I stumbled upon a really nice utility for Windows Vista called Start++.

From the website:

Start++ is an enhancement for the Start Menu in Windows Vista. It also extends the Run box and the command-line with customizable commands. For example, typing “w Windows Vista” will take you to the Windows Vista page on Wikipedia!

http://brandontools.com/content/StartPlusPlus.aspx

Problem

• In an age where globally route-able IP addresses are treated as a precious commodity, your residential Internet Service Provider happens to give you three as part of the basic package, but all over DHCP.
• You want the flexibility provided by having those three global IPs, but the safety and security of a router/firewall, or you happen to have more than three devices that need to use the Internet.

Solution: Build your own Router!

• How to build your own router is more than well documented on the web, and I won’t re-invent the wheel here. Most solutions involve a cheap PC, two network cards, and a Linux distribution.
• Assigning more than one static IP address to a single Network Interface Card is common practice for certain applications like Web Servers, and is accomplished in Linux using aliases (e.g., eth0:0) or in Windows by editing the Advanced TCP/IP properties for your network connection.
• The tricky part is getting those addresses via DHCP.

But how do I get more than one IP address on the same NIC via DHCP?

The way I discovered was by using a DHCP client for Linux called dhcpcd, which is available in many distributions’ package managers. dhcpcd has an option -I that allows you to specify your “Client ID” to the DHCP server. If not specified, the DHCP client sends your MAC address as the Client ID. For instance:

/sbin/dhcpcd -I 00:0B:20:21:22:23 eth0
/sbin/dhcpcd -I 00:0B:20:25:22:24 eth0:0
/sbin/dhcpcd -I 00:0B:20:25:22:25 eth0:1

You’re not spoofing your MAC address to the network itself, but just to the DHCP server.  From here, you can go on to create iptables rules to do whatever sort of NAT or Port Forwarding you wish. For instance, you might want to enable Remote Desktop to two different computers on your home network. With an off-the-shelf router, you would have to assign 3389 to one internal computer and a non-default port (e.g., 3390) to another. With the flexibility of more than one address, this is not necessary.

One of the most annoying things about Windows Vista’s new User Account Control is the “Secure Desktop”. I particularly dislike how it interrupts your work flow in the most startling way possible short of setting off an air raid siren. While I understand the premise behind it (it is supposed to prevent spoofing of the User Account Control prompt), I am perfectly comfortable recommending disabling it to any moderate to advanced Vista user. In any case, here’s how:

• From the Start Menu search box, type Local Security and allow yourself to elevate.
• The Security Settings window should appear: Navigate to Local Policies, Security Options.
• On the bottom of the right hand side, double click the setting User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation, Disable it, and you are good to go.

I’ve found the User Account Control prompts to be considerably more tolerable when disabling this feature. While this will not protect you from a malicious coder attempting to spoof the UAC prompt, I am OK with that level of risk.

Welcome to my blog. This blog will mainly cater to technical topics related to my background in Information Technology, with a spattering of politics, personal development, and other potential discussions. I already have a LiveJournal, so I do not suspect I will use this as a personal journal. In any case, it should be the source of most of the content for this web site. Stay tuned for future updates!