Safe Computing and Home Networking Help
using Wired and Wireless Networks
No Ads, Popups, ActiveX, JAVA - just information
Keep your PC "Safe & Responsible"
Don't you be a part of any Internet mischief!
Protect your PC, your Network, and The Rest of us from Internet terrorism!
Practice Safe Computing
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ADSL Stuff & TCP/IP Stuff & PC Stuff & Wireless Stuff & XP SP2 impressions & My Network |
Are you tired of what your Windows PC has become?
Is this what you want to do to your PC:
You may be infected with adware/viruses/spyware/scumware/trojans/windows bloat!
I will help you! Read on.... Also....
Do you have multiple PCs and want to network them?
Wouldn’t you rather have a high speed connection?
Take PCCitizen's Basic Networking Course!!!
Are you struggling to understand Wireless?
Take
PCCitizen's Basic Backup
Course!!! (in progress..)
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PC Stuff You Need to Know! |
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| The spammer, scumware, phishing slime, and now international
criminal elements have joined forces with internet terrorists
and crackers and are waging cyber war on you, and on public service web
sites that provide lists of these slime spammers,
phishers,
scumware, and the ISPs that tolerate them. A number
of them have had to shut down because of the DOS attacks
against them. Expect the spam, scumware, phishing and spyware
to get even worse! Make sure your PC is not participating in
this terrorism - go here
to check it out.
Now it seems the Russian mafia is a big time phisher. Don't ever, ever REPLY to an email/popup request to change/validate any passwords or private info, even from what appears to be your trusted sites!!! And you better write protect your hosts file! Wanna see just how bad this stuff is? And what is the result of a lot of this?? get this! The spammer slime ARE using YOUR PC to spread the spam/scum. This story continues to expand as we get into spring 2006. Please, Please, Please do not let them use your PC!! You must Cleanup your PC and practice safe computing. Update May 2006: Go here and immediately install the Microsoft "windows defender" product. Go here and download the free rootkit detection utility. Rootkits may be the story for 2006.... SPAM continues to accelerate in 2007. It will be years before the "good guys" find effective ways to combat the spam, but they are making progress. And the scumware writers seem to be winning the war against keeping your PC free of their junk. If you frequent questionable sites, download with abandon, open questionable emails, you WILL become infected! There are no safe computing practices which will protect you. Sorry to have to give you the bad news. Even the good guys are giving up. Even Microsoft says it looks impossible..... :-( Some security types are real despondent about how botnets have taken over, thanks to all the lax Microsoft problems... This is absolutely crazy! Now there are even FAKE spyware removal purveyors!! Stick with Ad-aware, or Spybot or the new Microsoft antispyware remover! An esteemed netizen, Eric Howes, now has a site dedicated to keeping up with the fake spyware removers. Thank God for all the good people in the world... Is the gov finally starting to take this stuff seriously? BIGGEST CATCH22 in YEARS: Don't you DARE put that new PC on the Internet without first turning on ICF!!! OR if you are re imaging a disk and reinstalling your OS - any OS except WinXP, you MUST go to the store and buy a firewall and antivirus before you put that PC back on the Internet, even to do Windowsupdate! If you are bringing up an XP SP2, make sure you agree to turn the firewall, and Windows update on! Jan 2007: Thank GOD, most PCs purchased these days are XP2 and beyond, have the firewall on. IS THERE HOPE? MAYBE - Microsoft has released SP2, which contains a lot of security additions. Impressions. Microsoft is STILL hopeless. Here is a HUGE bug in the actual TCP/IP stack. Fixed 1-8-08. Make sure you are updated!! Wireless Networks are everywhere.... And security precautions have been thrown to the winds! Help is on the way. See the two sections below, especially the addition January 2007! One of the slickest new products is "Hamachi," which allows you to create a virtual private network of almost any set of PCs, in any locations. Impressions here. |
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FLASH - Here is the proper way to secure your wireless access |
| NEW January 2007
1.
Right click on wireless NIC in Network Connection Window (or right
click on NIC icon in tray) |
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FLASH - Here is a SAFER way to add wireless capability to your home network |
| Keep your existing wired NAT/router. Add
a second wireless capable router - not a wireless access point (AP) as
a CPE on your LAN. Connect the WAN port of the wireless
router to your LAN - set it for DHCP. Make sure the LAN
network of your wireless network is different than your wired
network. In this way, the wireless access appears on a
separate network from your wired network, limiting the ability of
wireless clients to see into your wired network. The wireless
clients will still be able to perform normal browsing/email through the
double NATing. More info here.
Steve Gibson has a very similar approach suggested, but he actually reverses the wireless and wired NAT/routers. Check it out! Discussion and Notes on how to do it.. If you are just starting out in wireless networks, be sure to consider upgrading to WPA, or now WPA2!, which is available with most vendor 802.11g products. The wifi alliance has now insisted that all new products desiring certification from them must now meet WPA2 capabilities. Yeah! But this doesn't mean it comes up as default!! Boo.. |
DISCLAIMERS/WARNINGS/MISCELLANEOUS
If you are silly enough to think I know absolutely everything there is to know about these topics, then you are very naive. You need to take everything I say here with a grain, nay a mouthful, of salt. These tidbits of knowledge are presented with some humor. Be forewarned! OTOH, I ....may.... know more than you about this stuff. You never know until you Check it Out!.
References Available
John D Loop
Alpharetta, GA 30022
