Ezine 195 Simple Router Security

Ezine 195 Simple Router Security

Because I don’t install a virus checker I feel like a high-wire acrobat with no safety net, thus I take extra care where I plant my mouse.  While people who have virus checkers believe they are immune from attack, I realize that I am vulnerable and thus am on the look out for threats.

This is what I did to make my HOME router a little more secure: using my browser, I logged on to my router and changed the default password.  My router’s IP is 192.168.1.254, but yours is likely to be different, check the manufacturer’s documentation via the internet.

I once had a pupil who said. ‘Mr Thomas, I am reading but I am not understanding’.  That’s how I feel about the router article below.  It seems important, security gurus urge me to read it, but I cannot grasp the theory.

Where I got stuck with the article’s logic was if someone had already compromised my machine, why would they bother with the router settings?  Nevertheless, I was happy to take-up its recommended action and change my router’s password.

millions-of-home-routers-vulnerable-to-web-hack

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Anti-Virus Program Fights With Windows Update

I spent far too long fixing a friend’s Windows Update problem, I was frustrated because I did not realize you had to disable the antivirus checker before you could install that particular Windows 7 Update.  As I was solving the problem I mused, ‘Why cannot the AV companies liaise with Microsoft to prevent this obstruction to smooth operation?’  I also seem to remember that in the old days it used to be trivial matter to turn off the virus checker, whereas this time I had to contact the professor of anti-virus software before I could find the controls to disable the anti-virus service.

One thought that is rattling around my head is what percentage of Windows operating systems are not fully up-to-date because of obstructions from anti-virus programs?

Last year, when I was trying to repair a friend’s XP machine, I had different battle with an anti-virus program.  I got into a knot trying a system restore because the anti-virus program kept giving a false positive reaction to a file that I was trying to repair.  It strikes me that there is something fundamentally wrong if whenever there is a computer problem, the first thing you have to do is turn off the anti-virus program.

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Will and Guy’s Humour – Silly Warnings

Are notices on packages getting sillier?  Or is it a case of the packaging providing more enjoyment than the contents?

  1. No small children.  On a Laundromat triple washer.
  2. You could be a winner!   No purchase necessary.  Details inside. On a bag of Fritos.
  3. Dremel Electric Rotary Tool – This product not intended for use as a dental drill.
  4. On a Myer hairdryer: ‘Do not use while sleeping’.
  5. Pine Mountain Fire Logs – Caution: Risk of fire.

See more Funny Warnings


See more interesting network computer utilities

E195 Router Security  • E158 Network Apps  • E153 Network Utilities  • E149 Performance Monitor

E138 Network Utilities  • E137 IPv6  •E121 NCPA for Network Connections  • E111 Mobile Devices

E98 Nmap  •E16 Perfmon  •Network Performance Monitor  • Kiwi Syslog Server Review  • Ezines