Wire Blast

Today, almost every house and business in the nation is equipped with wireless internet. Unfortunately, though the low cost and easy set up of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) are beneficial to most; the widespread use of wireless networks allows network intruders to take precedence over unprotected WLANs. To prevent these unwanted intrusions, take these simple precautions that will strengthen your security and reduce the risk of wireless hacking.

1. Secure your wireless router and access point with a password. Many people skip this step and leave their network accessible by anyone in the vicinity. Even more people use the password feature but use passwords that are embarrassingly easy to guess. Think of a secure password that will prevent unwanted users with unwanted intentions.
2. Don’t broadcast your Service Set Identifier (SSID). This way, when you or anyone near you goes to connect to a wireless network, the name of your network and the option to connect to it will be invisible. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the benefits of having a smartphone is the peace of mind that comes from having an unlimited data plan with a set rate.  These plans are usually around $30 and allow you to send as many emails, stream as many videos, and surf the web as much as you want without ever paying a penny more than your set rate.  Last week AT&T, one of the nation’s leading smart phone providers, announced a new system for charging customers for data usage.  All new smart phone customers must now choose between one of two data plans.  Both cost less than the unlimited plan: DataPlus provides 200megabytes for $15/month and DataPro provides 2 gigabytes for $25/month. Notification messages will be sent to customers at certain usage levels to help them avoid overage charges.  Existing customers can keep their current unlimited plan or switch to one of the new ones.  For some people who only use mobile internet on occasion, this new plan could be appealing and more cost-effective.  Read the rest of this entry »

Finding a balance between your work and personal life can be a challenge.  You know you should network and stay connected but maybe you don’t want your coworkers as your Facebook friends.  Now there is a social network that is business centered and appropriate for work-related relationships.  When you join LinkedIn you can create a professional profile that doesn’t include pictures from your sister’s bachelorette weekend or a wall post from that high school buddy about the good ‘ole days.   Now you can begin adding contacts of colleagues and classmates and join professional groups.  These groups are a great way to bounce around ideas and discuss the latest industry trends. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember the ease of ducking into wireless hot spots to check your e-mail, bank account, or news?  While finding wireless zones is easier than ever, more and more restaurants and cafes are making you pay for the wireless you use.  By the end of the month, you’ve shelled out almost $100 in wireless hot spot fees.  However, you’d rather have the convenience of logging on from anywhere in the city versus not paying for the service.  Fortunately, CLEAR 4G wireless provides a consistent web connection all over the city for $40 a month.

With this service, you’ll be able to complete online training programs for work at your local coffeehouse and video chat your parents living in Minneapolis.  You won’t be restricted to an Internet cable hook-up and you’ll never have to pay at wireless hot spots again.  The entire city will be a virtual playground where you’ll experience fewer dead zones and weak signal areas.  Furthermore, you can experience mobile broadband speeds that are just as fast as what you have in your home. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s take a minute to ponder all the ways that wireless technology can be helpful. Let’s start with the most basic form of wireless that most of us make use of: a cordless telephone. Yeah it’s wireless, but it’s not really anything that special anymore, right? They’ve been around for ages and are limited to sending what you say through the air to the receiver in the next room. Technology should be able to produce something more powerful than that by now.

Wireless routers raised the ante for a while because they allowed you to share your internet connection with all nearby supported devices, including computers with wireless network adapters. Because of all the things the internet can do, this was a pretty big advance for its time. But once again, these have also been around for a while and are also limited to sending information to the next room. Read the rest of this entry »

Wireless hotspots have long been advertised as being the most convenient form of internet access for modern, professional men and women.  After all, they supposedly offer the promise of mobility and cut out all that hassle of having to deal with cables—what could be more convenient, right?  In reality, traditional hotspots are not quite what they’ve been made out to be and wireless internet users have got far better options on the table to consider…such as a hotspot that goes where they go!

Using hotspots that are scattered throughout your city as some sort of patchwork, piecemeal mobile communications solution is just not practicable in the least.  First of all, your mobile device may not be compatible with the various kinds of mobile standards being used by different wireless networks which will prevent you from even connecting; then, the speeds available on many such wireless networks may often be truly dismal, not even breaking the barrier between Kbps and Mbps.  Between frequent interruptions in the service and slow downloads/uploads, it’s not difficult to see why this panorama isn’t very convincing. Read the rest of this entry »

Part of the joy of actually having a computer that can connect to wireless internet is knowing where the best networks happen to be in your town. Sure, there are those typical locations–various chain stores like Starbucks, maybe your office or the local library. But for people with computers, there is something a whole lot more enjoyable in not sharing a space with dozens of other users clicking away on their laptops. Because wireless internet networks that are small often see a serious drain in signal once more than a couple of users are online, you definitely are always on the lookout for a location with a free Wi-Fi network, but without the ten or 20 people who have their computers and look like they aren’t going to be going anywhere for awhile. Read the rest of this entry »

There have been a lot of problems over the years getting reliable wireless internet connections.  The issues on the road have been well-documented, but there continues to be inferior wireless connections set up in homes.

What every wireless internet customer is looking for is basically what you get out of a WiFi hotspot: high speed service without interruption, all over the room or area covered.  Obviously, this signal strength is provided by a modem which is established in a certain location.

Is any provider offering these modems for customers to take with them on the road?  The best wireless home connections have worked in the same way as the hotspots set up in cafes and other public places, but tossing a modem into your bag and talking it to the road is the ideal scenario for a wireless user.  CLEAR 4G wireless internet has come out with a version of this modem that has recently gotten a lot of attention in the field. Read the rest of this entry »