Securely share Wi-Fi connectivity with other devices

We've gone over the risks of using a Wi-Fi network that is insecure. But what if you want to connect with devices and do so securely? This is usually the case when one wants to 
1. Provide wireless internet to a group of users who cannot access a restricted part of your Local Area Network (LAN). This can be called public access wireless internet users (even though it may not permit the general public to access the LAN).
2. The restricted part of your LAN contains your NAS, some PCs, and other devices. The restricted part needs to exchange files among other devices on the restricted part but not with devices on the public access side.
Let’s assume that you want to do wireless access on the restricted side. There are two ways to do this that come to mind. Purchase a router that supports at least 2 LAN subnets via wireless access points. The Adtran Netvanta 3120 with their Netvanta 150 wireless access point will do this; a Motorola WS 2000 will also do this. Configure subnet # 1 for restricted users and give it a subnet like 192.168.10.0/24 (24 means 24 bit subnet mask of 255.255.255.0); configure subnet # 2 for public users ADN give it a subnet like 192.168.20.0/24. Use the MAC address of the restricted devices to permit these devices onto the 192.168.10.0/24 subnet which will automatically put these devices in the proper subnet. All other devices will be automatically sent to 192.168.20.0/24. With separate subnets the 2 groups are separated in their own virtual LANS or VLANS. Have your existing router and wireless strongly secured including MAC address validation, WPA or WPA2 with strong pre-share key. Note the subnet you have with this router (probably 192.168.0.0 / 24 or 192.168.1.0 / 24; no need to change, just note it. Purchase a second wireless router and give it a different subnet, something like 192.168.20.0/24 and do not provide security on it.

Anti-virus for mobile devices

The rules for virus protection are more or less similar to those that hold true for PCs. Popular PC anti virus names also have solutions for mobile phones. Among them the most popular are F-Secure. You can access this at mobile.f-secure.com. Once you click on this link, you need to select the phone you use and then download the appropriate file. You will find the experience familiar with it downloading the virus database the first time. F-Secure is an all-in-one suite and serves as an anti-theft application, anti-spyware and firewall in addition to being an anti virus. Click on the link that says try on the bottom right of the home page and you will be asked to register yourself. Fill in your name, country and email address. That is all the information they require of you. A download link is promptly sent to your email address. F-Secure also lets you run a real-time scan of your mobile. If it finds a virus in real time, it will prompt you. You can choose between viewing the file or deleting it. Another popular mobile anti-virus is Kaspersky Labs' mobile solutions. You can download the application at www.kaspersky.com/mobile_downloads.

Fight Web Fraud With a Spam Email Blocker

Why is having a good spam email blocker so important? As Gartner Predictions reported, "By the end of 2007, 75% of enterprises will be infected with undetected, financially motivated, targeted malware that evaded their traditional perimeter and host defenses." There is no doubt that criminal activity on the Internet is on the rise, and anyone who uses the Internet or email is a potential target. Businesses are at particular risk for web fraud because the vast potential for theft of both money and resources-and access to many more victims. However, many of these web fraud attempts are conducted via spam email and can be stopped with a managed anti-spam package with a spam email blocker.


At the 2007 FTC Spam Summit, experts noted that bots had compromised nearly 12 billion computers around the world by 2006. Bots use these compromised computers to send about 95% of the spam that is sent out. Without a high quality spam email blocker on your side, one of your company's computers could be one of those used to perpetrate web fraud. Even if not, your company can fall victim to cyber criminals who steal your private information or send viruses that can potentially shut down your whole system.


A Spam Email Blocker can Save the Day
An email blocker, particularly if it is part of a managed anti-spam package, will stop web fraud in its tracks, ousting spam emails before they can make their way into your environment to cause their damage. When the task of filtering spam is left to employees, hours of productivity can be lost and viruses can still get through. If an unsuspecting user opens an innocuous looking email and triggers a virus that is sent to everyone in their contact list, the virus can spread through your company and beyond in a matter of minutes. That same user may have just opened up your entire system to a cyber criminal to steal your information and use your computers to send out more malicious spam.


With the increasing prevalence of web fraud today, using a managed spam email blocker is one of the best investments you can make to ensure the security of your company's computer systems, information and employees. For a low monthly fee, you can have the best anti-spam experts fighting on your side in the war against Internet crime, with sophisticated spam email blockers in their arsenal.