Windows Vista & WiFi Saga Continues

That Gateway laptop with Windows Vista that I had so much trouble with was back under my typing fingers again today. I finally had it working perfectly with the new NetGear router, so it was time to see if it would connect to the older Dell WiFi router.
Drum roll, please…. No. Same garbage. Connect up, [...]

No Excuse Not to Have Data Backup

Data backup on my mind again.
Here I am at a yard sale, typing on my laptop, connected to a wireless router (wirelessly) which is connected to the internet with Motorola Canopy wireless gear and an antenna on the roof of my truck. (I’m a director at the local telco and I’m trying to promote our [...]

Windows Vista WiFi Connection – Not a No Brainer

The other day I wrote about a problem connecting a new Gateway laptop with Windows Vista Home Premium (the sticker on the laptop said “Vista Basic”) to wireless networks – WiFi and Vista Problems.
With or without WiFi security, the Vista laptop would connect, but not obtain a DHCP address. Interestingly, setting an address manually would [...]

WEP is Dead – Secure Your WiFi With WPA, WPA2

I have written before about securing your WiFi network. I overcome the standard arguments of

There is nothing on my network worth anything
I don’t care if someone uses my bandwidth
It’s too hard

with the news that someone engaging in illegal activity on YOUR WiFi will get the police at YOUR door. And at the too hard [...]

WiFi and Vista – Problems with basic hookup

My mistake. I told someone that hooking up a Vista Laptop to their WiFi should be a piece of cake. “It’ll prompt you for the key”, I told her.
A home user from one of my clients bought her daughter a laptop for graduation. I gave her the basic buying guide recommendations and she adjusted to [...]

Wireless Broadband – Better than DSL?

Wireless is wonderful technology. Whether speaking of WiFi for local area networks or wireless broadband for internet, the technology and usefulness keeps getting better.
Nonetheless, I usually tell people that wireless is great but a cable is always better. Now, I have been a proponent of wireless since before the turn of the century (sounds weird [...]

Arrested for Stealing WiFi? Why Not Arrest the Owner?

A recent article in CIO of the UK highlighted two people, in separate but similar incidents, arrested for stealing WiFi from neighbors. The man who was in his car with cardboard covering the windows obviously knew what he was doing. The other did not have details provided.
While on the surface, this seems ok, let me [...]