Tag: ROUTER

Share Parents in the town of Barrie, Ontario, Canada, want their school district to disable its Wi-Fi network because, they claim, it's making their kids sick. According to a report by The Canadian Press, parents say that, after the district went wireless, kids from 14 different schools displayed symptoms -- including headaches, dizziness, nausea, faster heart rates, memory loss, trouble ...

Of all the people to be threatened via e-mail, high-ranking politicians should be at the bottom of your list -- unless, of course, you have delusions of grandeur. Such delusions are likely what spurred Minnesota native Barry Vincent Ardolf to hack into his neighbor's Wi-Fi network -- unless Ardolf was just aiming for the coveted title of "Weirdest Neighbor Ever." According to Information Week, ...

Share Tinfoil hats are our go-to mocking tool when it comes paranoid conspiracy theorists. But if this little YouTube experiment from MrfixitRick (a.k.a., Rick Crammond) is to be believed, we're wrong to laugh. (At the hat, at least. We're still laughing at the person.) Sci-Art weirdo Rick demonstrates, by way of a cap covered in tinfoil, that the kitchen staple can actually block ...

What's more annoying than Chuck Norris? We're hard pressed to think of much, but, if we really thought about it, a modem-hacking botnet named after the actor/Internet sensation would probably fit the bill. According to PC World, Czech researchers recently discovered a botnet (a network of infected devices that work together to send spam and steal data) that hijacks routers and DSL modems. To do ...

Extras At this point, USB ports and Gigabit Ethernet are standard features in desktops and laptops alike, so we won't waste your time talking about them. There are still a few hardware options worth mentioning, though. Wireless If you're getting a laptop, Wi-Fi is a given. You'll want to make sure you get one with an 802.11n card in it. Wi-Fi is less important in a desktop machine that ...

In the "yet another thing to be paranoid about" category comes a report that nearly 21,000 routers, webcams and VoIP products are wide open to remote attack, simply because their owners have committed the ultimate sin: failing to change the manufacturer's default password for the devices. The study was performed by Ang Cui, a grad student at Columbia University's Intrusion Detection Systems ...

If you're finding your Wi-Fi is flaky, it could be a cordless phone, microwave or another network causing interference. Using your setup software, trying switching the broadcast channel, which is just like switching a TV channel. If your base station has it, try enabling "interference robustness." It will slow speeds a little but ensure a good connection. Now you won't have to steal service from ...

Scientists use computer simulations to model all sorts of things, from the spread of weather patterns to the spread of disease. But a quartet of researchers at the Indiana University School of Informatics are actually using a computer simulation to simulate other computers, attempting to determine how quickly a widespread attack on public Wi-Fi access points would spread across its user base. ...

They always knew it could be done; that a hacker with enough time and processing power could watch your WPA-protected wireless network and, eventually, decrypt your precious datas. In under 15 minutes, though? "Inconceivable!" those hypothetical security experts would say -- but they're about to get a lesson from Wi-Fi wizard Erik Tews. He'll be giving a presentation next week at the PacSec ...

Zlob, one of the most common pieces of malicious software (according to Microsoft), has undergone a frightening transformation. After infecting a victim's PC, Zlob checks to see if the computer is connected to a wireless router (the device that helps create the Wi-Fi hotspot in your house). If connected, then Zlob attempts to gain access by using a list of common and default username and password ...

Engadget reports that Dan Kaminsky, a researcher at IOActive (a computer security company), has created a method to take control of routers, including those manufactured by Cisco's Linksys and D-Link. Called a "DNS rebinding attack," the maneuver uses JavaScript to force your Web browser to change your router's (the device connecting your computer(s) to the Internet) settings, giving a hacker ...