BestAdvice Computers

Now that wireless networks are everywhere, computer burglars, aka hackers, are having a field day, attempting to invade your privacy and worse yet, steal your identity. Believe me, you don't want that to happen.

That is why we strongly suggest that you take the following steps to secure your network:

1. Almost all routers and access points come with an administrator password that is a weak default, like "password" or the manufacturer's name. Replace the default passwords on every wireless router or access point you purchase with passwords of your own. Imagine, for instance, how many "dlink" networks there would be in the world if none of our customers renamed their routers? Hackers make it a point to know every company's default passwords. By simply defining a new password, one that will certainly be easier for you to remember than the default, you will establish the protection you need to halt hackers from accessing your network or devices.

Most reputable vendors supply easy set-up wizards with their devices. Just follow the directions to rename your router or device with something unique and easy for you to remember. But be careful not to be so creative or simplistic that you provide sensitive information with the name you give your device. "Smith Family Router" is not the best idea. Be sure to write it down and keep it someplace safe for future reference. Without it, the only way to access the router or access point may be to reset it to factory default settings. which will wipe away any configuration changes you've made.Read more

Your hard drive just crashed, and you're afraid you have lost a bunch of important files. What do you do?

First you swear a lot, then you let panic wash over you. Then you shoot a dirty look at the "helpful" family member who asks if you backed up your files on disk. (Of course you didn't.)

After all that, take a few deep breaths and know that there is a good chance you will see those lost files again. In fact, you may be able to recover them yourself.

First, you should make sure it really is the hard drive at issue. Remove the hard drive and use a USB universal drive adapter to hook it up as a secondary drive to another computer. If your files don't show up, you know the hard drive is in trouble and you will have to invest some money in attempting to retrieve those family photos or that project for work. Remember that there are no guarantees your files will be recovered, yet in most cases, the data can be saved even when it appears that all is lost. Read more

Need to bring the Internet with you wherever you go? Consider buying a wireless broadband card for your laptop. These cards get you online while you're on a train commuting to work, sitting in an airport waiting for a flight – or even lounging on a beach soaking in some sun.

But before you purchase a card and sign a two-year service deal, think about these important factors when deciding which Broadband card and service provider to choose:

Internet access: Most Broadband companies charge customers roughly $60 per month for unlimited Internet access. If you're getting online several hours a day for both business and personal use, you will likely need to sign up for a plan that provides unlimited access. But if you use the card only a couple hours a day – when you're not at home or in the office on a desktop – you might want to consider cheaper $40-per-month plans that limit your online access to 40 or 50 megabytes a month. When shopping various providers, give them a list of ZIP codes where you will be using the card most to determine signal strength in those areas. Read more

Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of calling technical support, only to end up on hold for an extended period of time to ultimately speak to someone in a foreign country who speaks poor English. The advice we’re offered from such loosely titled "technicians" is often wrong, and it’s not uncommon to be told the problem is a.) your computer or b.) Microsoft. It can often be a colossal waste of time and energy. It’s enough to make anyone not want to call technical support ever again – and the manufacturers would like nothing better.

From the manufacturer’s perspective, offering technical support is considered a "cost center," because they do not make any money from the technical support department. As such, they cut costs every way they can by under-staffing and out-sourcing. Technical support personnel working for manufacturers are not paid to help the calling customers. Their productivity is not measured by how many customers they’ve actually helped, but instead by how many phone calls they’ve dispensed within a certain period of time. Whether the customer’s problem was actually resolved is not typically part of the equation management measures. Read more

PC security software is a necessity for any PC connecting to the Internet. However, deciding which PC security software to use can be tough. Major PC security software companies have deals with the large PC manufacturers to include trial versions of their software in the hopes that when the trial is over, you'll hand over your hard-earned cash for continued protection. The tactic works: People are so confused over what to do, they just pay the money. Who really wants to figure out how to replace the security software that came with the PC or what to replace it with?

Norton and McAfee antivirus products are the two most popular and most widely used. However, their PC security software has become so complex and complicated that it cannot only be difficult to understand and operate, but it can also severely degrade a computer's performance. Security suites have become so bloated they can even cause computers to crash upon installation. And uninstalling them can render a computer completely unusable if the uninstall does not complete correctly. Also, even after being successfully uninstalled, many files, folders and registry entries related to the PC security software are often left behind, requiring a manual clean-up to actually rid yourself of them completely. Read more

By Jeff Zbar 
www.chiefhomeofficer.com

Let’s survey the landscape of my home office’s technology graveyard: I have an old PC — circa Last Century and long since obsolete; a once-coveted, leading-edge Nokia analog cell phone my daughter now uses as a playtoy; two CRT monitors long ago replaced by flat-panel monitors; a few keyboards, mice and other gadgets and hardware that serve no purpose but to keep me from having to dust the shelf-tops on which they rest. They consume my space. There has to be a better solution.

Enter MyBoneYard, an online service designed to help people ditch the old tech.

This is no idle concern. The mercury, chemicals and various elements that exist in PCs and monitors is enough to make your body glow green. Once crushed and in the landfull, these nasties leech into the groundwater, polluting the environment and the water that irrigates our crops, quenches the native fauna — and flows through our taps. Read more

Right now, I’m in a motel. I'm browsing several sites for information to include in this article; downloading a 10 MB file in the background; and Outlook is checking for new email every five minutes. But this motel offers no Internet access. My laptop's WiFi adapter cannot find an unsecured wireless network to tap. I'm not wired to the room's phone so I'm not using a dialup ISP. How can I possibly be on the Internet at all, let alone at 1.5 or more Mbps?

The answer, in my case, is Sprint Mobile Broadband, one offering of the latest generation of high-speed Internet service delivered via cell phone networks. It's like having a portable cable modem. Indoors or outdoors, at a café table or in a moving taxi, if I can get a four-bar or stronger Sprint signal I’m online at broadband speed, without wires. This is cooler than a polar bears' picnic! Read more

Did you know you can make your high-speed Internet access even faster than it already is without spending any money?

Often, people are so happy with how much faster and convenient their new high-speed Internet is compared with old fashioned dial-up, it never occurs to them to verify they are getting all the speed they are paying for. I'm going to show you how to make sure you're getting every 'bit' (pun intended) of Internet performance you're paying for!

Here is a prepared a series of short video tutorials, along with a speed test: 

• Part 1 of speeding up your Internet connection 
  
• Part 2 of speeding up your Internet connection 
  

If you have a bill or contract agreement available from your cable provider, see what Internet speed you are paying for. There should be a reported upload speed (the maximum speed of how fast you can send data) and a reported download speed (the maximum speed of how fast you can receive data.) Read more

Are you ready for wireless printing but unsure of your options? You may be surprised to know that there are several ways to print wirelessly at home. The experts at Lexmark tell us how easy it is to cut the cord by giving us the following tips:

1. Installing a print server has been the traditional way of connecting a printer to a Wi-Fi access point. Although this option works, it limits where you can put this equipment in your home because it requires that you connect your printer via cable to the print server. Other potential frustrations of using a print server include the fact that you need to purchase the print server separately and it is possible to run into compatibility issues with the rest of your computer equipment. Read more

With a lot of misinformation and confusion around the realities of mobile device security, officials from the Bluetooth SIG want to remind consumers that Bluetooth technology was built with security in mind and with a few simple steps, users can easily protect themselves.

Bluetooth security features are built in, but they don’t protect you if not used correctly. Be sure to practice common sense and maintain control of your device. Read more