|
AiroLink Communications Newsletter #1
John Cramer
As of today, we have 36 wireless Internet systems installed in Guthrie and Audubon Counties. Nineteen systems are associated
with the Guthrie Center Water Tower access point and 17 systems are associated with the Van Meter Silo access point.
We are talking with the Lake Panorama Association about using their new water tower to mount an access point to serve
an area at the lake near The Narrows and the rural homes to the north. My efforts to expand into the city of Yale did not
succeed because the City Council and the Farmers Coop elevator were not interested in my proposals.
Firewall - Firewall - Firewall - Firewall - Firewall - Firewall - Firewall
The most important thing for any computer user to do is to maintain a strong firewall between their computer and their
Internet connection. That is true for every DSL, Cable and Wireless Internet customer anywhere in the world.
The people at BCS Computer Sales and Service strongly recommend using a HARDWARE firewall. Most routers, like Hawking,
D-Link or Linksys, have a hardware firewall built inside of it. Be sure that the firewall is enabled.
Windows XP operating system has a basic SOFTWARE firewall. Windows 98 does NOT have any firewall.
Wireless Routers
A wireless router is a convenient device that allows you to connect two or more computers to the Internet without the
need to run Ethernet cables through your walls. A wireless router uses a different frequency and has a much shorter range
than your AiroLink Internet radio. It creates your own private hot spot.
Unfortunately, it is also convenient for strangers to use your wireless router if you do not take any precautions. My
oldest daughter, Sarah, now lives in an apartment building in Iowa City. I am 100% certain that some people in her building
would be getting onto her network without her permission if she had not taken some security precautions. Rural farmhouses
have less of a threat because a stranger in the driveway would be more conspicuous than a stranger in town.
Even in Guthrie Center and Audubon there are probably some people who seek a wireless connection -- either for free access
to the Internet, or for illegal access to your computer.
When I install a router for a customer I usually change the following settings:
The default radio frequency channel.
The default ID name (SSID or ESSID) broadcast by the router.
The default password used to change the routers settings.
I leave it up to the customer if they want to enable the encryption or not. It is a good idea for everyone to encrypt
their system, but especially for town people to do so.
Antivirus
An Antivirus security program is essential with the Internet. BCS highly recommends a program called AVG, which offers
a free version of their security program. A computer may only have one antivirus program installed at a time.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/Get+AVG+FREE/lng/us/tpl/v5
Anti-Spyware
Spyware is a computer program placed on your computer without your knowledge to spy on your computer. Besides stealing
your personal information, a spyware program can dramatically slow down your computer. Microsoft has an anti-spyware program
that is available for free, at least until the end of the year.
Spybot and Lavasoft Ad Aware have free programs that have a good reputation. A computer may have several anti-spyware
programs installed. It is a good idea to use different programs from time to time.
http://www.zone-x.com/microsoft-antispyware.php
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022-10122137.html?part=dl-spybot&subj=dl&tag=but
Email
I use several email accounts for business and personal use. My favorite is Gmail.com. Gmail belongs to the search engine
company Google.
Gmail is unique for two reasons. First, it has a huge 2.5 gigabytes of storage for each email account. A user may “archive”
each and every email they receive on the Gmail server and never worry about overfilling their mailbox.
Second, the user can easily retrieve a misplaced email by logging into their account and typing one or more words in the
Search box. Gmail will place every email with the search words in chronological order.
Please contact me if you want to get a Gmail account for yourself.
To unsubscribe to this newsletter you may reply to this email and tell me to unsubscribe your email address.
|
