Network Traffic Awareness

Chris — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 10:41:40 +0000

We have many connected devices such as phones, watches, tablets, laptops, cameras, refrigerator, air conditioners, etc; yet do we know who these devices are communicating with or how? Shouldn't we know? This train of thought inspired the 'Traffic Evaluator' project.

We can know what internet hosts our devices are communicating with and how.

Recording the network traffic and analyzing it reveals who our devices are communicating with. This also gives us insight into how much our ISP can know about us. Any organization in the 'network path' can easily harvest all this information.

In order to demonstrate the depth of information that is easily available through packet analysis we need a test point between the user and the internet. Providing a VPN tunnel with a respected protocol such as WireGuard allows this tool to have such a test point.

If you are interested the 'Traffic Evaluator' project is at https://activebit.net/te . This site allows a user to download and install a WireGuard tunnel configuration where all the traffic is under surveillance and a usage report can be generated at the users request. The report contains details such as:

Organizations the connected device is communicating with
Countries where the remote servers are located
Second Level Domain Summary
FQDNs seen in dns requests, TLS & QUIC Headers
Understanding of what protocols are in use

Peer Review - Another Dimension to Consider

Chris — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:38:31 +0000

When people think of peer review it is often associated with reducing risk for upcoming changes. While this is true there is another dimension that deserves consideration.

When I supported financial institutions and ISPs change control was very serious and peer review was part of that process. I found it very insightful as I learned much about my coworkers through the review. The questions someone poses reveals much more than their answers. The peer review process created an environment that allowed us to better understand our coworkers and suddenly we could realize and respect the depth of their experience, insight, and ingenuity in a real way. This process creates TEAM!

My path is somewhat opposite of others in that I moved from 'stable' organizations to startups. I found that change control and consequently peer review was not much wanted in startups. In some cases I found this rational as a fellow in a startup may be a one person department and conducting peer review with oneself is tiresome.

When there is more than one person working in the same space or concern startups often avoid peer review in the name of speed and agility; DO NOT SLOW ME DOWN!

I argue waiting a day will never kill a project and the respect that can be developed during the peer review process will in the long term be much more valuable than any 'shoot from the hip' change. Peer review is an opportunity to create a team in a natural way. Take advantage of this and become a stronger organization.

DEV Community: Chris

Network Traffic Awareness

Peer Review - Another Dimension to Consider