Windows 10 Anniversary Update DHCPV6 (Still) Broken

According to threads on Microsoft’s Developer Network, DHCPV6 has been broken since the first deployments of the Anniversary Update last August. I first noticed an issue on October 4 where several Windows clients would no longer register their IPV6 DNS address post update.

While this has been broken for a couple of months, I was advised today by Adam Rudell, a Microsoft Support Escalation Engineer, that the “PG is actively investigating. I just updated the TechNet thread and will follow up as soon as PG has provided me some more information.”

The full thread can be read here.

Windows 10 Update – Unhappy Anniversary

The Windows 10 anniversary update came recently to my radio room computer. The folks in Redmond have some quality assurance problems to resolve. Here’s what I’ve noticed so far.

All my firewall rules were deleted. This means that as I run applications which require external access, I have to reauthorize them. While it is not a bad practice to occasionally review these settings, I would have preferred to do so at a time of my own choosing.

The WINUSB driver used by my Perseus SDR was deleted. I had to reinstall the driver and to do so, I had to go through the multiple reboots to allow installation of the unsigned 64 bit driver. Not fun.

My sound device settings were changed. The friendly name for the SignaLink USB sound card device that is connected to my Kenwood TS-2000 reverted to “USB Audio CODEC” and Windows decided to make that device my default sound and communications devices.

This update was hardly the best anniversary present that Microsoft could have given me.

September RF Bits in CQ – Erratum

cq-contents-sept-2016As luck would have it, a key URL for the software mentioned in my September CQ Magazine RF Bits column no longer works. That is because the author, Mike Guenther, DL2MF, decided to withdraw support for the DV4MF2 console for the DV4mini. Whatever his reasons, we have luckily archived a copy for your convenience. So if you arrive at a German language page with a “no more available” caption in English at the top, fret not and get your copy of DV4MF2.exe right here.

While the author has withdrawn support, the software nonetheless functions as it did when my article was prepared for your enjoyment. Other software for the DV4mini is also available and supported by Wireless Holdings, although lacking the nice Brandmaster XTG support that DV4MF2 offered.

It would be great if more radio amateurs released their software under some open source license so that work by and for the community could be continued as needed. We have far too much orphaned software in regular use in the amateur community. A perfect example of this is UI-View32. The author’s last wishes upon his death included the destruction of the source code. Yet, the program is still used by many amateur stations around the world. Imagine how much more useful the orphaned software could be if the source code were available for further development?

Android Security Just Got a Whole Lot Better

While Marshmallows are soft and gooey, Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) is one tough cookie. Marshmallow provides granular security controls that allow you to decide whether an application gets access to particular information. Tired of LinkedIn or Facebook trying to grab all your contacts?

Android Marshmallow allows for more granular control of application permissions.
Android Marshmallow allows for more granular control of application permissions.
Now you can control this behavior.

To take a look at these settings, go to Settings->Apps->Application manager. Pick an app and you’ll see a bunch of sliders that let you turn access on or off for that control. Newer app versions directly support the Marshmallow security model. Older apps don’t and may malfunction, but don’t let that stop you from trying out settings that meet your security requirements.

Blackberry has had this level of application security control for many years. It is good to see that Android is now taking application and data security very seriously.

Chrome OS – The Right OS for Many

I am convinced that Google’s Chrome OS is highly underrated and under appreciated. I have been testing an ARM based Chromebook as well as an ARM based Chomestick with great results. If your primary email address is @gmail.com, and if most of your computer activity is email, messaging, and light document prep, you don’t need the complexity of Windows or Linux. And, if you think that Mac OS is simple to use, you have not tried Chrome.

The Asus CS10 boasts a quad-core RockChip 3288-C CPU, 2 GB RAM, and 16 GB eMMC.
The Asus CS10 boasts a quad-core RockChip 3288-C CPU, 2 GB RAM, and 16 GB eMMC.

I especially like the Asus Chromebit that arrived yesterday and which is now stuck on the back of a several year old Sony Bravia in the den. I plan to use it where I need a web browser to access content that is not already integrated into TiVo. Paired with a small Logitech wireless keyboard, it is all I need in the den and will free up the i5 Windows 10 machine that was previously used for web streaming.

WordPress Security 101

When I installed WordPress on this site, one thing that concerned me is that login and administrative functions were not using SSL by default. OK, I didn’t have an SSL certificate installed at that point, fair enough. But once the SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt was installed, I set about learning how to secure these functions.

It is very simple.

In the same directory where WordPress is installed you’ll find a file named “wp-config.php”. Add the following line toward the bottom, right above the “That’s all” comment:

define(‘FORCE_SSL_ADMIN’, true);

Save the file and you’re good to go. Assuming that an SSL certificate is properly installed on your web server, login and administration will now go over SSL.

I then set out to further validate my WordPress security. I found this free web based tool.

I ran it against this site and found that my user accounts could be enumerated. This is clearly information leakage that should be avoided. The solution is to enable a WordPress plugin that stops this behavior. The plugin can be found here.

Download the plugin and copy it to the plugins directory as described in the Installation section of the above page. Using the plugins menu of the WordPress administration console, activate the plugin.

Run the scan again against your WordPress site and you’ll see that this issue has been resolved.

Let’s Encrypt – Free SSL Certificates for Everyone

One of the best things I learned at Hope XI is that we no longer have to pay for SSL certificates. In an effort to make web encryption universal, the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) has started Let’s Encrypt. Lest you think that this is an evil hacker plot to steal your encryption keys and data, you may feel better to know that the Technical Advisory Board is comprised of representatives from Akamai, Cisco, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla, and the Internet Society. This project is on the level and taking off.

My first certificate will be used to encrypt connections to this site. I’m sure that it will be the first of many. One downside is a short validity window (90 days) but Let’s Encrypt is offering automated tools to make the entire installation process simple and transparent. Unfortunately, this site is my free Optimum 60 website and I have limited control over the server, so I must wait for Optonline tech support to install my certificate.

VOA Radiogram

Remember the Voice of America? It presented an American point of view to the world and helped the West to win the cold war in Europe. Well, VOA is still transmitting and is embracing modern technology to stay relevant.

Kim Andrew Elliot produces a weekly “VOA Radiogram”, which uses audio tones to send digital information that can penetrate jamming and get through adverse reception conditions. You don’t need anything too sophisticated to start playing with this technology, just a radio that can receive shortwave, a computer with a sound card input, a patch cord, and a free program called FLDIGI.

Much of the content is transmitted in MFSK32, which provides good results. Some transmissions include pictures as well as text. Some folks have even reported decoding content by holding their smartphone up to the radio speaker, although I have not tried this approach myself.

Give “VOA Radiogram” a listen this weekend. Here’s the schedule information:

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 177, 20-21 August 2016, all in MFSK32 centered on 1500 Hz:

1:31 Program preview (now)
2:42 China launches hack-proof satellite*
8:32 Twitter closes terror-linked accounts*
13:59 Why is Washington’s subway system falling apart?*
26:40 Closing announcements
29:09 Flmsg surprise (with audio)

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com .

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5745 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17580 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.