Internet | Satellite Television & VOIP

Dec

Going wireless with Internet connections these days is turning into a trend, and one that many of us are starting to enjoy. The convenience of being able to stay connected at any spot, or two feet, or ten feet away from ‘any spot’, is delightful, we must admit. However, another buzz that has come out of wireless popularity is the security problem that joins it. Though security features are gradually advancing, it can’t be assumed that having a password is sufficient to guard personal and confidential information on your computer when using a wireless router.

In short, it is safest not to go wireless with your business. There are too many ways for outsiders to hack in and it may not be worth taking the chances. To give an example, anyone with a laptop can sit outside your office building and use a ‘packet sniffer’ to read all the ‘airborne’ information that is travelling between your computer and the wireless router. In other words, it’s not even necessary for a hacker to access your computer directly anymore to find information. Of course, there are also software programs that can continuously dig to find out passwords, so those don’t always help either. Hackers are everywhere, and their life purpose is often just to figure out how things work, and see if they can win against a system. Often they succeed, and when they do, IT companies know that it’s time to change course and find another way of ‘ensuring’ security. With a hard wire, the physical connection makes it almost impossible for a hacker to gain access - unless digging up your underground phone line is an option.

On that note, be aware that it is also unsafe to be free riding on other people’s wireless connections. Some of them are honey traps, designed specifically to get your attention so that you will go online to say, do your banking, thus allowing the perpetrator to abuse your financial information. Sometimes this could be one of your neighbors, who you trust, but who also unknowingly have made their open wireless connections the perfect bate for hackers to secretly install monitoring software. If you ride on their waves, you run all the same risks of having your own computer spied on.

There are some cases, however, where providing wireless access is unavoidable. Let’s say your company operates on an office campus, meaning that Internet needs to be available throughout your large property, or perhaps you own a café and need wireless access to draw customers. In such circumstances, keep in line with these security forces that will at least be a help to you, and constantly do scans to see who has been gaining access, or trying to gain access to your network:

Have two Internet connections. That’s right, two, even if it costs more. Keep the wired-only connection for the really top-secret operations (e.g. company trades, products in development, banking passwords and numbers, etc.). Allow wireless connections for general purpose use to your employees or customers but don’t allow the two connections to communicate with each other. In other words, a wireless connection should not give access to the company’s server where network files are stored.

Use a MAC address filter to determine who is allowed access to your network. A MAC address is somewhat like a serial number that is found in computer hardware and acts as an identity card to a router. If the router sees that the user is registered in its list of allowable clients, it will give access. If not, then it will deny access. This method can also be susceptible to hacking by those who know how to disguise themselves, or steal MAC address identities, but at least it puts more of a barrier up. Also, this scenario probably wouldn’t work well in the café scenario, since a store clerk might have to configure the router’s client list every time a customer wants wireless access to the Internet.

Set up a loooong password. As long as possible. It just makes it all the more harder for a hacker’s software to figure out, kind of like a long equation. If you use security that allows for 26 characters, use them all, and mix them up. Again, hard to do in the café, but hey, at least you can ensure people are actually buying from you to use the connection by giving out the password on receipts every time someone orders a coffee. Change the password often if you do this to avoid the numbers getting passed around too much.

Change the SSID. This is the name of the wireless connection people see when they are searching for a network to join. Manufacturers of routers send out their equipment with the name already in place, and it usually takes the brand name of the company or something similar. These names are seen as an easy target by hackers because they appear insecure. After all, if you didn’t change the SSID, you probably didn’t change the security encryption either.

Use Firewalls. That’s plural. Make sure there is one running on the wireless connection and also one running on the computers since, after all, the devices are communicating with each other during an entire Internet session.

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Saleh Tousi asked:

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Dec

Want a faster, easier way to share files or share internet connection? Enjoy faster and better connectivity with a wireless router.

Where wireless routers and speeds are concerned, price is not always the best controlling factor. There’s a wide variety of wireless routers available in the market and one is not always as good as the other. Basic, low-range types gives you speeds of only about 56 mbps. Pick one with ultra-range capabilities or a dual-band router for best performance and fastest speeds.

Setting up your wireless routers is not as difficult as it seems. When you have a wireless router at hand, you only have to substitute your DSL or cable connection with it. For techie people who would like to learn, here’s a quick guide to doing it yourself.

First, remove cable or DS modem from your power supply and also the ethernet cable from the computer. Leave the phone cord on the modem.

Connect the end of the ethernet cable you removed from your computer to the internet port at the back of your router. This port is normally marked clearly. Plug your modem back to the power source.

Plug one end of your router’s ethernet cable into the ethernet connector on the network card of your computer. The other end goes into one of the ethernet network ports on the router itself.

Hook up the router to a power supply and check the indicator lights. Five indicator lights should be on: the power light, the internet light, the security light, the wireless light, and the light for one of your ethernet network connections.

All indicator lights should be stable. Otherwise, you’ll need to check if you had plugged cables securely or if the router is working properly.

Install the software that came with your wireless router. Run it as instructed and test your system.

Products made by different manufacturers, although intended for the same purposes, would invariably be slightly different from one another. Some routers could be a bit more complicated to setup or install. If you followed the above steps and it didn’t work like it should, refer to your router’s user manual for guidance. This is usually included in the kit that you purchased. If it’s not, log on to your manufacturer’s website for questions.

When you have accurately installed your router into your system, configure the device. Key-in your internet access pass (username and password) into the router’s setup screen. Also, for security reasons, change your router’s username and password immediately to prevent unauthorized access into your wireless connection.

Although sharing internet connection and file sharing between network computers may be done via alternative methods, having a router simplifies these tasks immensely. It’s what makes routers such popular alternatives.

Although routers do not generally support dial-up modems, there are a few units with built-in serial ports that work with serial cables to accommodate dial-up connectivity.

Get better access to your home network and get the most out of your internet connection. Hook everything up to a network with a wireless router. It saves you time, effort, and money. Plus, it makes your computers better-able to interact with your mobile phones and other devices.

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David H. Urmann asked:

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Dec

Even as you’re reading this, you are probably sitting at a computer that is confined to a particular part of your home, say your bedroom or living room. But, what if you want to use a laptop or computer from anywhere in your house? That’s where a wireless router comes into play.

A wireless router is basically a network device that lets you connect several computers to the internet without using a cable, but by using wireless access points, or WLAN. In essence, wireless routers allow the freedom of several users to be able to access the internet. Plus, wireless routers also free you from messy wires.

Basically, a wireless router works using signals that have the same radio frequency range as the wireless network card installed in the PC. The significant feature of this exchange of signal system is that both the router and the network card function on the same radio frequency range, thus allowing the transmission of data to and fro, between the devices.

In other words, the wireless router uses radio frequency range signals between devices instead of physical wiring connections to transmit signals. Being an intelligent device, a wireless router can determine whether a signal needs to be transmitted to a local computer on the internet or to the internet.

The signal’s strength is dependent on the manufacturer along with the internet signal strength that the ISP provides. A wireless network has the added functionality of providing security to the network with firewalls, security keys, and so on.

It is not difficult to set up a wireless network. All you need to do is connect the wireless router to your internet connection, and then just set up the drivers in your computer or laptop. You need not worry about anything, because the wireless router that you buy will come along with the drivers, manuals, and CDs, which will help you with the software and driver set up and the configurations.

Clearly, there are several advantages that a wireless router provides. The term ‘wireless’ is what it is all about. With a computer connected to a phone line or a cable, you get the sense of being tethered to a machine that is in turn tethered to a fixture or wall. This entails you sitting at one spot for a long time in order to do your work or access the internet.

But by fixing a wireless router, you can roam about all over your house, or even building, without having to remain connected to a cable modem or phone jack. This way, if for instance you prefer working outside, you will have the freedom to go out onto the deck, without needing to worry about setting up outdoor cables. If you feel like strolling down to your favorite café for a mug of latte, you can head straight there and surf the net while you wait for the brew to be made. These days, even airports allow you to surf the net without wires while waiting for your plane. Simply put, as long as you have a wireless router in place, especially a long range one, you can log on and surf the net practically from anywhere.

Not having to be tethered to a wall is particularly beneficial for employees or self-employed business people. Basically, any location can become your virtual office. With services and stores equipped with wireless routers, it’s easy to set up shop at any convenient restaurant like McDonalds or Panera. And in towns and cities with wireless facilities, access will spell freedom from the confines of a cubicle or tiny office. These days, more and more companies are allowing their employees the option of working from home.

Even as far as the sales force of a company is concerned, they can go from place to place without needing to return to the headquarters. Since the nearest Starbucks can be turned into a virtual office, business updates and sales reporting can be carried out via a laptop or PDA. This will mean more time being spent in the sales effort and less time being spent in the office.

The broadband router wireless VoIP technology is another great innovation. With this device, you can connect to the internet, using any ordinary phone device. You can then make calls to anybody in the world via your internet connection.

So do wireless communications have any drawbacks? Unfortunately, they do. Even though a great deal of flexibility and convenience is offered by this technology, some tradeoffs are there. A wireless network that is shared by all the users of a particular area has less bandwidth. This is felt most often where high-bandwidth multimedia applications or heavy file transfers are used. In addition, it is more difficult to secure wireless networks, plus, the installation of networking wiring to points of access requires coordination and long lead times with some combination of facilities maintenance and OIT. Hence, if you are thinking of going in for a wireless router you need to take the drawbacks into consideration.

Before buying a wireless router, it is best to check out the reviews about various brands in the market. There are many reliable and well-known brands such as Belkin wireless router, Netgear wireless router, and Linksys wireless router. Check out online to see which one will suit your needs, whether at home or in the office.

Wireless routers make life far more convenient and easier. You can go anywhere, without being restricted by wires and still be able to access the internet.