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