Bits'n'Bytes

Tip 10

A lot of the calls I get now involve dealing with wireless Internet connections. Internet Service Providers seem to offer customers great rates on high speed Internet, but neglect to tell them how to protect themselves properly. And, when they do, most users tend to ignore some pretty common-sense advice. A lot of the ignorance seems to be from misunderstandings of how wireless Internet works. But not all of it...

Wireless Internet is awesome! Don't misunderstand me. But it's dangerous. You should protect your wireless connection like you protect your PIN number at the bank. Make your wireless password really hard to guess, and don't ever tell anyone what it is. OH! That means, make SURE you have a wireless password. When you buy your wireless router, use the CD that comes with it and make sure you have a hard to break password. If you're not sure what you're doing, find someone who can help. It is most definitely worth it.

Picture this... You don't password protect your wireless connection. Some guy drives by with his laptop on, and finds your connection, with no password. He stops, connects to your free connection, and begins to download whatever he wants. Weeks pass, and you get a monster bill for your downloading. Weeks later, the cops show up at your door, with a warrant. Your IP address has been traced to illegal downloads of stuff no sane person should be downloading.

Protect yourself. Password protect your wireless Internet connection.

Thanks for reading!

Until next week, I'm Computer Dave