Connecting to the internet

[Synonymous]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/herefor...rcs/6565079.stm

Cheers

 

Ian.

 

Porn fiends!! Now that's funny.

 

The big thing about securing your wifi is to NOT broadcast your SSID. The acronym means service set identifier which essentially is the public name that you see when you search for an access point in order to connect.

 

So really there are quite a few things:

Do not broadcast your SSID.

Connect to your access point and lock in the mac address of your machines.

Set your encryption to the highest setting

Make your PSK (preshared key) something that cannot be guessed.

The best encryption is the type that changes keys randomly during data exchange.

 

There are a few things to be vigilant about. Be aware of the person sitting in your garden with a laptop. Some people will drive around searching for unsecured wifi and mark your house somehow to identify it to other people that there is an unsecure network.

 

Bottom line is the harder you make it for them to get in, the less likely they will spend the time trying. Please note your neighbors ten year old is exempt from the last statement.

 

S-

[jeepster]

Be very careful of mobile connections. They usually charge by the byte, so to speak, on top of rental. There's a guy in Canada just been hit with a bill for $85,000!!

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7141935.stm

 

 

Some indeed are, but the deal and widget I mention are monthly mobile broadband deals, not GPRS or similar 'data' tariffs. Extra bytes are payable, but at reasonable rates, just like a BT broadband deal.

 

Here's the link to the Three tariff page:

http://www.three.co.uk/personal/products_s...band_/index.omp

[Ian FG]

Jeepster,

 

I have one of those things from 3. Vodafone and T Mobile also do them.

 

It cost me £50 to sign up for a 12 month contract at £25 a month for a 7GB a month download cap, which is OK. They also do a 1Gb cap for £10 a month and 3Gb cap for £15 a month. A 24 month contract is a fee free sign up (I think).

 

I connect at 0.8mb which is OK. They tell me this will improve.

 

All of their websites have maps showing their coverage which at the moment is mostly confined to major towns and cities.

 

Mobile phone coverage is different to broadband coverage.

 

Doutbtfull if any of them cover remote Scottish (or English) locations.

 

Downside is if you have two or more computers in your house, only one can connect at a time. Upside is you can connect anywhere there is a signal.