[Freedombox-discuss] Unable to add new WiFi connection

[permondes - sagen]

Hi Jon,
Am Donnerstag, den 07.03.2019, 00:13 +0000 schrieb Jon Carriel:
> Thanks, Dietmar.  I'm still confused (as usual):  don't I need to
> have a wireless adapter attached to my FreedomBox in order to access
> the Private Cloud and Smart Home Router (VPN, onion routing)
> functions?
> 
> The FreedomBox manual states that "To use this [Cubietruck] board as
> FreedomBox, a separate USB WiFi device that does not require non-free 
> firmware is recommended."  Was that recommendation only intended for
> users lacking an existing router? 

this is a little bit misleading. Emphasis is on *not require non-free*
firmware.There is the possibility to have WiFi through the freedombox,
but most people are using their router WiFi and have no WiFi device
attached to the box.This is also my configuration. So you can image
your router sitting in the center of your home IT environment and all
kind of other devices, such as your laptop, PC, mobile phone connecting
through it to the internet. So does the freedombox. Now you can put
services (called apps) on the freedombox you can access from your PCs
etc. 
Here are some apps I am using, just to give an example: * searx: This
app sends your search request to many search engines like Google and
collects the results for you. It does not forward your details to
google and thus protects your privacy. Also, you benefit from using
many search engines at one time. You can access searx through your
standard browser. The manual tells more.
 * privoxy: It is a proxy that can filter ads and tracking info when
you are browsing the web. On your computer you have to set privoxy as
proxy so that the browser is routing the traffic through the
freedombox.
    * so far the simple ones, the following ones are a bit more comples
 * If you want to synchronize files between your computers and mobile
phones (which actually are just computers you can make phone calls
with) you can use syncthing. You need it running on each computer you
want to synchronize your box with. Freedombox holds your data and
distributes it to your other computers
 * If you are using calendar, contact or to do lists e.g. on a google
service, you can switch over to radicale which does the same thing but
your data remains at home. This is one of the private cloud services.
Unfortunately, we do not have owncloud or nextcould any more on the
box.

I have registered a domain name to have access to the freedombox from
the external (costs just 12 € / year). You may look at my ikiwiki,
which I am using as static web page and mediawiki, which is a wiki for
do-it-yourself enthusiasts: https://permondes.de . It's all in German,
just to give you an idea of what can be done. I intend to put there the
results of my family research as well.
Coming back to your ideas about VPN and onions.I am no expert here, not
using any of those. I think a VPN only makes sense if you want to
connect to your box from the outside. You can install Tor e.g. to
provide a relay which allows others to use your freedombox to increase
their anonymity. It helps journalists in countries where free speech is
suppressed. Unfortunately, my box has too low memory (just 512 MB) to
run this. There are further uses for the Tor app in freedombox which I
have to admit I never understood.If you want to surf the web
anonymosly, just download the Tor browser. You do not need the
freedombox for this. 
So you managed to set up the box and to log into the user interface in
your browser?
	Dietmar
> JON
> 
> =================================================================
> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
> 
>  On Tuesday, March 5, 2019 6:32 AM,  <sagen at permondes.de> wrote:
>  
> > Hi Jon,
> > 
> > I cannot help in the TP-Link issue. 
> > But if your router has Wlan, as I think, you actually do not need
> > it on the box. E.g.I am not using my box as router.
> > 
> > Dietmar
> > 
> > Am 5. März 2019 00:09:52 MEZ schrieb Jon Carriel via Freedombox-
> > discuss <freedombox-discuss at alioth-lists.debian.net>:
> > > Hello. I'm a non-technical newbie who just recently bought a
> > > Cubietruck in order to create a FreedomBox, and I've managed to
> > > connect it to my LAN, via a Cat5 line to my cable router. I've
> > > gotten as far as the Apps screen, using a Chrome browser on my
> > > Windows7 PC. I'm now having difficulty getting my TP-Link TL-
> > > WN722N to register.
> > > 
> > > On the Settings / Networks / Add Connection screen, when I pull
> > > down Physical Interface, nothing appears but "-- select --".  I'm
> > > told I should be seeing a green light on the TP-Link unit, but
> > > there isn't any light. (When I plugged it directly into the PC,
> > > no light appeared either, and Windows also does not find the
> > > unit. The CD that came with the product spins out of control, and
> > > I can't trace whatever driver I might need on it.) 
> > > 
> > > Am I doing something wrong, or do I have a defective piece of
> > > equipment? 
> > > 
> > > If we can get beyond this issue, I confess to finding the
> > > plethora of options on the Add Connection page pretty daunting,
> > > and would appreciate suggestions and hints for a standard set-
> > > up. 
> > > 
> > > Many thanks for any help!  JON CARRIEL
> > > 
> > > =================================================================
> > > 
> > > JONATHAN CARRIEL
> > > The Thomas Dordrecht Historical Mystery Series
> > > www.JonathanCarriel.com
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Die Fasting [1758]
> > > Great Mischief [1759]
> > > If Two Are Dead [1762]
> > > Exquisite Folly [1765]
> > > (in drafts) Corrupt Hearts [1770]
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
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