Protect your Computer Performance: WIFI Security basics and Registry Cleaning 101

By default, a wireless-ready laptop or PC running Windows XP will connect to “Any available network” and “Automatically connect to non-preferred networks”. Convenient? Yes. But very risky. Computer Protection is becoming more complicated in the digital world, In fact, there are so many criminals moving their business endeavors to the Internet that Cyber crime is now a more lucrative business than drugs. Wireless invasions on your computer or laptop are a terrific way for a cyber criminal to breach your security. Invading your system with viruses, malware, spyware, or whatever it might be to help promote their cause. This clearly is a breach of privacy and more importantly could compromise computer performance or all together health. Taking some simple precautions when out and about is an easy way to avoid wireless bandits. Below these steps are additional steps on improving your performance by maintaing your computer’s registry.
Precautions to avoid the random Wireless bandits:

1. If using the Windows Classic Start menu, click Start | Settings | Control Panel. If using the default Windows XP Start menu, click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Network Connections icon to view network connections.
3. You may have several connection options listed. Right-click the icon for “Wireless Network Connection” and choose Properties.
4. In the Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog box, select the Wireless Networks tab.
5. If the “Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings” is not checked, third-party connection software may be in use. Consult that product’s documentation to determine how to disable automatic wireless connections. If the “Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings” is checked, then continue with the steps below.
6. Under Preferred networks, highlight the name of the network to which you plan to connect and click Advanced.
7. In the Advanced dialog box, click “Access point (infrastructure) networks only”.
8. Remove the check mark from “Automatically connect to non-preferred networks”.
9. Click Close.
10. Click OK.
11. Close the Network Connections window by clicking the X in the upper right corner of the window.

There are some terrific registry cleaning software’s out there. I know Cyberdefender is about to launch a registry product, which has some buzz, and Error Nuker is well reviewed. I don’t endorse either, but simply trying to give my readers a starting point.

COMPUTER REGISTRY 101

Just in case you don’t know, all computers running Windows have something called a registry. You can think of your computer registry as a living archive, constantly updating and keeping track of everything. Its knowledge ranges from everything about what you installed, ran and scheduled to all of your user accounts and passwords needed to log on to your machine. To manually clean your registry using the Windows Registry Editor, first create a backup of the registry, and then remove unnecessary files:

• On the desktop, click the Start button on the left bottom corner
• Click Run
• A new window to “run” commands
• Type regedit
• Click OK
• At the top of the window click File
• Go down to Export
• Type a name for the backup file, and click Save

After creating a backup of your registry, you can go to the left side of the registry editor window and view how your computer is configured.
Click on the plus sign to expand a section of the registry editor. A “well-used” area for anyone manually deleting registry files is “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.” This area is used to make registry changes to hardware and software. I will do some registry cleaner reviews in the coming posts.

Free WiFi Beaters: Help Keep Your PC Safe in Hotspots

In recent years, free WiFi has been all the rage in amenities for hotels, motels, libraries, dorms, and… fast food? Consumers love their laptops and want to take them with them when they travel, work out of the office, and, apparently when they eat at Burger King. In the future, free WiFi will just be one of those things we expect when we go to a hotel, like a remote control or the Gideon Bible.

So when you’re out enjoying your juicy burger and keeping updated on the WOW message boards, how do you know if the WiFi you’re borrowing is safe? Well, the short answer is: you don’t. We would like to think that if a large corporation is in charge of the free WiFi hotspot, we’re protected. Hopefully that is true. But when you’re using someone else’s stuff, you’re taking a risk, pure and simple.

The best way to protect yourself is abstinence. But I’m going to guess that if you’re reading this, you’re more interested in using the free WiFi and limiting the risks. The first clue to whether you’re being protected is the log-on. This can be seen as rather annoying—having to identify yourself, possibly create a new username, password, register, etc.—when all you want to do is open your browser and type in an address. But identification of who is using the network is crucial. Otherwise it’s like opening up the doors and letting anyone in, to do anything they want—hey, isn’t that the same principle behind increased security at malls, schools, airports, and the like? Yes, it is.

Am I seriously comparing school shooting and terrorism tragedies to free WiFi hotspots? Yes. You’ve seen how those events have changed things—tighter security, locked doors that require one to be buzzed in, and citizens urged to report suspicious activity and packages left unattended. Knowing who is using something is important! So expect for some basic information to be asked of you when you log on to a WiFi network outside of your home.

Look for a good TOS (Terms of Service). I’m not going to bore you with the obvious thing that most of us don’t do anyway—reading it—but chances are good that without a TOS, you’re just giving your personal information away to a criminal or at least making it available for one looking for an opportunity.

Make sure your computer’s antivirus software is up-to-date so if anything tries to sneak in on your free ride, your personal protection will catch it. Keep common sense things in mind—if you wouldn’t open something or click on something in the privacy of your own home, certainly do not open it just because you’re in a free WiFi spot and you’re curious. Remember: curiosity killed the kitty!

Finally, when you’re done “enjoying” (i.e. being completely paranoid that you’re going to discover something has managed to sneak in, as soon as you get home and re-establish with your home network) your free WiFi, log off. Let me say it again because, though it’s obvious, it is often overlooked since so many home users with broadband connections don’t ever do it: log off! Terminate your connection with the WiFi and power down, folks. And don’t let ketchup get stuck between the keys! It’s a you-know-what to clean up….