AirSnare

Those of you who look forward to the security articles I put out may remember last week's article on the basics of wireless network security. This week's article is along the same lines, not so much locking a wireless network down, but rather how to monitor it, and a really cool way to give any freeloaders a little scare.

Before I get ahead of myself, let's do a little recap of last weeks security article. I talked primarily about locking down your wireless network using some of the integrated tools on wireless routers and WAPs (Wireless Access Points). Things like MAC filters, WEP keys, and changing "out of the box" passwords and SSIDs can stop most users from accessing your network, but what about a knowledgeable experienced user.

In case you didn't know, there are sites and tools out there that advanced users can use to circumnavigate certain security measures, in order to get what they want. This could be the neighbor trying to get free Internet access or their kid who's just horsing around. Either way you don't want this and it's a nice feeling to be able to catch' em, who knows, you might even set them straight and teach them a lesson.

If you remember last week I mentioned how my classmates snuck on to some poor guy's wireless network behind the university (bad place to have an unsecured network—these guys knew what they were doing and had the tools to do it) and surfing the web. If Mr. X had the program AirSnare he would've caught the students in the act, and he could've sent them a message letting them know the "jig is up".

AirSnare is a wireless network monitoring system that has some pretty cool features. In a nutshell, AirSnare takes a list of MAC addresses that you have OK'd as being your network devices, (i.e. your home PCs) and alerts you of access by any other MAC address. The program actually warns you by telling you with a voice that there is "unauthorized access on your network", and you can even set it to email you any security breeches. In addition to the audio warning, the interface also turns red and you can see the user's MAC address and what they are doing. That's right, you can actually see if an intruder is checking their mail or surfing the web.

Not only does it tell you this info, but you can actually double click the destination IP address and Airsnar will connect you to the site. This is all very cool, but the best is the Airhorn, an element of AirSnare that allows you to send intruders a message that pops-up on their screen buy generic propecia online telling them what ever you type in, for example "I'm watching every move you make, so get off of my network".

The GUI is a little on the primitive side, but that's because it was meant as a low requirements tool, and not a bloated end-user program. Before you download the AirSnare look over the manual, especially the setup instructions. One thing you have to do is download, and install the WinPcap library—it's a protocol analyzer and is an important component in AirSnare. The whole process (download and install) takes just a couple of seconds, basically download and double click. It doesn't install a program just a library that AirSnare uses to capture network packets.

AirSnare may be a little different than other programs you're used to, but it really is easy to use and if you have a wireless network I think it could be an invaluable tool for maintaining tight security. Besides, if friends or family come over you can blow them away with your knowledge of wireless security and your super-cool monitoring tools.

Download WinPcap…
http://winpcap.polito.it/

Download AirSnare…
http://home.comcast.net/~jay.deboer/airsnare/

Stay safe out there,

The ability to share an Internet connection is great and the ability to do this wirelessly is even better. Wireless networks are easy to install—you don't have to run cables, and you can roam around a location within the WLAN (wireless local area network), or physical range of wireless connectivity ( here's a way to get started ). These features are what makes wireless networks so popular with both end users, and hackers.

The one problem with wireless networks is the vulnerability of your network. A typical hardwired network has physical security due to limited access to the actual network and one opening to the internet (Gateway) has a firewall or two in place (or it had better). This can stop most unauthorized access to your network. The difficulty in setting up wired networks has discouraged a lot of people from installing networks in the first place.

Then a long came the wireless which, as I stated earlier in the article, made the home networking game more appealing and not as intimidating. Having a wireless network means that the physical security that is inevitable in a wired network is simply not there. Anyone in the range of your wireless network can see your network, and if not secured properly, can gain access. If your wireless access point isn't the router on your network then outsiders can slip in behind your firewall. This used to happen at my college—there was an apartment complex behind a portion of the school, and the other techs would piggyback on some guy's network. He had an unsecured wireless network—no one did anything bad to him (at least to my knowledge)—they just used him for Internet access but he never knew.

There are some practices you can perform to insure that no one is using your connection or trying to get on your personal network. First and foremost you need to get WEP (Wired Equivalent Protection) in place, which is an encryption that stops unauthorized users from accessing your network. There are at least two encryption types in 802.11b (128bit, and 64bit) and should probably be changed every other week or so. WEP encryption used to be completely the user's responsibility, but now I'm seeing hardware out of the box with at least one encryption key configured, forcing the user to configure his PCs in order to connect.

Using WEP is essential to wireless security, but don't rely on it alone, there are other security measures you can put in place as well. With some wireless units you can set a MAC address filters, witch can really beef up your security. A MAC address is an identification number the manufacturer stamps on a network device, and is (or should be) completely unique. If this security is in place then even if someone knows the WEP Key they still cannot get into the network because your wireless access device will deny it.

There buy cheap generic propecia are two other things you might want to do to tighten up your network: The first thing you should do is go through and change all of the default security settings, and passwords. The reason I said this is most Routers and access points usually have a lot of these configuration fields (i.e. username and password or the SSID ) filled out with generic values for ease of setup. The bad thing about this is that people can use these settings against you to gain access into your network. Secondly, with a lot of routers your SSID is set to broadcast by default, this means that it's broadcasting your network's name to the physical reaches of your network. Not good, even if your neighbors don't have the security rights to access your network they will constantly see it every time they boot up one of their wireless PC's.

Through the use of these practices you will not only protect your network, but render it practically invisible, and that's what you want. Just a side note before I go, if one day you boot up your wireless PC and you see a new connection that isn't secure, please take it easy on 'em, it's probably your neighbor. You have to remember not everyone is as informed or prepared as the Worldstart Readers and if your feeling nice go over and warn them to tighten up there network before someone not nice finds it open.

Stay safe out there,

If you've gotten a new computer in the last few years, it more than likely came with USB ports. If you're not brand propecia sure, USB ports are the little slots on either the front or back of your computer that you can use to plug in certain devices, such as a flash drive or digital camera. USB ports come in two different speeds: 2.0 and 1.0, with 2.0 being faster. Most newer PCs have the 2.0 speed, but if you purchased yours quite awhile ago, you may have the 1.0 speed. So, if you've ever wondered which speed you have, keep reading to learn how you can find out!

To get to your computer's USB area, you need to right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and choose Properties. Next, click on the Hardware tab and then hit the Device Manager button. When the new window opens, scroll down to the very bottom where it says Universal Serial Bus controllers. Click on the plus sign (+) next to that and all of your USB information will come up. You may have quite a few listings or you may only have a few. It just depends on how many ports came with your computer and if you've added any yourself.

If you see one that says something like "USB Enhanced Host Controller," that means you have the 2.0 speed. The "Enhanced" part is what sets the 2.0 apart from the slower speed. On my computer, that entry was the very last one, so make sure you look through your whole list before you make any assumptions. Also, just for your information, if one of your USB ports is 2.0, it's likely that all of your ports will be the same. That goes for the 1.0 speed as well. Most computers don't come with two different port speeds. So, tell me, how does it feel to know what kind of USB speed your PC is running? Pretty darn good, huh? Check yours out today!

Have you ever wondered if there is a limit for the amount of power one of your USB ports can handle? I mean, it makes sense that one of those little ports can only take care of so much. But how much is too much? Well, that's exactly what we're going to find out today! In this tip, we'll go over the proper amounts you should be placing on your USB ports and how you can check them to make sure they're being used correctly. This is some good information for anyone who uses USB ports, so please keep reading!

To begin, I'm going to say that the general amount of power that most USB ports can handle is 500mA (milliamps). It is a good idea to check the status of your ports every once in awhile to make sure you're not exceeding the brand propecia online power they can endure.

If you don't check on that regularly, you could be setting yourself up for a USB power crisis and no one wants that! You use your USB ports for several of your devices and you may not realize how much power all of those things are taking up.

For example, you may use the ports for your digital camera, cell phone, your mouse, the keyboard, a Webcam, a music player and so on. If you have several of those devices running at the same time, they're fighting for the power and if a port is overwhelmed, it could completely shut down. Along with your USB port being damaged, your devices could be at risk too.

To check the power demands on your ports, you have to go through the Device Manager. If you use Windows XP or 2000, right click on your My Computer icon and select Properties. Then choose Hardware, Device Manager.

For Windows 98 and ME, right click on My Computer, choose Properties and go directly to the Device Manager.

Within the Device Manager box, double click on Universal Serial Bus controllers (it's the very last item on the list). Next, you're going to double click on the first line that says USB Root Hub. There will be multiples of those, but click on the first one listed. Now, choose the Power tab (it will be the Power Properties button in 98 and ME).

Under the Attached Devices area (Devices on this Hub in 98, ME and 2000), you will find a list of all the devices you have running through your ports at the moment. You will also be able to view each one's power requirements (in milliamps).

As mentioned above, a port can handle up to 500mA, so if one of your root hubs is close to that 500 mark, you need to switch around some of your devices to other root hubs so that everything isn't all filling up on one.

You can also connect another hub to your PC if you have an available port. There are hubs available out there today that can turn one port into four or even more. So, if you're close to overloading your root hub, you may want to look into something like that as well. Please do what you can to keep your USB ports safe!

Looking for a way to move through one of your MS Word documents with some control and speed, all while still using your keyboard?

Well, look no more, because I've got just the thing for you today!

Besides the usual arrow keys to move one space/line in the appropriate direction and the Page Up/Down option that moves part of a screen in either direction, there are a couple of extras that can be used to make your movements quick and easy.

• If you combine the Ctrl key with an up or down arrow, you'll move to the top of the previous/next paragraph.

• The Ctrl key + a left or right arrow will move you to the start of the previous/next word.

• Ctrl + Page Up/Down will move you to the top of the previous/next page in the document.

• Home will take you to the beginning of the current line of text.

• End moves you to the end of the current line of text.

• Ctrl blind date propecia + Home or End will move you to the very top or bottom of the document.

• Alt + Ctrl + Page Up will move you to the top of the current screen of text. (The documents will not jump anywhere. The cursor is simply moved to the top of the currently visible text).

• Alt + Ctrl + Page Down will move the cursor to the bottom of the current screen of text.