Don’t like to be tethered to your desk? Try the Microsoft Arc wireless keyboard.

This uniquely curved keyboard is designed to deliver maximum comfort and convenience, with a domed keyset for easier typing, and a lightweight frame weighing 351g.

Its 2.4GHz wireless technology allows a range of up to 15 feet (about 4.57m), giving you free rein to find the most comfortable position to use this cable-less PC companion. The snap-in Nano transceiver can be plugged into the computer or stored under the keyboard, giving you more options for mobility.

The Microsoft Arc uses a four-way directional pad in place of arrow keys, whittling its dimensions down to 311×154x21.6mm.

Besides helping to free up space and reduce the mess of wires on your desk, this gizmo also aims to please with its small power appetite — it can keep going for 18 months on two AAA batteries.

The two-colour battery life indicator warns you when it is running low on juice. The Microsoft Arc wireless keyboard comes
with a worldwide three-year limited hardware warranty.

Arc Keyboard USB Black

Tags: Wireless-N, Mobile Broadband, Wireless

security software is the lock on your PC’s front door, but you can also make that door less attractive to crooks.

Let’s talk about security hacks, simple yet clever ways to protect yourself and your PC that cost little or nothing. Here are my fve favorites. It should go without saying that none of these can replace good, up-to-date antivirus and firewall protection, but they can make stealing your system or data difficult or unappealing.

It’s simple, yet surprisingly effective: Remove the keyboard and mouse. It’s highly unlikely that a snoop will carry an extra keyboard and mouse with him. This will slow someone down but is far from foolproof, and it should go without saying that every computer should be physically locked to a sturdy object and secured behind a strong password.

To protect from pod-slurping (the connecting of an unauthorized USB device and its use to steal data), disable your USB ports. Or and we borrowed this one directly from the U.S. military epoxy over the USB ports. Too permanent? A slightly more elegant solution is to open the PC case and disconnect (or cut) the wires running from the motherboard to the USB ports.

Traveling with a laptop? Try not to advertise that you’re carrying a valuable piece of equipment: Use a computer bag that doesn’t look like a computer bag, or use a neoprene sleeve inside a regular backpack. If you nap at the airport, wrap
the shoulder strap around your arm or leg so you’ll be alerted if someone tries to walk away with your bag.

Here’s an easy way to hide your Windows PC on a network while maintaining access to network resources. (This also works when you want stealth but still want to let others access your shared resources.) At the command prompt, type

Net confg server /hidden:yes

Now you’re still a member of your network neighbourhood, but your PC won’t show up when others browse for it. Make sure your software firewall is turned on, and block incoming ICMP traffic. This will prevent a network intruder from scanning for your PC using a ping sweep.

Once you are hidden on the network, you can spend some time trying to figure out who, if anyone, is connecting to your PC and to whom your PC is connecting. To accomplish this, you’ll use the command-line tool Netstat and the Task Manager. Get to the command prompt and type

netstat –ao

A bunch of info will by on your screen listing the type of connection, the IP addresses of remote hosts, the protocols,
and the process identifer, or PID. If there is something here you don’t recognize, write down the PID. Now, open the Task Manager and add the PID column by opening the View menu and clicking on Select Columns. Check the box next to PID. Now match the PID from Netstat and the PID from Task Manager to learn which applications are holding which ports open. A well-secured machine should have ports open only for authorized apps.

5. One last idea: Enabling secure logon in Windows XP and Vista will protect your system from malware that attempts to impersonate a log-on screen to steal system passwords. This forces anyone trying to log on to press Ctrl-Alt-Del frst. In
Windows Vista, open the Run command, type netplwiz, and click Continue when prompted by User Account Control. In the Advanced User Account window, click the Advanced tab, then select the box that says Require users to press Ctrl-Alt-Delete. In Windows XP, go to the Control Panel’s User Accounts applet. In the Advanced User Account window, click the Advanced tab, then select the box that says Require users to press Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

Tags: Mobile Broadband, Wireless-G,

If you ever find yourself in need of a decently robust and full-featured firewall but your budget is approaching zero, I have just the solution for you.

SmoothWall Express 3.0 is an open-source, security-hardened GNU/Linux firewall. With minimal hardware requirements and a small footprint, it should work with nearly any Pentium-class PC that has at least 128MB of RAM and a hard disk of 2GB or
greater. You should have at least two network cards installed or basic use, three or more if you want to incorporate a wireless network or to have a DMZ (a demilitarized zone, or a host that serves as a buffer between your private network and the outside). Keep in mind, though, that your firewall’s reliability is limited by the hardware on which you install it.

Installing SmoothWall
Don’t worry if you don’t know much about Linux. Though the geeky can get down and dirty at the command line, Smooth
Wall is easy to install and configure. It’s meant to be managed via an integrated Web interface, as well. To install, first download the 81MB ISO file and burn it to a CD. If you need disk-burning software, try ImgBurn.

Boot to the CD and run the installer, which will wipe the hard disk before it installs. Accepting the installer’s defaults a good start. The first “hard” question involves the security policy for outgoing requests. The default is Half-Open, which permits outgoing traffic except for any hat is potentially harmful. You may also choose Open, which doesn’t limit outgoing traffic, or closed, which requires that configure what traffic is permitted.

You then need to configure your network interfaces, which will be labelled Green, Red, Orange, or Purple. The Green interface is your trusted LAN. Red is the evil and dangerous Internet. Orange is your DMZ, and Purple is your wireless LAN.

Next you select which network card to ssign to each role. SmoothWall will probe for and detect most cards. You’ll need to specify IP configuration, and optionally the DNS and gateway settings. You may also configure Web proxy, ISDN, ADSL, and
DHCP. Lastly, you need to set a Web-interface password and a root password for command-line access.

You’re done with setup. From here you an leave your “Smoothie” as is, and it behaves as a fully functional firewall. However, you can configure the most inepth features only through the Web interface. Point your browser to https://SmoothWallGreenAddress:441 and enter the admin password you made earlier.

For a free product, SmoothWall is remarkably full featured, including proxy servers, IDS, logging, traffic graphs, DHCP, VPN, dynamic DNS, port forwarding, server health, and access control. It also provides an interface for backing up and restoring your configuration, so when your Pentium II PC kicks the bucket, you can get SmoothWall up and running again.

SmoothWall Express is limited to a single CPU and 1GB of RAM, but that’s not likely to be an issue for even a network with a couple hundred users. The real imitation is the lack of support: While you can consult the robust user community, you’re mostly on your own. Of course, The commercial arm of SmoothWall sells paid and supported products, too.

Tags: 802.11g, Wireless, 3G

Continue from Wireless Wars: Will Consumers Be Collateral Damage? (Part 1)

he FCC then announced a broader probe into the wireess industry that will entail an examination of everything from billing to competition to coverage in rural versus urban areas. he probe marks a major shit from the policies of the George W. Bush administration, which took a hands-of approach in enforcing regulations on the wireless industry.

Things really heated up in September, when Genachowski announced his desire to turn existing network-neutrality principles, plus two new ones, into hard-and-fast rules. He added that the Internet should be open however users reach it, subtly suggesting that the wireless industry would come under scrutiny. At the time, Genachowski was vague about what wireless network neutrality would look like.

In October the FCC took its first step toward creating formal rules, despite a huge lobbying effort from opponents. Under an FCC proposal, wireless broadband services would be included n the rules along with cable providers. he FCC is still months away from voting on the final regulations.

However, what these rules might mean for wireless cariers is still not clear. Speakng at the CTIA conference, Genachowski acknowledged hat congestion issues and he competitive landscape of wireless pose “some difficult questions…that remain open and will be considered in the FCC’s proceeding.” He did make it known, though, that wireless carriers won’t escape his vision of an open Internet, which allows consumers to decide how to use their smartphones and 3G cards.

What do wireless carriers want from the FCC? First, they want the ability to manage their networks as they see it. “We have to manage the network to make sure that the few cannot crowd out the many,” said AT&T’s de la Vega at the CTIA show. Second, carriers want the feds to free up more wireless spectrum; the CTIA trade group has formally requested that the government provide it. Spectrum, the array of radio frequencies that mobile Internet uses for transmission, is the key factor in determining how much data a carrier can handle at a time.

Opening spectrum widens the “pipes,” allowing more bandwidth-reliant services through. Even Genachowski has acknowledged that without freeing up more spectrum, a crisis looms. At the CTIA conference, he proposed offloading traffic onto Wi-Fi networks via smart antennas or femtocells. He also discussed reallocating unused or obsolete frequencies, but acknowledged that “there are no easy pickings on the spectrum chart.”

Max Hailperin, professor of computer science at Gustavus Adolphus College, says that as both sides continue to push for their interests, the deinition of wireess network neutrality will become quite narrow. “the FCC will prohibit a few very narrowly denied, egregious behaviors, such as Comcast was found to have engaged in,” he says, referring to how Comcast was caught blocking peer-to-peer file sharers over wired Internet.

Wireless’s Future
Some industry watchers, such as Alex Winogradof, a wireless expert with the market research firm Gartner, see the feds’ meddling bringing an end to flat-rate pricing. As applications become even more bandwidth hungry and if the FCC forces carriers to offer new apps, the carriers will switch to tiered billing to discourage bandwidth hogging, the argument goes.

Chris Guttman-McCabe, CTIA vice president of regulatory affairs, says that even such tiers won’t help when a lot of users are consuming bandwidth at the same time, causing congestion although they are staying within their individual limits. Other experts wonder whether strict bandwidth caps will repel potential customers; Pablo Perez-Fernandez, a senior wireless analyst for MKM Partners, says that the reason data has become so popular on smartphones is that users don’t have to meter themselves with it as they do with voice minutes.

It’s more likely, analysts say, that carriers will receive some leeway to throttle bandwidth-intensive uses. What remains to be determined is how much control carriers will have over specific services, such as VoIP.

A few recent developments have seen carriers embracing openness voluntarily. Google and Verizon announced in early October that they will collaborate to develop apps on the Verizon network, including Google Voice. As for AT&T’s allowing of VoIP apps on the iPhone for use over 3G, “I think that’s exciting for consumers,” says Michael Tempora, Vonage senior vice president of product management, adding that he expects AT&T to become more open on its own.

These are baby steps, but they put carriers in a tough position: they’ll either have to continue opening up networks or face an FCC that is not shy about imposing regulation. Either way, it seems to be a win for consumers.

Tags: 802.11g, , Mobile Broadband

A BATTLE IS brewing between wireless carriers and the feds and caught in the crossire are all of the smart phones, netbooks, and bandwidth-hungry mobile applications that users are increasingly enjoying. Both camps claim to be doing what’s right for consumers. One side says that it is heading of a mobile meltdown by enforcing rules on the types of devices and service that can access their networks, while the other says that the priority should be on giving users unfettered access to the wireless Web.

Depending on which side wins, if you’re, say, an AT&T Mobility customer, someday you might be prohibited from visiting certain Websites or using competing voice and television services on your iPhone or on a 3G-enabled netbook. Or, in an alternate scenario, the Federal Communications Commission might be able to force Verizon Wireless to allow its customers to stress its cellular network through downloads of mammoth media iles via BitTorrent.

The fight is about who controls the wireless pipes of tomorrow, and whether emerging wireless services will bloom or wither as a result. In other words, the conflict concerns network neutrality, the idea that service providers must give equal treatment to all uses of the Internet as it might be applied to the wireless industry. And just as the topic has caused a ruckus among cable providers, which have lobbied against FCC neutrality rules, in the wireless industry the debate is heating up.

Wireless Service Comes With Warnings
The problem, wireless providers such as AT&T say, is that wireless bandwidth is a finite resource. AT&T and other carriers, as a result, restrict bandwidth-hungry services from running on their networks. One example is the mobile version of SlingPlayer, the streaming sotware for the Slingbox place-shiting device: AT&T says that if everyone could stream SlingPlayer data over AT&T’s 3G network, the network would grind to a halt. Currently, users can run SlingPlayer only over
Wi-Fi; 3G is of-limits.

AT&T says that it wants to keep a tight grip on its biggest bandwidth hogs. At the CTIA wireless-industry trade show held in early October, AT&T Mobility president and chief executive officer Ralph de la Vega remarked that AT&T needs to manage its network’s most-intensive users, alluding to the Apple iPhone subscriber base.

De la Vega claims AT&T research shows that 3 percent of AT&T’s smartphone customers (likely iPhone owners) use 40 percent of all the smartphone data on its network. He estimates that this 3 percent consumes 13 times the data of “the average smartphone customer,” yet represents less than 1 percent of AT&T’s total postpaid customer base. Is this disproportionate usage a harbinger of problems to come for other carriers?

AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon all deal with bandwidth hogs by limiting the total amount of data that a customer can use each month to around 5GB for the 3G data service ofered to laptop users. (AT&T doesn’t cap data usage for iPhone customers.) If you go beyond the 5GB cap, the carriers either throttle your network speeds or charge overage fees. What’s less clear is how they manage specific uses of their mobile networks before customers reach that bandwidth limit.

Matters are even less straightforward when it comes to services that could be competitive with carriers. “he number one concern any telecoms has is about seeing their margins get eroded by new entrants with a different cost structure,” says Joshua King, an industry veteran who has worked for AT&T Wireless and Clearwire. hat new entrant might be a service like Google Voice or Skype, piggybacking on AT&T’s network. And the pricing for Google Voice or Skype is, in many cases, free.

Recently, with Apple’s rejection of Google Voice on the iPhone, AT&T has found itself at the center of this issue. hough Apple has taken complete responsibility for rejecting the app, it’s not hard to see how Google Voice’s free text messaging and cheap international calls could rule AT&T’s feathers. he company has shown a change of heart on Skype and other VoIP services, allowing them to run over 3G on the iPhone in exchange for AT&T talk-time voice minutes but even so, using Skype over 3G as an alternative to traditional cell phone minutes isn’t possible. All of this could change in an open wireless network, says King, who sees a proliferation of VoIP services in an age of regulated wireless Internet.

Is AT&T really worried about bandwidth, or is it just trying to keep a lid on competitive services? that remains under debate.

Bring in the Feds
Enter Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. In a speech at the CTIA show, he acknowledged that with regulation one size doesn’t it all but he also reaffirmed his commitment to an open Internet, regardless of how people access it.

Under Genachowski, the FCC has been playing a more active role in the mobile industry’s business. When Google Voice was rejected on the iPhone, the feds demanded answers from Apple, AT&T, and Google . Although Apple has said that AT&T was not involved with the decision, both companies had to admit that they do have a deal to block VoIP apps (which Google
Voice is not, technically).

To be continue

Tags: 802.11g, Wi-Fi, Mobile Broadband

This wireless router is made for tweaking.

Powered by the open source Linux Operating System, you can add features to it by writing your own firmware and loading it into the router.

Want more reach than what the two external antennas can give? Use the two antennas connectors provided to extend the range, said its maker without specifying reach.

Connect a USB hard drive with music, video or data files to the Storage Link port and your media files can be shared wirelessly on the router’s network.

Click for more: Wireless-N Broadband Linux Open Source Router – Storage Link WRT160NL-RM

Tags: 3G, Wi-Fi, Mobile Wireless

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Tags: Wi-Fi, , Wireless-G

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Tags: Mobile Broadband, Wi-Fi, Mobile Wireless

Equipped with three antennas, you will not have great difficult connecting to the TL-WR941ND even in the concrete and steel obstructed confines of an apartment.

The additional antenna coverages is not just for show. Mimo technology is employed and this ensures the best transmission speeds even in heavily congested wireless access areas. Wireless transmission congestion is common problem today with most apartments having their own wireless router.

Click for more details at TP-Link TL-WR941ND – Wireless router + 4-port switch – Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n (draft 2.0) external

Tags: Mobile Wireless, Bluetooth, 3G

D-Link understands that not everyone is a network engineers so it includes a Quick Router Setup utility that takes you through the configuration process step by step.

The more experienced can manual configure the built-in advanced control like the SPI firewall, PPTP to create a private door with which to enter your network and IPSec – the lock to opening that door.

Click for more review:
D-Link DIR615 WIRELESS N ROUTER, 4-PORT 10/100 SWITCH, DRAFT 802.11N

Tags: 802.11n, Wireless-G, 3G