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Your shitty old laptop from 2021 just became useful again
| silver plaza wrinkle | 04/21/25 |
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Date: April 21st, 2025 7:16 PM Author: silver plaza wrinkle US cybersecurity is busted right now and everyone is getting probed. If you don't believe that, don't bother reading any further.
Your [my] laptop: Thinkpad T470. It doesn't have to be better than that. Here's how shitty it is.
- i5-6300u (dual-core, hyper-threaded)
- 8gb of RAM though it will take another 8
- 256gb SSD
Here's the main thing: it's got a built in LAN port, so a $10 USB ethernet jack makes it dual-LAN. If you have one of those "thin and light" fake macbooks, you'll have to use two USB ethernet adapters. No reason you can't do it though.
What you do with it is install OPNsense on the laptop and stick it between your router and your cable modem. Cable modem connects to one LAN port, router connects to the other LAN port on your old laptop. The cable modem sees the old laptop and thinks it's a router, and OPNsense takes care of the rest. Your router is used to transmit wifi but you don't have to fuck with the netgear interface anymore. You disable that shit and just leave wifi on.
You install OPNsense on the old laptop off a USB stick, then plug it into your internet. Then you access it through a web browser and control all your shit there.
HERE'S WHY YOU DO IT ON A LAPTOP, NOT A MINIPC OR SHITPC:
The laptop has a battery, which functions like a built-in UPS. If the power goes out, it doesn't matter, the laptop just keeps running until the power comes back on.
The laptop has a built-in screen and keyboard. If the thing is acting weird and funky, don't worry. Just plug the cable modem into your router while you fix the laptop. You don't need to connect any cables or attach a mouse, jesus. |