Routers & Other Networking Stuff

Lanx · Jun 5, 2022

Lanx said:
my plan changes on jun4 then i can sign up to get 50% off

just signed up 25bucks /m for 5g, i should be getting the modem on tuesday, i guess it looks like when i break my 2yr contract from xfinity, i just pay the fine to them and verizon will reinburse me,

anyone ever did that?

Burns · Jun 5, 2022

Lanx said:
just signed up 25bucks /m for 5g, i should be getting the modem on tuesday, i guess it looks like when i break my 2yr contract from xfinity, i just pay the fine to them and verizon will reinburse me,

anyone ever did that?

I would call or email Verizon to ask what the procedure is for reimbursement for breaking a contract from Comcast. They may do it for you, like when you change phone service and keep the number.

What modem did you go with? Once I started looking at the service for my area, I would need an Antenna and a good modem to have a chance at solid service ($300+ worth of gear), and it would have still been multi-band LTE and not 5g (ATT business).

Lanx · Jun 5, 2022

Burns said:
I would call or email Verizon to ask what the procedure is for reimbursement for breaking a contract from Comcast. They may do it for you, like when you change phone service and keep the number.

What modem did you go with? Once I started looking at the service for my area, I would need an Antenna and a good modem to have a chance at solid service ($300+ worth of gear), and it would have still been multi-band LTE and not 5g (ATT business).

no choice was given i believe if you want verizon 5g you get the cube all in one

Burns · Jun 5, 2022

Lanx said:
no choice was given i believe if you want verizon 5g you get the cube all in one

Oh, I think you need to jump through hoops to get them to just send you just a sim card, or at least the people who are really into that shit seemed to be using their own setups. While I didn't spend much time on Verizon because they don't have a 5G tower anywhere close (or service at all), I think I read that the cube has been doing good, if you live in a metro area with halfway decent coverage.

If anyone really wants to get into the tech side, there are people that build their own modems and use antennas to pull in solid signals from the fringes of coverage (or just to have max connection all the time with low packet loss).

Wireless Joint - Index page

wirelessjoint.com

Lanx · Jun 5, 2022

Burns said:
Oh, I think you need to jump through hoops to get them to just send you just a sim card, or at least the people who are really into that shit seemed to be using their own setups. While I didn't spend much time on Verizon because they don't have a 5G tower anywhere close (or service at all), I think I read that the cube has been doing good, if you live in a metro area with halfway decent coverage.

If anyone really wants to get into the tech side, there are people that build their own modems and use antennas to pull in solid signals from the fringes of coverage (or just to have max connection all the time with low packet loss).

Wireless Joint - Index page

wirelessjoint.com

i live in the suburbs and when i walk around my hood cell service drops to zero in like 3spots, however i see coverage maps and i have 5g uw, ultrawide which is what 5g home internet is

regular 5g on phone dips and drops from 5g to 4g constantly, funny thing is my backyard has a 5g tower across the st, so i probably have to just move the cube all around my house and pick a good spot, if i'm lucky i'll find a place in my attic and just run a long run to my soon to be built networking closet

Burns · Jun 5, 2022

Lanx said:
i live in the suburbs and when i walk around my hood cell service drops to zero in like 3spots, however i see coverage maps and i have 5g uw, ultrawide which is what 5g home internet is

regular 5g on phone dips and drops from 5g to 4g constantly, funny thing is my backyard has a 5g tower across the st, so i probably have to just move the cube all around my house and pick a good spot, if i'm lucky i'll find a place in my attic and just run a long run to my soon to be built networking closet

The cube may be able to take an antenna, that way you can put the cube anywhere you want.

Antennas - The Wireless Haven

RF Antennas for Cellular 5G, 4G LTE, 3G, 2G, GNSS, GPS, WiFi, LORA, CBRS, and much more.

thewirelesshaven.com

Lanx · Jun 5, 2022

Burns said:
The cube may be able to take an antenna, that way you can put the cube anywhere you want.

Antennas - The Wireless Haven

RF Antennas for Cellular 5G, 4G LTE, 3G, 2G, GNSS, GPS, WiFi, LORA, CBRS, and much more.

thewirelesshaven.com

there were two styles i saw when i was looking at verizon, one is the cube 5g uw and i think the first interation was this huge router/antenna combo that was the sice of a piece of paper and like 4inches think and you had to find a good single w/ your phone and hang it on the window.

i saw reviews on the cube since theyre being rolled out now and theres only 2 rj45 and power port, i think the cube is made to like sit on a coffee table, like an alexa, the way it's styled

Lanx · Jun 8, 2022

Lanx said:
there were two styles i saw when i was looking at verizon, one is the cube 5g uw and i think the first interation was this huge router/antenna combo that was the sice of a piece of paper and like 4inches think and you had to find a good single w/ your phone and hang it on the window.

i saw reviews on the cube since theyre being rolled out now and theres only 2 rj45 and power port, i think the cube is made to like sit on a coffee table, like an alexa, the way it's styled

yea so far it's working out great, at various speedtests i get 250ish/20 out of the max 300 and it's actually just sitting in the middle of my den not near a window so i don't need no fancy antenna

zooms are fine arrrg is fine.

of course it is half of what xfinity is giving me which is around 500mbps, but then next month that is gonna jump to 80bucks /m if i want no cap and verizon is 250mbps no cap for 25bucks

i guess we'll see.

Void · Jun 14, 2022

After looking back at this thread a ways, I feel like this isn't really the proper place for this anymore, but it is the best I could find without starting an unnecessary new one.

I am the closest thing to an IT guy at the little company I work at. Which means I fix printers, set up new computers, etc. We have a server with a domain that everyone connects to with individual PCs, and all network traffic goes through the server. That's literally about all I can tell you about it.

We've been getting some really insidious fake emails lately that look pretty legit, even having snippets of real conversations in them, but they are clearly from bogus addresses once you know to look for it. They have various attachments, zip files with passwords, excel files with macros, etc. Of course, several people opened the fucking things even though gmail blatantly said it looked suspicious. I'm doing scans on everything that I can, but I'm not sure if it is going to catch everything or even what the attachments had in them malware-wise.

I feel like our network is slower now. Could be placebo, could be a lot of things, but I want to make sure it isn't someone's computer sending out shitloads of packets. We had stuff like that in the mid-2000s and it was hard to pin down.

Is there a free tool that I can install on the server and have it list how much data is being and sent and received per machine or IP address or whatever? I say free because I don't even know if anything is actually wrong, and I'd rather not convince them to buy something that a) I have no idea how to properly use, and b) might not even be needed.

Thanks!

Tmac · Jun 14, 2022

Void said:
After looking back at this thread a ways, I feel like this isn't really the proper place for this anymore, but it is the best I could find without starting an unnecessary new one.

I am the closest thing to an IT guy at the little company I work at. Which means I fix printers, set up new computers, etc. We have a server with a domain that everyone connects to with individual PCs, and all network traffic goes through the server. That's literally about all I can tell you about it.

We've been getting some really insidious fake emails lately that look pretty legit, even having snippets of real conversations in them, but they are clearly from bogus addresses once you know to look for it. They have various attachments, zip files with passwords, excel files with macros, etc. Of course, several people opened the fucking things even though gmail blatantly said it looked suspicious. I'm doing scans on everything that I can, but I'm not sure if it is going to catch everything or even what the attachments had in them malware-wise.

I feel like our network is slower now. Could be placebo, could be a lot of things, but I want to make sure it isn't someone's computer sending out shitloads of packets. We had stuff like that in the mid-2000s and it was hard to pin down.

Is there a free tool that I can install on the server and have it list how much data is being and sent and received per machine or IP address or whatever? I say free because I don't even know if anything is actually wrong, and I'd rather not convince them to buy something that a) I have no idea how to properly use, and b) might not even be needed.

Thanks!

If insidious shit is coming through, better to pay a little now than a LOT later. I'd look into getting whatever you feel like you need whether it's free or not. It'll make your lift 1000x easier if it prevents something bad from happening.

Kiki · Jun 14, 2022

Void said:
We've been getting some really insidious fake emails lately that look pretty legit, even having snippets of real conversations in them, but they are clearly from bogus addresses once you know to look for it. They have various attachments, zip files with passwords, excel files with macros, etc. Of course, several people opened the fucking things even though gmail blatantly said it looked suspicious. I'm doing scans on everything that I can, but I'm not sure if it is going to catch everything or even what the attachments had in them malware-wise.

I feel like our network is slower now. Could be placebo, could be a lot of things, but I want to make sure it isn't someone's computer sending out shitloads of packets. We had stuff like that in the mid-2000s and it was hard to pin down.

Is there a free tool that I can install on the server and have it list how much data is being and sent and received per machine or IP address or whatever? I say free because I don't even know if anything is actually wrong, and I'd rather not convince them to buy something that a) I have no idea how to properly use, and b) might not even be needed.

How is your speedtest looking? It will take some tools to see who is bittorenting tho, you could have a nice firewall or install wireshark on the server, etc. but is the server just doing dns and do you have a separate firewall? Need more info. I don't know your setup but you have things like in a pinch you just start unplugging people and seeing if you get more speed and play process of elimination, maybe you can manually check packets compared to uptime on their machine, etc. You could put monitoring/managing software on all the machines too to see how much traffic they are putting out. This is Ninja, helps with other things like remote desktop, patches, etc:

Someone needs some more memory.

There is a 30 day free trial of this, never used it, but it requires a real switch/router, not walmart shit.
NetFlow Traffic Analyzer | Real-Time NetFlow Analysis - ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer

Phishing is terrible now, I get phishing from gmail all day. You want a really nice cloud spam filter, shit is expensive tho. Look at appriver or mimecast ($$$), there are lots, unfortunately cutover is a pain, but you gotta try to find one you like. You can get fancy shit like impersonation protection on display name, sandboxing links, etc. Also you want some local protection on their machine when they do click anything (smart antivirus preferred, not dictionary shit), and backups in case they get fucked. I would not be afraid to spend money protecting your machines.

Void · Jun 14, 2022

Thanks guys. Problem is that I don't know enough about any of this to even know where to begin. Looks like we'll probably have to pay someone to come in and do it. I was hoping I could half-ass my way through it like everything else on this server.

To give you an idea though, I'm 100% certain that no one buy myself even knows what torrenting is, so that's definitely not it.

Mist · Jun 14, 2022

Void said:
After looking back at this thread a ways, I feel like this isn't really the proper place for this anymore, but it is the best I could find without starting an unnecessary new one.

I am the closest thing to an IT guy at the little company I work at. Which means I fix printers, set up new computers, etc. We have a server with a domain that everyone connects to with individual PCs, and all network traffic goes through the server. That's literally about all I can tell you about it.

We've been getting some really insidious fake emails lately that look pretty legit, even having snippets of real conversations in them, but they are clearly from bogus addresses once you know to look for it. They have various attachments, zip files with passwords, excel files with macros, etc. Of course, several people opened the fucking things even though gmail blatantly said it looked suspicious. I'm doing scans on everything that I can, but I'm not sure if it is going to catch everything or even what the attachments had in them malware-wise.

I feel like our network is slower now. Could be placebo, could be a lot of things, but I want to make sure it isn't someone's computer sending out shitloads of packets. We had stuff like that in the mid-2000s and it was hard to pin down.

Is there a free tool that I can install on the server and have it list how much data is being and sent and received per machine or IP address or whatever? I say free because I don't even know if anything is actually wrong, and I'd rather not convince them to buy something that a) I have no idea how to properly use, and b) might not even be needed.

Thanks!

You need to invest in getting a cybersecurity vendor asap.

Kithani · Jun 19, 2022

Void said:
Thanks guys. Problem is that I don't know enough about any of this to even know where to begin. Looks like we'll probably have to pay someone to come in and do it. I was hoping I could half-ass my way through it like everything else on this server.

To give you an idea though, I'm 100% certain that no one buy myself even knows what torrenting is, so that's definitely not it.

What is your actual job title at this place? It almost seems like you are gonna end up getting blamed for something that never should’ve been your job to begin with

Void · Jun 20, 2022

Kithani said:
What is your actual job title at this place? It almost seems like you are gonna end up getting blamed for something that never should’ve been your job to begin with

My job is completely unrelated to computers. I just happen to have the typical "gamer" knowledge most of us have and the ability to Google a fucking answer instead of flail about helplessly until someone else does that for me.

I won't get blamed for anything at all, I'm just trying to pre-empt any issues. We're a small company, around 10 that use computers and 10 that work in the shop or install. I physically built the server we have but we paid someone to set it all up because I have no fucking idea how to do all of that. Generally we get by well enough with me making sure there are no issues, and when there is we pay someone to fix it. And periodically we pay for checkups and maintenance, but nothing set in stone because everyone wants an arm and a leg for monthly maintenance or similar, and we really can't afford it. Yes, I realize it would cost a shitload in time and lost productivity if it crashed too. I bring that up constantly. So it's a fine line, and one that I don't hold the purse strings for. If it were up to me I'd pay someone else to handle it and never look at the fucking thing again.

Mist · Jun 20, 2022

Void said:
My job is completely unrelated to computers. I just happen to have the typical "gamer" knowledge most of us have and the ability to Google a fucking answer instead of flail about helplessly until someone else does that for me.

I won't get blamed for anything at all, I'm just trying to pre-empt any issues. We're a small company, around 10 that use computers and 10 that work in the shop or install. I physically built the server we have but we paid someone to set it all up because I have no fucking idea how to do all of that. Generally we get by well enough with me making sure there are no issues, and when there is we pay someone to fix it. And periodically we pay for checkups and maintenance, but nothing set in stone because everyone wants an arm and a leg for monthly maintenance or similar, and we really can't afford it. Yes, I realize it would cost a shitload in time and lost productivity if it crashed too. I bring that up constantly. So it's a fine line, and one that I don't hold the purse strings for. If it were up to me I'd pay someone else to handle it and never look at the fucking thing again.

You need an IT person at the very least.

Void · Jun 20, 2022

Mist said:
You need an IT person at the very least.

There would be literally nothing for them to do outside of maybe one day a month though. Well, unless they took over the "why can't I print this?" stuff I deal with every day, but that's hardly a burden. An annoyance that people are so dumb, sure, but usually not more than a few minutes a day.

I'm not arguing that we don't need *some* kind of IT presence, someone that isn't me, but it could easily be someone offsite that we pay to monitor things and fix something if it needs fixing.

MusicForFish · Jun 20, 2022

Void said:
There would be literally nothing for them to do outside of maybe one day a month though. Well, unless they took over the "why can't I print this?" stuff I deal with every day, but that's hardly a burden. An annoyance that people are so dumb, sure, but usually not more than a few minutes a day.

I'm not arguing that we don't need *some* kind of IT presence, someone that isn't me, but it could easily be someone offsite that we pay to monitor things and fix something if it needs fixing.

Nothing a little antigrav can't solve amirite!

Phazael · Jun 20, 2022

Void said:
There would be literally nothing for them to do outside of maybe one day a month though. Well, unless they took over the "why can't I print this?" stuff I deal with every day, but that's hardly a burden. An annoyance that people are so dumb, sure, but usually not more than a few minutes a day.

I'm not arguing that we don't need *some* kind of IT presence, someone that isn't me, but it could easily be someone offsite that we pay to monitor things and fix something if it needs fixing.

You could probably find a halfway decent junior level Sysad who could cover both aspects of that role. There are numerous ways to solve this issue long term. You could even contract a company to migrate you to a cloud platform and manage the basic shit for you. From the sounds of it, your company is smaller and probably abusing you to do the work that should be being handled by a professional. Step one is what Mist said. Get someone with basic Sysad knowledge on the payroll and probably hire a cybersec vendor to do a threat assessment for your business. It won't be cheap, but neither will all your shit going tits up out of the blue with no one to help and no recovery plan.

Tmac · Jun 20, 2022

Void said:
There would be literally nothing for them to do outside of maybe one day a month though. Well, unless they took over the "why can't I print this?" stuff I deal with every day, but that's hardly a burden. An annoyance that people are so dumb, sure, but usually not more than a few minutes a day.

I'm not arguing that we don't need *some* kind of IT presence, someone that isn't me, but it could easily be someone offsite that we pay to monitor things and fix something if it needs fixing.

Contract with a third-party to get yall setup and have them come in once a month?

Routers & Other Networking Stuff

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