Technically Easy

Category: Security

Security is an important topic when it comes to technology. There are many different areas of security, so this category is divided into various sub-categories to help navigate through the posts on security.

  • Start The New Year With Computer Security in Mind

    Start The New Year With Computer Security in Mind

    Now that the holidays are over, and we are once again settling into our daily routine, we tend to start doing things we have put off until the holidays were over. We go back to our usual activities, whether it is work or school, and continue life as it was before the holiday rush.

    Now is a good time to take a look at your computer security, and setup, to make sure that your computer isn’t compromised in any way. Having a compromised computer can be dangerous, especially if any of your data is accessed. There are a few preventive measures you can take to help increase your computer security.

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  • Why the Length of the WPA Passphrase is Important

    Why the Length of the WPA Passphrase is Important

    One of the most common issues that my visitors contact me about is that they have difficulty saving the passphrase for their WRT54G wireless router when securing the router with WPA. Many times the problem is resolved once they use Internet Explorer instead of another web browser. Other times, however, switching browsers may not even correct the problem.

    With web browsers such as Firefox and Chrome, you have the ability to install add-ins to change many settings and functions within the browser. At times, certain add-ins can interfere with the router’s administrative pages, resulting in settings not being saved or message boxes from appearing. A recent commenter in my explaining how to secure the WRT54G wireless router pointed out that there is a minimum passphrase length, but many people may not receive a popup message, which can lead to confusion and issues. For the WRT54G, the minimum length is 8 characters , and the maximum is 63 characters. When it comes to a passphrase, you should definitely go longer than the minimum of 8 characters. Let’s look at why the passphrase, and its length, is important when securing a wireless router.

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  • Keep Yourself Online By Changing DNS Servers

    Keep Yourself Online By Changing DNS Servers

    There are many ways that you can protect yourself online, but one method many people probably don’t think about is changing DNS servers. Let’s face it, the average Internet user probably doesn’t even give a second thought about their DNS servers. The reality is, however, that changing DNS servers could yield both a security and performance benefit.

    The best part is that to take advantage of the increase in performance and security requires no software install. In many circumstances changing two values in your router is all that is needed.

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  • 6 Tips to Secure Your Wireless Ethernet Network

    6 Tips to Secure Your Wireless Ethernet Network

    Many people now use a wireless Ethernet network to connect to the Internet, and it is important to understand how to secure your wireless ethernet network. It makes it very convenient when you are not tied down by a physical cable, especially if your primary computer is a laptop. Unlike traditional, hard-wired connections, a wireless network connection requires more security to prevent unwanted access.

    While the steps you take to setup the security may be different because of the hardware that is used, for the most part the settings you use to secure your wireless Ethernet connection are the same. Let’s look at what you need to do to keep your connection secured.

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  • Mozy: Try Again Button is Disabled Fix

    Mozy: Try Again Button is Disabled Fix

    I recently ran into an issue where the “Try Again” button in Mozy was disabled, preventing me from backing up my data. I use Mozy for backing up my data because like the fact that I can backup my data online and to an external, portable hard drive automatically, or when I choose. The file backup is handled by the application, so I don’t have to worry about missing any files.

    The problem with the “Try Again” button, however, has been a pain for me as it prevents me from backing up my data. It isn’t always disabled, but at times when I start my desktop, the button is not enabled. While I haven’t found a complete solution to prevent this from happening, the steps outlined in this post allow me to re-enable the button without restarting.

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  • How to Secure the D-Link DI-614 Wireless Router

    How to Secure the D-Link DI-614 Wireless Router

    The D-Link DI-614+ is an older model router, that may still be in use today, so it is important to understand how to secure the D-Link DI-614 wireless router. D-Link’s technical support doesn’t officially support this model, so if you happen to use this router, I’ll bridge the gap by providing instructions on how to secure the router.

    As with all wireless routers, this one isn’t secured when it is first used. It is important, however, to secure the D-Link DI-614 wireless router before you start using it. The one interesting aspect, at least from what I can tell, is that there are two revisions of this router: one that only supports WEP, and a revision B that supports WEP and WPA. I’ll make note of these differences in the steps.

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  • How to Secure the D-Link WBR-1310 Wireless G Router

    How to Secure the D-Link WBR-1310 Wireless G Router

    This article will explain how to secure the D-link WBR-1310 Wireless G router. It is important, regardless of which wireless router you use, to secure the router to ensure that unauthorized individuals can’t access your Internet connection, and local network.

    To prevent someone from accessing your wireless router, it is important to properly secure it. By default, wireless routers aren’t sold with security enabled, to allow you to easily connect to them. The steps outlined in this article pertain to the D-Link WBR-1310 wireless router.

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  • How to Backup Your Data Automatically for Free

    How to Backup Your Data Automatically for Free

    I have talked about how I backup my data, the tools and applications I use, and also how I have organized my data. I have also stressed many times in the past about the importance of data backups. Many people probably still don’t realize how easy, and cheap online storage can be to backup their data. If they experience a hard drive crash, it may be too late.

    In this post I will show you, step-by-step, how easy it is to use an online backup service to automatically backup your data. On top of that, the steps outlined below can be accomplish without spending a single dollar, meaning you can backup your data absolutely free!

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