Debian User Forums

by **Chuck Rhode** » 2015-03-05 18:13

Iyam disgustipated!

About Thanksgiving something changed, and my Internet connection became unstable. I'm using a mobile hotspot in my cellphone, and, no, I can't afford anything else, and I'm a surveillance kook. I run TOR, so everything looks (and is) encrypted. I deeply suspect that, when I begin viewing any large Web page (something with lots of graphics), the cell-tower just breaks my connection because, you know, only drug dealers and pedos do overseas encryption. Anyway, something changed. Either this is new behavior from my cell-phone provider, or *wpa_supplicant* used to be able to recover and can't anymore. It seems it used to send a pop-up box saying something like the connection was being reestablished, but now it wants the access point (AP) password again, and, when I give it, it still can't connect. I have to *killall wpa_supplicant* in order manually to reconnect with the AP, and that's increasingly disturbing and disgusting. Normally I can get through a whole session, but anything like an extended file transfer seems to bring about the dropped connection, and, if I don't get wpa_supplicant back on the air soon enough, I have to manually restart the transfer, too.

I've pored over the Internet, and I've seen a lot of back and forth over the last ten years about bad USB wifi drivers and recovery from "suspend mode" and such, and the only commonality seems to be *killall wpa_supplicant*. The logs are just mud to me because I don't know what a normal recovery looks like.

I've written Debian bugs before, but I don't even know where to begin on this one. I'm open to suggestions (except that I ought to just calm down and buddy up to Big Brother ... and get a proper Internet connection).

by **arid** » 2015-03-13 04:02

I'm open to suggestions (except that I ought to just calm down and buddy up to Big Brother ... and get a proper Internet connection

You almost got there Chuckie.

Law enforcement around the country is increasingly using a program called Stingray.

It simulates cell towers and temporarily diverts cell phone traffic for surveillance purposes.

Especially for those who use Tor and other services to obfuscate their activities.

You made the list.

by **dasein** » 2015-03-13 04:20

arid wrote:You made the list.

Yup. Oh, the irony.

Reminds me of when panopticlick first came online. I had (still do) multiple security and privacy extensions in place, so I basically strutted in figuring I was bulletproof. As it turns out, the combination of those extensions, plus being a Linux user, basically made me insanely easy to track: my UA string was unique within their database (~1 million or so at the time, IIRC).

Sometimes inconspicuous can be a good thing.

by **v&n** » 2015-03-13 05:55

Does the connection remain stable if you don't use tor or proxies or any such thing? For example, while downloading something from a simple live session?

Sometimes drivers can also cause such glitches when traffic goes high. Especially its asking for AP password (which I assume is a local modem/router/AP) makes me suspicious about local driver or underlying settings.

by **Chuck Rhode** » 2015-03-14 02:27

v&n wrote:Does the connection remain stable if you don't use tor or proxies or any such thing?

No, it happens in *synaptic*, *claws-mail*, and *midnight commander* sessions, which (I believe) happen to be encrypted, too.

v&n wrote:Sometimes drivers can also cause such glitches when traffic goes high. Especially [if it's] asking for AP password [which] makes me suspicious about local driver or underlying settings.

Exactly. I'd like to pin it down, though.

by **v&n** » 2015-03-14 12:29

So did you try these on a Live session?

In order to analyze overall wifi setup and find possible culprit(s), I usually recommend running a script and post the report it generates. Link with instructions : http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=13024222

It was originally created for use on Ubuntu and may require you to install some tools beforehand, like 'wireless-tools'. I'm still on Ubuntu, having almost zero experience with Debian, but would love to troubleshoot the issue if I can.

PS:
Thanks for improving (or correcting?) my sentence. Hope it would help me improve my English.

by **Chuck Rhode** » 2015-03-14 14:31

v&n wrote:In order to analyze overall wifi setup and find possible culprit(s), I usually recommend running a script and posting the report it generates.

Here is the info you requested:

Code: Select all: ########## wireless info START ########## Report from: 14 Mar 2015 09:23 CDT -0500 Booted last: 14 Mar 2015 07:31 CDT -0500 Script from: 20 Sep 2014 23:04 UTC +0000 ##### release ########################### Distributor ID: Debian Description: Debian GNU/Linux 7.8 (wheezy) Release: 7.8 Codename: wheezy ##### kernel ############################ Linux 3.2.0-4-686-pae #1 SMP Debian 3.2.65-1+deb7u2 i686 unknown unknown GNU/Linux Parameters: ro, quiet ##### desktop ########################### GNOME ##### lspci ############################# 02:01.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8110SC/8169SC Gigabit Ethernet [10ec:8167] (rev 10) Subsystem: ABIT Computer Corp. Device [147b:1080] Kernel driver in use: r8169 ##### lsusb ############################# Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0846:4260 NetGear, Inc. WG111v3 54 Mbps Wireless [realtek RTL8187B] Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0bb4:0ff9 HTC (High Tech Computer Corp.) Desire / Desire HD / Hero (Charge Mode) Bus 005 Device 002: ID 04a9:2206 Canon, Inc. CanoScan N650U/N656U Bus 006 Device 002: ID 045e:0745 Microsoft Corp. Nano Transceiver v1.0 for Bluetooth Bus 007 Device 002: ID 051d:0002 American Power Conversion Uninterruptible Power Supply Bus 002 Device 006: ID 03f0:8811 Hewlett-Packard ##### PCMCIA card info ################## 'pccardctl' is not installed (package "pcmciautils"). ##### rfkill ############################ lab/wireless_script.sh: line 176: rfkill: command not found ##### lsmod ############################# rtl8187 30849 0 eeprom_93cx6 12457 1 rtl8187 mac80211 171389 1 rtl8187 cfg80211 113445 2 mac80211,rtl8187 rfkill 18516 5 cfg80211,bluetooth usbcore 104555 9 ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd,usb_storage,usbhid,rtl8187,usblp ##### interfaces ######################## auto lo iface lo inet loopback iface eth0 inet static address 192.168.1.22 netmask 255.255.255.0 ##### ifconfig ########################## eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr <MAC 'eth0' [IF]> BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B) Interrupt:20 Base address:0xe000 wlan1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr <MAC 'wlan1' [IF]> inet addr:192.168.1.213 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 inet6 addr: fe80::e291:f5ff:fe19:61f0/64 Scope:Link UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:13783 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:9757 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:12490591 (11.9 MiB) TX bytes:1724905 (1.6 MiB) ##### iwconfig ########################## lo no wireless extensions. eth0 no wireless extensions. wlan1 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:"Rover" Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: <MAC 'Rover' [AC1]> Bit Rate=48 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off Encryption key:off Power Management:off Link Quality=70/70 Signal level=-39 dBm Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0 Tx excessive retries:1 Invalid misc:24 Missed beacon:0 ##### route ############################# Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 wlan1 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 wlan1 ##### resolv.conf ####################### nameserver 192.168.1.1 ##### nm-tool ########################### NetworkManager Tool State: connected (global) - Device: eth0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Type: Wired Driver: r8169 State: unmanaged Default: no HW Address: <MAC 'eth0' [IF]> Capabilities: Carrier Detect: yes Wired Properties Carrier: off - Device: wlan1 [Auto Rover] -------------------------------------------------- Type: 802.11 WiFi Driver: rtl8187 State: connected Default: yes HW Address: <MAC 'wlan1' [IF]> Capabilities: Speed: 48 Mb/s Wireless Properties WEP Encryption: yes WPA Encryption: yes WPA2 Encryption: yes Wireless Access Points (* = current AP) MyCharterWiFiee-2G: Infra, <MAC 'MyCharterWiFiee-2G' [AC6]>, Freq 2462 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 79 WPA2 *Rover: Infra, <MAC 'Rover' [AC1]>, Freq 2412 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 81 WPA2 NETGEAR10: Infra, <MAC 'NETGEAR10' [AC4]>, Freq 2427 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 52 WPA2 ATT924W9k6: Infra, <MAC 'ATT924W9k6' [AC5]>, Freq 2437 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 42 WPA WPA2 2WIRE377: Infra, <MAC '2WIRE377' [AC2]>, Freq 2422 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 75 WPA KOSUP: Infra, <MAC 'KOSUP' [AC3]>, Freq 2422 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 42 WPA NETGEAR67: Infra, <MAC 'NETGEAR67' [AN7]>, Freq 2442 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 45 WPA2 IPv4 Settings: Address: 192.168.1.213 Prefix: 24 (255.255.255.0) Gateway: 192.168.1.1 DNS: 192.168.1.1 ##### NetworkManager.state ############## [main] NetworkingEnabled=true WirelessEnabled=true WWANEnabled=true WimaxEnabled=true ##### NetworkManager.conf ############### [main] plugins=ifupdown,keyfile [ifupdown] managed=false ##### NetworkManager profiles ########### [[/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/Auto Rover]] (600 root) [connection] id=Auto Rover | type=802-11-wireless [802-11-wireless] ssid=Rover | mac-address=<MAC 'wlan1' [IF]> [ipv4] method=auto [ipv6] method=auto ##### iw reg get ######################## Region: America/Chicago (based on set time zone) country 00: (2402 - 2472 @ 40), (N/A, 20) (2457 - 2482 @ 40), (N/A, 20), PASSIVE-SCAN, NO-IBSS (2474 - 2494 @ 20), (N/A, 20), NO-OFDM, PASSIVE-SCAN, NO-IBSS (5170 - 5250 @ 160), (N/A, 20), PASSIVE-SCAN, NO-IBSS (5250 - 5330 @ 160), (N/A, 20), DFS, PASSIVE-SCAN, NO-IBSS (5490 - 5730 @ 160), (N/A, 20), DFS, PASSIVE-SCAN, NO-IBSS (5735 - 5835 @ 80), (N/A, 20), PASSIVE-SCAN, NO-IBSS (57240 - 63720 @ 2160), (N/A, 0) ##### iwlist channels ################### lo no frequency information. eth0 no frequency information. wlan1 14 channels in total; available frequencies : Channel 01 : 2.412 GHz Channel 02 : 2.417 GHz Channel 03 : 2.422 GHz Channel 04 : 2.427 GHz Channel 05 : 2.432 GHz Channel 06 : 2.437 GHz Channel 07 : 2.442 GHz Channel 08 : 2.447 GHz Channel 09 : 2.452 GHz Channel 10 : 2.457 GHz Channel 11 : 2.462 GHz Channel 12 : 2.467 GHz Channel 13 : 2.472 GHz Channel 14 : 2.484 GHz Current Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1) ##### iwlist scan ####################### Channel occupancy: 1 APs on Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1) 2 APs on Frequency:2.422 GHz (Channel 3) 1 APs on Frequency:2.427 GHz (Channel 4) 1 APs on Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6) 1 APs on Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11) lo Interface doesn't support scanning. wlan1 Scan completed : Cell 01 - Address: <MAC 'Rover' [AC1]> Channel:1 Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1) Quality=70/70 Signal level=-39 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"Rover" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=000000018c2a7dd6 Extra: Last beacon: 0ms ago IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1 Group Cipher : CCMP Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP Authentication Suites (1) : PSK Cell 02 - Address: <MAC '2WIRE377' [AC2]> Channel:3 Frequency:2.422 GHz (Channel 3) Quality=53/70 Signal level=-57 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"2WIRE377" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s 11 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s Bit Rates:24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=00000000f07ff9d3 Extra: Last beacon: 3148ms ago IE: WPA Version 1 Group Cipher : TKIP Pairwise Ciphers (1) : TKIP Authentication Suites (1) : PSK Cell 03 - Address: <MAC 'KOSUP' [AC3]> Channel:3 Frequency:2.422 GHz (Channel 3) Quality=37/70 Signal level=-73 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"KOSUP" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s 11 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s Bit Rates:24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=000000070ecdb4d0 Extra: Last beacon: 3144ms ago IE: WPA Version 1 Group Cipher : TKIP Pairwise Ciphers (1) : TKIP Authentication Suites (1) : PSK Cell 04 - Address: <MAC 'NETGEAR10' [AC4]> Channel:4 Frequency:2.427 GHz (Channel 4) Quality=37/70 Signal level=-73 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"NETGEAR10" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s Bit Rates:24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=0000002003348291 Extra: Last beacon: 3020ms ago IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1 Group Cipher : CCMP Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP Authentication Suites (1) : PSK Cell 05 - Address: <MAC 'ATT924W9k6' [AC5]> Channel:6 Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6) Quality=36/70 Signal level=-74 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"ATT924W9k6" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=0000000b6b8c90c4 Extra: Last beacon: 2408ms ago IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1 Group Cipher : TKIP Pairwise Ciphers (2) : CCMP TKIP Authentication Suites (1) : PSK IE: WPA Version 1 Group Cipher : TKIP Pairwise Ciphers (2) : CCMP TKIP Authentication Suites (1) : PSK Cell 06 - Address: <MAC 'MyCharterWiFiee-2G' [AC6]> Channel:11 Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11) Quality=55/70 Signal level=-55 dBm Encryption key:on ESSID:"MyCharterWiFiee-2G" Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s Mode:Master Extra:tsf=000001054c63a91e Extra: Last beacon: 1040ms ago IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1 Group Cipher : CCMP Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP Authentication Suites (1) : PSK 000000 ##### module infos ###################### [rtl8187] filename: /lib/modules/3.2.0-4-686-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtl818x/rtl8187/rtl8187.ko license: GPL description: RTL8187/RTL8187B USB wireless driver author: Larry Finger <Larry.Finger@lwfinger.net> author: Hin-Tak Leung <htl10@users.sourceforge.net> author: Herton Ronaldo Krzesinski <herton@mandriva.com.br> author: Andrea Merello <andreamrl@tiscali.it> author: Michael Wu <flamingice@sourmilk.net> depends: mac80211,eeprom_93cx6,cfg80211,usbcore intree: Y vermagic: 3.2.0-4-686-pae SMP mod_unload modversions 686 [mac80211] filename: /lib/modules/3.2.0-4-686-pae/kernel/net/mac80211/mac80211.ko license: GPL description: IEEE 802.11 subsystem depends: cfg80211 intree: Y vermagic: 3.2.0-4-686-pae SMP mod_unload modversions 686 parm: ieee80211_default_rc_algo:Default rate control algorithm for mac80211 to use (charp) parm: max_nullfunc_tries:Maximum nullfunc tx tries before disconnecting (reason 4). (int) parm: max_probe_tries:Maximum probe tries before disconnecting (reason 4). (int) parm: probe_wait_ms:Maximum time(ms) to wait for probe response before disconnecting (reason 4). (int) [cfg80211] filename: /lib/modules/3.2.0-4-686-pae/kernel/net/wireless/cfg80211.ko description: wireless configuration support license: GPL author: Johannes Berg depends: rfkill intree: Y vermagic: 3.2.0-4-686-pae SMP mod_unload modversions 686 parm: ieee80211_regdom:IEEE 802.11 regulatory domain code (charp) parm: cfg80211_disable_40mhz_24ghz:Disable 40MHz support in the 2.4GHz band (bool) ##### module parameters ################# [mac80211] ieee80211_default_rc_algo: minstrel_ht max_nullfunc_tries: 2 max_probe_tries: 5 probe_wait_ms: 500 [cfg80211] cfg80211_disable_40mhz_24ghz: N ieee80211_regdom: 00 ##### /etc/modules ###################### loop ##### modprobe options ################## [/etc/modprobe.d/libpisock9.conf] blacklist visor [/etc/modprobe.d/radeon-kms.conf] options radeon modeset=1 ##### rc.local ########################## exit 0 ##### pm-utils ########################## ##### udev rules ######################## [/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules] # PCI device 0x10ec:/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1e.0/0000:02:01.0 (r8169) SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="<MAC 'eth0' [IF]>", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="eth*", NAME="eth0" # USB device 0x:0x (rtl8187) SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="<MAC address>", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="wlan*", NAME="wlan0" # USB device 0x:0x (rtl8187) SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="<MAC 'wlan1' [IF]>", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="wlan*", NAME="wlan1" ##### dmesg ############################# [ 8.444324] ieee80211 phy0: hwaddr <MAC 'wlan1' [IF]>, RTL8187BvE V0 + rtl8225z2, rfkill mask 2 [ 8.465782] rtl8187: Customer ID is 0x00 [ 8.465846] Registered led device: rtl8187-phy0::radio [ 8.465894] Registered led device: rtl8187-phy0::tx [ 8.465964] Registered led device: rtl8187-phy0::rx [ 8.467017] rtl8187: wireless switch is on [ 8.493026] udevd[409]: renamed network interface wlan0 to wlan1 [ 24.874534] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan1: link is not ready [ 80.565333] wlan1: authenticate with <MAC 'Rover' [AC1]> (try 1) [ 80.567088] wlan1: authenticated [ 80.701321] wlan1: associate with <MAC 'Rover' [AC1]> (try 1) [ 80.704194] wlan1: RX AssocResp from <MAC 'Rover' [AC1]> (capab=0x411 status=0 aid=1) [ 80.704200] wlan1: associated [ 80.709726] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan1: link becomes ready [ 90.960018] wlan1: no IPv6 routers present ########## wireless info END ############

by **v&n** » 2015-03-14 15:07

Sorry, no clues, no helpful comments either. Everything looks okay as per the script report, although you may try explicitly setting the regdomain code for US, assuming you are indeed in US -

Code: Select all: sudo iw reg set US

To set it permanently -

Code: Select all: sed 's/^REG.*=$/&US/' /etc/default/crda

And do you have any other (non-realtek) USB adapter to try and see if the problem persists with it?
Personally, I don't like most of these realtek chips with linux. But it may be something similar to what others pointed out, so can't blame the driver or card unless the connection is tested fine with some other adapter.

by **Chuck Rhode** » 2015-03-16 02:01

v&n wrote:Do you have any other (non-realtek) USB adapter to try and see if the problem persists with it?
Personally, I don't like most of these realtek chips with linux. But it may be something similar to what others pointed out, so can't blame the driver or card unless the connection is tested fine with some other adapter.

No, they're cheap. I have a couple, but they're both the same and have the same issues. I cornered the market on something I thought WOULD WORK in Linux. ... but, yeah, I've been wondering whether the driver (a kernel module, I believe) has become unstable.

by **Chuck Rhode** » 2015-03-16 02:09

I must have been a bad boy somewhere along the line. I can't get into my forum account to make changes although I can look at it, and I can't send messages to forumadmin@forums.debian.net about that. I get a "retry timeout exceeded."

by **Chuck Rhode** » 2015-04-10 19:07

Chuck Rhode wrote:
v&n wrote:Personally, I don't like most of these realtek chips with linux.
Yeah, I've been wondering whether the driver (a kernel module, I believe) has become unstable.

I purchased a couple more Netgear USB/Wifi adapters. One did not afford the possibility of a Linux driver. One did. I had to download and compile the driver, though, but it seems a lot more stable than the RealTek module even though it is yet another RealTek device itself. It has gone off the air a couple of times, but it recovers automagically.

The device is "N900 WiFi Dual Band USB Adapter," Model WNDA4100, and the driver for it is as per:

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=144886

by **Bulkley** » 2015-04-10 22:05

It wouldn't hurt to run a live-CD for a while just to rule out anything software.

Can you zero your router/modem and then reset everything; new name, new password, toughest firewall, etc?

If you are using Network Manager, get rid of it. Use only wpa-supplicant which is much easier to control and secure.

Format your harddrive and reinstall.

last choice, replace your harddrive. A really techy friend tells me that if the Feds invade your machine get a new computer and a new ISP. Replace everything that you have been using including the phone line.

It's up to you how serious you want to take this.

by **Chuck Rhode** » 2015-04-11 01:34

Bulkley wrote:It wouldn't hurt to run a live-CD for a while just to rule out anything software.

Yes, I understand the following are all fairly heroic measures.

Bulkley wrote:Can you zero your router/modem and then reset everything; new name, new password, toughest firewall, etc?

The router is my Android phone, which should tell you all you need to know about how eager I am to avoid surveillance.

Bulkley wrote:If you are using Network Manager, get rid of it. Use only wpa-supplicant which is much easier to control and secure.

I try to stay as near as I can to vanilla Debian, including -- at great personal sacrifice apparently -- using Gnome 3 as-is w/o any app-bar retrofits. If they say Network Mgr is Kosher, it is as far as I'm concerned.

Bulkley wrote:Format your harddrive and reinstall.

Yeah, right!

Bulkley wrote:Last choice, replace your harddrive. A really techy friend tells me that if the Feds invade your machine get a new computer and a new ISP. Replace everything that you have been using including the phone line.

... except this is probably true. Once the boot block has been compromised, yer screwed.

Bulkley wrote:It's up to you how serious you want to take this.

It's hard to gain any perspective on this, innit? There'll be those along soon to claim that the Feds have all the power and resistance is futile, which might as well be Propaganda.

by **mardybear** » 2015-04-11 02:04

Chuck Rhode wote:
The router is my Android phone, which should tell you all you need to know about how eager I am to avoid surveillance.

Don't mean to inflame, just observations. Would using an Android phone really help avoid surveillance? Maybe a stolen Android, maybe a dumb phone bought with cash from some stranger in an alley, maybe no phone. An Android phone registered to you - pretty stealth. Why not no ISP, wardrive with a laptop or access public wifi.

Maybe Chuck Rhode isn't your real name, maybe it is. Didn't bother to search. Maybe Sheboygan, WI isn't your real location, maybe it is. Would you really post this information on a public forum in the same thread indicating you're concerned about surveillance?

Vanilla Debian is moderately secure...at best. Why not a Linux distribution that runs from RAM without persistence?

It's hard to gain any perspective on this, innit?

Yes (while adjusting tinfoil hat)

by **v&n** » 2015-04-11 05:02

Chuck Rhode wrote:..but it seems a lot more stable than the RealTek module even though it is yet another RealTek device itself..
..
The device is "N900 WiFi Dual Band USB Adapter," Model WNDA4100, and the driver for it is as per:

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=144886

No, N900 WNDA4100 uses Ralink chip, not Realtek. Don't get confused by 'rt..' in the driver name. It stands for "RalinkTech", not "RealTek".

(EDIT: Reference link : https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Netgear_WNDA4100 )

And I would like to whisper something more in your ears.... I secretly love Ralink chips. Doesn't mean that all of them are flawless, but most are fairly easy to get going on Linux, with great performance. I just don't keep mentioning it in my 'Recommended' list only because the native 'rt2800..' driver quite often needs to be replaced by the proprietary, compiled ones, and the older ones don't compile on latest kernels, thanks to the changes in kernel > 3.8.

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