Posts Tagged ‘Simple Steps’

Securing Your Home Network

February 20th, 2010



You have probably read about how people are able to gain access to an individual’s computer and essentially steal all their personal data. There are many ways that this can be done without the owner even knowing that someone is trawling around within their computer right under their nose. There a few simple steps that you can do to safeguard your personal information from internet predators.

Your home network is your first step to securing your personal data from the outside. You should have a secure perimeter network that stops any potential intruders from accessing your data. It is by far better to stop intruders at the perimeter rather than at your computer. Make sure that you have a hardware firewall enabled at the point where your home equipment connects to your internet connection. Hardware firewalls are more difficult to hack and do a good job of keeping unwanted eyes from seeing your personal computer.

A hardware firewall for homes normally comes in the form of a router. Some people have a modem connected to their internet connection but these do not come with a hardware firewall and are not secure. Make sure that you are using a router with a hardware firewall between your computer and the internet connection. If you are not sure which one has been supplied by your service provider, have a look at the original documentation or phone your service provider and ask them.

Most routers provided by internet service providers are wireless. This means that if you have a laptop, you can connect to the internet using a wireless network card from your laptop to the router, and finally out onto the internet. Even if you don’t have a laptop and use a desktop computer, the router from your service provider will still have the wireless functionality enabled. This wireless connection broadcasts a name called an SSID. This can be picked up by any wireless device normally within a 50m radius of your home. You need to make sure that the wireless broadcast is switched off if you do not use it. If you have a laptop and use it to connect to the internet wirelessly, make sure that it uses an encryption key to secure all communications. The older type of encryption is WEP and is now less secure; you should be using WPA which is more secure. Read the documentation that came with the router on how to configure encryption on your router.

By: Mike JJ Johnson

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Network Support Contracts Can Provide Personal Help

February 18th, 2010



Network support contracts are most commonly provided in the workplace to help maximize the efficiency of daily operations and also help professionals best keep their technology up and running. But students and others not using laptops for business purposes also need to be assured that their networking capabilities are insured. For these people, it may only take a few simple steps to get the peace of mind of a network support contract.

Keep Computers Running Under All Circumstances

A well-plotted and stable network will keep you connected at all times. The purpose of network support contracts is to keep your network running all the time, uninterrupted. If you have a reliable network infrastructure, you will be able to get to files you left at work off-site, any day and at any time. Using professional consultants as part of network support contracts allows companies to give employees access from anywhere. Having these consultants accessible to not only implement but also monitor these networking capabilities will help promote business growth and peace of mind.

Personal Networks

People using their computers at home often want to set up personalized networking options, but find themselves feeling alone sometimes when it comes to the network support contracts they find to help them. No matter how skilled you are at navigating the process of not only setting up but maintaining these at-home networks, you have probably found yourself in need of the extra support provided by a high quality network support contract.

Looking For Online Support

Those in academic and government arenas will typically get free network support contracts that help them connect to offices across the campus or between departments. Other people trying to set up networking capabilities can do speedy searches for network support contracts that will help them find Internet resources to trouble shoot when they need immediate or simple help. Online support contracts can provide a wonderful way to get personalized help particularly when balanced with in-person guidance.

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By: Joshua Feinberg

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Discover How to Easily Connect Your iPod Touch to a WiFi Network

October 5th, 2009



Successfully connecting your Apple iPod Touch to a WiFi wireless network can be a real challenge. Many owners find the process difficult and frustrating. This is mainly due to the abundant choices available for wireless standards and security protocols that can be used for setting up and securing networks.

Why is Connecting to a WiFi Network a Challenge?

A WiFi compatible device does not guarantee it will work with every network available. Wireless connections can be set up and configured in many different ways. The key point to understand is that the WiFi settings on your device need to be compatible with the network’s settings. The key standards that need to be compatible, are the communication protocol and the security protocol. There are many to choose from given that these standards have historically evolved over many years.

The iPod Touch can only connect to WiFi networks that are based on the IEEE 802.11b or IEEE 802.11g wireless standards. If security is also configured on the wireless network, the same security protocol used must also be set up on the device to enable a secure connection to be made successfully. The exception to this rule is where a WiFi network has been set up with no security and is open to all WiFi devices. These are called “Free WiFi Hot Spots” and are offered by establishments such as McDonalds as an incentive to visit their stores.

11 Simple Steps to Connect Your Apple iPod Touch to a Wireless Network

Follow these simple 11 steps to quickly and easily set up your device to connect to a WiFi network:

Turn on your iPod Touch. Press the “Home” button. Tap the “Settings” icon. Tap the “Wi-Fi” menu. Slide “Wi-Fi” to “ON”. Slide “Ask to Join Networks” to “ON”. Wait for the device to detect a wireless network that is in range. If it is close, you will see 3 bars of signal. If it doesn’t detect it, try sliding “Wi-Fi” “OFF” and “ON” again. If the detected network has a “padlock” icon, then it is secure and you will need the password to connect. Tap the menu showing the detected network and enter the password. If a connection is made successfully, then a tick mark will appear. If not, then it means the matching security protocol was not setup on the iPod Touch for the network. If you need to change the security protocol tap “Other…” to go to “Other Network” page. Enter the name of the wireless network and select the matching security protocol used by the network. You have a choice of WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA Enterprise and WPA2 Enterprise. Enter the password for the network and then tap the blue colored “Join” button on the bottom right of the screen. If the network is successfully found and connected to, then it will appear in the list of WiFi networks with a tick. Connecting to a free WiFi network is straight forward, however connecting to a secure home or business wireless network requires some technical knowledge. You need to know which security protocol is used with the network if it is secured, the network name (or ID) and the password to connect to it. If you didn’t set up the network at home or at the office, then you will need to obtain the details to log-on from the person who set it up, or seek help from the administrator of the network.

Make “Smarter” Devices that Connect Automatically

As the technical standards continue to evolve and consolidate for wireless networks, the challenge of connecting to a WiFi enabled network with portable devices will become a thing of the past when devices become “smarter”. Such devices will be able to automatically detect any wireless standard and network configuration in the local vicinity and connect securely and seamlessly. Hopefully we will see these advances in the next generation of the iPod Touch!

By: Terry Oracle

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