WirelessPhreak.com

I like to travel, f*ck with technology, and partake in the occasional tropical drink.
I am also a co-host on The NBD Show podcast.
Follow Me
Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts

 

Are you planning a trip to London? If you're an apple user think about getting/bringing an apple watch before you go. We just got back from London and first off their public transit is bar non the best I have used. Between the underground and the buses in London, we were never more than a 5-minute walk to anything we wanted to see in London.

In addition to public transit, tap-to-pay is everywhere in the UK, even the village pub we ate in had a tap-to-pay terminal. I only had to unsheathe a credit card once the entire trip and, to be honest, it was probably a user error.

So back to setting up Apple Pay and the Watch....

First setting up apple pay is pretty straightforward if you haven't done it. On your phone, if you open the wallet app you will see a little + sign in the upper right corner if you touch on the plus symbol it will walk you through adding your credit card to apple pay. For traveling overseas make sure you add a card with no foreign transaction fees. Once the card is added you should make this card your default card so it will come up automatically when you double-click to bring up tap-to-pay.

Once your card is added you will want to go into your setting app under wallet and go to the express transit settings and select the credit card you just added. What this does is set up express transit to let you tap in and out of the UK underground with no need to download an app or buy an Oyster card.
 
For the apple watch, you will want to add the same card via the wallet app. Usually, the cards that have been configured on the phone will show up in the watch app, but you will need to verify the security code to authorize the watch to use those cards. Once the card is added you can go to the wallet settings in the watch app on your phone and configure a default card, you will also want to add the card you want to use for express transit. This will need to be configured on the watch through the watch application on your phone.

Now that it is configured how do I use my phone or apple watch for London transit?
 
On the Tube/Underground when you tap your phone or watch on the turn stall sensor (the yellow plastic disk) the gates will open and it will register at what station you entered. Once you get to your destination you will need to tap the sensor at the exit gates using the same device you used to enter the underground, each device is unique and will even work if there is no cell service. The TFL will determine where you tapped in and where you tapped out and will bill the card you had configured for express transit directly. It's as simple as that.
 
If you are planning a trip to the UK I would recommend setting up Apple Pay and especially the express transit if you are going to London. It was a major convenience and took my major concern about using public transit and threw it out the window.

I will start by saying yes I downloaded the app after the keynote but didn't open it till recently. Listening to Macbreak Weekly I had listened to Andy Ihnatko @ihnatko rave about how powerful the shortcuts app was. But what pushed me over the edge was a friend who had sent me a message telling me about an in-depth bad ass shortcut he wrote that runs shell commands over SSH to his NAS server, that was enough to inspire me.

I started thinking about things I do everyday and the one thing that bubbled to the surface was carpooling with my wife.  Everyday I text her and let her know I am on my way to pick her up, but now I only need to lift my watch and say, ”Hey Siri tell my wife I am on my way." That simple Siri command triggers a cascade of events that notifies my wife where I am leaving from, when I will arrive, and the weather on the way home. Then after a pause for the duration of the drive it will send a second text letting her know I am down stairs.

In addition to my first shortcut I am going to add interesting shortcuts I write or come across on the web to this post, so keep your eyes open. Oh ya you will need to open them on your IOS devices, hopefully they will add the shortcut app to the mac someday.

Carpool ETA shortcut: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/23d0048b12804690b364761fe377739f

Boarding Airplane 2: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/90df7fff30b4488d897fa4242fdffaeb
      Cool shortcut that walks you through three easy steps to send your flight information.


***UPDATE***
I tested the process below on Mac OS Mojave and it still works.

Original post was created by Bryan at wrmem.net 

Network engineers on Windows have been using the lightweight and open source TFTPD32, for years But for those of us who have evolved and moved to the Mac we have found a couple short comings due to the increased security and sandboxing requirements set by apple. Luckily there’s a built in tftp daemon that you can use in a pinch if you know a couple little tricks.
Here is a link to another post for apple OS Sierra Sky579x.bligspot.com

By default tftpd uses the following folder:
/private/tftpboot
which is hidden in finder, but can be accessed by using “go to folder” or hitting Command+Shift+G and entering /private/tftpboot


To launch the daemon run the following commands:
sudo launchctl load -F /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist
sudo launchctl start com.apple.tftpd
Be sure Read/Write/eXecute permissions are set on the tftpboot folder and any files you wish to transfer:
sudo chmod 777 /private/tftpboot
sudo chmod 777 /private/tftpboot/*
If you’ll be transferring a file TO your TFTP server, the file will technically need to exist on the server beforehand so create it with touch. For example:
sudo touch /private/tftpboot/running-config
sudo chmod 777 /private/tftpboot/running-config
To unload and shutdown your tftp daemon you can run the following command.
sudo launchctl unload -F /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist
If you’d like a graphical front end for launching tftp then check out the great TftpServer. I have found this application not as reliable so I have fallen back to using the built in TFTP server. 
Now you can start transferring your files.


Happy TFTP'ng

Home surveillance systems can get really expensive, and many times don't provide everything your looking for.  My goal was to set up a functional reliable home surveillance system, that I could view on my mobile device, provided motion detection image capture, and the ability to support multiple cameras.

iPhone Software:
I found icam in the apple app store.  This app caught my eye because of its simplicity. It also does not require a subscription, in app purchase, or ads.
https://appsto.re/us/cDmQr.i

Server Software:
The server software (icam source) works with the app and is free on the company website.  For free software it is very stable, and can also push notifications during a motion event. I set mine up to archive the image captures to external hard drive, so those images are backed up to the cloud.
http://skjm.com/icam/support.php

Cameras:
These cameras have worked flawlessly for me.  They don't have a ton of bells and whistles, but perform great in low light and have been super reliable.

Update:
If you are getting public proxy busy or the app is trying to get you to pay for proxy access take a look at your local home router. You will probably have to forward a range of ports to allow your iPhone app to connect to your home server when you on another network. 

IMPORTANT NOTE #1 - If your router only allows you to forward a single port at a time, change the port range from 12000-12100 to 12000-12005 in the iCamSource and add 6 port forwarding rules in your router, one for each port.

IMPORTANT NOTE #2 - If you are running iCamSource(s) on more than one computer on the same network then you will need to use (and forward) a separate port range for each computer. (We recommend using 12000-12100, 12200-12300, 12400-12500, etc.)
I have searched high and low for a decent low-priced alternative for Visio on the Mac, and I think I have finally found one.

yEd Graph Editor is a powerful desktop application that can be used to quickly and effectively generate high-quality diagrams. Create diagrams manually, or import your external data for analysis. Thier automatic layout algorithms arrange even large data sets with just the press of a button.


The install is strait forward and works great, but us network guys want cisco icons.  The network icons that come with are a little weak.  So I found a German website that had the Cisco default icons as .svg files.  Here is the link to the download cisco_svg_icons.

Next how to install the icons.

  1. Open yEd Editor Go to Edit --> Pallte Manager
  2. Create a new Click New Section (name it)
  3. Highlight newly created Section and click import symbols
  4. Select .svg symbols and import them.
That's it... You should have a diagram tool that will let you make professional looking network diagrams.

Let me know if you have any better alternatives.


Encrypting your email has always been for the geeky or super paranoid. Now with everything in the "Cloud" encrypting your email is even more crucial. Imagine every email you've ever sent or received saved across countless servers in scores data centers any where in the world. By encrypting your email you can use their infrastructure with out them monitoring your emails.

I wouldn't say I wear a tin foil hat, but I care about privacy especially my own. Steve Gibson had a listener sum it up pretty well on his podcast, "One might say I have nothing to hide from people I trust." So with that said lets dive into setting up email encryption on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Mail client.

First step is to generate a certificate. I went to Comodo and found it to be very strait forward to set up and free.

Here is a couple of Certificate Authorities (CAs) that offer free email certificates.

Click on the Free Email Certificate button


Fill out the form and Click Next

They will send you an email once you get the email click on the link and download it. 
Note forsome reason   on Mac downloading the cert using Chrome broke it.  I used Safari and it worked great.

Once you have accepted the cert on your desktop you can open keychain and export it.  During the processes it will prompt you for a password that is used to encrypt it.  This password will be needed later when you install it on your IOS device.

The final step is installing the cert on your IOS devices, and I found a post that does a very elegant job of walking you through it.

The End of Google Exchange Active Sync

Google released a blog post titled Winter Cleaning where in they layed out their road map for Exchange Active Sync (EAS), and sorry to say the road is short. Google says "Starting January 30, 2013, consumers won't be able to set up new devices using Google Sync; however, existing Google Sync connections will continue to function." Google does not hint for how long these existing free EAS devices will work, but did state they will continue to support EAS in Google Apps for Business, Government and Education. 

So where do we go from here?  Google has finished their CardDAV sync for contacts, so in association with IMAP for email and calendar they say they can "offers similar access via IMAP, CalDAV and CardDAV, making it possible to build a seamless sync experience using open protocols." It's true I have tested their solution and it works just not as seamless as Exchange and with a much more complicated set up process. 

Here are the steps from Google's Sync site for the new set up of an IOS device. Word of warning these procedures may change so follow the link at the top of each config example for the most current Google Sync procedures.

To configure the 'Mail' app on an Apple device for access to Gmail, just follow these steps:
  1. Make sure you've enabled IMAP in your main Gmail settings
  2. Open the Settings app on your device
  3. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars
  4. Tap Add Account...
  5. Tap Gmail
  6. Enter your account information, being sure to use your full Gmail address, including '@gmail.com'
  7. Tap Next
  8. Tap Save
Contacts via CardDAV:
Here’s how to sync your contacts to your device:
  1. Open the Settings application on your device.
  2. Select Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
  3. Select Add Account...
  4. Select Other
  5. Select Add CardDAV Account
  6. Fill out your account information in the following fields:
    • Server: Enter "google.com"
    • User Name: Enter your full Google Account or Google Apps email address.
    • Password: Your Google Account or Google Apps password. (If you’ve enabled 2 Step verification, you’ll need to generate and enter an application specific password.)
    • Description: Enter a description of the account (e.g. Personal Contacts).
  7. Select Next at the top of your screen.
  8. Make sure that the "Contacts" option is turned to ON.
Exchange Active Sync has some benefits over the open alternatives.  The first is its speed, emails arriving into the Microsoft Exchange inbox or Google's inbox using EAS are instantly pushed to the device.  Where as IMAP uses a sudo push/short polling mechanism to trigger the action. The second is ease of set up, as you can see above there are quit a few steps to setting up your phone using open standards.  Where as Exchange Active Sync was just one set of credentials and a control screen to select what you wanted synced.

Exchange Active Sync for me has been the killer APP for my iDevices, and I hope Google can make the alternitive as reliable, speedy, and seamless as EAS.
Apple Brining Home Jobs

If you're a fan of apple or it's products you may be curious about Tim Cook.  Here is a link to a great interview with Apple's CEO Tim Cook. It's entertaining to watch Tim speak in the specific generalities that is apple, but he did drop some very interesting tidbits.  



Google sync is as robust as any enterprise solution, and I discovered one more feature that makes it even more impressive. Many of us have multiple family members that share Google calendars, but  until now I didn't know how to sync those calendars to my iPhone and iPad. Now I do!!!

To select which calendars to sync to your Apple device, follow these steps:
  • Sign in with your account and select your device from the list of devices you’ve set up for Google Sync.
  • Once you select your device you can choose from the calendars you have already set up in your Google  calendar to sync.

  • You’ll need to do this setup on each IOS devices that uses Google Sync, to show multiple calendars.
I also found this helpful link that list some of the known issues between Google sync and IOS devices.  Click Here

With the popularity of the iPhones and iPads, the Mac has become practically viral among technology professionals. Even without official company support many of these users have banded together to create user-support communities within their companies.  I was recently at a large network hardware company and they threw out some statistics about Mac adoption.  Only 4 years ago they began to allow staff to purchase Apple devices, and since then almost 45% of their employees run a Mac. This is with no official technical support.  So how do they make the Mac Network engineer friendly?

There are several things a Network engineer needs.
  1. Serial Terminal App - The Mac has several options including the built in terminal app.  But many of us like to have something more.  Secure CRT $99.00 - Great app kinda expensive though. There is also CoolTerm, it's free and so far so good, really clean interface and easy to use.
  2. SSH Client - Once again the built in Mac SSH app is great and some cleaver developer out there created an app to manage multiple telnet and SSH connections.  JellyfiSSH $3.99, in the Apple app store, is a really easy and intuitive way of bookmarking all those connections.
  3. TFTP Server - I haven't really explored TFTP on the mac, but I found TFTP Client $1.99, in the Apple app store.  I haven't had a chance to use it and I have to admit I love tftp32 for windows, but let me know what you find.
  4. Serial Port - Steve Job's obsession with sleek industrial design killed off the com port a long time ago. Without a com port a network engineer is practically dead in the water.  There have been some really good USB serial adapters like the Keyspan by Tripp Light USA-19H, but recently I have been on the hunt for a Bluetooth serial adapter.  After looking online, Bluetooth serial adapters range from $40 to $250 dollars.  I am not looking to spend a ton of money so, luckily, I found a great post by Chris Marget on fragmentationneeded.net. In his post he highlights the UConnect BT232B from US Converters.  He says it's a slam dunk for Mac or PC and it seems very reasonably priced at $45.00.  I can't wait to give it a try and update once I get a look at it.
  5. Text Editor -   The text editor in the Mac is as good as notepad but you may want more.  Syntax highlighting is kinda like crack for those who are look at code or configs all day.  I wanted to list a couple text editor I have found invaluable. The first is Ultra Edit a robust text editor with a ton of extras and at $59 bucks well worth it. They also provide a ton of free extras such as the Cisco IOS language pack found here.  There is also a pretty good free alternative called Text Wrangler, it is the freeware version of BBEdit which i have not used, but it to also has a Cisco IOS language pack that can be downloaded from here.
Lastly, I welcome your ideas so feel free to list any apps hardware tor tricks you have found to make the Mac the network engineers friend.