Look for IT over here

Everyone knows that Wi-Fi WEP can be easily hacked, but recently an expolit for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) standard has come to light.

The exploit allows a hacker to “send bogus data to an unsuspecting WiFi client,” completely compromising your Wi-Fi security.

Fortunately there is an easy fix. Jump into your mode/router and switch off Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) as an encryption mode, and use Advanced Encryption System (AES) only. TKIP is the only protocol that the hack applies to.

For more deatil, check out this story.

Having my Asus A636N PDA with wireless built in was a good idea I thought to check the strength of the wireless signal around the house rather than carrying a bulky laptop.

Finding a wifi-scanner that worked on the ASUS A636N took a bit of searching, trial and error. Two that I tried working with Pocket PC 2003, not Windows Mobile 5.0 which the Asus comes with.

MiniStumbler (a cut down version of the brilliant netstumbler program) didn’t work. Neither did WiFiGraph. I didn’t get to try Retina but it looks like a good program.

Also, RW Wifi Scanner supposedly works as well, but I did not try this (Note: this app costs $3.99 whereas all the others are freeware).

I tried WiFiFoFum. It has a nice interface - either a list view or radar view which is prefect for war driving (if you are into that sort of thing). It also has the ability to use the GPS and export the co-ordinates to such formats as TomTom POI, netstumbler so they can then be used in those programs.

The download comes with Compact Framework 2.0 SP2, both which are installed via Active Sync. So if you need to uninstall them for any reason, it can be done easily.

To get this to work with my ASUS A636N, I got into the options menu (once started up), and turned the device off/on. worked without any hassles, and the only other option I would turn on is the aggressive scanning feature so you get real time signal strength updates.

At the time of writing I had not tried the GPS (or export) option.

Overall, a handy little utility to have installed on your PDA to scan wireless networks. It certainly helped me find where the blackspots were in my house.

A credit report is meant to be scrutinized. Unfortunately the populace is only concerned with more credit cards. They have gotten into the internet banking too, using their online credit card heavily. The credit cards have indeed lost their actually purpose.

A very cheap way to extend your Wifi range!

My wireless access point sits down one end of the house, and getting a decent signal is very difficult in all areas of the house. I’ve tried a few different antennas with little or no difference - a complete waste of money. My solution was to add another AP so I had coverage over the whole house.

I have read of a few other (cheap) options. Found one on youtube which looks worth trying …..

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Extend your Wifi range