GoKawiil
Tech News
When ISPs only offer device rentals, consumers face a decision between ongoing fees and upfront purchases. Buying a $200 modem/router can be more economical over time, especially with typical rental costs of $20 per month. If users can select their own equipment, they gain customization options, improved security, and greater privacy, though initial costs may be higher.
Qualcomm announced its next flagship mobile chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, built on a 2nm process with an eight-core Oryon CPU, a 35% faster Adreno GPU, and an NPU that's 14% faster with 20% better performance-per-watt. The chip supports 8K video at 30fps, up to 320-megapixel photo capture, and connectivity including Wi-Fi 8, Bluetooth 6 and a new 5G modem, with an unspecified Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 variant offering additional features on the same architecture.
Cybersecurity guidance highlights that VPNs are most valuable in two situations: connecting to unsecured public Wi-Fi and preventing internet service providers from tracking browsing habits. Encrypting traffic through a VPN tunnel blocks eavesdroppers on shared networks and stops ISPs from logging and selling usage data to third parties, per FTC research cited in the coverage.
Free VPN services aren't simply schemes to sell user data; some reputable providers offer limited free tiers hoping users will upgrade, while others monetize through ads or unclear data practices. A VPN encrypts traffic between your device and its server, hiding your destinations from your ISP, but it doesn't make you anonymous since sites can still track you via accounts and cookies. Choosing a free VPN means evaluating the provider's business model and privacy tradeoffs, not just the lack of a price tag.
When a home network has both an ISP-supplied gateway and a personal router or mesh system, leaving both in default settings can create double NAT, since the ISP gateway keeps routing traffic even when connected to another router. The fix is to either put the ISP gateway into bridge mode so it stops routing, or switch the personal router into access point mode so it only extends Wi-Fi while the gateway keeps routing.
A developer has resumed work on DNet, a self-built network stack originally created while studying computer networking, after leaving it dormant for four years. The project handles TAP device creation, Ethernet frame parsing, ARP, ICMPv4, and UDP, and now includes a basic DNS server used as the authoritative resolver for the author's DN42 domain 42420167.xyz.