Computer Repair Tips, Hints & Tricks

Let me start off my saying if Apple had the same return policy as AT&T, I would not have my iPhone today. So, if you’re hoping to read something great about the new iPhone, it won’t be here.

I do have some good news though. I won the iPhone on a bet, so I didn’t pay for it. I got it a few months after it came out and really toyed with the idea iPhone vs. Blackberry. I am already online all the time with my laptop, so it was not important to me to have the email, etc.

Ok. I’ve spend enough time talking about the iPhone so let me sum it up with what I didn’t like (and a couple of the decent features).

What I liked:
…..hmmmm…..

What I didn’t like:

1. No true instant messaging (you can do it with a webapp, but it loses connection a lot, and sometimes the pages closes, etc.
2. No video! Are you kidding me?
3. No MS Exchange connectivity (as I said earlier, I don’t care about this, but I just cannot believe it’s not there)
4. Typing, typing and more typing. Sure, the touch screen looks sweet, but you try typing on it. Yes, I can type on it, but it’s way too easy to make mistakes. I like to be able to feel my way thru the keys.

Now, with all that complaining, I will say one positive thing. My 11 year old son would love it. But, I think even some of those same features that bug me would eventually bug him.

This is the first post in my computer repair and troubleshooting blog. I decided recently to start the blog so that I can tell others how to fix some annoying computer problems. I get asked all the time at my workplace, by family and by friends, how to fix this and that. So, my intention of this blog is to help others. If I help you, please let me know.

Today I will address one of the biggest issues seen today: Wireless devices

If you have a wireless router in your household and to install it you just took it out of the box and plugged it in and was thrilled it worked, then you have a major security risk. Yes, companies make it easy to install wireless devices and I am thankful for that. The technology has gotten a lot better making it easier for anyone to install a wireless device. At the same time though, the default setup opens a security hole in your house.

At any given time, I can turn on my laptop from my couch and view other wireless networks in my neighborhood. The “out-of-the box” installs with the security issues are easy to spot. Besides not having the PADLOCK icon, they are still named “linksys” or “netgear” or something like that.

So, let me make a couple of suggestions.

1) Take a few moments to read the install guide.
2) Setup each MAC address security or WEP security. MAC( you must enter the MAC address of each computer you want to give access to your wireless network) - WEP (requires a code/password to access your wireless network)
3) Turn off your SSID (this is optional and not necessary if you do #2.) The SSID is what your Wireless device is called. This keeps people from even being able to see your wireless device.

Truthfully, #2 only takes about 5 minutes and will stop people from accessing your wireless device, in turn, having access to the computers connected to your device and stealing your Internet access.

Hope you found my first post helpful.

Have your own question? E-mail me!