Tips Band Steering – access point waits 15secs before responding on 2.4GHz to give more time for client to connect to 5GHz instead. 802.11 Wi-Fi Standards: Typical RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) values: (*Technically vendors choose their own RSSI scale, reporting some value between 0 – 255.)
Microsoft 365 Login Requires Phone
If the new user account has MFA enabled in the per user (legacy) way, under Microsoft 365 admin center -> Active users -> Multi-factor authentication, then Microsoft may insist on a phone number being added at login with no option for other methods to prove identity. I.e. no authenticator app, email or other MFA. To … Continue reading Microsoft 365 Login Requires Phone
Windows Laptop Battery and Power Savings Plans
Windows provides several battery status levels to allow appropriate actions. Tune these as appropriate to your requirements. Settings -> System -> Power and Sleep: Settings -> System -> Battery: Control Panel -> Power Options -> Advanced settings:
RDP to IP address for Entra joined Windows 11 computer
To RDP to a Win11 computer using an Entra ID (i.e. Azure AD, AAD), the official requirement is to select the Advanced tab in the remote desktop client and tick the option for “Use a web account to sign in to the remote computer”. This mechanism then uses Edge to provide web authentication for the … Continue reading RDP to IP address for Entra joined Windows 11 computer
IPsec on Debian Bookworm with Swanctl
Strongswan-swanctl introduces the new configuration format for IPsec on Debian Bookworm. Unfortunately the configuration is more convoluted. Start by installing charon-systemd, which will bring in the required packages: sudo apt install charon-systemd Key component packages: Example road-warrior config shown below, using IKEv2 with a certificate to authenticate the server and a user ID and password … Continue reading IPsec on Debian Bookworm with Swanctl
Remove Search bar in Thunderbird 115
Thunderird update 115, Supernova, adds a bar above the start menu that includes a lot of wasted space and a search box in the middle. Whilst the bar can be customised, unfortunately Mozilla developers have chosen not to add an option to remove it through settings. To remove the bar: unified-toolbar { display: none !important; … Continue reading Remove Search bar in Thunderbird 115
Draytek IPsec VPN errors
The following errors occur on a Draytek IPsec if the VPN name has been modified: ISAKMP Identification Payload has an unknown value … … ISAKMP payload must be zero … … smalformed payload: probable authentication (preshared secret) failure … Matching General Setup key for dynamic ip client … To fix the problem it is necessary … Continue reading Draytek IPsec VPN errors
How to install Debian from Windows without writing a USB or CD-ROM, on UEFI system
This post outlines how to install Debian without requiring writing the ISO image to a USB or burning to DVD drive.
Rename a user in Linux
If you have a single user account it is not possible to rename the user login name whilst logged on. To do so use cron to run the necessary commands. Create a script with the required commands: nano /usr/local/bin/rename_user # First rename the user login: /usr/sbin/usermod –login newlogin oldlogin # Second rename the group account: … Continue reading Rename a user in Linux
Practical IPsec VPN Information
IPsec (common for IKEv1 and IKEv2): IKEv1: AH vs ESP: Perfect Forward Security (PFS): Dead-Peer Detection (DPD): Aggressive vs. Main: IKEv2 enhancements: Xauth: L2TP/IPsec: