Securing a Wireless Network

Home wireless networks are more susceptible to bandwidth poaching than wired networks because the signal often reaches outside of your home. This makes it easier for hackers or war drivers (people who locate and connect to unsecured wireless networks) to sit outside your home and connect to your network. Your neighbor might be accidentally connecting to your network instead of his own and thereby using some of your valuable bandwidth. Or if you happen to live next door to an unethical person, they might cancel their own Internet account and deliberately connect to yours to save money!

To avoid these scenarios, you should implement security measures on your wireless network. The video below from the Get Connected TV show shows you some simple measures to take to protect your wireless network from unwanted "guests".



Discussion Questions for Students:
1) Have you ever logged onto a wireless network without the owner's permission (such as a neighbor)? Do you think there is anything unethical about "sharing" bandwidth with your neighbor (at their expense)?
2) If you have a wireless network at home have you implemented security measures such as the ones mentioned in the video or listed on the Practically Networked web site?
3) Do you have a firewall installed on your network? Is it turned on? Do you know what a firewall does and why you should have one? If not, find out at the firewall section of How Stuff Works!
4) Have you tested your network to see if it is secure? If not, try the ShieldsUP test at Gibson Research. What were the results? If your network is not secure, what could you do to make it more secure?

Extending Your Wireless Range & Finding Free Wireless

Many of you have probably experienced the frustration of being out of range of a wireless signal when you need one. Even though hot spots are growing at a rapid pace, you aren't always within range of one that you can log onto for free.

In the video below, Mark Erickson who creates video podcasts called Infinite Solutions, shows you a hack to extend the range of your wireless card. Although it is disappointing that he didn't put the tin foil dish on his head, this is still an interesting solution.



And here's a video on a software product called WiFi Radar that helps you easily detect wireless networks that are within range and the software also sees if it can log you into the networks that it detects.



However, you should exercise extreme caution when searching for wireless networks. Just because you can detect a network and log onto it, doesn't mean that you are legally entitled to do so. You could be guilty of violating "piggybacking" laws. Piggybacking is using someone's bandwidth without their permission. So I recommend sticking to hot spots that are free where merchants are encouraging you to log on (such as Panera Bread). Web sites like WiFinder can help you locate hot spots that you may access legally.

Discussion Questions for Students:
1) Have you ever logged onto a wireless network without the owner's permission (such as a neighbor)? What do you think the implications would be if you get caught engaging in this type of activity?
2) Is it illegal where you live to "piggyback" on a wireless signal? Do you feel it should be illegal to connect to an unsecured wireless network even without the owner's permission?
3) Where can you go locally to legally connect to a wireless network and get free Internet access? What types of benefits do merchants like Panera Bread derive from providing free wireless access to their customers?
4) If you aren't a customer of Panera Bread, do you think it is fair to sit outside in your car and connect to their wireless network?

PCs Made From Corn?

Disposing of e-waste from computers and other electronics is rapidly becoming a worldwide problem. Many parts of computers, especially the plastic components, are not readily biodegradable. Environmentally conscious manufacturers, such as Fujitsu, are exploring renewable resource options for computer components.

At the CES 2008 trade show Fujitsi unveiled a notebook computer with a case made of a corn-based polymer as instead of the usual plastics derived from petroleum products. Fujitsu states that the main component of the case is "polylactic acid, also known as PLA, a resin that comes from the fermentation of the raw biomass from plants. PLA by itself is biodegradable, does not generate dioxin when burnt, or other harmful gases." The video below discusses the notebook.



Discussion Questions for Students:
1) Have you ever bought a computer or electronic device because it was manufactured in an environmentally friendly fashion? How important was this in your purchase decision?
2) Do you know what environmentally hazardous substances are contained in your current computer? Are any of these present: Lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants? Why do these substances pose hazards?
3) Where can you go locally to ensure that your discarded electronic equipment is properly disposed of or recycled? What questions should you ask before handing over your equipment?

You can find plenty of information on the EPA's site.

Pictures Not to Include on a Blog or a MySpace Page

I'm always amazed at the pictures that students will put on blogs or social networking sites. They may be great photos to share with your friends, but if you are identified in the photo, is it worth jeopardizing your chances of being selected for a job? Just in case you need some guidelines about what not to include on your site, here are a couple of suggestions...

You may feel passionately about a particular cause...which is fantastic...get involved! However, a prospective employer may not agree with your views. In the majority of cases, you should keep your personal views separate from your work life.


Anything showing you with alcohol, partially clothed or in an embarrassing situation. It might have been a great party, but will it impress an employer?


It is hard to imagine how the ability to do a keg stand would impress any boss! Yet I constantly see these photos on the web.


Discussion Questions for Students:
1. Have you ever posted anything online that feel that a potential employer should not see? Do you think it would affect you landing employment?
2. Should employers check the Internet for information before hiring potential employees? Why or why not?
3. Do you think that you should have a right to privacy regarding information you place on a MySpace or Facebook page? How would you ensure that your privacy was protected?

Think Before You Post!

Discussing the dangers of posting too much personal information online with our students often comes off sounding like a lecture from a parent. But these two public service ads produced by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children usually get a strong reaction from students. They creep me out every time I watch them too!





The accompanying Think Before You Post Web site has some great tips for keeping yourself safe when communicating online.

Discussion Questions for Students:
1. Have you ever posted anything online that you later regretted posting? How has it affected your life?
2. What steps do you take to keep your personal information from becoming available online?
3. Do you have a MySpace or Facebook page or do you post personal information on a similar site? Have you availed yourself of the options available on these sites to keep your information from being indexed or otherwise published online?

Create a Web Site - Find a New Career

Over the years, plenty of people have thought that just knowing a little bit of HTML coding qualified them to be Web site designers. But for Linda Katz of southwest Kansas, practicing her Web design skills helped her launch an entirely new career -- as a tumbleweed farmer!

The Prairie Tumbleweed Farm started out as a simple Web design exercise. Linda wanted to practice her skills and created the farm as a joke back in 1994. But, people found her site and soon began contacting her because they wanted to buy the tumbleweeds! One thing led to another, and Linda now has a thriving business. Her customers include NASA, major Hollywood studios, fashion designers, and ordinary people who just want to own one of these iconic symbols of the old West.

Linda was recently featured on Yahoo!'s People of the Web and she has an interview posted on YouTube, which you can view by clicking the link below:



Discussion Questions for Students
1. Do you personally know anyone who is running a successful Internet business? Do you know how they got started?
2. Have you ever considered creating your own online business? What type of product or service would you offer?
3. Hands-on Exercise: Ask students to find a YouTube video featuring an interview with an entrepreneur who operates an online business.

XP or Not XP -- That Is the Question

Or to put it another way... should I upgrade to Windows Vista or stay with Windows XP? A lot of people still aren't convinced that upgrading to the newest Windows operating system is the best route. In fact, a recent study by Forrester Research indicates that 84% of North American and European companies are currently using Windows XP. Additionally, some users who have upgraded to Vista are reinstalling Windows XP on their systems. They cite software and hardware compatibility issues and increased memory requirements (ideally, you should have at least 1GB RAM and more is better) as just a couple of (expensive) reasons why upgrading may not be a good idea. On the other hand, Windows Vista has a cool new interface, increased security, and improved search functions, just to name a few of the new features and benefits this OS provides. And let's not forget that at some point, Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP. So, what to do? Many companies and individuals have adopted a wait and see attitude and have been planning to reevaluate their options after the first Vista service pack is released.

Well, that time is almost here. And the preliminary results aren't looking good for Vista. Microsoft expects to release Service Pack 1 for Vista and Service Pack 3 for Windows XP in early to mid-2008. According to testers at Devil Mountain Software who are working with early versions of these releases, XP SP3 is outperforming Vista XP1 on everyday computing tasks. Benchmark comparisons show that the current version, Windows XP SP2, already handles typical tasks 50 to 100 percent faster than Vista. After applying the service packs, Windows XP SP3 actually improved its speed by 10 percent! TechNewsWorld provides additional details on their blog, and the blog by Devil Mountain Software researchers - exo.blog - includes graphs and comparison charts, just to make the differences even more obvious.

It should be noted that these are preliminary test results. Hopefully, Microsoft will continue tweaking and refining the Vista service pack to provide better final results. However, it doesn't look like improved speed and efficiency is the main objective of this service pack and users who were hoping for increased performance results may be sorely disappointed.

Discussion Questions for Students
1. Have you upgraded to Vista yet, or purchased a new computer with Vista already installed? If so, what version of Vista are you using and what are your impressions of this new operating system so far?
2. What are benchmark comparisons? (Note: This may be a good hands-on exercise for students -- Ask them to search for some benchmark tests online or to create their own. Select several that would be appropriate to test, divide the students into groups, and ask them to run the tests on computers with different operating systems. If no one has access to a machine running Vista, try running the tests on an older version of Windows, such as Windows 2000 or 98. Have the students present their findings and discuss and compare their results.)
3. Findings seem to indicate that Vista's architecture, not bugs, are behind the lower performance results. Would you be willing to use a slower computer if it was more stable (i.e. less crashes or freezes) than a faster computer? When does slow become too slow?
4. How do you feel about releasing preliminary reports such as this, knowing that the final version of a product may change considerably? Is it fair to the consumer or the manufacturer? Will you take the time to find out what the final version can do or will you have already made up your mind based on early information?