Reader Olle wrote to ask a remote access question:

Hi! I read your article about editing videos remotely with GoToMyPC. I\’ve tried doing that but it doesn\’ work. I cannot even play a vidoe and see the video remotely. But I can do everything else like trabsfereing files and more. Is it a setting issue? I would Like to ask you kindly to guide me on this issue. I appriciate an response.
Thank You Kind regards Olle

Remote access to your own PC, or to other PC’s you manage on your own home network, can be a great way to do many tasks.

On my home network, since I use firewall programs on each PC (all are using Sunbelt Personal Firewall) and the home network is segregated from the Internet by my cable/DSL router (a Linksys BEFSR41), I don’t hesitate to use non-encrypted remote control software within my network. I use the free versionn of RealVNC to do this.

On the other hand, for remote access across the Internet, I think you’d have to be crazy to do that with an unencrypted connection (which possibly could be monitored by someone else!). For remote access across the Internet, I’d choose GoToMyPC because of its speed and encryption. You can try a 30 day free trial of GoToMyPC (for one PC) or GoToMyPC Pro (for multiple PC’s). There are also paid versions of RealVNC that include encryption, so they’re another option.

Continue reading Remote Access Software Question

A reader wrote me to ask if I would use a web proxy anonymizer service. I wrote back to tell him that my answer was a simple “No.”

It boils down to two things: (1) if you’re afraid of a web site operator knowing who you are, you shouldn’t be going to the web site, and (2) think of a web proxy anonymizer as handing all your web traffic to an intermediate stop on the way to and from your web destination.

I know nothing specific about the particular proxy service he mentioned. My comments below are general comments about the capabilities of proxies, even ones providing their service to anonymize your web surfing, and are not an accusation of improper behavior by any of them or any particular one.

In normal Internet use, different data packets to and from your computer and your web destination can take different routes from your computer to the destination.

Continue reading To Use a Web Proxy Anonymizer or Not…

After a recent email newsletter article on securing your wireless network, Clif (of the Clif Notes Newsletter that I enjoy) wrote to yank my leg a little and to ask:

Hi Terry,

I appreciate your tips on securing the router. Most of the wifis in my neighborhood are wide open. That’s nice when my cable goes out and my neighbor’s dsl is still running … I just hop on the neighbor’s wifi for a quick ride. Do you think I should tell them?

I use a different method to secure my wifi. I use a “trusted stations” list in my router that only allows PCs with a MAC address that I’ve entered there. My network looks wide open, but they can’t log onto it.

How does that sound?

Clif

Clif already knows my thoughts about open networks and why they should be closed — that’s why he included a grinning smiley face. While an open wireless network can be handy for use by others, there are security risks for both the network operator and the person connecting through the open network.

Continue reading Security versus the Open Wireless Network

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If you don’t already have a home computer network and want to set up one, it’s easy. In fact, it’s so easy that I recommend that ANYONE using a high-speed Internet connection should use a router for the added security that it gives their computer.

A wired or wireless router (wireless routers normally have 4 wired Ethernet ports, also, in addition to being able to communicate wirelesly) is pretty much a plug-and-play device.

Most of the time, you don’t really need the directions provided with the cable/dsl wired or wireless router, except for configuring wireless security settings — or if you have a DSL connection.

If you have a cable Internet connection (at home) or an Ethernet connection (at home in some areas…

Continue reading Creating a Home Computer Network

OK, you have a new computer and you’ve made the decision to keep your old computer, and you want your spouse and children to be able to do email and surf the web without demanding your computer.

Let’s assume you already have an existing home computer network — if you don’t, the first article in this week’s online newsletter is for you…

There are two basic ways that computers on home networks can get the IP addresses and other network data they need in order to communicate with each other: we can enter the data into the configuration screens, if we want to use static (unchanging) IP addresses, or we can set the router to assign IP addresses dynamically using DHCP.

Continue reading Adding a Computer to an Existing Home Network

I recently updated from NOD32 version 2.7 to the latest NOD32 version 3.0. I found that Eset has dramatically simplified the structure of the NOD32 controls. They had been criticized in the past as creating a great product for advanced PC users.

The new version has a simplified “Standard Mode” that is much easier to use.

The Advanced Mode is still there — a simple click on the “Display: Standard mode” in the bottom left-hand corner will let you toggle into Advanced mode to enable control of many more options.

Upgrading from a previous version was easy. I uninstalled the older version, rebooted, and installed the new version. Many anti-virus programs work this way, since some of their components are installed during early parts of the Windows boot process — and not changeable without a reboot.

Then, installing was straight forward.

Once NOD32 is running, the first screen displayed is the Protection Status screen. If all is well, you see a display with a green monitor labelled Maximum Protection. If any features have been turned off or disabled, you’ll see

Continue reading NOD32 Antivirus Version 3.0 Review

I’m often asked about how I handle passwords for all the different sites that require passwords.

The questioner’s eyes get pretty big when I mention that I use random mixtures of letters and numbers for my passwords, and even bigger when I say that I use a different password on every site.

The immediate question is “How can you keep track of them all?”

The answer is one of the reasons that I use a PDA, a Personal Digital Assistant. In my case, it is the PalmOS v4 based Sony Clié SJ-33, which I’ve used for a couple years.

Continue reading Passwords, Password Lists and Keeping Passwords Secure to learn more about password management…