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When you buy a wireless router it is not secure, and its default configuration will allow unwanted users that are in the vicinity of your router to connect your router and "steal" your wireless internet connection. They could also gain access to your PC's files and folders of data.
Manufacturers leave the configuration "open" so that the user can easily set up the router and get it up and running quickly. However, there is a risk if the router is not secure.
1) Change Admin password. Most wireless routers ship with a blank password. It is essential that this is changed or else a potential hacker could get into your router configuration and lock you out of your own hardware.
2) Change The Network Name (SSID). The default network name is usually made up of the name/model of your wireless router. This information gives a head start for a hacker and makes it easier for them to break into your network. Don't rename it to something like your surname or house name as this unnecessarily exposes personal information. Rename it to an alpha-numeric string - this can be up to 32 characters long.
3) Turn off SSID broadcasting. By default, a wireless router's SSID is broadcast so anyone in the vicinity of your wireless router can see that it. SSID broadcasting can be turned off thus making your wireless router virtually invisible.
4) Enabling Encryption. This is switched off by default. There is a choice of WEP, WPA and WPA2. Currently the latest encryption method is WPA2, so use this where possible. Both your wireless router and wireless PC adapter must be configured to use the same encryption.
5) Mac Address Control. All hardware has a unique MAC address associated with it, including your PC's adapter card. This MAC address can be added to access control list in the wireless router. Only devices added to the router's access control list are allowed to be connected.
6) Update router firmware. It is recommended that the latest router firmware is downloaded from the manufacturer's website and installed in the router. This will hopefully fix any bugs that have been found for your router and also help with any known security flaws in the router itself.
7) Backup settings. Finally, backup all router settings. If you reset the router back to its factory default settings for whatever reason, your configuration can later be easily and quickly restored back into the router.
Colin Receveur
SmartBox, LLC
www.SmartBoxllc.com
Computer problems are frustrating. Becoming frustrated during the troubleshooting process will only lead to more problems. So the important thing to do first is take a deep breath, think happy thoughts, and plan out your course of action. Have tools ready, restore disks and drivers. This will save you time and patience. read more | digg story
Hundreds and hundreds of documents about government contracts,' were found on a hard drive purchased at a market in Ghana for the bargain basement price of $40, said Peter Klein, an associate professor with the University of British Columbia, who led an investigation into the global electronic waste business for the PBS show Frontline. The hard drive had belonged to US government contractor Northrop Grumman and in a made-for-TV ironic twist, 'some of the documents talked about how to recruit airport screeners and several of them even covered data security practices,' Klein said. 'Here were these contracts being awarded based on their ability to keep the data safe.
Enterprise licensing for Windows 7 could cause major headaches and add more cost to the Windows 7 migration effort, InfoWorld reports. Under the proposed license, businesses that purchase PCs with Windows 7 pre-installed within six months of the Oct. 23 launch date will be able to downgrade those systems to XP, and later upgrade back to Windows 7 when ready to migrate users. PCs bought after April 22, 2010, however, can only be downgraded to Vista — no help for XP-based organizations, which would be wise to wait 12 to 18 months before adopting Windows 7, so that they can test hardware and software compatibility and ensure their vendors' Windows 7 support meets their needs. XP shops that chose not to install Vista will have to either rush their migration process or spend extra to enroll in Microsoft's Software Assurance program, which allows them to install any OS version — for about $90 per year per PC.
Microsoft today issued 10 security updates that patched a record 31 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, Excel, Word, Windows Search and other programs, including 18 bugs marked 'critical.' Of the 10 bulletins, six patched some part of Windows, while three patched an Office application or component, and one fixed a flaw in IE. The total bug count was the most patched by Microsoft in a single month since the company began regularly scheduled updates in 2003. The previous record of 26 vulnerabilities patched occurred in both August 2008 and August 2006. 'This is a very broad bunch,' said Wolfgang Kandek, CTO at Qualys, 'compared to last month, which was really all about PowerPoint. You've got to work everywhere, servers and workstations, and even Macs if you have them. It's not getting any better, the number of vulnerabilities [Microsoft discloses] continues to grow.'
I don't usualy post comical things on my blog, I try to keep it informative and helpful, but this is just too funny to pass up. We've all heard of crazy "workarounds" as they're called - this one takes the cake. This is a workaround for a data import function into Microsoft Excel. What is Microsoft's grand solution if it locks up while you're attempting this? Wiggle your mouse.Method 2: Move Your Mouse Pointer If you move your mouse pointer continuously while the data is being returned to Microsoft Excel, the query may not fail. Do not stop moving the mouse until all the data has been returned to Microsoft Excel.
NOTE: Depending on your query, it may take several minutes to return the results of your query to the worksheet.
Read more at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/168702
An interesting development that Kaspersky Labs stumbled across.. They purchased a new M&A Companion Touch netbook in order to test a new anti-virus product targeted at the netbook segment, and discovered three pieces of malware on the factory-sealed netbook. A little sleuthing turned up the likely infection scenario — at the factory, someone was updating Intel drivers using a USB flash drive that was infected with a variant of the AutoRun worm.
"Installed along with the worm was a rootkit and a password stealer that harvests log-in credentials for online ... To ensure that a new PC is malware-free, [Kaspersky] recommended that before users connect the machine to the Internet, they install security software, update it by retrieving the latest definition file on another computer, and transferring that update to the new system, then running a full antivirus scan."
IT analyst firm Gartner has told businesses to skip Vista and prepare to roll out Windows 7. Companies have traditionally been advised to wait until the first Service Pack of an operating system arrives before considering migration. However, Gartner is urging organisations that aren't already midway through Vista deployments to give the much-maligned operating system a miss. "Skip Vista and target Windows 7," Gartner analysts Michael Silver and Stephen Kleynhans advise in a research paper. "Preparing for Vista will require the same amount of effort as preparing for Windows 7, so at this point, targeting Windows 7 would add less than six months to the schedule and would result in a plan that is more politically palatable, better for users, and results in greater longevity." Even businesses that are midway through planning a Vista migration are urged to consider scrapping the deployment. "Consider switching to Windows 7 if it would delay deployment by six months or less," the pair advise. "The further you are withyour Vista plans, the more sense it makes to continue." Companies who are in the midst of a deployment should carry on, the Gartner team says, although they should plan to move again to Windows 7 in "late 2010 or early 2011". The Gartner experts say all companies should move off Windows XP by the end of 2012 to avoid problems with application compatibility. Read more at http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/252955/gartner-tells-businesses-forget-about-vista.html#
From Ars: "When we last took an in-depth look at USB flash drives in 2005, the landscape was a bit different. A 2GB drive ran nearly $200, and speeds were quite a bit slower then. At the time, we noted that while the then-current crop of drives was pretty fast, they still were not close to saturating the bandwidth of USB2. To top it off, a good drive was still going to set you back $50 or $70—not exactly a cheap proposition. Since our first roundup, this picture has changed considerably, and it leads to a question: has the flash drive become an undifferentiated commodity, just like any other cheap plastic tsotschke that you might find at an office supply store checkout counter? Consider the following factors: - The majority of flash drives sold are either 4GB or 8GB, which is more than plenty of storage for most people.
- Most of the drives in this size range are under $20.
- Accessories (like neck straps, USB extension cables, spare caps, etc.) are no longer included.
Normally, twenty dollars is not something that most of us would think twice about, but don't most of us still want to know that we are getting our money's worth? To test this commodity theory, we selected a cornucopia of mostly 4GB and 8GB USB flash drives ranging from $9 to $30 dollars (average: $19.00) Read more on Ars website (www.arstechnica.com) ..
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