D-Link Consumer Hardware.. Alert

After implementing and testing a new D-Link wireless router + wireless card solution I have come to the conclusion that no-one should be using Consumer D-Link hardware in any environment.

No-one should be using Consumer D-Link hardware

In this test I bought a DI-624 108 router. I have also used two DWL-G650 Wireless access cards

I bought this combination of hardware as I believed that it would fit in well with my home and provide as reliable internet and wireless solution.. Boy I was wrong..

I should start by listing out the problem one by one:

DI-624 issues:
- continues PADT errors forcing the ADSL line to drop its link and restart.
- The router after a day or two will stop forwarding on DHCP Packets.
- The router Drops its wireless clients very frequently. (and the base station is only a few meters away)
- Any kind of heavy throughput such a program that uses multiple connections will eventually force a PADT error.
- Hostnames on the local network when requested are first searched for on the internet.

DWL-G650
- The encryption executable does not resume after laptop is put in to suspend mode..
you have to go into your "services" and manually restart it.
- Frequent Dropouts. Could be related to the above DI-624 issues.

Ok so I said I would show you guys how I changed my Blog URL without having to pay for it.

I used a free service from No-IP.com

Its called a web redirect and works like this..

I setup a new web redirect using a URL address that i like. In this case i've used http://joejoeinc.hopto.org now when people type in this address to a web browser no-ip.com will redirect the request to my actual website hosted on the Ihug servers.

Its a pretty simple process and makes it alot easier for people to reach my website because they don't have to remember an address that is over 25 characters long.

Windows XP backups

I was recently asked the other day What types of backups are available in Windows XP and how can i save space with backups.

The Windows Backup (Microsoft Backup) program supports five methods of backing up data on your computer or network.

Copy backup.
A copy backup copies all selected files but does not mark each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). Copying is useful if you want to back up files between normal and incremental backups because copying does not affect these other backup operations.
Daily backup.
A daily backup copies all selected files that have been modified the day the daily backup is performed. The backed-up files are not marked as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared).
Differential backup.
A differential backup copies files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It does not mark files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). If you are performing a combination of normal and differential backups, restoring files and folders requires that you have the last normal as well as the last differential backup.
Incremental backup.
An incremental backup backs up only those files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It marks files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). If you use a combination of normal and incremental backups, you will need to have the last normal backup set as well as all incremental backup sets in order to restore your data.
Normal backup.
A normal backup copies all selected files and marks each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). With normal backups, you need only the most recent copy of the backup file or tape to restore all of the files. You usually perform a normal backup the first time you create a backup set.

Quantum dot mixture takes LED lighting to a new level

LED Lightblub

When you shine a light on quantum dots or apply electricity to them, they react by producing their own light, normally a bright, vibrant color. But when Bowers shined a laser on his batch of dots, something unexpected happened.

LEDs produce twice as much light as a regular 60 watt bulb and burn for over 50,000 hours.

Where to Place Surround Speakers

Ecoustics

"The fundamental reason for side placement of surround speakers, aside from the fact that Dolby Labs advise it, is that the 5.1-channel soundtracks for movies are mixed with the surround speakers above ear level at each side of the mixing theater or studio"

also

Browsing the Internet Why use Internet Explorer anymore?

Browsing the internet these days tends to be a little dangerous if you don't know what your doing... Ads everywhere.

Mozilla is a Newer Web browser that is free and also happens to be very good... I now use it to browse over 99% of the time its just as fast as IE (Internet Explorer) but also contains a few extra goodies that IE doesn't.

Such as:
Pop up blocker - Stops Most of the pop up ads that you may get when browsing while still allowing sites such as banking sites to work normally..

Tabbed browsing - open more than one page in the same browser

Google search - you can search google straight out the install.

Import your favorites - when you install Mozilla Firefox for the first time you are able to import you exsisting favorites from IE

Advice from the Geek who Knows.

I use Mozilla Firefox at home and at work (in fact I'm using it to post to this blog right now) its faster and more secure then Internet Explorer.. I would recommend to my friends that you use it.

friends if you need help using this software you can chat to me live on MSN messenger most nights.. (don't have msn messenger? go here)

The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security

Browsing the net i tumbled across this very interesting arctile on The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security

I've read thru the entire document and would tend to agree with the approach in fact i've mentioned a few times that anti-virus software would be better off switching to the deny default approach as mentioned in the article.

"The opposite of "Default Permit" is "Default Deny" and it is a really good idea. It takes dedication, thought, and understanding to implement a "Default Deny" policy, which is why it is so seldom done." - MJR