Central Seven

Science is fun!

Easy site/database backup with mysqldump and crontab

For sites with databases, frequent backups are necessary. Anyone who has ever accidentally dropped a crucial database table will know this lesson very well. Here’s a quick an easy system for backups: First, the Mysql backup. Create a file in /home/user called .my.cnf It’s format should be as follows: [client] user = db_user password =…

SDR-RTL with R820T2 and DVB-T

I recently had the pleasure of purchasing a NooElec SDR-RTl. Based on the R820T2 chip, these $15 USB devices are capable of picking up signals from 24 to ~1766 MHz, which covers a fair bit of the usable spectrum.They can’t transmit, but they’re cheap enough and powerful enough that they would make a fun toy…

Installing OpenVPN on OpenWRT

With lots of open access points these days, it’s tempting to just connect and forget. But so much of browsing is still transmitted in the clear, without HTTPS or other forms of security, and that data is vulnerable to sniffing. One easy solution, a VPN. But why pay for a service that you can provide…