We use a WDTV media player to display slides on a big screen TV. The WDTV was modded using WDLXTV to automate the downloading of the slides. I was not involved in setting it up. However, when we did a security scan, we found that there were a lot of services running and that some of the services were vulnerable to attacks. After consulting with the person who set it up initially, we determined that none of the services were needed and, instead, should be turned off.

The configuration file is in the root directory of the USB storage. The file is called S00custom-options. You can either (1) turn off WDTV and move the USB storage to your computer and edit the file on your computer or (2) [if ssh or telnet is turned on]  log on to the WDTV and edit it online. I modified the file to turn off telnet, ftp, samba, ssh and mt-daapd.

# disable telnet server
config_tool -c TELNETD=OFF

# disable pure-ftpd server
config_tool -c FTPD=OFF

# disable samba share
config_tool -c ENABLE_SAMBA_SHARE=0

# disable dropbear ssh server
config_tool -c SSHD=OFF

# Disable mt-daapd digital audio server (saves ~10MB ram)
config_tool -c MT-DAAPD=OFF

Please see this page if you want to learn more about the options. After making the changes and restarting the WDTV, there was still one port open. The port was 111. The process was portmap, which is used to mount external NFS shares. I was supposed to be able to modify the S00custom-options file and add this line.

config_tool -c NFS=OFF

However, it wasn’t working. I found that there was a bug in the init file for portmap service. The service would run no matter how you configured it. My next step was to find a workaround. Reading through the main wiki page, I discovered that you could create a script to run after the machine boots up and finishes running all the other init scripts. The steps to create the S99user-script are detailed here.

http://wiki.wdlxtv.com/S99user-script

My script looks like this:

#!/bin/sh
killall portmap

I checked the ports again after this, and all the ports were finally closed.

I just replaced my old wireless router with a DD-WRT compatible router TP-Link TL-WR740N. The firmware has been reflashed to the latest DD-WRT version. After the switch, all my computers and wifi devices worked fine except iPhone and iPad. The wifi connection was intermittent on my iOS devices. When I tried the SpeedTest app, the performance was really bad. Sometimes the test failed completely.

I have tried a lot of different solutions that I could find on the internet. Here is a list of stuff I tried.

• Changed the wifi settings on the iOS devices to use public DNS like Google’s 8.8.8.8 or 4.4.4.4.
• Reset the network settings on the iOS devices.
• Tried different versions of DD-WRT on my router.
• Changed the router settings to disable QoS or WMM.
• Changed the router settings to use only 802.11g.

None of the above fixed the slow connection problem. I finally found an article about Netflix on iOS (iPad, iPhone) problem with DD-WRT’s dnsmasq. My problem was more serious, because the wifi connection was so bad and it’s not usable. I disabled dnsmasq on my router and rebooted it. My iOS devices could connect to my router once again without any problems! I have used the new settings for over a week now and I have never experienced slow wifi connection on my iOS devices again.

You can find the settings under Setup -> Basic Setup. Make sure Use DNSMasq for DHCP and Use DNSMasq for DNS are not checked.

I recently changed my home wireless router’s encryption from WEP to WPA Personal. Most of my computers and wireless-enabled devices could connect without a problem except for an old set-top media player. The player did support WPA Personal, but it just wouldn’t connect. When I looked at the router’s status, I could see the player trying to connect. However, it only connected for a few seconds before suddenly disconnecting.

After I entered the passphrase several times, I then realized the media player only took  a WPA key. There was no way to input a passphrase to the player.  Some routers do generate the key for you, but mine does not support it. I needed a way to convert the passphrase to key.

I found a web page that converts the WPA passphrase to key for you. The calculation is done using Javascript on your computer, so your WPA passphrase is not transmitted to the server after processing. If you are still worried about the potential leak of your passphrase, you can save the webpage on your computer. Disconnect your computer from the network and run the Javascript-enabled page for conversion. Here is the link.

WPA Passphrase to Key Calculation

After I entered the converted key into my media player, it connected to the wireless network and worked  right away. This is very useful if you have wireless-enabled devices that only take a WPA key but not a passphrase.

I have two PS2 EyeToy cameras that have not been used for a long time. When I tried out some camera security software, I needed an external web cam. Instead of shelling out money to buy a PC web cam, I thought it would be nice to use the EyeToy as a PC web cam. After searching a while for a driver, I was able to find one for Windows 7.

With the driver, the EyeToy has transformed to a nice PC web cam. The only problem is that the low light performance is unimpressive. I have read something about how you can turn a PC web cam to an infrared camera to improve low light performance. The idea is to remove the infrared filter and replace it with a visible light filter. Therefore, the camera uses infrared light instead of visible light as a light source. Here is what I did to convert the PS2 EyeToy to an infrared camera.

1. Turn the camera upside down. Peel off the sticker to reveal two screws.
   
2. Use a small screw driver to unscrew the two screws. Remove the bottom part gently.
   
3. The front of the camera is secured by some tabs. Use your fingernails to push the tabs radially and pull the black cylinder part out of the camera.
   
4. Turn the lens to remove it from the camera.
   
5. The infrared filter is glued on by a plastic ring. Use a sharp knife to separate the plastic ring and remove the infrared filter.
   
   
6. I used some unexposed and developed film as  my visible light filter. Cut the film to the size of the IR filter and put it back in the place where the IR filter was. Assemble the camera in reverse order and you are done.

I’ll post some images from the camera later.

Lonely Planet is offering their travel guides for US and Canada cities for free. Each guide was originally $5.99, and there are 13 guides to choose from. The offer ends at 6:00PM PST Friday, February 4th 2011.

•         San Francisco
•         New York City
•         Boston
•         Washington DC
•         Chicago
•         Seattle
•         New Orleans
•         Vancouver
•         Las Vegas
•         Miami
•         Toronto
•         Los Angeles
•         Montreal

[via Lonely Planet]

If you have tried to jailbreak your iPhone before, you’ll know that it is a big undertaking. There are a lot of files to download and a lot of steps to follow. The release of jailbreakme.com has changed all that. All you have to do is use the Mobile Safari to visit jailbreakme.com and slide the slider and you are all set.

As of this writing, this site can jailbreak iPhone 4 with iOS 4.0 or 4.01. It actually exploits a vulnerability of Mobile Safari to jailbreak your iPhone. Therefore, do not expect the site to work for later iOS versions.

Here are the steps with screenshots. As with any jailbreaking, back up your iPhone before you attempt it.

1. Open Mobile Safari and visit this site.
   jailbreakme.com
   
2. Slide to jailbreak. The following screenshots show the progress.
   
   
   
3. When jailbreaking is done, iPhone reboots. You can find Cydia on the home screen.
   

Panasonic has recently released a new product: a 3D shooting camcorder with full high density, progressive movie recording and an advanced 3MOS system with 7.59 million effective motion image pixels. Its capabilities allow the user to capture large groups, even when shooting up close, as well as zoom in beautifully on shots of distant subjects.

The only catch to this seemingly amazing device is that, in order to view the powerful 3D images, you must view it via a TV capable of side-by-side method 3D playback, 3D Eyewear, and HDMI cable connection.

Looking for more information? Click here to read more about it.

iPhone 4 has many more capabilities compared to its predecessors. With FaceTime, video calling will be enabled with its new front-facing camera. Its increased 960-by-640 resolution in a 3.5 inch screen allows you to view images with a never-seen-before clarity. What’s more, it can allow you to use multiple applications simultaneously without sacrificing performance or battery life. This new, soon-to-be-released device also has the ability to record and edit HD video. As Apple puts it, this iPhone “changes everything. Again.”

Pre-order starts Jun 15. Available Jun 24

[via Apple]

AT&T announced new mobile data plans for iPad and iPhone. There are two new plans introduced: DataPlus and DataPro.

DataPlus charges $15.00 per month for 200MB of data. If you use more than 200MB, you will be charged for $15.00 for each additional 200MB. DataPro charges $25.00 per month for 2GB of data. The overage is $10.00 for each additional 1GB. There is no unlimited data plan for new customers. Old customers can opt to choose the new data plans or keep the existing unlimited plan without affecting their contracts. The tethering option is also announced. It costs $20.00 on top of the new data plans.

Several tools are introduced to notify your data usage. AT&T will send you courtesy email and text after you reach 65%, 90% and 100% of your plan’s threshold. You can also dial *DATA# (*3282#) and AT&T will send you a free text with your usage.

The new plans will be available on June 7 2010.

[via AT&T]