Now a days having a wireless network available to you is more normal than abnormal. Many reasons have led to this change, one being cost. It is very cost effective so set up a wireless network as opposed to a wired network.
Because of the rise in wireless network popularity, more and more computer manufacturers are equipping their systems with the right wireless networking hardware. I am going to discuss 3 big points, wireless networking in laptops, desktops, and also the software on these machines
So we start off with a very important question – Is your laptop or home computer wireless enabled? This is how you can check if your computer has wireless capabilities or not.
Laptops
Many newer laptops have wireless networking capabilities already built in to them. If you laptop came with the hardware built inside of it, then all you need to do is make sure it is enabled and the button on the front (usually) of the laptop is lit up. If a wireless PCMI card is needed in the laptop computer, then make sure it is compatible with your brand of computer first. When you install it, make sure you have the driver disk associated with the hardware, and that it’s driver matches what version of Windows you have.
Desktop Computers
If you need to check to see if your desktop computer has a wireless connection, turn off the computer and turn it around and look for a rod sticking out near the bottom of the tower. This would be the wireless antenna just like an antenna would be on a radio. If you see nothing like this then your desktop probably does not have a wireless card installed in the PCI slot. So buy one that matches the version of Windows that you have on the desktop.
Windows to check the Wireless Capacity
Once everything is installed on your laptop or desktop you want to use windows to check the wireless capacity to make sure the settings are correct. Open up the Device Manager in Windows. Look for the network adapters + sign and click it. Look for something under there that should have the term “wireless” attached to it. If you see that there then you know everything has been configured correctly and all you need to do is connect to the available wireless network.
By: mark dewolf
Posts Tagged ‘Laptop Computer’
3 Home Wireless Network Points
January 27th, 2010The Top 15 Ways to Protect Your Computer System
December 14th, 2009Most new computer users use the computer for a specific purpose. I know of some people who use it only for e-mail. Others use it to view and print pictures that they took with their digital camera. Some people use it for doing work at home like word processing or spreadsheets. Teachers may use it to develop class plans that they do not have time to do at work.
Even though Identity Theft is in a lot of newspapers, letters from banks, TV, the Internet, most people do not protect their computer and their information. Maybe their attitude is “It can’t happen to me”. I am surprised that more than half of the home computer wireless networks in my neighborhood are not secure. Someone can have a laptop in their car and surf the internet for free. Some households can also borrow the neighbor’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) without having to pay for it themselves.
I have a little gadget that detects wireless networks. I am amazed that some small business and even schools in my area do not have a secure network. I taught an Identity Theft class in a school, and I went right onto their network without any login information. The school assumed that they were secure.
Another security concern is when someone has a laptop and they leave it unattended at the airport. When they look for it the laptop is gone. Some thieves just re-sell the laptop for quick cash. Other thieves see what type of information they can take off of the laptop. Even if the thief re-sells the laptop quickly, your personal information is still on the laptop. If the computer does not have a password on it, then anyone has immediate access to the information on the computer.
I had one customer put her laptop into her luggage and checked it in at the airline. When she arrived at the hotel and opened her case she saw that the laptop was gone. There was also a note inside that the airline inspected her luggage. Did this customer learn? No, she did it again. And to make matters worse, she was traveling with someone else. He saw that she checked her luggage with the laptop in it, and he followed suit. A big surprise here – both laptops were gone.
Home networks is another big security concern. When I see an unsecured home network I leave a flyer on their door and say that there network is not secure and for $25 I will secure it for them. I usually write the name of their network on the flyer so that they know. Four out of five people call me.
Here are some ways to help protect your computer system (they are not in any order of importance):
1. Put a password to access your computer. I would even put a power-on password which means that once you turn on the computer you need to put in a password before the computer starts up. This should not be the same password you use to login to your computer. This advice is needed for laptop users.
2. Buy a surge protector and plug all of your computer items into it. Buy one that works and has a guarantee, and not just a power strip.
3. During a thunder storm, or any storm that looks like it has an effect on power, turn the computers off. I would even unplug the surge protector from the wall. If the home is hit by lightning the house wiring can burn out computer components.
4. If you need the computer constantly on, invest in an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS). The computer can stay on up to three hours without electricity. If you have a laptop plugged into a UPS, then you have the three hours and the laptop battery time.
5. If you are connected to the Internet, wired or wireless, you must have a router with a built-in hardware firewall. You should also have a software firewall as well. Most times software scans the internet looking for vulnerable computers. It is not unlikely if you have cable, DSL, Satellite, or FIOS that your computer is not scanned 15 or more times a day. A hardware and software firewall prevents this from happening.
6. Get anti-virus software installed on your computer. If you do not want to pay for it, get a free one.
7. Install spyware removal software on your computer and run it regularly. You can just get free ones if you do not want to invest in a commercial product, although the commercial ones are better.
8. Do not have Windows remember your passwords. On my blog I recommend a product for remembering passwords.
9. In Internet Explorer and Firefox have your security settings to at least medium.
10. When traveling keep your laptop in sight. Do not check it in with your luggage.
11. When you go into a wireless café or hotel that has internet access you should have an internet security product. McAfee and Norton are pretty good. There are also a couple of free ones.
One other thing to keep in mind with a laptop is that many of them can transfer through infrared to other laptops or PDAs / cell phones. It only takes a couple of seconds to transfer your information. Credit card numbers for example are 16 characters. There is software out there that can look for a string of 16 characters, or your social security number.
12. Do not open attachments from someone you do not know.
13. If an email does not look right, do not open it. Ebay, your bank, paypal, etc. will not ask you to click on a link to update your account information. They say, log into your account and verify your information. These fake emails are phishing for your information. When you click on them it does look like the right sight, but as soon as you sign into this phishing site they have your login name and password. You should then immediately go to your site by typing in the address and change your login password. If you can change your login name do that as well.
14. Do not give your passwords out to others.
15. If someone requests to remotely access your computer make sure their software is permission based. This means that you will get a pop up window or email and you give the person permission to look at your screen. That way if you do see something wrong like looking at your emails or documents you can stop the connection between the two computers.
I hope you found this article informative. In the resource box below click on the blog link where you will find more useful hints and recommended software and hardware.
John Gontowicz
Sign Up For A Free Weekly Email Newsletter To Learn More Computer Tips For The Beginner: http://www.yourpcguide.com or send an email to computers@sendfree.com
By: John Gontowicz
How to Buy the Right Laptop Computer
November 30th, 2009Do you know how to choose a right laptop computer for you. there are many kinds of computer in the world. choose a right for you is important. now let me tell you how to choose.
1. Size
In the world of mobile computing, size definitely matters. The size of a laptop affects two key areas: portability and display size.
If you’re always on the go and will be using your computer only in short bursts, a so-called ultralight will save you some shoulder strain.
On the other hand, if you’re going to spend hours in front of your laptop, a larger display may be in order.
Today, some laptop displays exceed 17 inches, rivaling the display size of many desktop systems. The down side is that these monsters can easily weigh three times as much as an ultralight.
2. Hard Drive
Speaking of size, what about the size of the hard drive? One way to approach this issue is to ask yourself the following question:
Will this be my primary computer, or will it supplement my desktop system?
If the former, you should look for a bigger hard drive – 60 GB or more.
If the latter, you may be able to make it with a 20-30 GB hard drive.
But even this isn’t absolute.
If, for example, you plan to copy a huge MP3 library from your desktop system to your laptop to make your music library portable, you’d be well advised to err on the side of too big.
3. Memory
In determining the right amount of system memory, or RAM, take a look at the ways in which you intend to use your laptop:
If your needs are somewhat mundane – email, spreadsheets, word processing, etc. – 256 MB of RAM should be plenty. This is a common configuration for many laptops, so it means you probably won’t need to spend extra for more RAM.
On the flip side, if you’re an aspiring mobile digital photographer or videographer, you should stuff your laptop with as much RAM as it can hold.
In fact, exactly how much RAM your laptop can hold may in part drive your purchase decision. Applications for editing and manipulating multimedia content are notorious resource hogs.
4. Network Connections
Thanks in no small part to the Internet, computing in the 21st century relies heavily on being connected:
Connected to the Internet, connected to a corporate network, connected to a wireless network, connected to a home network, connected to an online service.
Your life will be easier if you buy a laptop that includes built-in means to connect to them all.
5. Price
If you’re considering a laptop, you’re probably wondering how much money you’ll need to spend.
A few years ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find one for under $2,000. Today, there are plenty of laptops to be had for under $1,000.
What’s more, most of the major manufacturers offer a variety of financing options.
Laptop prices have come down, to be sure. However, a laptop still represents a fairly major purchase for most people.
By: johnxuster
