Old‑school tech tricks & crypto safety — no glitter, just practice.
Name's Michael Harper. 45. American. IT/telecom engineer. Republican (we measure instead of panic). This is a gloriously unstructured pile of notes, scripts, and opinions — the way any self‑respecting curmudgeon‑engineer keeps it.
That failed gadget — and what it taught me
Yes, there used to be a landing here for a “magic” Wi‑Fi booster. Nobody bought it (good call). I keep this scar as a reminder: measure before you drag new hardware into the house. Here's a cleaned‑up Wi‑Fi triage checklist spun from that very article.
- Windows: open cmd as admin → run netsh wlan show wlanreport. It spits an HTML report with stability/errors.
- macOS/Linux: airport -I / iw dev / iwconfig. RSSI worse than −70 dBm? Revisit layout & channels.
- Router: pin the channel, kill “auto‑everything”, split 2.4 and 5 GHz into separate SSIDs.
Bottom line: not everything is fixed by a “booster”. Sometimes a screwdriver. Mostly a brain.
Tool of the week
wifiscan.ps1
# quick RSSI map for lazy people $interfaces = netsh wlan show interfaces # yes it's ugly, yes it works
Tech Tricks
- • Passwordless SSH: ssh-copy-id, ~/.ssh/config, ProxyJump
- • "Dirty" backups: rsync --link-dest + external HDD
- • Home ad‑blocking: pihole or unbound on a SBC
- • Can’t‑be‑bothered LAN scan: arp -a → MAC → notes
Crypto Safety
Less “to the moon”, more OPSEC. If your seed lives in the cloud — I have bad news.
- • Hardware wallet + offline seed backup (metal/laminated paper in a safe)
- • 2FA: TOTP, not SMS. Backup codes on paper
- • Phishing: verify the domain, ignore “support” DMs
Crypto Safety Weekly (newsletter)
Short, practical emails about not getting robbed. No hype, no shills.
Tools
- Wi‑Fi Troubleshooting Sheet — a room‑by‑room measurement sheet
- LAN cheat‑sheet — quick commands for home troubleshooting
- TopXtend Booster — archived (kept for history)
What attackers hit most
SIM‑swaps, vacuum‑cleaner browser extensions, and Telegram “support”. A one‑pager for your relatives.
ReadCold Storage for the Stubborn
How to live with an offline wallet and stay married. My backup cadence & seed checks.
Read
Michael Harper
A story from the trenches (yes, I’m that old‑school)
Politics? I’m for personal responsibility. In crypto that means: be your own bank, be your own security team.