Weekly Tip #7: Free Firewalls

Hello,

Most computer users have heard of a firewall, whether it be in computers or in buildings.

A firewall on a computer has the job of protecting your computer from unwanted intruders trying to access your computer, or send information from your computer to them.

Imagine the firewall is a doorman at a hotel, and your computer is the hotel. But unlike a regular hotel, this one has over 65,000 doors (that's one busy doorman). The doorman has to control access IN and OUT of all these doors. Instead of watching them all the time he locks all the doors but has a special list of who can come in and out of what doors. If something tries to go in or out of one of the doors and there name isn't on the list, the doorman rejects it.

There are both hardware and software firewalls. Ideally, you should have one of each installed on your computer(s).

Most routers and even some modems now come with built-in firewall functionality. You can still get standalone firewall appliances, too. The firewall box then sits between the source of your internet connection, and your computer in the chain of connections. -------.

Many Anti-Virus programs out now come with their own built-in firewalls. For example, Norton and McAfee both have their own built-in software firewalls. The problem with them is that they aren't very configurable and take a lot of control away from the user. For novice users this can be beneficial, but with a little reading and some advice, there are several much better solutions. In fact, I recommend anyone with Norton or McAfee switch to NOD32 as soon as your subscriptions expire. Norton and McAfee are so bloated and invasive into the normal functioning of computer it gives me a chill everytime I get a call to diagnose/repair a Norton problem.

I'll go over 3 free software firewalls. The first is the Microsoft Windows Firewall that comes as part of Windows XP since SP1. To turn on your windows firewall go to the control panel->Windows Firewall->On. All computers should at least have this basic firewall if no other. Usually in conjunction with a hardware firewall, the windows firewall is sufficient for most users. Please note that you only want 1 software firewall turned on on your computer at any given time.

The second free firewall program is ZoneAlarm Free. ZoneAlarm has been the defacto free consumer use firewall for a long time. It's easy to install, configures itself, and gives clear messages when it detects/blocks access to a program. However, it does have some weaknesses at time in terms of leaving certain doors open that it shouldn't if certain choices are made by the user.

The third free firewall, and the one I run on my computers at home, is called Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF). It used to be made by the Kerio company, but is now made by Sunbelt Software. It is free for home, non-commercial use. Like ZoneAlarm it is an easy install, but the configuration part is a little more detailed. KPF has ad-blocking, pop-up blocking, script blocking, HIPS and NIPS (Host/Network Intrusion Prevention Systems), and Application Behaviour blocking. Lots of features for keeping your computer safe. It does a good job of pre-configuring itself for most users, but configuring program access for your everyday programs can be a bit of pain compared to ZoneAlarm. But overall, it is a better product, offering a higher standard of protection once configured properly for your usage patterns.

Firewalls are an integral part of any computer security system. Call Nerds On Site today for a free consultation on how to improve the security of your computer or network.

Cheers,
Ben

What you WON'T GET from Nerds On Site

Check out this video to learn why it's best to work with Nerds On Site for your technology needs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxqx4hgeKgQ&mode&

Our solution based pricing means you know the cost after diagnosis and often the diagnosis can happen over the phone.

Accountability and responsibility is what I'm all about as a Nerd.

Regards,
Ben

Weekly Tip #6: Basic Wireless Security

Hello again,

This week we're going to talk about setting up a wireless network with basic security features.

The first that you will need is a wireless router, or wireless access point to plug into an existing wired router. D-Link and Linksys make some of the most reliable and user-friendly consumer level routers.

A wireless router broadcasts a signal to computers that have wireless network adapters. This signal broadcasts the SSID (the name) of the network. Most people usually enable broadcasting for convenience and ease of use. However, if your computer does not have many people randomly joining the network (say visitors or guests), then you may want to disable the SSID broadcast. When disabled, the only way to even find the network is to know the name of the network. That name then must be manually entered and configured.

The second basic security function is to enable WEP or WPA encryption. WPA is a strong level of security but is not compatible with some older wireless hardware. Most users will use WEP encryption - it is best to use the maximum bit encryption available (usually 128 bit). WEP is basically a 26 character password that must be sent by the connecting machine to the router, which then verifies the password and allows or disallows the connection. With WEP enabled, people who can "see" your network (SSID), won't be able to connect without that 26 character "key".

A higher level of security is to turn on "MAC Address Filtering" on the router. This is bit more cumbersome, but basically ensures that only hardware that you manually enter into the routers configuration can connect. Nearly every piece of networking hardware has a MAC Address. What you do is find the MAC address of the computers you want to allow on the network, and input them into the router configuration. Then, only computers whose MAC addresses match the MAC addresses in the list on the router can access the router for internet access.

So those are some basic security features that you may want enabled on your wireless network.

Until next time,
Ben

Weekly Tip #5: Effective Google Searching

By now, there aren't many internet users who haven't heard of Google. Google is the top ranked search engine on the planet at this point in time.

However, most people don't use the advanced search and information finding features that google offers.

This week we'll review some of the features of Google that make everyday activities easier.

1. Site Search (site:)

Let's say you have a Dell notebook and you want to find out the specifications of your notebook (for example, I have a Dell Inspiron 6400).

You can specify a search that only searches the Dell website like this:

Dell Inspiron 6400 specifications site:www.dell.com

Which gives these results: Here

As you can see, only pages on www.dell.com are returned as results.

2. Currency Conversion

If you deal in foreign currencies, you may have a good site already, like www.oanda.com. But google can give you quick conversions by doing a search like this:

1USD to CAD

Which returns the results Here

The important thing to remember is to put the number of dollars (or whatever currency) as the first currency, then put "to " to complete the search.

3. Measurement conversion

With google you can convert metric to imperial, or vice versa, much like the currency converter.

This search:

565 litres to gallons

results in this: Here

4. Stock Quotes

Google search also has a built in stock quote function. Currently it only works for stocks on the US stock exchanges.

For example if you search:
RIMM

You get stock quote for Research in Motion on the NASDAQ: Here

5. File Type search

This one is particularly useful. Let's say you're looking for information about cookbooks, but you want cookbooks that are in PDF or Word Document format. You can narrow your search by defining the filetype like this:

cookbook filetype:PDF

Which gives the results: Here


As you can see, Google has done a great job making common everyday queries easy and accessible to even novice search users. These functions can even be combined. Let's say I want to search for PDF files related to my dell 6400 on the dell site. I would do this search:

Dell Inspiron 6400 filetype:PDF site:www.dell.com

This would return results of all the PDF files about the Inspiron 6400 on dell's web site.

For a full list of features and advanced search abilities of Google, check out this page: http://www.google.ca/intl/en/help/features.html

That's all for this time.

Regards,
Ben

Weekly Tip #4: Having Enough Memory

Hello again,

This week we're going to talk about making sure your computer has enough memory (RAM). Most new computers today use DDR or DDR2 RAM. Older computers tend to use SDRAM. The main difference between the types of RAM being the speed at which they are able to communicate instructions from programs to the CPU.

There is a quick way to check to see if you have enough memory. Restart your computer and let everything finish loading that normally loads before you start using your computer. If you right click on the taskbar (the bar where the Start button is), you will select "Task Manager". Click the performance tab. Here you can see how much memory is being used before you even start running any programs. Look under the heading "Physical Memory". The "Available" value should be at least 25% of the "Total". If it less than that, your computer could definitely use a memory upgrade to speed things along.

Question: Why is that Ben?
The reason that you want at least 25% of your memory free is so that there is room for data to be moved around in memory - stuff no longer needed can exit memory, new programs can be loaded in without "bumping" into each other. It's like a buffer space.

What happens if you are running at near or over your total physical memory, is that Windows uses its virtual memory. Virtual memory acts like memory except that it is on your hard drive. Programs that aren't being used, or don't fit in physical memory get placed in virtual memory. The problem with virtual memory is that it is sloooow. Where physical memory performs functions in NANOseconds, virtual memory takes milliseconds to seconds to the same thing. What you end up with is your virtual memory creates a bottleneck on your performance because it is on a hard drive (much slower!).

For Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, 256MB of RAM is the minimum requirement to have a somewhat enjoyable computing experience. However, if you have an older computer with 256MB of RAM, you should still consider upgrading to 512MB of RAM if you multi-task at all, and to compensate for your slower CPU.

The newest Windows, Windows Vista, has 512MB requirement and 1GB recommended system RAM. For today's new applications, 1GB or RAM is always a good idea if your computer can support that much, regardless of what operating system you are running (with the exception of Win'9x/WinME).

Upgrading the amount of RAM in your system is the surest way to increase the speed of your computer after boot-up. Depending on the type of RAM your system has, Nerds On Site can double your existing RAM usually for between $100 and $175+taxes, including installation).

If you'd like to find out more about upgrading the amount of memory in your computer, and for a free estimate, please call Ben at Nerds On Site at 902-980-0989.

Until next time,
Ben

Weekly Tip #3: Backup Your Data

We buy insurance for our vehicles, our homes, our lives and many other things. But, most people overlook insuring the safety of the data on their computers.

Consumers - What are your family photos, digital music, videos, email, address book and documents worth to you?

Business Clients - What is your accounting information, invoices, client database, and mission critical information worth to you?

If you store any sort of important information on your computer, or can't spare to have your computer crash on you for more than a few hours at most, you need a backup solution.

In this weekly tip we'll take a look at a couple of options available to you.

The first thing to look at is what you need to have a safe backup copy. You will need either a CD/DVD Burner or an external hard drive. It is no good for you to create a backup of your hard drive on the hard drive itself. If the hard drive fails you're left no better off.

Nerds On Site can get you a DVD Burner for $65, ($120 installed), or a 160GB external hard drive for $120 ($160 installed).

Option 1: Windows Backup
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Professional Edition both come with Microsoft Backup as part of the package. You can use MS Backup to back up files and folders or entire disks. To access MS Backup, go to Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Backup.

If you run Home Edition, you will not have MS Backup installed by default. It is available on your Windows XP Installation CD under the "Add-Ins" folder. You will need to manually install.

Windows XP also has a tool called the "Files and Settings Transfer Wizard". This Wizard can be configured to backup all of your customizations to windows (look and feel) as well as your email, email accounts, favourites, My Documents, My Pictures, and My Videos as well as some of the settings for your favorite programs like Winamp or Photoshop. Simply run the wizard (Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools->File and Settings Transfer Wizard) and select the files you want to backup.

Option 2: Full System Backup

If down time for more than a few hours costs you money, you should be performing Full System Backups at least monthly, in addition to regular incremental backups of files that you update/add/change frequently. There are a number of good solutions for full system backups that create a mirror image of your computer. This image can then be restored to any computer you want, and be exactly the way your computer was at the time of backup. EXACTLY THE SAME. The advantage of a full system backup is that you don't have to reinstall windows, install all your programs, then restore your backup. You simply restore the image and away you go.

The 2 best programs to do this in my opinion are Norton Ghost (I like version 9 better than version 10 personally) and Acronis True Image. Both programs cost around $70.

Option 3: Offsite, Online Synchronized Backup

A synchronized backup keeps a list of files that you want to keep backed up, and then whenever any changes are made to those files, or new files are added to the folders included in the backup, those files are automatically uploaded to an offsite location stored on secure, redundant servers. In case of a crash you simply reload windows and restore the files online from the server.

This solution is a must for businesses - for insurance purposes, your backups must be stored at an offsite location!

Nerds On Site offers an excellent tool called "Nerds Backup" (Click Here for more Info). Nerds Backup is a small little program that runs on your computer all of the time. It uses only a little memory and hard drive space so you don't even know it is there. The user configures Nerd Backup with the files and folders to backup and then Nerds Backup takes care of the rest. Whenever any changes are made to the files or folders selected for backup, Nerds Backup will automatically send the newest version for backup.

Now you may be worried about where your data is going. All data from Nerds Backup is stored at the Q9 Data Centre in Mississauga, Ontario - the same location where the major banks store their websites and data. This location has 100% uptime, meaning your files are always available to you from your computer, or any other computer you use so long as you have your username and password. Nerds Backup can also keep up to 24 versions of every file backed up for you (the number of versions is configured by the user from 1 to 24 versions). That means that if you make a change to a document, but want to go back in time to a previous version, you simply load Nerds Backup and restore the older version to your computer.

Once Nerds Backup is installed you don't have to do anything - just set it and forget it, knowing you are protected in case your computer crashes or you need to access your important files from anywhere in the world.

Right now I'm offering a NerdsBackup special:
$54.99 one-time installation fee, regular $79.99
$2 per 1 Gigabyte of data per month. That's right - for $2/month you can keep your emails, pictures, client/contact information safe and secure.
14 Day Free Trial
This offer expires December 31st, 2006.

That's the tip for this week. Stay tuned for more information next week.

Regards,
Ben Wiper

Weekly Tip #2: Cleaning out your computer

This week's tip is about something that seems obvious in retrospect, but most users just don't think about. That is, cleaning out the dust and build-up inside their desktop computers.

Over time, build-up of dust and debris can lead to a significant shortening of the lifespan of the components in your computer at least, and a total system meltdown at worst.

Dust and debris restricts the ability of your computer's fans to dissipate heat from its various components. As this heat builds-up, the parts begin to overheat causing anything from random reboots, slow PC performance, excess noise, or hardware failures. Your computer components have built-in safeguards to protect against overheating that lead to these behaviours.

So, how do you overcome this? The answer is really quite simple if you follow these steps.

To perform this procedure, you will need a screwdriver, Q-tips, and a canister of compressed air.

1. Turn off computer
2. Unplug all cables going into the computer, but particularly the power cable (usually black, connects at the top of the computer, into the power supply).
3. Open the case (sometimes have to unscrew a couple of places, others you just push some tabs and it slides/pops off). See your manufacturer website for directions to remove the case. Please note that some manufacturers will VOID YOUR WARRANTY if you open the case!
4. In your case you will see at least two fans, and usually 3 now on newer computers. 1 Fan will be on the CPU, and will sit on a metal HEATSINK. The heatsink sits on the processor (your computers brain), absorbs the heat it produces, and then the fan on top of the heatsink blows the heat out of the case. 1 Fan will be on the back of the computer on your power supply. Other fans can be near your hard drive, on your video card, or at the rear of your case.
5. First, gently blow air throughout the case to loosen up the dust, but do not blow directly on the fans.
6. Blow air on the fans. NOTE: Hold the fan in place while blowing air on it. The velocity created by the airflow on the fan can be fast enough to ruin the ball bearings in the fan and destroy your fan.
7. Any debris on the fans that does not come off, use a Q-Tip with gentle pressure to wipe up.
8. Clean the heatsink. NOTE: Since the heatsink resides under the CPU Fan, this may require removing and unplugging the fan to access the heatsink. Usually though, you can blow air on the heatsink between the gaps of fan, or from below the fan. Use a Q-tip as needed to clean out the grooves in the heatsink and space between the fan and heatsink.
9. Wipe up any debris left on the bottom of the case with a dry paper towel OR low-power vacuum or dustbuster - DO NOT WIPE COMPONENTS INSIDE THE CASE!
10. Close up the case.
11. Plug cables and power back in.

Repeat this process 2-3 times per year and you'll get at least an extra year or two of useful life from your desktop computer.

To clean out the inside of a laptop computer, take it to a professional, like me, or research very carefully on your manufacturer's website on how to disassemble your laptop.

For the rest of November, Nerds On Site is offering the following special:

Physical Cleaning of Desktop Computer: $49.99
Physical Cleaning of Notebook Computer: $89.99

To book an appointment call Ben @ 1-902-980-0989 or email ben.wiper@nerdsonsite.com

Until next time,
Ben

Map of Chester

Here's a picture of Chester from Google Earth. Pig Loop Road is where we live. To walk into "downtown" Chester takes us about 5-7 minutes. Halifax is about 60km northeast and Bridgewater is about 30km southwest.

Fill the Beetle to Feed the People

This past Saturday, Nov4, 2006, myself and the other Halifax and area nerds, John and Glen met in Upper Tantallon. The reason we met was to Fill the Beetles to Feed the People. We drove our cars up in front of Sobeys and handed out a shopping lists of the local food bank's needs. In 4 hours we filled the entire backseat and hatch of 2 beetles with nearly 700 pounds of food for St. Margaret's Bay Food Bank. The manager of the food bank called us her "angels from above". Those who need the service will have full hampers this holiday season. The food raised barely fit into the storage area at the food bank!

Sobeys has invited us back to do another FTB in spring. We're looking forward to it!

Christmas Special

Weekly Tip: HOSTS File - Your 1st Line of Defense

Hi Everyone,

As promised, here is the post for my first weekly computing tip.

For those who don't know, my name is Ben and my wife is Lisa. We're becoming known as Mr. and Mrs. Nerd in our new hometown of Chester, NS because of my new technology service and consulting business, Nerds On Site.

My first tip, and probably one of the best tips to keep your computer free of spyware and adware is about a little known file, called the "HOSTS" file.

This file is a system file, located on your PC in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc folder.

Q: What's a HOSTS file?
A hosts file stores data in a table that tells your computer where to look for certain web sites. The hosts file is usually used by big companies to save bandwidth on their networks. Companies will download certain often-used websites and store a copy on their computers in the office, for example, www.yahoo.com.

Then, in the hosts file, the "nerd" would put something like this:

www.yahoo.com 192.168.1.50

The first column is the website address on the internet. The second column shows the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the saved copy on the company's computer. So whenever a person wants to go to www.yahoo.com on the internet, the hosts file says, WAIT, not so fast, instead of going to wwww.yahoo.com, go to 192.168.1.50 instead! This way, the page gets downloaded faster because there are less "hops" between computers on the internet. For example, to go to yahoo.com from my house takes sending a message between about 6 other computers in both directions. But by using a hosts file, that number goes down to 1 or 2 computers.

Q. How do I use a HOSTS file to make my computer more secure?

So that's the general idea of how a hosts file is usually used.
The functionality of a hosts file can be applied to regular users with just a single, non-networked computer, too. The hosts file can be used to block "bad websites" very easily. Let's say there is a website "www.iwillinfectyourcomputer.com" which loads some pretty nasty stuff onto your computer. Well if you want to make sure that that website cannot be viewed, even if some bad program tries to make you load that website, you just write this entry into your hosts file:

www.iwillinfectyourcomputer.com 127.0.0.1

Again, the first column is the website that you don't want to communicate directly with. But in this case, you do NOT want a copy of that website on your computer, so we set the second column value to "127.0.0.1" which is also called the "localhost". The localhost is an IP address of your computer, even if it is not on a network.

So, if you're still following at this point, the result of this is that when a program, or you try to go to "www.iwillinfectyourcomputer.com" the hosts file says: WAIT, don't go to that website, go to 127.0.0.1 instead. Then your computer loads the webpage at 127.0.0.1. BUT, wait! There is no website at 127.0.0.1. But that's exactly what you want - you get an error screen saying that the website cannot be found. Thankfully, you don't WANT to find that website - you want to block it from being loaded on your computer. So, in effect, 127.0.0.1 is a fake website address that loads whenever your computer tries to access "www.iwillinfectyourcomputer.com".

Q. How do you expect me to know every bad website that there is?

Good question. Thankfully, there are some good people at mvps.org who put together a hosts file with all known bad websites and you just have to download it and run a simple install program, included with the hosts file. You can download it HERE. This hosts file blocks tracking cookies, bad websites, fraudulent websites, and a whole bunch of other nasties.

You can download the hosts file and installer HERE and the installation instructions HERE.

Note: If you have ZoneAlarm firewall or Spybot Search & Destroy installed, your HOSTS file may be LOCKED to prevent unwanted changes by malicious software. You will need to turn OFF the hosts file lock before installing the new HOSTS file. See the HELP file for those programs to learn how to turn off the hosts file lock.

Note 2: You may notice some "error pages" when you surf the internet where banner advertisements used to be (for example along the top and right hand side of Hotmail) - this is perfectly normal because the ads you see on hotmail are tracking advertisements that monitor your Hotmail use to target your with ads that match your internet surfing behaviour.


Q. Wow this sounds great and I want to protect my computer, but this is too difficult for me - can you help?

I sure can. Nerds On Site has a special on right now where I can download, install and configure your computer with the latest HOSTS file for $45 + taxes. Or, if you want a full security setup, including firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware installed and configured, along with the hosts file, for $119+taxes per computer. These offers are on for all appointments booked before January 5th, 2007. Satisfaction guaranteed because at Nerds On Site, we don't service computers, we service PEOPLE with computers. Call Ben at 902-980-0989 or 902-273-2354 or email ben.wiper@nerdsonsite.com to setup an appointment.

Until next time,
Ben

First Post

Hello Everyone,

Now that Lisa and I have started the next chapter of our life in Chester, we felt it fitting to start a new blog with a new address. Our new blogspot address is chesternerd.blogspot.com.

I'll be trying to make at least weekly posts detailing what we're up to in Chester as well some some computer tips for my clients and potential clients to view.

Feel free to post comments and discussions about posts made on this blog. Let's get this Chester Nerd on the map! :)

Stay tuned for my first weekly tip!

Regards,
Ben