MarkMaunder dot com

SSH config for OS X users to keep connections from dropping on MiFi and other mobile hotspots

If you use SSH and are often using your cellphone as a mobile hotspot, or use a MiFi as a hotspot, you probably noticed that if you don’t do anything in your SSH window for a while, the connection drops, usually with a ‘Broken Pipe’ message. Suffer no more… Create an ‘.ssh’ directory off your […]

December 12, 2013 | Startups | 1 comment

Remembering Madiba

I’m at a loss of what to write about Madiba’s passing. I’m deeply saddened. If you’re expecting an email from me today, forget it. I’m at home, drinking strong beer and remembering the guy who saved South Africa’s ass from the fire of a racist government and post apartheid anger. I was in The Parade […]

December 5, 2013 | Startups | No comments

Why Banks are Declaring War on Bitcoin

What if we lived in a world where all transactions were person to person and cost almost nothing. What if we lived in a world where the money you save gradually becomes worth more, not through interest, but simply because as time passes you can buy more stuff with the same amount of money. What […]

December 5, 2013 | Bitcoin | 5 comments

Bitcoin transaction reversal and arbitration is built in. How it works.

Eli Dourado has a well written and easy to understand article about how Bitcoin transaction reversal and arbitration works. The feature built into Bitcoin is known as m-of-n or “multisignature” transactions. Here’s a brief extract: The simplest variant is a 2-of-3 transaction. Let’s say that I want to buy goods online from an anonymous counterparty. […]

December 4, 2013 | Bitcoin, Economics, Finance | No comments

Instrument failure after takeoff and becoming an outside-in pilot.

This is my first post as a relatively newly minted private pilot (about 4 months ago). The learning curve has been steep and it’s the kind of thing that humbles one, so I haven’t felt the sense of entitlement that one needs to write. But I am beginning to spot a few things that may […]

December 2, 2013 | Flying | 1 comment

And so the next Bitcoin Crash Begins…

UPDATE on Dec 7th, 2013: Looks like the crash started Dec 5th, so I was off by a few days. The lowest I’ve seen has been $666, so it’s still a little off my prediction of $600. There’s still some major selling activity out there and we may still see $600. Bitcoin crashes historically have […]

December 1, 2013 | Bitcoin | 11 comments

How to Buy Bitcoin

As someone who recently purchased Bitcoin and two other crypto currencies using three different methods, I thought I’d share how to buy Bitcoin because I know there’s precious little information out there: Coinbase: The easiest way I found without leaving your computer is to sign into Coinbase.com and add your bank account. They’ll do 2 […]

November 28, 2013 | Economics, Finance, Investing | 7 comments

Why security back-doors for governments are a bad idea

Bruce Schneier has written yet another spectacularly lucid piece on why the the FBI shouldn’t be able to force technology vendors in the USA to add back-doors to their products. The current proposal which is probably going to get the backing of the Obama administration, will levy fines of $25,000 per day on technology vendors […]

June 5, 2013 | Security | 3 comments

What Musk and Tesla are up against

Go now to Tesla.com and listen to Elon Musk’s portion of the shareholder meeting that occurred today from minute 49:00. It’s probably the best insight you’ll get into how entrenched the USA is on traditional cars and traditional sales channels. It’ll also explain why you consistently have a crap experience buying cars in the USA […]

June 5, 2013 | Startups | 1 comment

Personal Cybersecurity 101

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel used his first visit to Asia to ask China to stop hacking into and spying on our networks. You don’t need the perspicacity of Nostradamus to see that: Spending on Cybersecurity over the next few years and decades by the defense department will skyrocket and rival every other division of the US […]

June 1, 2013 | Security | No comments

My name is Mark Maunder. I've been blogging since around 2003 when I started on Movable Type and ended up on WordPress which is what I use to publish today. With my wife Kerry, I'm the co-founder of Wordfence which protects over 5 million WordPress sites from hackers and is run by a talented team of 36 people. I'm an instrument rated pilot and I fly a Cessna 206 along with a 1964 Cessna 172 in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado. I'm originally from Cape Town, South Africa but live in the US these days. I code in a bunch of languages and am quite excited about our emerging AI overlords and how they're going to be putting us to work for them.