The Link Cornucopia

Cornucopia image (modified) from "Good Free Photos".
Used under the  CC0 / Public Domain License.

This page is going to be an ever growing collection of links I find very useful, or in some cases have saved the day from utter destruction. Like the rest of this blog it most likely will meander hither and froe without any central topic. Do however have a look because you will find something interesting I am sure. All headings will open as separate windows.

 

• "Alt-F" Open-source alternative firmware for the D-Link DNS 323 NAS devices.
   

For many, many years, I have had a D-Link DNS-323 network attached storage RAID on my network which has gone through at least five sets of drives over the years. I tend to replace the drives every two years because they are mechanical units.

In the last year, the firmware has become increasingly problematic with the latest set of drives. It was like playing Russian roulette if the machine ever went down unexpectedly. The usual scenario was upon bootup it would get stuck in a loop I would physically pull out the drives and access the partitions using Linux to cleanup whatever corruption there was. Then I found this wonderful open-source software replacement called "Alt-F1" which aside from being incredibly stable after six months of use also increases the maximum drive size to 8 TB. And has many other features if you're prepared to get a little technical.

So here is the link to the open-source project on Source Forge. This firmware is compatible with DLINK DNS-320/320L/321/323/325/327L and DNR-322L, but please read the documentation.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/alt-f/

One thing to note however: You will need to backup your data first as the install procedure and configuration will wipe the current drives. Also this will completely replace the D-Link DNS 323 interface. You should be somewhat familiar with Linux drive concepts and naming schemes. It's not difficult but there is a learning curve.

Take care Patrick,

• NAS-Tweaks.net

 This site proved to be a godsend over the last week. I have an older Network Storage Device (NAS) which developed a major problem with the music database. Even though I have the material backed up in other places I was not looking forward to reinstalling 15 years of material. It would've taken weeks to do it by hand. If you have a D-Link DNS-323 or similar vintage NAS device this is the site for you. Clearly written, with excellent examples and explanations. I found it refreshing from the typical overly wordy hobbyist sites.

• The Internet Archive's Way Back Machine

 Have you ever had a favourite webpage disappear off the Internet?… Of course. This has happened everyone at one time or another. The "Internet Archive" is a nonprofit organization which attempts to keep available versions of off-line websites and unique content. Their Way Back-Machine is an excellent resource. All you need is the old webpage address and they will look it up and find you a copy of the beloved website.

I personally use it quite frequently and in fact one of my earliest webpages is in part still available. You can read more about that here in an earlier posting "The Internet: The New Elephant That Never Forgets."

•  BC Technology for Learning Society

This is a tremendous resource for so many reasons if you're a nonprofit, charity etc.. Apologies for copying the following text write off their website, but it describes what they do perfectly:

"BC Tech is a registered charity that collects donated computers (and all types of other tech devices), trains and hires youth to refurbish the computers, and then distributes the computers to schools, nonprofits, libraries, First Nations groups, and students.

Since 1994, we have delivered the Computers for Schools Plus program across British Columbia, distributing over 170,000 computers!"

• Perfect passwords

This site is about as straightforward as you can get. Go here to view randomly generated high quality passwords. Hosted by Gibson Research, created and run by Steve Gibson who originally discovered the first "malware" in the wild.

Also you will find many other tools and tests for ensuring your privacy on the Internet. Everything is completely documented, It's a Geek's Dream Come True.