Can you tell a real Facebook e-mail from a phishing attempt?

Great article from ZDNet:

 

E-mail notifications are an important part of social networking services like Facebook. If you have to continually visit the site to see what’s new, you lose much of the excitement that comes with comments on your photos or other shared items. If you forget to check for a day or two, you might miss an invitation to an event or an opportunity to connect with a long-lost friend who’s in town for a day or two.

But e-mail notifications are also a security risk. If an attacker can create a realistic-looking imitation of a Facebook notification, you might find yourself clicking on a link that can lead to malware or attempt to steal your login credentials.

Unfortunately, phishers are getting better at what they do, and spotting a fake isn’t as easy as you might think. I’ve assembled four Facebook notifications that arrived in my e-mail inbox recently. Can you tell which are real and which are fake? (Click any image to see it at full size, or visit the accompanying gallery to flip through all four screens at full size.)

Here’s one that arrived last week. As with all the images, I’ve blurred personal information but otherwise these messages are shown in full, as they appear in Microsoft Outlook’s preview pane.

If you guessed that one was a fake, congratulations. It led to a website that was flagged as dangerous by Microsoft’s SmartScreen Filter, by Google’s Safe Browsing feature, and by Safari. If you were using an outdated browser such as Internet Explorer 6 or 7, you would have seen an attempt to install a fake Flash update that was actually a password-stealing Trojan.

OK, let’s try another. Real or fake?

Do you think that odd e-mail address indicates a fake? Confusingly, Facebook notifications come from the facebookmail.com domain and include a suspicious-looking sender’s name. The long, complicated URL might also look suspicious, but this notification is a legit one from Facebook.

OK, here’s a third test. Real or fake?

Hmmm. The previous, real notification included a long complicated URL. This one has a pair of buttons that you’re supposed to click to see the comments a friend supposedly added to your shared link. That’s a favorite trick that phishers and spammers use to disguise misleading links. Surprisingly, this one is legit.

OK, last one. Real or fake?

This is a particularly convincing fake. The graphics, fonts, button design, and links are all indistinguishable from a real Facebook notification. This particular phishing attempt led to a fake online pharmacy, but it could just as easily have led to a malware installer.

One of these fakes was good enough to slip past my spam filters. In that case, the only way to determine that it wasn’t legit was to allow the mouse pointer to hover over a link or button to see what its true destination was. Here’s what it looked like:

That’s certainly not a legitimate link. Here, by contrast, is what a link from a real Facebook notification looks like:

It’s a challenge to get nontechnical users in the habit of checking links before they click, but the results are well worth it.

The complete list of Windows Logo keyboard shortcuts

When it comes to keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Windows 7, I admit to being a bit of a novice. I fall back on the menu system or, now that it is available by default in Windows 7, I use the search box located on the Start Menu. But, as the following list shows us, there are definitely opportunities for increased efficiency within the matrix of keyboard shortcuts.

One of the more powerful, and probably least used, set of keyboard shortcuts involves the Windows Logo key which is common on most keyboards packaged with a Windows-based personal computer these days.

Table A lists the keyboard shortcut combinations associated with the Windows Logo key and what each combination will do. Take a good look, there may be a key combination or two you can use regularly that will make your computing life just a little more efficient.

Table A – Source Microsoft

Key combination	Action
Windows logo key	Open or close the Start menu.
Windows logo key +Pause	Display the System Properties dialog box.
Windows logo key +D	Display the desktop.
Windows logo key +M	Minimize all windows.
Windows logo key +Shift+M	Restore minimized windows to the desktop.
Windows logo key +E	Open Computer.
Windows logo key +F	Search for a file or folder.
Ctrl+Windows logo key +F	Search for computers (if you’re on a network).
Windows logo key +L	Lock your computer or switch users.
Windows logo key +R	Open the Run dialog box.
Windows logo key +T	Cycle through programs on the taskbar.
Windows logo key+number	Start the program pinned to the taskbar in the position   indicated by the number. If the program is already running, switch to that   program.
Shift+Windows logo key+number	Start a new instance of the program pinned to the taskbar   in the position indicated by the number.
Ctrl+Windows logo key+number	Switch to the last active window of the program pinned to   the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Alt+Windows logo key+number	Open the Jump List for the program pinned to the taskbar   in the position indicated by the number.
Windows logo key +Tab	Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip   3-D.
Ctrl+Windows logo key +Tab	Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the   taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D.
Ctrl+Windows logo key +B	Switch to the program that displayed a message in the   notification area.
Windows logo key +Spacebar	Preview the desktop.
Windows logo key +Up Arrow	Maximize the window.
Windows logo key +Left Arrow	Maximize the window to the left side of the screen.
Windows logo key +Right Arrow	Maximize the window to the right side of the screen.
Windows logo key +Down Arrow	Minimize the window.
Windows logo key +Home	Minimize all but the active window.
Windows logo key +Shift+Up Arrow	Stretch the window to the top and bottom of the screen.
Windows logo key +Shift+Left Arrow or Right Arrow	Move a window from one monitor to another.
Windows logo key +P	Choose a presentation display mode.
Windows logo key +G	Cycle through gadgets.
Windows logo key +U	Open Ease of Access Center.
Windows logo key +X	Open Windows Mobility Center.

The Top 10 Culprits Causing Malware Infections

I think it is safe to assume that the places you visit on the Internet will determine which programs are installed on your PC. Let me put it this way, the software installed on your computer will have some relevance to the sites you often visit. Lets take a few examples, when you are using Gmail, chances are good that you will have Gmail Notifier or GoogleTalk installed on your PC. When you often visit Yahoo.com or take part in their social networks, chances are good that you will have Yahoo! Toolbar or Yahoo! Messenger installed on your PC. Lets take a more practical example, users visiting Microsoft.com most probably have packages like Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows XP installed on their computers. It is likely for supporters of the Open Source Initiative to hang out on sites like OpenSource.org, OpenOffice.com, Linux.org or SpreadFirefox.com. So your software preferences play a huge role in the type of web sites you visit and vice versa.

But what has this to do with malware infections? To be honest, everything! Let me show you what the top culprits of malware infections are and it will soon be clear to you what the connection is between the web sites you visit and the malware found on your PC.

Top culprit number 1: Pornographic web sites

Download Spyware Blaster by JavaCool Software and have a look at all the porn related web sites blocked by this program. It is also remarkable to see how many computers with traces of pornographic web sites in their browser history, are often infected with spyware and trojan horses. Unfortunately you will have innocent victims of malware infections, also with traces of pornographic web sites in their browser history, but only because the malware redirected them to these sites. However, people with pornographic material on their computers are not that innocent in this case, pornography does not go out looking for people, people go out looking for pornography.

Top culprit number 2: Illegal music (MP3) and movie downloading sites

These sites normally force you to install special downloading software on your computer so that you can download files from them. These download managers are often bundled with spyware and are trojan horses themselves, downloading tons of other spyware programs while you cheerfully download your illegal MP3′s. They sometimes place tracking cookies on your PC to monitor your browsing habits and hijack your browser to make sure you return to their site or a site of a partner.

Top culprit number 3: Software Piracy web sites

If you love using illegal software, cracks, serial numbers or license key generators (keygens) then you most probably had to remove some malware infections in the past after visiting one of these sites. Most of the people using these cracks are normally technical wizards and know how to disinfect their computers. Many of these sites do not only contain harmful scripts but also fake cracks and key generators, which are nothing else but malware. Some crack developers create a working crack but distribute it with spyware or a trojan horse to make your PC their slave.

Top culprit number 4: Peer-to-peer file sharing programs and networks

The file sharing community is loaded with pornography, pirated software, music and movies. Is it not amazing that everywhere these guys make their appearance you also find spyware, viruses, trojan horses and all kinds of malware? The client software is also often bundled with spyware (or adware as they call it).

The culprits discussed so far are those connected with illegal and indecent activities. People visiting these sites and using these services deserve getting infected with malware. These culprits are also some of the biggest sources of malware epidemics. What flows from the mouth, comes from within the heart. The same rule applies to your computer, those nasty little programs crawling inside your computer is, in the case of culprits 1 to 4, the direct result of your own sinful actions and activities.

The next couple of culprits are caused by negligence and a lack of knowledge about how malware are distributed.

Top culprit number 5: Pop-up and pop-under advertisements

Another culprit that wants to caught you off guard. A pop-up window may appear out of the blue or a concealed pop-under window my load in the background without you even knowing it. These windows can start downloading malicious programs and install them on your computer. They can appear on any web site, not just illegal and other bad web sites. You can prevent these windows from opening by using a secure browser like Firefox with a built-in pop-up blocker.

Top culprit number 6: Fake anti-virus and anti-spyware tools

You visit a legitimate looking web site and suddenly a banner appears telling you that your computer is infected with spyware. You can scan your computer with all the anti-spyware software in the world, over and over again until you are blue in the face, but that banner will keep telling you that your computer is infected with spyware. This is because it is a plain image banner. The site never does a scan of your computer, it is a fixed message that will display on any computer, no matter how clean it is. Simply put, it is a blatant lie! They want you to believe that your computer is infected and that only their software can remove this spyware. If you download and install their software you will only find that it is spyware itself. You may end up infecting a completely clean system with a dirty program, trying to remove the so-called spyware.

A system scan is not a three second process, it takes time, so no scanner can tell you instantaneously that your system is infected with spyware. I do not believe in online scanners, rather use software with a good reputation, a local scan is much more faster. Most online scanners are no online scanners at all, you actually download the whole scanning engine and end up doing a local scan anyway. A real scanner will tell you the name of the malware and its location on your hard drive, if it does not give you this information, then it is fake. Even if it gives you this information, it still does not mean that the software is legitimate. Do not trust everything you see online and stick to well known anti-malware brands.

Top culprit number 7: Free games, screen savers, media players, etc.

No, not every free program comes bundled with spyware, but spyware (once again the developers prefer to call it adware, but it is still the same thing) is often the price you have to pay for the free software. It is normally a ploy to monitor your use of the program, to send the creators statistical data or to collect data about your online behaviour in order to send you targeted ads. If you try to remove the spyware you normally render the main application useless. Read the EULA (End User Licence Agreement) very carefully before installing the application. But everyone knows that nobody reads those tedious, long licence agreements, so use EULAlyzer by JavaCool Software to check for specific keywords and phrases that might reveal any spyware programs being installed or privacy breaching practices that may occur if you install the free software.

Top culprit number 8: Malicious web pages with harmful scripts

But you already mentioned this one in culprits 1 to 3. No, culprits 1 to 3 often have harmless web sites and it is the content you download from the sites that is harmful. But you also get web pages containing malicious scripts, totally innocent looking web sites, like a site donating money for cancer. You go to their homepage and suddenly a script virus strikes your computer. This is what an anti-virus shield was made for, that unexpected attack. Firefox is also designed to prevent harmful scripts and browser hijackers from accessing the system and taking advantage of flaws and weak spots in your operating system.

Top culprit number 9: E-mail

Virus worms spread themselves by forwarding a copy of the virus to all the contacts in your address book. Those contacts that are unaware of these worms will most likely open the e-mail and the file attached to it. But when you open a strange infected e-mail from an unknown sender, then you are guilty of double negligence. For the virus to be activated you need to open the e-mail and in most cases you need to deliberately open the file attachment too. By using a little common sense you will know that strange e-mails from unknown senders are dangerous, especially when they have executable attachments with file names ending with the “exe”, “com”, “bat” or “scr” extensions. Even dangerous e-mails from known, trustworthy contacts can easily be identified if the contents of the e-mail seems strange and out of character. By being careful and responsible when opening your e-mails, you will not only prevent your own computer from getting infected, but you will also prevent the worm from spreading any further.

Top culprit number 10: You the Internet user

What? Me? How on earth can I be a culprit? Well, you are an accomplice in the spread of malware if you do not have an active and updated anti-virus package installed on your computer, if you do not scan your computer for viruses and spyware on a regular basis, if you do not use shields like the TeaTimer tool from SpyBot (which is free by the way), the Ad-Watch shield of Ad-Aware or the resident shield of AVG Anti-spyware (all of which you have to pay for, unfortunately), if you spend your time browsing pornographic and illegal web sites and take part in the sharing of pirated software and copyrighted material (culprits 1 to 4), if you fail to be responsible with the software you install on your PC and the e-mails you open (culprits 6, 7 and 9) and if you refuse to use a secure web browser (like Firefox) built to prevent malware infections (culprits 5 and 8). Yes, I will go so far to say, that if you stay away from culprits 1 to 7 and 9, you probably won’t need any virus and spyware protection at all. Culprit 8 is the only reason why you should have anti-virus and anti-spyware protection, for those unexpected attacks, over which you have no control.

Culprits 1 to 8 are the main sources of malware. Infections caused by them led to the creation of culprits 9 and 10, which distribute the malware even further. Do not turn your computer into a malware paradise or a malware distribution centre. Take responsibility, protect your computer against these threats and prevent the spread of malware.

Eight threats your anti-virus won’t stop

This article is from Sophos, a security company:

http://www.sophos.com/security/topic/why-endpoint-security.html

High-profile incidents that make big news might seem out of the ordinary. Yet businesses of every size face similar risks in the everyday acts of using digital technology and the internet for legitimate purposes. This paper outlines eight common threats that traditional anti-virus alone won’t stop, and explains how to protect your organization using endpoint security.

The zero-day threat

Zero-day threats can exploit zero-day vulnerabilities, or previously unknown security deficiencies, that software vendors have not yet patched.

How to protect yourself: Add defenses on top of signature-based anti-virus protection.

Working outside the firewall

Not so long ago, most employees used their computers at the office. Back then, a network or gateway firewall would have been enough to protect your servers and PCs. Now people often work outside the perimeter of the organization’s network—any time they connect their laptops to the internet from airports, hotels, cafés and home.

How to protect yourself: Add location-aware client firewall software on laptops and other endpoint PCs.

The unpatched PC

One small unpatched vulnerability in an application, browser or operating system can lead to huge problems.

How to protect yourself: Patching is the first line of defense. Also use network access control, or NAC, to make sure any computer you allow on your network has all current patches and anti-virus updates in place.

The uncontrolled application

Allowing unmanaged applications access to the web brings unacceptable risk or performance issues.

How to protect yourself: Application control lets you block users from installing non-essential applications so you have fewer applications to manage and secure.

Web insecurity

Criminals abuse the web as their single biggest distribution point for malware.

How to protect yourself: Use combination of URL (reputation) filtering and scanning web pages for malware.

The lost laptop

It’s not difficult to replace a laptop, but recovering the exposed information can be.

How to protect yourself: Develop and implement a data encryption policy.

The misdirected email

One simple slip of the fingertip—and your document goes to the wrong email address. This could expose personal identifiable information.

How to protect yourself: Use data loss prevention software to scan for sensitive content.

The infected USB device

Every time users plug a USB device into a company computer, they bypass other layers of defense such as gateway firewall protection. That makes devices with USB ports an easy means of attack.

How to protect yourself: Use device control to specify which USB devices users are permitted to plug into laptops and PCs.

Top ten up and coming technologies of 2011

Another interesting article from Larry Dignan on TechRepublic:

1: Cloud computing

This group of technologies has been on the top 10 lists for a few years. Now everything as a service will alter business models and IT procurement. Gartner analyst David Cearley said what has changed is that there are multiple services. Companies will probably need cloud computing brokers. Things to watch:

• Where does the public cloud fit? IT is generally scared of the public cloud, but select workloads are fine.
• Beware cloud washing. IT execs are comfortable with the vendors cloud washing but may not get real capability.
• Limit access to specific clouds based on community and groups. That approach would minimize security risks. Gartner has exclusive clouds and community clouds as services to watch.
• Private clouds are custom and packaged.

My impression: A safe pick for sure, but the cloud is getting more granular as it matures. Think cloud washing magnified.

2: Mobile apps and media tablets

Tablets and touch aren’t new. Claunch said that the selection of applications changes the game for businesses. “Apple has leveraged the ecosystem of the iPhone,” Claunch said. “And Apple has created consistency.” In addition, Apple’s iPad is the poster child for how consumerization is affecting corporate IT. Things to think about for enterprise IT:

• Enterprise apps will need to be designed for the tablet.
• Delivering these apps gets complicated due to the selection of platforms.
• Context-aware computing can connect to customers better.
• Marketing will drive a lot of projects to utilize tablets, but these devices can be used for inspections, surveys, image capture, documentation, and training.

Cearley added, “The PC era is over. Think of mobile design points.”

My impression: It’s stunning how many iPads are in this crowd of 7,000-plus IT execs and managers. Another thread: Almost all of these IT execs are carrying PCs not Macs. Typically, CIOs and the like are the last to get on board an early adoption curve for a new device. There’s a frenzy over tablets.

3: Next-gen analytics

Companies need to develop “operational analytics” to make predictions and use data mashups. “There’s value in very current information. We are now shifting our focus to start doing simulations and modeling to predict the future,” Claunch said. These simulations would ultimately be run on smartphones and other devices. Algorithms will really matter to companies to support the right type of prediction.

Gartner didn’t advocate doing a lot of analytics investment yet, but be ready to invest.

My impression: Analytics is largely untapped ground for many companies. Claunch’s key point: “This is just being enabled now.” Another key item: A show of hands revealed that the entire room had business intelligence software. A show of hands also indicated that no one thought those applications were delivering real value.

4: Social analytics

This concept revolves around taking social networking data and incorporating it into enterprise analysis. Sentiment, context, and influence are key areas for companies. “We’re starting to see the tipping point,” Cearley said. “It’s moving from bleeding edge to mainstream activity.” For now, look at communities you have to support and analyze an entry.

My impression: CIOs should be watching this stuff, but given the crowd response to business intelligence, I’m not seeing much progress on the analytics-social intersection.

5: Social communication and collaboration

Social collaboration is “inevitable,” Cearley said. “Over the next few years, it will be impossible to ignore this,” he added. By now, companies should have policies, high value social uses identified, and have experiments to link social with CRM systems. Meanwhile, unified communications will merge with social. Expertise location will probably be the best use case.

My impression: Gartner makes a good point, but I’d be willing to bet that enterprises are way behind the curve on social communication and what it means for collaboration and productivity.

6: Video

Corporate use of video is going mainstream. Low-cost video recorders are everywhere. Companies will need video content management systems and better design skills, and they’ll need to address privacy issues and policy concerns. Will all conference rooms be recorded by default? E-learning, merchandising, marketing, webinars, and telepresence will all be key video uses. The tipping point will come in 2011 to 2013. In addition, video will be needed to reach younger employees.

My impression: Video has hit mainstream, but networks haven’t. Will Vlogs really be the best use of employee time? One other key point: How will business intelligence systems digest video content?

7: Context-aware computing

The idea here is that social analytics and computing leads to knowledge about preferences. User interfaces would change based on context. Today, it’s all reactive. By 2011 to 2013, there will be more proactive alerts. By 2014 to 2018, you’ll have context integrated with enterprise systems. Ultimately, there will be a context platform. Portals, mashups, mobile, and social will combine. Vendors will offer “user experience platforms.”

My impression: I have a hard time seeing strapped enterprises going all contextual. Look for business units such as marketing to launch these projects to drive sales. Companies will need to deliver context-aware services to businesses. Can’t wait for all of those user experience platform pitches.

8: Ubiquitous computing

This topic has been discussed in previous years on Gartner’s lists. In a nutshell, computers melt into objects. There will be machine-to-machine connections, portable personalities, and connectivity changes across multiple devices. There will be thousands of computers for each person on the planet, and you’ll have multiple devices.

My impression: Ubiquitous computing is more a guiding principle for projects than something you think about in terms of budget. The timeline here is decades. What’s also notable: Everyone has punted on getting one device to consolidate them all. We’re doomed to carry a bunch of devices.

9: Storage class memory

When Flash meets RAM, there are differences in speed and costs. Persistent storage will also alter management. Claunch said that storage class memory goes beyond solid state drives. This new class of storage will lead to software where operating systems determine where data goes. Storage class memory will become more important over the next two to three years.

My impression: It’s a bit experimental, but storage class memory will ride shotgun with analytics. Companies will have to define what data goes into fast memory.

10: Fabric based infrastructure and computers

Every vendor will talk fabric computing, so get ready for fabric-washing. The overall idea here is that you’ll have infrastructure that manages resources in an integrated fashion. Cisco UCS and HP Matrix are examples. New ways of building servers will mean you buy pools of processors and memory instead of physically swapping boxes.

My impression: Forming your own flexible servers sounds appealing. The fabric thing sounds way futuristic for now, but the seeds are being planted

Four ways to get the most from your 802.11n Wi-Fi

I found this article interesting from ZDNet:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/four-ways-to-get-the-most-from-your-80211n-wi-fi/122?tag=nl.e550

In theory, 802.11n can zip by your 100Mbps Fast Ethernet at a real-world 160Mbps, but the practice it’s usually much slower. No, the Wi-FI vendors aren’t lying; the problem is that you have to set 802.11n up just right to really get fast performance.

First, you need to make sure that you’re using up-to-date 802.11n hardware. Older 802.11n equipment, built before the 802.11n standard was finalized in late 2009, may not work and play well with your newer devices. There were many 802.11n draft access points (APs), network interface cards (NICs) and chipsets and each vendor used its own best guess on what the standard would eventually look like.

Thanks to all this older, not quite standard 802.11n hardware, we have two problems. The first is that some older hardware, unless the firmware can be upgraded, won’t work at full 802.11n speeds with your newer standardized equipment. The other is that you can be almost certain that older APs, switches, or routers from one vendor won’t work well with another vendor’s equipment. Oh, it may look like it’s working, but if you check you’ll often find that your Wi-Fi’s connection is only running at 802.11g’s 54Mbps.

Of course, if your office is like most, you almost certainly still have a lot of 802.11g compatible laptops in work. You might think that since 802.11n is backwards compatible with 802.11g that you’ll do just fine by replacing your 802.11g APs with 802.11n hardware. You’d be wrong.

802.11n AP will support 802.11g client hardware just fine, but letting 802.11n AP support 802.11g comes with a painful performance hit. While 802.11n devices working in the 2.4GHz band are backwards compatible with 802.11g, or even 802.11b, faster 802.11n equipment will lose about half its potential speed. So, instead of seeing say 100Mbps of throughput from 802.11n AP to the 802.11n laptops, you’ll only see 50Mbps.

My fix for this is to keep 802.11g APs running until the last of the 802.11g PCs go to that big junk-pile in the Wi-Fi sky. It’s worked well for me.

You also should use 802.11n’s channel bonding to increase throughput. On your APs, you’ll find this option labeled ‘double-wide’ channels. This in an ancient technique that’s used to increase throughput by using two channels at once to deliver data. Then, as now, it works well.

There’ a ‘gotcha’ though. A Wi-Fi’s channel is required to be 20MHz. Thus, just like the name says, a ‘double wide’ takes up 40MHz of radio room instead of the usual 20MHz. The problem is that there’s only room for three 20MHz channels in 802.11b/g/n’s 2.4GHz radio spectrum. If you run out of Wi-Fi spectrum room, your overall network throughput will decline. Even if you’re doing a good job of managing your network space, your available channels are likely to also be used by your next-door neighbors’ Wi-Fi set-up.

The easiest way to dodge this potential problem, for now, is to use the higher 5GHz range. Far fewer people are currently using the 5GHz range. This will change as more people switch over to 802.11n, but for now it’s the easiest way to use wide channels to increase your effective bandwidth without running into interference. The one downside is that 5GHz has less range than 2.4GHz.

That’s why I prefer to use dual-band APs that support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Best of all is equipment that supports using both 2.4GHz and 5GHz at the same time for the maximum in flexibility, such as the Linksys Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router WRT610N. Older 802.11n hardware, such as the first generation of Apple’s AirPort Extreme, as well as some entry-level APs, can only support 2.4GHz or 5GHz

High-performance 802.11n equipment also comes with a larger number of multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antennas . The 802.11n standard allows for up to four antennas, which can handle up to 4 simultaneous data streams. Typically, the number of antennas is described in the technical specifications as 4×4, 3×3, and so on depending on the number of antennas. But, you can’t tell just by looking, you have to check the documentation. Generally speaking the more antennas, the more simultaneous Wi-Fi connections the AP can handle, and the better the overall network performance.

It’s not just how many antennas you have though. Higher-end APs use techniques like beam-forming to automatically work out the best use for those multiple antennas. In fact, ’smart antennas,’ like D-Link’s Xtreme N ANT24-0230 Antenna, will help compatible 802.11n APs perform better.

Last, but never least, the fastest 802.11n is only as fast as its slowest link . So, for instance, if your office is still using a T1 with its 1.544Mbps no one is likely to see any significant Internet speed increase when switching from 802.11g to 802.11n.

The bottom line: While it may look like simply adding 802.11n to your network may look like a cheap and easy way to expand and speed-up your network, it’s really not. You still need to plan your network in detail, use higher-end network equipment. and possibly upgrade your Internet backbone to make the most out of 802.11n’s potential for higher speeds.

Still, if you do your homework, you really can get a Wi-Fi network that will answer your in-house network expansion needs while still providing close to Fast Ethernet’s 100Mbps speeds. Just as long as you keep in mind that 802.11n, by itself, isn’t a silver bullet for your network speed needs, you’ll do fine.

You Can Clean Your own PC!

Did you know that Microsoft Windows gives you the functionality to “clean” up your computer? Most clients that we see never use the free tools that come with the computer. This can save you repair costs and keep your PC in great running order for a lot longer.

Simple to follow…start with these steps….

Click on the start button (located bottom left corner of screen)>go to all programs>go to accessories>system tools>disk clean up…click on that(it may ask which drive…generally defaults to the C: which is correct)…it will take a minute or so to sort through files. A new pop up box will appear and place a check next to the items that need to be cleaned up…and click ok…and wait.

Generally speaking, anytime you clean up or update or install…you should reboot…so reboot after it is done.

Also speaking of things to do. Please make sure you are updating your windows for vital updates. This will also protect you from security issues as well as maintaining your system.

Another thing PC users need to do is scan your system for viruses…using your anti-virus software at least once a week. If you are the type to open up all your email, download music, spend a ton of time on you tube…please do this once a week. Besides viruses and trojans, spyware and adware runs amuck on the internet.

Finally defragment you computer. DEFRAGMENT???? What is that? In simple terms, it is a process in which we organize the files on your hard drive. It makes it easier to use our software by this organization. It takes out fragment files and compacts information in its proper place. This also helps in freeing up more room on your hard drive.

You need to follow the same directions stated at the beginning…Start Button>all programs>accessories>system tools> then go to Disk Defragment then hit analyze. My guess is if this is your first time doing this….you will be recommendedto defrag…so hit defrag and let it go. First timers…this could be a long process so, I recommend to do this before you go to sleep and let it run overnight. Please reboot after it is done.

Simple ideas to keep your system running better and for longer. Share thoughts and/or experiences if you like. Like I keep saying, this is not a one-way conversation!

Tara

Friendly Computers Charlotte NC

www.friendlycomputers.com/charlotte