Re: [PLUG] Any Z915 users out there? - was [Re: Problem using a T-mobile Z915 Hotspot on a Linux machine]
> > > Something somewhere that tells the OS exists and where/how connected. > the Z915 does this, via a mechanism called DHCP. overriding the values provided by DHCP _can_ break your access, if you do it wrong, but is easily reversible by undoing the changes. I fondly remember simplicity of an acoustic coupler. IIRC I once used > one not even RS232 but a 20 mA current loop. > I remember 12AX7's and 026's > > this only works if the connection is 1-to-1. at some point, someone will have to decide how information gets from one end of a web to the other. -wes ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
[PLUG] Any Z915 users out there? - was [Re: Problem using a T-mobile Z915 Hotspot on a Linux machine]
On 06/15/2017 06:27 PM, wes wrote: >> >> If I enter the numeric IP # referenced in resolv.conf into the browser's >> address bar I see the screen used to access the setup of the Z915 > > > from this, I conclude that the Z915 is instructing its connected > clients to pass DNS requests through itself. it probably runs a cache > to reduce load on t-mobile's DNS servers. if you wanted, you could > alter the Z915's config to use different DNS servers itself, rather > than overriding them at the client level. your preference. That would be my first choice. The Z915's user interface gives no hint of a settable DNS IP. My web search turned up nothing. That's what makes me suspicious of "bad things" happening if I attempt to avoid their in house DNS. I was hoping I'd see a reply from a Z915 user. > > >> >> 1. Would using a "foreign" DNS cause me problems with T-mobile? >> > > no. > > 2. Without a numeric IP in resolv.conf, how would my OS know how/where >> to access the Z915? >> > > define "access" Something somewhere that tells the OS exists and where/how connected. I fondly remember simplicity of an acoustic coupler. IIRC I once used one not even RS232 but a 20 mA current loop. I remember 12AX7's and 026's > - in this case, resolv.conf only controls where your system > looks for answers to DNS queries. with no entries in this file, your system > would be unable to find those answers, and your internet connection would > be usable only by IP address (as in, not very practical). > > >> >>> >>> Those are the Google nameservers. >> >> Anything with Google makes me wary. >> > > I use 4.2.2.2 personally, but it's operated by Verizon so probably not much > better than Google. at some point you just have to pick your poison. > > -wes ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Problem using a T-mobile Z915 Hotspot on a Linux machine
> > If I enter the numeric IP # referenced in resolv.conf into the browser's > address bar I see the screen used to access the setup of the Z915 from this, I conclude that the Z915 is instructing its connected clients to pass DNS requests through itself. it probably runs a cache to reduce load on t-mobile's DNS servers. if you wanted, you could alter the Z915's config to use different DNS servers itself, rather than overriding them at the client level. your preference. > > 1. Would using a "foreign" DNS cause me problems with T-mobile? > no. 2. Without a numeric IP in resolv.conf, how would my OS know how/where > to access the Z915? > define "access" - in this case, resolv.conf only controls where your system looks for answers to DNS queries. with no entries in this file, your system would be unable to find those answers, and your internet connection would be usable only by IP address (as in, not very practical). > > > > > Those are the Google nameservers. > > Anything with Google makes me wary. > I use 4.2.2.2 personally, but it's operated by Verizon so probably not much better than Google. at some point you just have to pick your poison. -wes ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Problem using a T-mobile Z915 Hotspot on a Linux machine
On 06/15/2017 03:13 PM, John Jason Jordan wrote: > On Thu, 15 Jun 2017 14:40:58 -0500 > Richard Owlett dijo: > >> About a year ago my local ISP terminated dial-up service and was not >> marketing wideband to home users. I decided against any type of >> fixed >> point of service (i.e. telco, cable, or satellite). I looked for a >> "cell network modem" (proper term?). The closest thing I could find >>from a provider with a physically local presence was the Z915. Having >> only 1 machine I have no use for its WiFi capability. For connecting >> to the internet the hardware aspects are fine. My OS is Debian >> Stretch. > > I have a Note 3 phone, originally T-Mobile, now MetroPCS. MetroPCS has > always had a deal with T-Mobile to use their network, and now MetroPCS > is owned by T-Mobile. > > It used to be that you had to pay extra to use your phone (or modem) > as a hotspot, but about a year ago someone told me that there is no > longer an extra charge. The Z915 is explicitly a Hotspot - It has *NO* voice capability. > I pay $30 a month for 5GB of data, and using my phone > as a hotspot is included. > > Recently I had a problem with my new Centurylink gigabit fiber > connection - no connection at all. Of course this occurred on a Friday > night, too late to get anyone by phone. Have you ever tried to > communicate with Centurylink when you have no net connection? > > Eventually I figured out how to turn my phone into a hotspot. > My laptop saw the hotspot, but could not connect to it. I was tearing > my hair out > when it dawned on me to try a physical connection. I charge my phone > with a USB cable from my laptop, so I just plugged it in. Voilà! I was > on the net. And it wasn't even terribly slow. I never did figure out > why my laptop couldn't connect to the hotspot by wifi. > > Once I had a connection I was able to get Centurylink to schedule a > service call, although the earliest they could do was Monday. Knowing > that I had only 5GB of high speed data I turned off everything that > might use a lot of data. Over the weekend I used the connection just > for e-mail and browsing the web. Once my fiber connection was restored > I turned off the hotspot and checked my data usage on the phone - I > had used only 400MB over the weekend. I typically use approximately 800-900 MB per *MONTH* ;/ > > The point I want to make is that I did it with just my now several > years old phone. So why do you need the Z915? Does it give you extra > benefits? Yes, I've a real computer with a real screen and keyboard. YMMV LOL And no one has convinced me that a smart(sic) phone is an adequate substitute for a telephone. ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Problem using a T-mobile Z915 Hotspot on a Linux machine
On 06/15/2017 03:07 PM, Bill Barry wrote: > On Thu, Jun 15, 2017 at 12:40 PM, Richard Owlett > wrote: > >> About a year ago my local ISP terminated dial-up service and was not >> marketing wideband to home users. I decided against any type of fixed >> point of service (i.e. telco, cable, or satellite). I looked for a "cell >> network modem" (proper term?). The closest thing I could find from a >> provider with a physically local presence was the Z915. Having only 1 >> machine I have no use for its WiFi capability. For connecting to the >> internet the hardware aspects are fine. My OS is Debian Stretch. >> >> My problem occurs when you mistype a URL. Instead of being given a >> simple error message and leaving the URL visible for editing it >> transfers you the most inane page of suggested places to go. >> >> Initially I was looking for a way to block the inane site. Someone on a >> T-mobile oriented USENET list provided me with a list of numeric IPs for >> that site, but being a Windows only user could not suggest "howto". I >> couldn't find any Linux related info that did not assume presume a >> server was being discussed, not a single machine home user. >> >> A alternate suggestion was using a public DNS. I don't think the Linux >> suggestions I found would work in my case. Apparently my >> /etc/resolv.conf contains only the IP of the Z915 itself. >> >> Am I even looking in the right place(s)? >> TIA >> > Yes, the fact that your resolv.conf only contains the ip of the > z915 is the problem. Remove that line and add a couple of lines > for public nameservers. > > nameserver 8.8.8.8 > nameserver 8.8.4.4 That resolv.conf is the problem is not unexpected. If I enter the numeric IP # referenced in resolv.conf into the browser's address bar I see the screen used to access the setup of the Z915 - as if I had entered http://www.mobile.hotspot/index.html . Two things caused me word my subject line as I did (hoping for a response from a Z915 user): 1. Would using a "foreign" DNS cause me problems with T-mobile? 2. Without a numeric IP in resolv.conf, how would my OS know how/where to access the Z915? > > Those are the Google nameservers. Anything with Google makes me wary. > If you prefer other nameservers, > There are some suggestions here: > https://www.lifewire.com/free-and-public-dns-servers-2626062 I'll browse it to see if any have a "better" privacy statement than Google's. Thanks. ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Problem using a T-mobile Z915 Hotspot on a Linux machine
On Thu, 15 Jun 2017 14:40:58 -0500 Richard Owlett dijo: >About a year ago my local ISP terminated dial-up service and was not >marketing wideband to home users. I decided against any type of fixed >point of service (i.e. telco, cable, or satellite). I looked for a >"cell network modem" (proper term?). The closest thing I could find >from a provider with a physically local presence was the Z915. Having >only 1 machine I have no use for its WiFi capability. For connecting >to the internet the hardware aspects are fine. My OS is Debian Stretch. I have a Note 3 phone, originally T-Mobile, now MetroPCS. MetroPCS has always had a deal with T-Mobile to use their network, and now MetroPCS is owned by T-Mobile. It used to be that you had to pay extra to use your phone (or modem) as a hotspot, but about a year ago someone told me that there is no longer an extra charge. I pay $30 a month for 5GB of data, and using my phone as a hotspot is included. Recently I had a problem with my new Centurylink gigabit fiber connection - no connection at all. Of course this occurred on a Friday night, too late to get anyone by phone. Have you ever tried to communicate with Centurylink when you have no net connection? Eventually I figured out how to turn my phone into a hotspot. My laptop saw the hotspot, but could not connect to it. I was tearing my hair out when it dawned on me to try a physical connection. I charge my phone with a USB cable from my laptop, so I just plugged it in. Voilà! I was on the net. And it wasn't even terribly slow. I never did figure out why my laptop couldn't connect to the hotspot by wifi. Once I had a connection I was able to get Centurylink to schedule a service call, although the earliest they could do was Monday. Knowing that I had only 5GB of high speed data I turned off everything that might use a lot of data. Over the weekend I used the connection just for e-mail and browsing the web. Once my fiber connection was restored I turned off the hotspot and checked my data usage on the phone - I had used only 400MB over the weekend. The point I want to make is that I did it with just my now several years old phone. So why do you need the Z915? Does it give you extra benefits? ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Problem using a T-mobile Z915 Hotspot on a Linux machine
On Thu, Jun 15, 2017 at 12:40 PM, Richard Owlett wrote: > About a year ago my local ISP terminated dial-up service and was not > marketing wideband to home users. I decided against any type of fixed > point of service (i.e. telco, cable, or satellite). I looked for a "cell > network modem" (proper term?). The closest thing I could find from a > provider with a physically local presence was the Z915. Having only 1 > machine I have no use for its WiFi capability. For connecting to the > internet the hardware aspects are fine. My OS is Debian Stretch. > > My problem occurs when you mistype a URL. Instead of being given a > simple error message and leaving the URL visible for editing it > transfers you the most inane page of suggested places to go. > > Initially I was looking for a way to block the inane site. Someone on a > T-mobile oriented USENET list provided me with a list of numeric IPs for > that site, but being a Windows only user could not suggest "howto". I > couldn't find any Linux related info that did not assume presume a > server was being discussed, not a single machine home user. > > A alternate suggestion was using a public DNS. I don't think the Linux > suggestions I found would work in my case. Apparently my > /etc/resolv.conf contains only the IP of the Z915 itself. > > Am I even looking in the right place(s)? > TIA > > > Yes, the fact that your resolv.conf only contains the ip of the z915 is the problem. Remove that line and add a couple of lines for public nameservers. nameserver 8.8.8.8 nameserver 8.8.4.4 Those are the Google nameservers. If you prefer other nameservers, There are some suggestions here: https://www.lifewire.com/free-and-public-dns-servers-2626062 Bill Barry ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
[PLUG] Problem using a T-mobile Z915 Hotspot on a Linux machine
About a year ago my local ISP terminated dial-up service and was not marketing wideband to home users. I decided against any type of fixed point of service (i.e. telco, cable, or satellite). I looked for a "cell network modem" (proper term?). The closest thing I could find from a provider with a physically local presence was the Z915. Having only 1 machine I have no use for its WiFi capability. For connecting to the internet the hardware aspects are fine. My OS is Debian Stretch. My problem occurs when you mistype a URL. Instead of being given a simple error message and leaving the URL visible for editing it transfers you the most inane page of suggested places to go. Initially I was looking for a way to block the inane site. Someone on a T-mobile oriented USENET list provided me with a list of numeric IPs for that site, but being a Windows only user could not suggest "howto". I couldn't find any Linux related info that did not assume presume a server was being discussed, not a single machine home user. A alternate suggestion was using a public DNS. I don't think the Linux suggestions I found would work in my case. Apparently my /etc/resolv.conf contains only the IP of the Z915 itself. Am I even looking in the right place(s)? TIA ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Understanding where e-mails can get lost
On Thu, 15 Jun 2017, Michael wrote: > They tell you the messages bounce. Ask one of them to forward you a copy > of the bounce message. That will tell you why your system bounced it. You > can then examine log files with a reference point. Michael, I've asked for a copy of the bounce message, but the original was not rejected here. There was no record in any mail or system log showing incoming mail from that domain at that time. Rich ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Understanding where e-mails can get lost
On 2017-06-14 10:27, Rich Shepard wrote: > I'm a member of an organization that sends a weekly newsletter to > members > via e-mail every Tuesday at 8:00pm PDT (although their mail server's > clock > is set to UTC). They undoubtably run Windows on all their machines and > I'm > assuming they use the MS equivalent of 'at' to send the messages while > no > one's in the office. > >These messages never arrive here. The mail logs have no record of a > message from that domain around 8:00pm PDT on Tuesday evenings. E-mail > messages from individuals at that domain arrive here with no problems, > yet > they tell me that the newsletters (sent to the same -- correct -- > address as > individual messages) 'bounce'. There is little computer expertise at > the > sender's end. > >Is there anything I can run from here to try to find why these > newsletters > never arrive while other messages have no problems? They tell you the messages bounce. Ask one of them to forward you a copy of the bounce message. That will tell you why your system bounced it. You can then examine log files with a reference point. -- Michael Rasmussen, Portland Oregon Be Appropriate && Follow Your Curiosity ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
[PLUG] Clinic on Sunday
Reminder, the Linux Clinic is this Sunday, 1-5pm. Bring your ailing systems or questions and we will try to help, or at least get you pointed in a useful direction. We will spend the first portion of our time on a presentation about the basics of networking. Free Geek 1731 SE 10th Ave Portland, OR 97214 -wes ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
