the song, then taking 3 seconds to get to 5:59, another couple to 5:58....  Loose wires don't do that.  So I changed the router setting (which as I said is in beta and has caused problems once or twice before - try it again every so often because local DNS caching is nice when it works), and voila.

[Jud]

1 hour ago, crenca said:

 

All true.  I don't know what the uptime stats on Google's or these other DNS providers are, but I bet they are more reliable (much more) than any consumer (i.e. "home") grade equipment and DNS cache.  

 

Putting aside the wider issues of Big Corp data collection/oversight, I was wondering why (barring some oddity in ISP service, etc.) anyone would cache DNS locally in a home networking environment.  DNS is basic backbone stuff  -  why reinvent the wheel with cheap and spotty reliable consumer grade crap?  Jud's friendly comment box Net Admin recommends he turns that crap off, KISS it, etc.  Why he is at it he can get rid of his cable risers, grounding boxes, and dubious formats/encodings as well 😋

 

Luckily I got none a that stuff.   

 

I've used OpenDNS for years. About as fast as Google in tests, has some reporting and security features for free that can be added to at cost.

 

Local caching can be a touch more efficient and quicker than querying servers.

 

I have eero mesh routers and absolutely love them. The local DNS caching, which is labeled a beta/experimental feature, so I was duly warned, is the one and only thing that has ever given me trouble. When one was zapped by lightning hitting the transformer outside our home, they shipped me a new one even though the fried one was out of warranty.

[Jud]

2 hours ago, R1200CL said:

Have you checked the health of your computer? Maybe the HD ?

 

Your have verified it’s not the amp/DAC of cause ? 

 

 

[Jud]

1 hour ago, vortecjr said:

Jud, where do you currently stand with your issue?

 

Everything works wonderfully after I made a single adjustment to my routers. Thanks very much for asking, Jesus.

[Jud]

Explaining the beta features of the eero system: https://blog.eero.com/introducing-eero-labs-building-future-home-wifi/

 

The other couple of beta features have always worked great (along with all the standard ones).  Most of the time the DNS caching works just fine, but there've been a couple of times in the past year I've used it that it's caused a problem.  I'm guessing we're dealing with a software bug here.

[Jud]

41 minutes ago, BrokeLinuxPhile said:

Another tactic is use plugins like uBlock Origin

 

Yes, pleased with uBlock Origin. Stays out of the way and quietly does its job.

[Jud]

Don't think it was a cache attack. This time and the other couple of times that setting has caused a problem, it's been the opposite - not changing when I wanted a change, rather than changing when I didn't want it to, as in a DNA spoofing attack. 

[Jud]

I've had these routers for years and no hardware or software problems other than this one feature, clearly labeled beta. In fact the software is probably what's nicest about it. I have enough background to run consumer networking equipment and make any adjustments I want. But I've reached the stage where there's less I want to bother with. These likely have the easiest setup of any routers going. Plug 'em in, follow (literally) a couple of steps in a phone app, you're done.

[Jud]

Stuff about eero software development that may be of interest to folks that know a little more about networking: https://blog.eero.com/bookshelf-spiffy-space-stashing-state/

[Jud]

16 minutes ago, crenca said:

You want a fairly "randomized" password with a mix of letters, numbers, and characters  (such as ^ and !), but you have to be able to remember it.  

 

I've seen articles to the effect that randomization is not as important as sheer length, and that most people don't make use of spaces even when they're allowed.  So for example, you could use as a password a long sentence in your post or in this one, and it would be easily remembered, but tremendously hard to crack.

[Jud]

28 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

I will share a tip with all of you.

 

1PassWord

 

Use one master password, and it will create completely random passwords and remember them for you, fill them where needed. Including your router. It's definitely worth the small fee.

 

There are a few of these apps. I use LastPass. You want to look at how securely they hold your information, since they make quite tempting targets.

[Jud]

44 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Did the change to disable DNS caching require a restart of the router?

 

Can you enable it and disable this feature and cause / fix the issue at will?

 

Great questions. I wondered the same.

 

Restart - Yes.

 

Cause/fix - Haven't tried in this instance. The couple of times this feature has caused problems before, though, leaving it on and restarting the network didn't fix them. But neither does it always cause problems when it's on.  So it causes problems intermittently, but in my prior experience keeping it on has prevented the resolution of a problem when it did occur.

[Jud]

8 minutes ago, Paul R said:

 

Does it supply two phase authentication in any way?  I am finding that is about the only thing that slows down the bad guys if they are really intent on getting into your account. 

 

-Paul 

 

 

But then if you use phone apps for 2FA and your phone is stolen and someone manages to turn off Find My iPhone or whatever, you're really screwed.

[Jud]

43 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

@Jud, if I had previously logged in at my computer, I am not screwed as the app then remembers that computer and won't ask for it (the authenticator app code) there again. I would just be out a phone that would be utterly useless to anyone but me.

 

If you want it to work that way. More secure to do 2FA all the time.

[Jud]

59 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

I was using last pass, I quit for a reason I can't remember right now. I will try to remember and get back to you.

 

Friend who does neurology research (formerly in Europe, then was recruited to China - time was that would have been the US) recommended it over others.

[Jud]

2 hours ago, Paul R said:

How so?  They would either need my fingerprint or my face to do 2Phase authentication. It isn't perfect, but it is significantly better than a password by itself. 

 

Besides, if someone steals my phone it is going to get bricked pretty much the first time they use it.  

 

-Paul 

 

 

The way I would attack this is to switch the face or fingerprint attached to the "Paul R" record on your phone. But I'd have to get hold of your phone while it was "awake." 

 

Edit: Actually that's not true, at least on iPhone. You can enter a PIN instead.

[Jud]

2 minutes ago, Paul R said:

Yep, but 10 entries of an incorrect PIN bricks the phone. To change the fingerprint entries, you need either the password or my fingerprint.

 

If I steal your phone, hack your computer to find your probable password and change the fingerprint and associated records, how do you prove it's your phone?  😉

[Jud]

3 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

I suppose someone could publish all the love letters I've written to my wife...  Not that it would be embarrassing. Everyone would see how much I love her is all. Then their wives would be jealous that their men don't write them love letters, and then the men would get mad at me for making them look bad, etc...

 

I guess that could be bad.

 

Medical records, with the wealth of personal and financial information they contain, are worth more to people willing to pay for that sort of thing than many other types of personal information. Any chance someone could use info on your phone to access systems at the practice(s) or hospital(s) where you work?

[Jud]

2 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

Three things.

 

1) I am not practicing right now

 

and

 

2) Are they going to steal my fingers too?  Maybe a hand? Or torture me until I give them the passcode to my phone and computer? heck, I even have a firmware password and encrypted drives.

 

3) Who on earth is going to come after me, and go through all the effort, to get at the files I have here and have access to?

 

As mentioned before, the idea with biometrics isn't to steal body parts, it's the far easier task of hacking records attached to the biometrics so that someone else's face or fingerprints are now the key to your documents.

 

I attend a law conference every year in DC on various aspects of HIPAA - privacy, security, standardized healthcare transactions.  Besides amusing stuff like reports about proof of concept of remote hacking of medical equipment (pacemakers and insulin pumps are favorite targets - it's entirely possible these days to remotely send someone into arrythmia or insulin shock), there are reports about security breaches and attempts.  A couple of meetings ago, a small hospital in upstate NY reported on records of hacking attempts.  There were thousands per day from the PRC alone.  Very few people in the health field who are associated with a group practice or hospital, even a small rural/suburban one, are too obscure for hacking attempts anymore.  It's nothing personal, it's just a bunch of automated stuff crawling the web, devices, etc., looking for vulnerabilities.

[Jud]

24 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

And vulnerabilities are often exploited not by bots hammering your firewall, but by phish emails that compromise your network from the inside, then leverage known exploits.  Bots not only attempt to beat down your firewall, they also are spamming you 24/7/365.

 

And all your friends.  I now regularly receive spam from two relatives and one friend from work (that they didn't send, but their computers did). Do relatives or close friends have reminders for your birthday, your address, or other information identifying you on their devices or computers?

.

Going from retail to wholesale, how many of you did *not* have personal identifying information with Experian (the credit reporting agency), Target, or other owners of huge information databases that have been hacked?

[Jud]

5 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

1Password monitors for breaches with your info in it, and alerts you so you can change the password immediately.

 

edit: SO does one of the credit monitoring and identity theft monitoring things, I can't remember who it is because it's been a while since I have received an email from them about an extremely old email password that was in a hack someplace.

 

My info was in the Experian thing, and they had to pay for monitoring. Changed an email password as a result.