Connecting computers to the internet and each other.
With Wi-Fi security, it’s easy to fall into the “out of sight, out of mind” trap. Your Wi-Fi router probably lives in a corner or closet, and of course, Wi-Fi’s radio waves are invisible. But the ease of connecting your devices to your Wi-Fi network means it’s equally as easy for a hacker to connect … Read more
Are you still using an Apple AirPort Time Capsule as either your router or as a destination on which you store your Time Machine backups? If so, you should consider replacing it since Apple discontinued the product in 2018 and provided the last significant upgrade to the Time Capsule in 2012.
Read moreAre you still using an Apple AirPort wireless router to create your home’s Wi-Fi network? If so, you are overdue for a replacement. Apple last’s major upgrade to their AirPort products was around 2012 when they introduced products that supported the fourth generation Wi-Fi protocols. Apple discontinued all AirPort products in April 2018. Not surprisingly, … Read more
Have you noticed wireless networks named XFINITY, xfinitywifi or CableWiFi? Does your Mac keep connecting to these networks? Here’s an explanation about what these wireless networks are as well as some information about when you might want your Mac to connect to these networks.
Read moreDo you know that your Mac automatically builds a list of every wireless network to which it has been connected? When your Mac wakes up, it scans the airwaves to see which networks are available and then runs through this list of known networks trying to find a match. For this reason, you should make sure that … Read more
Do you know how fast your Internet connection is? What is the unit used for measuring Internet connection speeds? How fast does your Internet connection need to be if you want to stream a movie from Netflix or a similar service?
Read moreWould you like to know more about the strength of your Mac’s wireless (Wi-Fi) connection? If so, hold down the Option key and click on the Wi-Fi menu located near the clock in the upper right corner of your Mac’s screen. You’ll notice that additional details about your currently selected wireless network are displayed. I should … Read more
Are you a residential customer using Comcast’s Xfinity High-Speed Internet service? If so, you can easily monitor your monthly data usage. Historically, Comcast has monitored and capped monthly data usage. As people increasingly stream videos using AppleTVs and iPads and backup the MacBook laptops to the cloud using online backup services, more users were approaching … Read more
Update December 2016 – CenturyLink, WaveG and Frontier Communications have offered fiber-optic based Internet service for a while. Service is not available in all neighborhoods and towns. Use the links, above, to check availability in your neighborhood. I’m not aware of any smaller players who are offering such service. Update: January 2014 – Seattle’s deal with Gigabit … Read more
Do you have children? Would you like to configure your home network to easily block adult content? Here’s an easy and affordable way to set up adult content filtering for all Macs, PCs, iPhones and iPads on your network. Sign-up for the free OpenDNS Home service.
Read moreDo you use your laptop on public wireless (wi-fi) networks? Do you own a business and want to give remote staff a way to securely connect to your office network? If so, then you should know about VPNs.
Read moreDo you want to create a network in your home or office without having to pull wires through the walls? Do you want to improve the coverage of your wireless network easily? Then you should know about Netgear’s Powerline Network Adapters.
Read moreHere’s an easy way to determine the default password for many routers. You might need to know your router’s default password if you forget or don’t have a record of your router’s current password or if you end up resetting the router to its factory defaults.
Read moreYou can use these instructions to retrieve any saved password from your keychain, such as the password to your wireless network. The keychain is a secure place to store passwords.
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