Malware Question

[SpudMan]

Yesterday on my Mac I searched for something and opened a site that looked normal. When I opened it the site was all in some foreign language and looked dangerous. I shut it down right away, ran my malware program (Intego) and changed passwords. But I am wondering if I should be further worried about possible malware or hacking? I do my personal stuff on this Mac also.
I bought my home a few years ago and it is fully wired for ethernet internet but there is no hub or anything to allow me to connect to the outlets throughout the house. I am wondering if using the ethernet would be safer than wifi? If so, does anyone have a recommendation on how to find someone to come in and figure out how to get the home network activated? I imagine I need some type of hub or router where the wires are originating from in the basement, but not sure what.
Thanks for any advice!

 

[s0c9]

There are plenty of sites (on the planet) that are in other languages. Doesn't make them sources of malware or hacking.
If your malware prog found nothing, you're probably fine. Changing passwords probably wasn't necessary, but a good precaution.
Mac's and other 'nix-based systems are far less targeted than Windoze PC's, so you should be fine.

If you have WPA2 (or better) security on your Wifi it's likely just-as-safe or safer than a wired connection.
And, if your house was pre-wired for ethernet, there should be a central location where all the wiring comes together in a closet or ??
That would be where you install a hub.. whose (vendor) hub and how large would depend on the number of connections that exist in the house.

How are you connecting to the internet now? ISP supplied router w/ wifi?

 

[SpudMan]

There are plenty of sites (on the planet) that are in other languages. Doesn't make them sources of malware or hacking.
If your malware prog found nothing, you're probably fine. Changing passwords probably wasn't necessary, but a good precaution.
Mac's and other 'nix-based systems are far less targeted than Windoze PC's, so you should be fine.

If you have WPA2 (or better) security on your Wifi it's likely just-as-safe or safer than a wired connection.
And, if your house was pre-wired for ethernet, there should be a central location where all the wiring comes together in a closet or ??
That would be where you install a hub.. whose (vendor) hub and how large would depend on the number of connections that exist in the house.

How are you connecting to the internet now? ISP supplied router w/ wifi?

True, the foreign language wasn't the primary issue. It was that when I hovered over the url in the search engine it showed one url and the site that opened was a redirect with a different url.
I do have WPA2. I have a modem from xFinity, and a Synology router with two mesh points added. I have a primary wifi which is what I was on, and several other non-primary wifi networks for things like the garage door opener, cameras, coffee machine, roku, smart tv, etc.
Yes, in the crawlspace just inside the opening from the closet in the basement there are a bunch of wires that were likely connected to a hub/router that the previous owner had but removed prior to selling the house.

 

[marsonic]

I work in tech and deal with these issues on the server side professionally. You're almost certainly fine.

Yesterday on my Mac I searched for something and opened a site that looked normal. When I opened it the site was all in some foreign language and looked dangerous. I shut it down right away, ran my malware program (Intego) and changed passwords. But I am wondering if I should be further worried about possible malware or hacking? I do my personal stuff on this Mac also.

True, the foreign language wasn't the primary issue. It was that when I hovered over the url in the search engine it showed one url and the site that opened was a redirect with a different url.

That's a bad indication for the site, but if you didn't do anything on the site and ran your antivirus, you're good. It's been a huge problem for the last 8-9 months or so, and there's a non-zero chance that either the Chinese government or the Russian Mob are behind it. But, the point (almost all of the time) is redirecting people to the site for spam purposes or to trick them into installing something. A lot of the time, these sites pop a fake "Your computer is infected....download this software and bypass your antivirus to fix it" notice...which is actually the thing that installs malware. Don't ever do that.

Funny story - a few weeks ago, I was dealing with this same issue on one of the sites we run, talking to a more devoted expert about it, etc.. That day, I also got targeted by a phishing attempt that included multiple phone calls. They tried to tell me that one of my crypto exchange accounts had been compromised and I needed to click a link in an email they sent to secure it - which is not a thing any bank/exchange is ever going to do. FWIW, the email also came from the wrong domain and used a different mass emailing system than the exchange normally does. When I challenged the guy on it and started reading information out of the email header, they hung up on me. It was funny.....but I'm honestly afraid that less dorky people would have fallen for it. They knew a lot more information about me than I expected.

I bought my home a few years ago and it is fully wired for ethernet internet but there is no hub or anything to allow me to connect to the outlets throughout the house. I am wondering if using the ethernet would be safer than wifi? If so, does anyone have a recommendation on how to find someone to come in and figure out how to get the home network activated? I imagine I need some type of hub or router where the wires are originating from in the basement, but not sure what.
Thanks for any advice!

Basically, you want to add a switch where all the cables collect (probably in the basement or a closet), run your internet connection to the switch as well (you already have a router built into the box you got from your ISP). It's not that hard, but it's not easy to fully explain in a text post. A lot of high-school or college dorks can probably help you with it, and there are other things you can do if you want.

I do have WPA2. I have a modem from xFinity, and a Synology router with two mesh points added. I have a primary wifi which is what I was on, and several other non-primary wifi networks for things like the garage door opener, cameras, coffee machine, roku, smart tv, etc.
Yes, in the crawlspace just inside the opening from the closet in the basement there are a bunch of wires that were likely connected to a hub/router that the previous owner had but removed prior to selling the house.

Your setup is already more "advanced" than most people's home networks.

Wired-only is generally more secure than wireless in some ways, less so in others. WPA2 encryption can be broken, but it's not easy/quick. With wired-only networking, you have to physically plug a cable into the network to get on it, but...you pretty much only have to plug in a cable. It's a trade-off.

I run wired for almost all of my stuff, but a large part of that is that some of my computers either are old enough that the wifi is slow or just don't have wifi at all because I didn't buy it when I built those computers. I also find it more reliable. But, I'm kind of an old-school dork. With very few exceptions, I'll always choose a cable over a radio unless it's something that needs to be wireless to work (e.g., cel phones, actual FRS/GMMRS/HAM radios, etc.).

 

[SpudMan]

I work in tech and deal with these issues on the server side professionally. You're almost certainly fine.





That's a bad indication for the site, but if you didn't do anything on the site and ran your antivirus, you're good. It's been a huge problem for the last 8-9 months or so, and there's a non-zero chance that either the Chinese government or the Russian Mob are behind it. But, the point (almost all of the time) is redirecting people to the site for spam purposes or to trick them into installing something. A lot of the time, these sites pop a fake "Your computer is infected....download this software and bypass your antivirus to fix it" notice...which is actually the thing that installs malware. Don't ever do that.

Funny story - a few weeks ago, I was dealing with this same issue on one of the sites we run, talking to a more devoted expert about it, etc.. That day, I also got targeted by a phishing attempt that included multiple phone calls. They tried to tell me that one of my crypto exchange accounts had been compromised and I needed to click a link in an email they sent to secure it - which is not a thing any bank/exchange is ever going to do. FWIW, the email also came from the wrong domain and used a different mass emailing system than the exchange normally does. When I challenged the guy on it and started reading information out of the email header, they hung up on me. It was funny.....but I'm honestly afraid that less dorky people would have fallen for it. They knew a lot more information about me than I expected.



Basically, you want to add a switch where all the cables collect (probably in the basement or a closet), run your internet connection to the switch as well (you already have a router built into the box you got from your ISP). It's not that hard, but it's not easy to fully explain in a text post. A lot of high-school or college dorks can probably help you with it, and there are other things you can do if you want.



Your setup is already more "advanced" than most people's home networks.

Wired-only is generally more secure than wireless in some ways, less so in others. WPA2 encryption can be broken, but it's not easy/quick. With wired-only networking, you have to physically plug a cable into the network to get on it, but...you pretty much only have to plug in a cable. It's a trade-off.

I run wired for almost all of my stuff, but a large part of that is that some of my computers either are old enough that the wifi is slow or just don't have wifi at all because I didn't buy it when I built those computers. I also find it more reliable. But, I'm kind of an old-school dork. With very few exceptions, I'll always choose a cable over a radio unless it's something that needs to be wireless to work (e.g., cel phones, actual FRS/GMMRS/HAM radios, etc.).

Thanks so much for helping to ease my mind. I am retired, but was in IT for the last half of my career. I was a Development Manager, a Project Manager, and a Product Manager. So while I understand the concepts for networking, I confess I was not the one who did the hands on work.
On your phishing story, it is sad that these things happen, but with so much poverty and desperation in the world, it is not too difficult to understand the motivation behind these actors. To me, having worked in IT, the real issue is the lack of security on the part of most companies, and the lack of quality assurance applied to systems. I fought that battle constantly and generally or mostly lost. Companies would rather be hacked and pay a fine than spend the money on testing to insure security and reliability.
I am also overly paranoid as my identity was stolen several years ago (my guess is the Equifax hack) and you probably know, once that happens you are pretty much a victim for life. You can't change your social security number, and you get horse traded on the dark web for eternity.
As to the switch, I assume you mean some sort of networking hub where the xfinity internet coax is connected on one end, and the other side you have to splice and connect all of the cables running from the basement to the various outlets? If so, I am guessing it isn't too difficult, but given that my experience is not hands on, and given my desire for a well secured system, it seems a good idea to have someone who does networking complete the setup.
Anyway, like you, I always prefer direct connection (wired) as it requires the bad actor to physically compromise you, they have to be onsite to do that.
Thanks so much for your response. This is really the only forum I participate in because like you, everyone is helpful, and not rude and snarky.

 

[marsonic]

On your phishing story, it is sad that these things happen, but with so much poverty and desperation in the world, it is not too difficult to understand the motivation behind these actors.

Honestly, that was an advanced enough attack that I seriously doubt it was someone motivated by poverty & depression. They did at least a few hours or research on me and/or bought information from one of a very few specific leaks.

I am also overly paranoid as my identity was stolen several years ago (my guess is the Equifax hack) and you probably know, once that happens you are pretty much a victim for life. You can't change your social security number, and you get horse traded on the dark web for eternity.

Yeah. My wife and I ended up getting years of free protection from a previous employer due to a leak. There was also a period when I was getting new debit/credit cards about every 2 months. Heck, I got cards stolen 6 times IIRC just because of wedding vendors. We ended up firing several of them that had never heard of PCI.

As to the switch, I assume you mean some sort of networking hub where the xfinity internet coax is connected on one end, and the other side you have to splice and connect all of the cables running from the basement to the various outlets?

You shouldn't have to splice anything, assuming you're using that word correctly. It's possible the router you got from comcast/xfinitiy is wifi-only, but it probably has a 4-port switch on the back of it.

 

[SpudMan]

Honestly, that was an advanced enough attack that I seriously doubt it was someone motivated by poverty & depression. They did at least a few hours or research on me and/or bought information from one of a very few specific leaks.



Yeah. My wife and I ended up getting years of free protection from a previous employer due to a leak. There was also a period when I was getting new debit/credit cards about every 2 months. Heck, I got cards stolen 6 times IIRC just because of wedding vendors. We ended up firing several of them that had never heard of PCI.



You shouldn't have to splice anything, assuming you're using that word correctly. It's possible the router you got from comcast/xfinitiy is wifi-only, but it probably has a 4-port switch on the back of it.

I actually own my router and it does have ports in the back. My issue is currently the cable modem is in my office, not the basement near the cables. Not sure if I would need to get xfinity out or not. There is a local guy who charges $175 an hour who says he could get it hooked up for me. He recommended a Netgear 16 port switch that costs around $100. With that switch I would normally have no issue plugging in the cables myself but at their inception in the basement they are not terminated. It looks like the previous owner just cut them. My memory escapes me as to the correct terminology but normally there is a plug at the end that just gets inserted into a port on a switch. These cables don't have that.
I am also wondering if the Synology router base station has to be next to the xfinity cable modem? Not sure, I just need to think further. Thanks for the help.

 

[s0c9]

I actually own my router and it does have ports in the back. My issue is currently the cable modem is in my office, not the basement near the cables. Not sure if I would need to get xfinity out or not. There is a local guy who charges $175 an hour who says he could get it hooked up for me. He recommended a Netgear 16 port switch that costs around $100. With that switch I would normally have no issue plugging in the cables myself but at their inception in the basement they are not terminated. It looks like the previous owner just cut them. My memory escapes me as to the correct terminology but normally there is a plug at the end that just gets inserted into a port on a switch. These cables don't have that.
I am also wondering if the Synology router base station has to be next to the xfinity cable modem? Not sure, I just need to think further. Thanks for the help.

You are correct.. There's an RJ45 (ethernet) connector on both ends of the cable. You can buy a "cheap" wiring kit (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WR31VK2) and make your own ends, then plug them into the switch that you will buy.
You WILL need to confirm which connection style (A or B) the OTHER end of your CAT cables are using
(https://reolink.com/blog/cat5-wiring/) and match that on the new connectors as you want pass-thru cabling to insert into the switch.
Like all wiring - as long as both ends match - it will be identical.
No, the router base station doesn't need to be next to the cable modem, but you DO need to consider network topology...
That 16-port switch will have one "uplink" port and 15 splits. In a simple hookup, the uplink port on the switch will need to connect to your router, which will connect to the xfinity modem. All 15 splits will support bidirectional traffic thru to the router. Makes sure your router can handle the traffic volumes.

Some other things to factor in.. do you need POE (Power Over Ethernet) run run security cameras?
QOS (Quality Of Service) needs to prioritize traffic?
If not, then a basic unmanaged non-POE switch will be fine.
Unmanaged means its a basic junction box and you can't segregate ports by VLAN's/subnets or other "fancy" stuff.

OH, finally - make sure the switch supports gigabit - at a minimum.

 

[marsonic]

I actually own my router and it does have ports in the back. My issue is currently the cable modem is in my office, not the basement near the cables. Not sure if I would need to get xfinity out or not. There is a local guy who charges $175 an hour who says he could get it hooked up for me. He recommended a Netgear 16 port switch that costs around $100. With that switch I would normally have no issue plugging in the cables myself but at their inception in the basement they are not terminated. It looks like the previous owner just cut them. My memory escapes me as to the correct terminology but normally there is a plug at the end that just gets inserted into a port on a switch. These cables don't have that.

$175/hr doesn't seem bad as long as the guy is efficient. Depending on what I'm doing, clients pay more than that for my time, and I exclusively work remotely.

Generally, you won't need to get xfinity involved. I'm told comcast is better in other areas, but here...they screwed up everything they touched except for burying the line from the box to my house. Literally everything else, I had to re-do.

I am also wondering if the Synology router base station has to be next to the xfinity cable modem? Not sure, I just need to think further. Thanks for the help.

Not really. It depends on how you want to do it, but the physical location doesn't matter. What does matter is a mix of software settings (on the router, synology, and potentially switch depending on whether it's dumb or halfway to a router) and where the cables are plugged in.

Personally...I run a second router (an opnsense VM with 2 NIC ports via vt-d/IOMMU pass-through) behind my at&t router. The at&t router is connected to things like our ps5, phones, and tablets, and my "internal" network treats them all as hostile just because I don't have as much control over them as I do my actual computers/servers/VMs.

It's totally valid to use your synology the way I use my opnsense VM. I have two of them, and I like them. I don't use them like that (they're just part of my backup strategy), but they can do it.

You are correct.. There's an RJ45 (ethernet) connector on both ends of the cable. You can buy a "cheap" wiring kit (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WR31VK2) and make your own ends, then plug them into the switch that you will buy.
You WILL need to confirm which connection style (A or B) the OTHER end of your CAT cables are using
(https://reolink.com/blog/cat5-wiring/) and match that on the new connectors as you want pass-thru cabling to insert into the switch.
Like all wiring - as long as both ends match - it will be identical.
No, the router base station doesn't need to be next to the cable modem, but you DO need to consider network topology...
That 16-port switch will have one "uplink" port and 15 splits. In a simple hookup, the uplink port on the switch will need to connect to your router, which will connect to the xfinity modem. All 15 splits will support bidirectional traffic thru to the router. Makes sure your router can handle the traffic volumes.

Some other things to factor in.. do you need POE (Power Over Ethernet) run run security cameras?
QOS (Quality Of Service) needs to prioritize traffic?
If not, then a basic unmanaged non-POE switch will be fine.
Unmanaged means its a basic junction box and you can't segregate ports by VLAN's/subnets or other "fancy" stuff.

OH, finally - make sure the switch supports gigabit - at a minimum.

This is pretty much all correct except for the "uplink" port. If it's a dumb switch, it doesn't matter where the router/WAN is connected - they just all have to be plugged in and the router will handle routing, because that's its job.

 

[s0c9]

This is pretty much all correct except for the "uplink" port. If it's a dumb switch, it doesn't matter where the router/WAN is connected - they just all have to be plugged in and the router will handle routing, because that's its job.

You are correct.. any of the 16 ports on the switch can be the uplink port to the router.
Used to be that special crossover cables were needed for this, but I guess I'm just old.

 

[SpudMan]

You are correct.. There's an RJ45 (ethernet) connector on both ends of the cable. You can buy a "cheap" wiring kit (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WR31VK2) and make your own ends, then plug them into the switch that you will buy.
You WILL need to confirm which connection style (A or B) the OTHER end of your CAT cables are using
(https://reolink.com/blog/cat5-wiring/) and match that on the new connectors as you want pass-thru cabling to insert into the switch.
Like all wiring - as long as both ends match - it will be identical.
No, the router base station doesn't need to be next to the cable modem, but you DO need to consider network topology...
That 16-port switch will have one "uplink" port and 15 splits. In a simple hookup, the uplink port on the switch will need to connect to your router, which will connect to the xfinity modem. All 15 splits will support bidirectional traffic thru to the router. Makes sure your router can handle the traffic volumes.

Some other things to factor in.. do you need POE (Power Over Ethernet) run run security cameras?
QOS (Quality Of Service) needs to prioritize traffic?
If not, then a basic unmanaged non-POE switch will be fine.
Unmanaged means its a basic junction box and you can't segregate ports by VLAN's/subnets or other "fancy" stuff.

OH, finally - make sure the switch supports gigabit - at a minimum.

Thanks, I am so impressed with the help you and marsonic are providing. As I said previously, it is the reason I stay on this forum, great people and little to no snark and rudeness. There is enough bad stuff in this world, I don't need to seek out more. So I truly appreciate your help.
I don't run POE security cameras, so that isn't an issue. My cameras are part of my security system and run over wifi. All of the things like that on wifi are on wifi networks separate from my primary network. Of course they originate from the same Synology base station, so probably not 100% perfect, but theoretically they are separate and don't allow for communication to each other.
The switch I ordered is this one:

NETGEAR - 16-Port 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Unmanaged Switch - Blue​

Model:GS116NA

Again, thanks for taking the time to help, it is much appreciated.

 

[SpudMan]

$175/hr doesn't seem bad as long as the guy is efficient. Depending on what I'm doing, clients pay more than that for my time, and I exclusively work remotely.

Generally, you won't need to get xfinity involved. I'm told comcast is better in other areas, but here...they screwed up everything they touched except for burying the line from the box to my house. Literally everything else, I had to re-do.



Not really. It depends on how you want to do it, but the physical location doesn't matter. What does matter is a mix of software settings (on the router, synology, and potentially switch depending on whether it's dumb or halfway to a router) and where the cables are plugged in.

Personally...I run a second router (an opnsense VM with 2 NIC ports via vt-d/IOMMU pass-through) behind my at&t router. The at&t router is connected to things like our ps5, phones, and tablets, and my "internal" network treats them all as hostile just because I don't have as much control over them as I do my actual computers/servers/VMs.

It's totally valid to use your synology the way I use my opnsense VM. I have two of them, and I like them. I don't use them like that (they're just part of my backup strategy), but they can do it.



This is pretty much all correct except for the "uplink" port. If it's a dumb switch, it doesn't matter where the router/WAN is connected - they just all have to be plugged in and the router will handle routing, because that's its job.

As I said to s0c9, thanks so much for your help!
Your negative experience with Comcast is actually better than my experience dealing with them in my current and former homes. They totally screwed up the buried lines in my former home. Here the lines are overhead and that is another source of problems.
For my setup the cable modem that I own is just a modem, no router capabilities. I connect it to my Synology base station and then I have two mesh/remote Synology routers. Even with that though, in my one story home with a finished basement, I have coverage issues. I have one router in the basement though so I can use my old mid-2012 macbook pro for my FM3 and other music studio stuff. Without that the macbook wouldn't connect to the wifi. After getting the ethernet properly setup I will be able to plug directly into the ethernet for the music studio stuff.

 

[marsonic]

This is pretty much all correct except for the "uplink" port. If it's a dumb switch, it doesn't matter where the router/WAN is connected - they just all have to be plugged in and the router will handle routing, because that's its job.

Yeah, pretty much everything is auto-sensing at this point. I guess technically speaking the A vs B wiring you mentioned doesn't really mater either anymore. I still tend to pay attention to it just because I'm too lazy to actually look up what might not be auto-sensing in my network. Some of my 4-port server cards are pretty old.

As I said to s0c9, thanks so much for your help!

Of course!

Your negative experience with Comcast is actually better than my experience dealing with them in my current and former homes. They totally screwed up the buried lines in my former home. Here the lines are overhead and that is another source of problems.

Hah. I'm honestly not surprised. The week our neighborhood got at&t fiber as an option, there were literally 3-5 trucks in the neighborhood every day until about 80% of the neighborhood had switched. Apparently, some of the people who stayed on comcast/xfinity saw a huge uptick in speed from less demand. Still not worth it.

We've had some issues since then, but they mostly have to do with an idiot physically cutting a fibre cable one time and some erosion that we really need to take care of.

The only real "problem" problem was a few weeks ago - I got an extra day off work because our internet just went out for like 36 hours. But, that's happened once in like 8 years. Our phones also didn't work, so I think it's possible someone at at&t screwed up a routing table or something.

 

[SpudMan]

Yeah, pretty much everything is auto-sensing at this point. I guess technically speaking the A vs B wiring you mentioned doesn't really mater either anymore. I still tend to pay attention to it just because I'm too lazy to actually look up what might not be auto-sensing in my network. Some of my 4-port server cards are pretty old.



Of course!



Hah. I'm honestly not surprised. The week our neighborhood got at&t fiber as an option, there were literally 3-5 trucks in the neighborhood every day until about 80% of the neighborhood had switched. Apparently, some of the people who stayed on comcast/xfinity saw a huge uptick in speed from less demand. Still not worth it.

We've had some issues since then, but they mostly have to do with an idiot physically cutting a fibre cable one time and some erosion that we really need to take care of.

The only real "problem" problem was a few weeks ago - I got an extra day off work because our internet just went out for like 36 hours. But, that's happened once in like 8 years. Our phones also didn't work, so I think it's possible someone at at&t screwed up a routing table or something.

My house is wired for AT&T but I can't use them because of their stupid requirement that you need to unlock your credit to allow them to do a credit check prior to being able to get service. That is just ridiculous. Other than their crappy modem, which likely costs them virtually nothing, what risk is there to them if I don't pay for service? All they have to do is literally cut off my service. Requiring a credit check is just for them to obtain my personal data that they would then retain on a server somewhere (or worse, in the cloud somewhere on some 3rd party cloud companies servers) and then have it scraped off of there when they get hacked, like just happened. Since my identity was stolen and since someone hacked into my online banking and tried to clean out my bank account (long story!) I cannot risk unlocking my credit unless it is absolutely necessary. Like for instance when I bought my house. No way around unlocking your credit then. And sadly you can't unlock your credit for a brief period, it is generally at least a day, which leaves one vulnerable for overseas hackers. And also, AT&T won't tell you which credit agency they are checking, so you have to unlock all of them. Just a bad requirement. Anyway, you can see that part is a sore subject for me. So sadly, no AT&T fiber, but rather continued garbage service from comcast.

 

[SpudMan]

Yeah, pretty much everything is auto-sensing at this point. I guess technically speaking the A vs B wiring you mentioned doesn't really mater either anymore. I still tend to pay attention to it just because I'm too lazy to actually look up what might not be auto-sensing in my network. Some of my 4-port server cards are pretty old.



Of course!



Hah. I'm honestly not surprised. The week our neighborhood got at&t fiber as an option, there were literally 3-5 trucks in the neighborhood every day until about 80% of the neighborhood had switched. Apparently, some of the people who stayed on comcast/xfinity saw a huge uptick in speed from less demand. Still not worth it.

We've had some issues since then, but they mostly have to do with an idiot physically cutting a fibre cable one time and some erosion that we really need to take care of.

The only real "problem" problem was a few weeks ago - I got an extra day off work because our internet just went out for like 36 hours. But, that's happened once in like 8 years. Our phones also didn't work, so I think it's possible someone at at&t screwed up a routing table or something.

Just wondering, from this image of my outlet, is this the old, obsolete Cat5 wiring, or is it something like Cat5e? I want to make sure it is even useable prior to paying someone to come in and set things up.

 

[s0c9]

View attachment 143045View attachment 143045
Just wondering, from this image of my outlet, is this the old, obsolete Cat5 wiring, or is it something like Cat5e? I want to make sure it is even useable prior to paying someone to come in and set things up.

It says CAT5e on the outer section of the ethernet connection !!

 

[SpudMan]

It says CAT5e on the outer section of the ethernet connection !!

Thanks, I couldn't tell if that was an "e" or an "8" or a "B".

 

[s0c9]

Yeah, pretty much everything is auto-sensing at this point. I guess technically speaking the A vs B wiring you mentioned doesn't really mater either anymore. I still tend to pay attention to it just because I'm too lazy to actually look up what might not be auto-sensing in my network. Some of my 4-port server cards are pretty old.

I only raised the A vs B standard as having made plenty of my own CAT5 cables, NEITHER [technically] needs to be followed - tho most commercially available cables follow one of them. As long as one has the same colored wire in the same slot at either end of the cable, the standard is not relevant for pass-thru CAT5. It will work fine.

However, given that the OP has BARE wires at the collection point in his basement, he would need to check which of the 2 wiring standards are used on the other connector [wall socket?] end, then follow the same color coding when putting a connector on the bare wire end in the basement.

 

[marsonic]

My house is wired for AT&T but I can't use them because of their stupid requirement that you need to unlock your credit to allow them to do a credit check prior to being able to get service. That is just ridiculous. Other than their crappy modem, which likely costs them virtually nothing, what risk is there to them if I don't pay for service? All they have to do is literally cut off my service. Requiring a credit check is just for them to obtain my personal data that they would then retain on a server somewhere (or worse, in the cloud somewhere on some 3rd party cloud companies servers) and then have it scraped off of there when they get hacked, like just happened. Since my identity was stolen and since someone hacked into my online banking and tried to clean out my bank account (long story!) I cannot risk unlocking my credit unless it is absolutely necessary. Like for instance when I bought my house. No way around unlocking your credit then. And sadly you can't unlock your credit for a brief period, it is generally at least a day, which leaves one vulnerable for overseas hackers. And also, AT&T won't tell you which credit agency they are checking, so you have to unlock all of them. Just a bad requirement. Anyway, you can see that part is a sore subject for me. So sadly, no AT&T fiber, but rather continued garbage service from comcast.

That's ridiculous. I definitely don't remember them doing a credit check when we turned it on, and there's been nothing since then.

View attachment 143045View attachment 143045
Just wondering, from this image of my outlet, is this the old, obsolete Cat5 wiring, or is it something like Cat5e? I want to make sure it is even useable prior to paying someone to come in and set things up.

It's almost certainly cat5e, which is fine for gigabit. Worst case, you can probably re-run cables using the existing wiring like fish tape. I think all of my wiring is cat6, but that's because a very little bit of it is 10GbE and I didn't want to have to worry about it.

I only raised the A vs B standard as having made plenty of my own CAT5 cables, NEITHER [technically] needs to be followed - tho most commercially available cables follow one of them. As long as one has the same colored wire in the same slot at either end of the cable, the standard is not relevant for pass-thru CAT5. It will work fine.

Which pairs the cable uses does matter - if you use twisted pairs wrong or ignore them, the cable rejects less noise and the maximum usable length drops like a brick. But....it's been a while since I've seen a cable that didn't follow one of those standards...it just doesn't really matter which one any particular cable uses. I don't know why, but t568b seems much more common, so that's what I use for the cables I make.

However, given that the OP has BARE wires at the collection point in his basement, he would need to check which of the 2 wiring standards are used on the other connector [wall socket?] end, then follow the same color coding when putting a connector on the bare wire end in the basement.

Good point. It's worth pulling a few off the wall to see.

 

[SpudMan]

Update: I sent the IT network consultant pictures of my outlets, and of the area in the crawlspace where the wiring originates. The origination is a tangled mess. After sending the pictures, and asking a few questions to insure that he had everything he needed when he came to do the work, I have received "crickets". Not a response. I am guessing this is a bigger job than he thought and he doesn't like that I am asking questions which shows that I would be more difficult to take advantage of. Sad that people can be that way, but I am not surprised. I just don't want to start this job open ended and find out that the cost is MUCH more than I expected.
I am attaching an image of the crawlspace area. It looks like a tangled mess to me. At a minimum though the wires would need to be untangled and put in proper order, and RJ45 connectors put on all of the Cat5e wiring.
Looks like this might be something that logistically I can't get done as I don't know where else to look for support.