Personal Computer

Industrial Panel PC - Simplifying Industrial Computing. By Kilian Allen

2009-04-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

Industrial PCs are primarily used for the purposes of data acquisition or/and process control. In some cases, Industrial PCs are often used in a distributed processing network as a front end to some other control computer. It also offers advantages in system costs and development. It is because of the use of PC-based software and hardware.
The features of industrial PCs are widely different from that of consumer PCs. They are generally in terms of compatibility, reliability, long-term supply and expansion options. Besides, industrial PCs are typically manufactured in lower volumes in comparison to office or home PCs. However, industrial PCs cost relatively more than comparable office computers which have similar performance. Backplanes and single-board computers are primarily used in industrial PCs.

The industrial panel PC:
The panel PC is actually a type of Industrial PCs, wherein an LCD display is placed in the same enclosed space as the motherboard and other parts. These are characteristically panel-mounted and at times also have touch screens for simplifying user interaction. These are available in low cost versions as well, without the environmental sealing.
Practically most Industrial PCs have a basic design idea of providing a restricted environment for the installed electronics in order to endure rigors of the factory floor. The electronic components are always chosen in terms of the capacity to run at cooler temperatures than other regular components. Sturdier construction as compared to the typical office computer provides enhanced durability to these PCs.

Features:

It comes with an enclosure form factor which encompasses the provision to mount into the environment surrounding it.
It features additional cooling mechanisms, such as those based on conduction, liquid and forced air, along with air filtering.
Expansion card support and retention is present.
An improved EMI filtering and gasketing system is present.
It has improved environmental safeguards such as water spray, immersion proofing, dust proofing, etc.
It has either Circular-MIL connectors or Sealed MIL spec.
The features and controls are stronger than ordinary PCs.
It features a higher grade of power supply.
By means of locking doors, the access to the controls can be regulated.
Access covers control access to the I/O.
A Watch Dog Timer is included for resetting the system automatically if a software lock-up occurs.

Thus, an industrial panel PC has opened several avenues in the realm of industrial computing.

I-techcompany offers excellent range of rugged industrial panel pc and touch screen flat panel LCD monitors at most competitive pricing. Call us at 888-483-2418 for more details.

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Multifunction Inkjet Printers - Can They Do it All Well? By Susan Schlenger

2009-04-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Multifunction Inkjet Printers are becoming more and more popular. And I can definitely see why. You can get rid of your printer, copier, scanner and even fax and have one machine that does it all.

If you are worried about the quality of these functions, don't be. I finally bit the bullet. I bought the Canon MX850 multifunction inkjet printer, also known as an All-In-One printer. (Many of the features found in this machine can be found in others also.) I happily took my scanner and put it in my storage room. Then I took my fax and had it join the scanner. Then I added my fax to the rejects. Copying was previously done through my fax machine...I know, pretty archaic.

I set my new All-In-One and at last had some space!

There are separate buttons for each of the functions. Also, the MX850 has a small screen on the front of it which shows which function you are working with and what stage you are at. There is a menu to follow with choices.

The printing worked very well. I would say it was on par with my Canon Pixma 5000 which it replaced, and that is saying a lot. I loved the Pixma 5000.

The faxing works well too. The faxes came out clear and I had no problems.

In my opinion, the scanner feature has a bit of a learning curve. This is because you have options as to what you want to do with the scan, such as:

1. Saving as a file or to a folder. In addition, you can save as a JPEG (or other picture format) or as a PDF file.
2. Emailing - I'll be honest. I am not sure if you can scan and then automatically send an email. But you can always save it and then send it.
3. Printing - Just print it. You can also set resolutions if you want better quality.

The machine comes with various software that you can use for these functions.

Copying is a dream. You can print one page or a stack of pages. You can also correlate them so that they come out in order. You can make a single copy or multiple copies. Copies were detailed and clear.

All these options are done through the computer, with the exception of copying.

Here are some other All-In-One printers that you might consider:

Hewlett-Packard Officejet Pro L7680 - prints 35 pages per minute for text documents and 10 pages per minute for color pages. DPI is 2400 x 4800.
Lexmark X7675 - prints 27 pages per minute for color. This is fast. Inexpensive.
Canon Pixma MP620 - DPI is 2400 x 9600. Prints a color page in 41 seconds and text at 26 pages per minute. Inexpensive.

Susan Schlenger is a professional landscape designer and has been working with digital photography online for 10 years. To learn more about this topic, visit her website page, Multifunction Inkjet Printers.

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TRENDnet TEW-633GR Wireless Router Review. By Marty Rubenski

2009-04-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

I had to part with my old Linksys router. A well deserved rest for all the rigorous hours rendered and labored. I must say it is not the best router, but it served its purpose well. So after canvassing and researching, I'm left with D-Link, Belkin and Trendnet. These brands boast of their own special features and advantages. Price is not really a major issue. I just want to buy something that will be a good investment and that will last for at least a year.

Trendnet is not a popular brand so I was really doubtful if it will be worth it. I was really attracted by its sleek look. Shiny black appearance that will naturally blend with any of your house appliance or room motif. I read enough reviews that will help me avoid any installation problems. I made sure that I am well informed of the router's known or popular issues. I just typed 192.168.10.1 in my browser's address bar. That's where I also accessed the configuration. If you are the obsessive compulsive type, you will find yourself constantly wiping the fingerprints you left on this router. It is similar to the jet black DS Lite. Now, it's very noticeable that the lights are not as bright as the other routers. It has the right brightness or glare. Green light means it's not a gigabyte connection. If it's orange it's in gigabyte connection.

This router is phenomenal especially when you are into intensive streaming of high definition video and gaming applications. Its advanced features are commendable such as the quality of service that automatically detects and prioritizes different types of network traffic. I also like the hardware switch for the easy turning On and Off of the wireless feature. The button on the outside helps in the quick and hassle free security setup through the wireless
protected setup.

Compared to my old loyal router, Trendnet has given me a wider range. It has given me solid transfer rates in every room in my house- a two storey house with four rooms. This router has everything mounted to a single board. It can also be used vertically without losing good reception. This also minimizes overheating that can damage the product. For its price, there's nothing I want more than a detachable antenna and a USB port. So far, so good. Recommended.

Click Here to save 28% on the TRENDnet TEW-633GR Wireless Router and read more reviews.

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Basics of Database in SAP. by: Ron Victor

2009-03-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

SAP like enterprise applications are specifically made up of programs with the data which are used by and created by those programs. In a meaningful way the data are organized within in a database, For the benefit of programmers, which are made easy so that they can access and find the necessary data to do something useful, for instance run a financial report or to create a sales order. The programs and the data will be in same database for SAP component or product like ECC, Normally each component will posses its own database (Even some exceptions exists) - a production system landscape composed of SAP Business Warehouse (BW), SAP ECC, plus SAP Customer Relationship Management (CRM) consists of three production databases. Given its basic station in the life of an SAP system, since it is important we have to understand the over all role of database.

Highlights of this hour comprise

Exploring the concepts as well as structures of an RDBMS

Determine which databases are supported by SAP

Learning the disparity between a primary and foreign key

Find out why indexes speed up data retrieval

Structure of Database

A database can be said as electronic warehouse where we can store information’s in an organized manner so that the system can find the desired information quickly.

The database is composed of tables, columns (called fields), and rows (called records or data). A simple example of a database is telephone book which are organized alphabetically so that it make the user to get their information very easily likewise the database is formed with the same concept. Instead of man the system will do the work so the work can be done easily and efficiently.

The basic structure of a database is somewhat comparable to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in which columns (fields) store row after row of records (data). The major difference between a database as well as a spreadsheet is simply that databases be able to contain multiple tables that are connected to one another through relationships. Thus, a database can be thought of as a much more complex, plus ultimately much more useful, spreadsheet.

The database plays an important role in each SAP system, as it houses all the data that are used by that particular SAP component or else product. Several brands of databases exist, making it easy intended for an IT shop to choose a database vendor with which they are probably already well-known. Currently, SAP can use a range of different brand name database releases ranging from very expensive as well as imminently flexible to very inexpensive as well as yet quite capable.

It is significant to note that not all database vendors as well as versions are supported by SAP. SAP is likely to stick with the market leaders, over the years adding as well as removing support intended for certain vendors. In this way they not just limit the amount of database-specific customization they have to perform, but they endow with IT shops with flexibility plus choices, keys to success both for SAP as well as the IT organizations tasked with organize and supporting SAP solutions.

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Computer Security - Startling Facts. by: Peter Crest

2009-03-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

Working on the Internet provides Internet marketers with the opportunity to make a living in the comfort of their own home. Computer Security includes threats such as viruses, identity theft, spyware, adware to name but a few. The latest statistics show that at least over 900 new viruses are created each month which makes keeping track of them really quite difficult. This article would cover three (3) subtopics namely: The Internet, Spyware and Antivirus.

Internet

If you use your computer on the internet, you need (at minimum) anti virus software. The problem of computer security is the number one problem in todays networks and Internet engineering. As hackers use different means to crack the security systems it often happens to be impossible to resist and computer security system fail.

Computer Security on the internet is vital for home and business use as there are increasingly hostile environments when users surf the net. It is very important for users to be educated on the dangers they may face while on the internet. Your computer connected to the internet is similar to your house in many ways. Users search on the internet for free computer security software which they dump into their computers and hope for the best.

The Internet is a wonderful place. Anyone with an Internet connection can stay in touch with family and friends via email. Computer security is growing rapidly by the minute and the only one who has control over their files of information is the user. It is strongly suggested that users equip their pc with an armed fire wall for vital protection.

An advice is to use Microsoft Windows Update to keep your operating system and Internet Explorer patched. Other advice could be to only conduct Internet transactions that have secured processing. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer could be a target.

Although confidentiality, integrity and authenticity are the most important things when it comes to computer security in general, for everyday internet users, privacy is the most important one, because many people think that they have nothing to hide or the information they give doesn't seem sensitive when they register with an internet service/site.

Spyware

An avenue for Spyware to infect your machine is through popular Peer-to-Peer File Sharing software such as Kazaa. Extreme spyware like Rootkits and other advanced spyware have fundamentally changed the playing field in todays computer security.

While it may seem to be common sense, many of the most widely-spread attacks have involved spyware and email attachment worms. Often these packages come as “suites” including a firewall and Spyware scanner. They scan and destroy spyware as it’s found in the user’s computer.

Regardless of the type of spyware, it can slow your computer to a crawl and needs to be removed from your computer. Spyware occurs when certain websites run programs in the back ground of your computer while gleaning information from it. There is now a bill in the US Congress to make Spyware illegal.

Anti-spyware tools will greatly assist in protecting your privacy and restoring full computer functions that spyware may have taken over. In the internet world it is vital for users to have a good spyware scan (a recommended and reliable one can be found in the Author Resource Box below) and removal tool because of the multitude of different spyware, adware, Trojans and other malware constantly looking to attack your system. Spyware can slow down your computer, and would have to be removed.

There are tools available which include good free Spyware removal software among other security measures the user can take to protect the computer from malicious attack such as Viruses, Spyware and Adware. The recommended one is staed below. Spyware not only covertly runs in the background and steals personal information of the user it is a potential security threat of which the extent of the damage cannot be determined.

Antivirus

With all of the marketing commotion that surrounds viruses, you should already have antivirus software on all of your computers. Let me explain something, just because you have a antivirus software program on your computer you are not cured. Until recently could one install a firewall and an antivirus program and feel quite secure.

Protection services could commonly include the ability of an administrator to monitor activity throughout the system as well as potentially block hazardous material on the internet from being viewed by other users, the ability to manage automatic updates and what's more the ability to enquire about the status of antivirus software. These include firewall, spyware scanning software and antivirus software.

Everyone needs to have proper computer security measures in place to make sure they are consistently free from all these malicious software. Urgent action should be taken now.

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Why Linux Hosting is Gaining More Presence Than Windows Hosting? by: Dr Ravi Chamria

2009-03-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Any person interested in publishing any data on the Internet requires Web Hosting. Web hosting has been around for several years now and has evolved from simple HTML pages hosting, small simple sites with a few images into full blown web based hosted applications where end users can visit a site, interact with the web site owner and even purchase goods and services all over the internet.

The use of Internet as a medium for integrating business across the globe with the help of Web Based software applications has produced wide range of web based technologies like ASP, ASP.NET, JSP, PHP and others. This choice has forced various options for web hosting now as HTML based sites work equally well on both Linux and Windows platforms.

Web hosting platforms vary from different types of operating systems. Microsoft Windows Server and Redhat Linux are just two examples and probably the most well known web hosting platforms. So, what is Windows or Linux web hosting and what are the advantages and disadvantages to hosting your web site on either Server. And why now Linux is gaining more popularity. Well, that's just the answer isn't it ?

Linux platform has been developed by Community based efforts and it has been rendered for professional use with the efforts of many IT companies like Red Hat, Suse, Mandrake and like. This background of Community development and open source nature of Linux Server and backup of professional IT companies has made Linux platform more powerful, inexpensive and secured.

The cost effectiveness in this competitive era is a major boost that the companies required without compromising on the quality and security of the product. Apart from ASP, ASP.NET, all other major web based technologies work well with Linux. The virtually free distribution of PHP, MySQL, PERL has reduced the costs of the website hosting tremendously on Linux Server. At Sakshay, we provide both kind of hosting services but the advice to companies requiring Hosting for HTML based websites, small applications like Recipe site is to use Linux Hosting.

The menace of viruses, spamming and hacking is also quite less with Linux Hosting. Firstly, this is due to the robust architecture of Linux Server and Secondly, due to many cost effective softwares available for protection on Linux Platform.

The following are the advantages of using Linux based web server compared to Windows based web server :

Stable and Robust: Linux/Unix operating systems has traditionally been believed to be very stable and robust. A web site housed on a Linux operating system will have very high up-time (of the order of 99.9%). Of course, other factors such as power supply, network admin skills, and network load etc. also matter when it comes to maintaining the system uptime.

Low cost of ownership: The Linux OS comes free of cost (or at very insignificant cost, usually cost of distribution). Also, it has full fledged server, and desk top applications that comes free along with the OS. These server applications (such as FTP, Web Server, DNS Server, File Server etc.) being free, are also very stable.

User Friendly : When it comes to web hosting, it is easy to host on Linux web servers. The process of uploading and hosting is almost same for both Linux and Windows web servers. If you want to use a Windows based tool such as Front Page for uploading a web site on to a Linux based web server, make sure that the Front Page extensions are enabled. This is only required if you are uploading using HTTP feature (http://www.yourwebsite.com) of Front Page. Front Page also makes it possible to upload a web site using FTP. You need to select ftp://www.yourwebsite.com for up loading using front page FTP option. Note that if you select ";Front Page Extensions"; during web site design, you must enable Front Page extensions on a Linux web server also. These days, all Linux web servers are coming with installable Front Page extensions, and this should pose no problem for hosting on a Linux platform. You can use almost all types of file extensions (or scripts) when using Linux web server. Commonly, the following extensions are supported: .cgi, .html, .htm, .pl, .php, .shtml, .xml, and others. Basically it means that you can host web sites that use different types of server side scripts including .cgi, .pl, .php, and .asp (with plug-in).

Easy to move between hosts : A web site designed to be hosted on a Linux based web server can be hosted on a Windows web server easily, where as the reverse is not always true.

Most widely used : Linux/Unix based web hosting is most widely used compared to Windows based web hosting.

Scalability : Scalability and future expansion are other major criteria to consider while hosting an application. A web site is dynamic. Usually, a web site starts with a few pages of html and grows over a period of time to suit the customers requirements. It is preferable to design a web site keeping this requirements in mind. A web site designed for compatibility with a Linux/Unix based web server meets the scalability requirement easily without making any site wide design changes.

Self Management of your website on a Linux Web Hosting Plan with Sakshay hosting is made very easy with our Implementation of the Award Winning Control Panel software by Sw-Soft called Plesk. Plesk is a web based interface to your Linux web hosting account that allows you to create e-mail addresses and mailboxes, view your web site traffic statistics, set permissions on your HTML, PHP pages, MySQL... and more. We also provide Windows Hosting with Plesk Panel.

So, all kudos to Linux and open source technologies for making the technology affordable and within the reach of common man.

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Web design, e-book covers and advertising. by: Alexei Kouleshov

2009-03-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are involved in electronic commerce, you would know that one of the reasons why some people don’t buy online is the lack of ability to feel the product. By creating e-book covers, product boxes and software packages you can increase your sales of your electronic goods. As for the usual products a photo of a product can have the same impact. As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

In the advertising of your electronic product the story changes completely. Customers prefer text ads rather then the graphic ones. Perhaps, users are tired of pop-ups and flashing banners. In this case you can say the opposite, “a word is worth a thousand pictures”. Wondering how? Think of the word “home” for a moment. Got a few warm thoughts coming to your head? Well every single person will percept this word differently in a personal way. I guess you now better understand why textual ads can have more impact on people.

There is not a single person out there who can’t make money online. It’s the income that varies. Some people sell thousands of dollars of products through their websites, others use ebay and make just as much. There are ones who don’t sell anything at all but get paid from content advertising and of course there are ones who are sceptical that it all will work. Which category do you fall into?

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Basic Computer Thermodynamics. by: Stephen Bucaro

2009-03-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

That desk in front of you and everything else around you is made up of atoms. An atom consists of electrons orbiting around a nucleus. An atom is increadibly tiny. You could line up 10 million of them inside a millimeter. What if we could scale up an atom so that the nucleus was the size of a basketball? The orbits of its electrons would then be 15 miles away.

From this you can understand that atoms are almost all empty space. The nucleus of the atom is composed of quarks. If you could see a quark or an electron up close, it might appear as a tiny vibrating glow of energy. It turns out this world, which is causing us so many problems and so much stress, is mostly an illusion!

The electrons orbit the nucleus at about the speed of light. If you could see them, they might appear as a blur. They do not orbit in a plane like the pictures in books. They create a shell. Sometimes two or more atoms will share electrons, causing them to link together forming a molecule.

Looking at that desk in front of you again, it looks pretty solid. Actually, unless your desk is floating in deep space where the temperature is close to absolute zero, the molecules of your desk are vibrating like crazy. Picture the molecules bouncing around and smacking into each other like balls on a pool table.

If you have ever played pool, you're very familiar with how when a pool ball hits another pool ball, it transfers it's energy to the second pool ball. When heat causes molecules to vibrate, they transfer energy between each other in a similar fashion. This action is called "conduction".

Now picture the CPU of a computer cooking away because the designer wants to push too much power through a small piece of silicon. If we don't take away that heat as fast as it's created, that CPU will fry!

The problem is usually solved by mounting a heat sink on the CPU. Conduction causes the heat to move from the hot CPU to the cooler heat sink. Because air doesn't conduct heat as well as metal, We apply a thin layer of heat sink compound between the CPU and the heat sink to fill in any gaps.

You'll notice that a heat sink has fins on it. The fins allow the heat sink to conduct the heat to the air adjacent to the fins. The fins provide more surface area to aid in conduction. Eventually the adjacent air will get as hot as the heat sink and conduction will cease.

If we move the air away from the heat sink, it will take the heat energy with it. A fan mounted on the heat sink is used to move the air. This method of heat transfer is called convection. Eventually all the air inside the computer case will get hot, so fans are used to blow the air out of the case of the computer.

The heat has moved from the CPU, to the heat sink, to the air inside the case, to the air in the room where you're sitting at your computer desk. The room starts to get hot, and eventually the air conditioner turns on.

You can view an air conditioner as a "pipe". A fan blows the hot air from your room through fins that transfer the heat to a liquid. The liquid is piped to fins outside the house. A fan blows cooler outside air past the fins to remove the heat from the liquid.

The air conditioner has an evaporator valve that changes the liquid to a gas after the heat is removed. In a gas, the molecules are further apart than in a liquid. This causes it to cool down quite a bit more. The gas goes through the fins inside the house, picking up heat. It is then compressed into a liquid to concentrate the heat so the outside fins can remove the heat more efficiently.

Shuttle's I.C.E. (Integrated Cooling Engine) Heat Pipe uses a very similar method to cool a CPU. The CPU has a heat sink with copper heat pipes. The heat of the CPU causes liquid coolant inside the heat pipe to change to a gas. Convection created by the pressure of the gas moves the coolant to a second heat sink where a fan is used to blow the heat out of the computer's case. Releasing the heat causes the coolant to change back to a liquid. Gravity then carries the coolant back to the CPU heat sink.

One last method of heat transfer we haven't discussed yet is radiation. Some of the heat of the CPU and the heat sink is released as infrared radiation. Similar to light (although invisible to human eyes), the radiation strikes the insides of the computer case, causing it to get warm. Ultimately the computer case itself acts as a heat sink conducting heat to the outside air.

This article explains the three ways - conduction, convection, and radiation - that heat is transported from a computer CPU to the air outside the computer case. You now understand the thermodynamics of a computers and why it is important to maintain its various components.

Copyright(C) Bucaro TecHelp.

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Different Categories of Computer Games. by: David Chandler

2009-03-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

Computer games can be categorized mainly into PC games that are played in your computer after installation using the CDs that contain the software, downloadable pc games, and the online games. Many websites provide you with the downloadable version of the PC games.

Category based on permission to use

The games can be categorized based on licenses. Some of the games are free and they can be downloaded on the internet free. Some pc games are free downloadable games but are shareware. Shareware games have limitations in the features. Some of the shareware can be used for only 30 days time and some are limited by the number of times that software is used. Trial versions of the software are also available which are time limited or feature limited.

Online Games

Online games are those that are played online. The user who is playing the online games should have an internet connection in his PC. You should be aware that your internet bill is on the rise during the time you play the online games. Yahoo games are one among the popular online games. Many websites provide you online games. Some of the sites require you to become a member to play these online games. Some charge you on per game basis for playing.

PC Games

PC Games are those that require an installation through a CD to play the pc games. Some of the games even require the CD to be present in the CD drive to play the game. These software CDs are to be purchased by the user. There are many pc games available like Tomb Raider that requires you to purchase the CD. Most of the games that contain Car races and Motorbike races require the software to be installed through the CD bought by you.

Downloadable PC Games

These games can be downloaded from the internet and can be installed in your computer. Most of the free game downloads are small enough to be downloaded from the internet. There websites like www.download.com that can be searched for free game downloads. A good search engine would give you thousands of links to free downloadable games.

What you need in your PC to play these games?

Most of the games can be played without any additional hardware. If you are having the latest configuration of the PC, which has the software pre-installed in your computer, then you might not need any additional software to be installed. Some of the online games require you to install plug-ins to run the online games. Plug-in is additional software that is required to run an application in your computer. You will be provided appropriate links to download the plug-ins required by your browser or your computer. You need to check the system requirements for the computer games that is downloaded or installed in your system and install them before you start playing the game.

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Wireless Network Security. by: Jake Forrester

2009-03-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

It seems that more and more home users are going with wireless networks rather than the tradition wired networks with wires hanging everywhere and running wild around the house and in the crawlspace. What seems like a good idea quickly turns into a nightmare if you don’t vamp up the security of your wireless network.

Speed is of the essence. Typically, one thing matters to new users of wireless, getting connected and browsing that first website. While wireless connectivity can accomplish this, it’s best to set up your wireless connection securely before venturing out into cyberspace. Below are some tips to help secure your wireless network.

Change the default admin password. Admin passwords are easily figured out by attackers when they are left as the default. Not changing your wireless admin password opens your network to attack and can lead to many problems depending on the attacker’s agenda.

Another wireless security measure you will need to take is turning on encryption. Enabling WEP encryption on your wireless network will help you protect your privacy and all your info won’t be floating around outside your home waiting to be picked up by a passerby. It’s important to remember that all your devices on the wireless network will need to have the same encryption. So find the strongest encryption possible that will work on all devices of the wireless network.

Stop the auto-connect feature. Do not allow your devices to auto-connect. Allowing auto-connect may connect to a network that you don’t particularly want. Example, you don’t want your laptop connecting to your neighbor’s network and sending info.

It’s also a good idea that you install firewalls on all devices that connect to the wireless network. Even if the wireless router is firewalled, it’s important to also install firewalls on all computers that are connected to the wifi network. It’s important that these firewalls be set up correctly and block any intrusions that may compromise your wifi network.

Position your wireless router close to the center of your home. Although the reach of wifi networks can vary greatly, it’s important to not allow the signal to float around great distances from the main access point. It virtually impossible to stop all leakage from exiting your home. But minimizing the risk to your wifi network will help to protect it.

Another good idea for wifi network security is to not allow broadcast of the SSID. Your router may have SSID broadcasting set up by default; however you should be able to change this setting in the configuration. This feature is only useful for mobile environments, and is not needed in home wifi networks.

These are just a few tips to securing your wifi network. It’s always a good idea to check for firmware updates to your router as new exploits and vulnerabilities arise. Some routers will have an auto update feature and it’s important to use it. Using auto update will help keep your wifi network secure without the need of remembering to check for updates.

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Get A Personal Loan To Buy Or Upgrade Your Computer. by: Melissa Kellett

2009-03-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

Both the computer and the financial industry are very competitive, thus it is not difficult to find great deals that can save you a lot of money. Sometimes you lack the cash to purchase a new system or upgrade your current one. That’s why Personal Loans are the perfect solution to this kind of problem. Learn why personal loans are the best source of finance.

There was a time when computers where a luxurious item. Only those with a high income could afford getting one. Nowadays, the computer industry has evolved and new products arrive every day driving older ones obsolete. This has greatly reduced the prices but also created the need of upgrading or buying new equipment regularly.

Financing Your Purchase

Thus, the need for finance becomes more marked especially for those with a limited income. Using your credit card is always an option but not the cheapest one and sometimes not available for everyone. If you are buying a new computer, your credit card limit may not let you purchase it through that means. Sometimes your credit card limit would allow it but other expenses may have exhausted your credit.

Using a personal loan to finance the purchase is a much better solution for several reasons. For starters, the interest rate charged for personal loans is significantly lower than that charged by credit card companies. Credit Card holders are used to paying a two digit interest rate that can get as high as 25% while those who request a personal loan may have to pay, in the worst scenario, an interest rate of 10%.

The amount of money you can obtain through a personal loan is significantly higher than your credit card limit (Often, the difference being 5 to 1 in terms of loan amount). If your credit card limit is $1500, chances are you can easily get approved for an unsecured personal loan of $7500. Most pre-approved loan packages that come along with credit cards and an overdraft agreement for your bank account feature that amount ratio.

Another important advantage is that you can repay the loan in many loan installments even lower than the minimum payments on a credit card balance. Moreover, since the loan installments usually come with fixed amounts you can be sure that when the last payment is due, you will have cancelled all your debt and you will have become debt free. Paying credit card minimums, on the other hand, often implies paying only interests while your debt’s principal stays unaffected.

What If I Have Bad Credit?

If your credit is less than perfect you needn’t worry. Most stores that offer personal loans specifically designed for buying their equipment and other non-traditional lenders feature personal loans for people with bad credit, no credit at all and sometimes you can even get approved if you have recently gone through a bankruptcy process. What you need to do is request loan quotes from different lenders and compare rates and fees. Make sure to do this, especially if you have bad credit because the interest rate charged to those with bad credit tends to be higher so it will not hurt you to get the best deal possible.

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