Computer help needed !

[wtm442]

Ron
It's on all the time! I only use it with my laptop. I do not have wireless capability with home desktop computer.

My comment was that security is needed with wireless. There are hackers that drive around in cars finding wireless setups. They can hack right into any of your computers that are turned on, right from their car! I'm going thru a wireless setup right now with my laptop while I'm on vacation, but you need to enter a password to set up the wireless connection to a new computer.

Happens all the time. Some hackers consider it a badge of achievement.

[Ron61]

Warren,

I know that. Nothing is secure any more. When we first came out with the cordless phones, we traced three people that were driving around in cars with a handset until they got dial tone and they would then call all over the country and the person with the phone in their house got the big bills. My desktops both use Ethernet cards and cables but my laptop is wireless and I keep the pass key for the modem in another place. But I have put a screen in that limits the range of my wireless part of the modem to just the inside of my house. I can't even take my laptop out on the porch and get a strong enough signal to log onto anything. Of course all anyone has to do is go to the interface box for the phone lines and make their calls. You don't even have to know what line you are using. I used to have one of my test instruments that I could stand out in my yard and listen to every conversation or anything that went through the telephone lines across the street. But it isn't any good now and wouldn't work with fiber optic and laser anyway. And everyone thinks I am paranoid because I run all of my bank and other statements through a shredder.
By the way, how do you like the mini cams that you can get that are a part of an emblem on a cap such as a baseball cap? They record about an hours worth of stuff and are so small you can't see them even looking at the emblems. We are really secure!!!!!!


Ron

[wtm442]

And everyone thinks I am paranoid because I run all of my bank and other statements through a shredder.

I have had a paper shredder for at least 20 years. Too many dumpster divers out there picking thru the trash.

[Ron61]

Hey, that is great to find another paranoid that I can communicate with. I learned the value of shredders many years ago when working. And test schematics or papers on test results of anything we were trying went into the shredders. Even then it is impossible to stop crooks in high places from selling your information.

Ron

[chopper]

What wtm442 said. Be sure you enable the wireless encryption using either the Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) or Wireless Protected Access (WPA) features which come with your router. The owner's manual will tell you how to set it up with a random alpha-numeric password. Put all of your wireless computers on the network using the same password and you'll be set. WPA is the preferred protocol, and uses 128 bit encryption. I don't claim to be an expert, but what I've read said that it is possible to break 128 bit encryption, but would require several years to do so, far more time than the average hacker wants to invest. That's especially true if your neighbor's system is unprotected, which it probably is. I can usually sit in my den and access two or three of my neighbor's systems. You can lock others out of your system, and you can usually even prevent your system from showing up on other's computers.

I have two Macs at home, a G-5 iMac and a G-4 12" Powerbook. Both are hooked up through an Apple Airport Express wireless router, and use the WPA2 security protocol. We also have a hardware firewall since the wife uses her work computer (a Toshiba laptop) to do work at home. The Apple Airport Express will handle up to 10 computers simultaneously and has a port which can hook directly to a printer, so you can print from any accessed computer over the network. The one problem with the Airport Express is that you can only print on the printer; that is, you can't use it to get stuff from the scanner function to the computer via the modem; you have to hook the printer/scanner directly to the computer to scan documents into memory.

[Wes Tausend]

Originally Posted by chopper

What...

...problem with the Airport Express is that you can only print on the printer; that is, you can't use it to get stuff from the scanner function to the computer via the modem; you have to hook the printer/scanner directly to the computer to scan documents into memory.

Some scanner/printer/copiers will totally work with wireless systems. My wife bought a HP Photosmart C5180 that works well for her. It's currently installed directly (LAN, aka Ethernet cable) to the router beside my ancient ME desktop that I'm using, but would also accept a wireless network adapter, I believe.

I haven't tried to use it since my wireless laptop died, shortly after my sodden brother went to a very naughty poisonous site with it. Could'a slapped him.

I use a direct USB connected scanner/printer/copier on her desktop which was what she was trying to discourage, considering my careless lineage. Then I transfer the scanned file via LAN, or now a little 1GB USB micro-drive. It's the way I learned to originally do it. I'm too lazy to re-learn unless I must. I think I have her convinced that the HP C5180 software won't work with Win ME.


...

[bomelia]

Ar ar ar!

This gave me an idea. I hacked into most of your computers and installed a file on your C: drive called NTDETECT.COM. Nothing you can do about it. And as long as you do not try to open it, or delete it, nothing bad will happen.

Mike