Published by KC May 18th, 2007
in Computers, Hardware and Palm.
Originally I posted the criteria I had for buying a PDA for my wife to meet a nursing school requirement. Well, the purchase was made and we ended up going with the Palm T|X. The choice was fairly obvious to me once we showed up at Best Buy and they let us know that they stopped selling Windows Mobile handhelds a while ago. This trend was followed by OfficeMax and Staples. Circuit City doesn’t even sell handhelds at all anymore. Go figure. So, while the technology is moving more towards the cell phone market, I’ll still outline my reasons.
- We use Cingular as our cell phone service provider. While they have some great Smartphones, they don’t work without the SIM card in the phone. That eliminated any Smartphone from the running.
- The T|X has wifi, and it was incredibly easy to set up. The model at OfficeMax was connected to the in-store wireless network and we got a chance to use it. Google Maps on the handheld is absolutely fantastic.
Some Windows handhelds have wifi too, but we couldn’t try them out since no-one sells them.
- I opted NOT to get the Palm LifeDrive because of the hard drive. My wife has a tendency to drop things. Dropping hard drives will quickly kill them.
- All of the GPS handhelds were fairly expensive and some didn’t have wifi. Wifi was the second most important factor next to the SD card slot.
- And lastly, since no-one had the Windows Mobile handhelds to try out, I was very reluctant to buy one online only to have her hate it. Dell doesn’t even make their well received Axim anymore.
My wife thought that the Palm OS was easy to use. The handwriting recognition, called graffiti, has come a long way since the early days of Palm OS. My wife prefers the on-screen keyboard, but the option is always there for her to write stuff out. I setup her Gmail account to be accessed by the built-in email program. That was a pretty big deal for her. I also mentioned Google Maps, which is fantastic on the Palm. She can use it like a GPS, just without it telling her where she is.
Published by KC May 15th, 2007
in Blog Post.
So, you have a question you need answered but aren’t sure how to go about asking. Look no further than on the top of the page and the ‘Ask a Question’ link. Simply fill out the form with your name, email address, website (if you want some link loving), and finally your question. If it’s specific, give some details to your question. Provide some background if you think it’s necessary. I’ll get to it ASAP.
Published by KC May 15th, 2007
in Computers, Question, Wireless and Networking.
I have received quite a few questions regarding the encryption of wireless networks. (This is a good sign! It means that people are well aware of their need to protect their computing resources and private information.) There are a couple of choices for wireless encryption, so I’ll cover what I can. There may be an instance where a manufacturer comes up with their own solution as an option in addition to the standards. I can not cover all of these possibilities so I’m going to stick to the standard Pre-Shared Key (PSK) standards: Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP); Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA); and WPA2.
Router configuration is done through a web browser that connects to the wireless router. Traditionally this is done by typing the IP Address of the router into the address bar; the address is usually 192.168.1.1 but may be slightly different. Check your user manual for the proper address. Under the security settings there will be a section for encryption. If you can not see WPA or WPA2, you should upgrade the firmware of the router. The firmware can be downloaded from the manufacturers website, and the directions are available in the manual or also on the website. Newer routers should already have WPA and WPA2 available.
PSK encryption is what is normally used in small business offices and personal networks. It just means that every user of a wireless network must use a passkey to connect to the wireless access point. Strong password rules apply when picking a passkey. Use numbers, lower case letters, upper case letters, or even a phrase or sentence. Windows will normally request this when first connecting to a wireless network.
WEP is the weakest encryption used for Wi-Fi and should be avoided. WEP can be cracked in under a minute, giving the cracker access to your network. This in turn opens up your computer to the cracker for exploitation. If you have no choice but to use WEP, use a strong key. Use 128-bit Hexadecimal (0-9, A-F); make sure the keys are 26 characters long and not easy to guess. Do not make it all ‘A’s, for example.
WPA was the answer to the WEP security problem. WPA can use a passphrase or a hex number. The passphrase is easiest for most people, but always apply strong password rules. WPA passwords can be brute forced just like any other password, so make sure it’s strong. Sentences and phrases are much better than simple words. WPA passphrases can have as many as 54 letters. The encryption and the verification process is much better than WEP.
WPA2 is the second implementation of WPA. Current commercial products must implement WPA2 in order to have the term Wi-Fi printed on the box. WPA2 is similar to WPA; however, the encryption and verification process is even stronger than in WPA. If WPA2 is available to you, use it. Upgrade software and firmware if you need to. WPA2 is the best layer of security for wireless networks that home users can get their hands on.
Published by KC May 7th, 2007
in Computers, Windows, Question and Evil.
Question: I have a new laptop and it was set up with me as admin and no other account. Is there a better way and if I do need to create my own account, how do I do that and be sure that all the things I have access to now will remain accessible to me afterward?
This is one of the biggest hassles associated with Windows. Granted security with Windows in general is a very big concern; running as Administrator by default is a root of much of the problems with Windows (XP in particular). First, let me outline the reasons why you shouldn’t run Windows as Administrator.
- Services can be started, stopped, and installed. Services are background tasks that can be run without user intervention. Good things are services, like USB detection and printer drivers. But bad things are too. Spyware can be installed as a service if and you’d never know it if you didn’t look.
- Evil software can be installed. Spyware can more easily be installed on the system if you’re running as Administrator. With no restrictions, it can be installed into your Windows directory to make itself look legit.
- You can break things. Uninstalling software that shouldn’t be uninstalled will break things. Software that manipulates system settings can also cause your system to break.
Well, knowing all of that, what are you to do? If, when you start Windows, you don’t have to log in or click on a user name, there’s a good chance that you’re running as Administrator. Let’s just add a user to make sure.
- Start > Settings > Control Panel
- Open the Users button.
- Click ‘create a new account.’
- Follow through with the steps, but MAKE SURE that you select the ‘Limited’ bubble. If you can’t select it, then you have to make a second Administrator account first.
- Click Back
- Change the account name to reflect that it’s an Admin account
- Click ‘Next’ and then ‘Create Account.’
- Same as step 4. above.
Click ‘Create Account.’
Now your new user is ready to go. Now on to the file issue.
Getting your old files is important. The best solution is to just copy the contents of the folder to your new limited account.
- Open up ‘My Documents’ and also open ‘My Computer.’
- In the My Computer window, open up the new user’s Documents folder
- Highlight all of the files in the My Documents window, right click, and click ‘Copy.’
- Go back to the window that now shows the new user’s Documents. Right click and click ‘Paste.’
That should do it! Click Start>Log off or Start>Shutdown and select ‘Log Off.’ Then just log in as the new user.
Here are some problems you might run into.
- Some programs are old or are weird and will only run as Administrator. Rather than logging out and back in as the Administrator, do the following:
- RIGHT click on the icon that you run the program from and click ‘Run as…’
- Click the ‘The following user’ radio button. Select Administrator and then type in the password.
- Click ‘OK.’
- Not every setting or file will get imported into the new user’s account. This is the biggest issue for people making the switch. It’s an unfortunate consequence and a big reason why people stop using the limited account. I will cover the most important in my next post, which is the Favorites from Internet Explorer.
- Installing software might not always work right. To solve this, right click on the installer file and follow the ‘Run as…’ procedure above.
While it’s a HUGE hassle to deal with, running as another user other than Administrator is as equally necessary. With the threat of Spyware and Malware increasing, as does the need to increase security measures on our PCs. Hang in there, it’s doable.
Published by KC May 1st, 2007
in Internet, Question and web 2.0.
This is a great question because it hits on two major innovations of the twenty-first century: the increasing need for security online; and the expansion of web based (web 2.0) services. (Web 2.0 is just a buzzword for the various technology innovations that have allowed word processors, spreadsheets, and various other traditional software packages to move to a web based format.) The rise in accessibility of personal information online leads to an equal rise in password based security. Unfortunately, we all have so many passwords now that they’re very easy to forget. Writing down passwords is risky, but it’s also fairly inconvenient. For example, if you access a site at both work and at home, do you write it down twice? Do you trust the people in your office enough to have your written passwords laying around? A portable and secure solution is to remember a single password to an encrypted online password storage site. Enter Agatra.
Agatra is a web based password storage solution that encrypts your data for storage, and also encrypts your connection when accessing your account. It’s incredibly easy to use and it’s 100% free. The website is laid out in a plain, easy to read format. After signing up, using Agatra is very easy. Adding passwords and accounts is a two step process. After adding a bunch of passwords, you can arrange them any way you’d like using drag and drop or an alphabetical sort.
The web based stuff might concern some people, and that’s OK. The company has attempted to allay some of these fears by outlining the cryptography algorithm that they use. Still, I personally wouldn’t recommend using this website for the storage of financial service passwords. The fears might be un-needed, but err on the side of caution. A home computer based storage solution is better suited for highly sensitive passwords such as banking, investment, or credit card accounts.
For home based service, KeePass has received very good reviews. It was featured on Lifehacker just over two years ago. In the Lifehacker post, some pretty important points are made:
- ONLY install KeePass on a computer you control and own. In other words, don’t set up your password database on the office computer.
- In general, the best place to keep passwords is in your head. But, it’s a good idea to have a different password for each service you log into, so if Someone Bad knows one of your passwords, they can’t log in as you into everything else. So KeePass is a good way to keep track of the different passwords, HOWEVER, it’s not a great idea to rely on software (or monitor sticky notes) for important high-security passwords.
- Never, ever give away your KeePass master database password. Yes, if you’re suddenly struck with amnesia, you’re screwed, but if you were trying to remember all your passwords instead of just the one master, you’d be screwed anyway.
Keep the second bullet in mind when you make your decision about what passwords to store.
