Why should I use a NAS?
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A NAS is a device that sits on your home network, and it allows your to have a centralized location for all your files to sit. NAS stands for Network Area Storage, and that’s exactly what it does. It is a self contained box that plugs into your home netowrk, normally into your switch or router, and it provides a place to dump common files.
People use NAS devices for storing Photos, Music, Movies, and other programs. Some NAS devices will allow you to have access to the files from remote locations as well.
These devices can be used in a variety of configurations, and normally hold atleast 2 Hard Disks. They will allow for RAID configurations, such as:
RAID 0 – Striping – Faster Data access as data is written across both disks.
RAID 1 – Mirroring – copies the files from Disk 1 to Disk 2
RAID 5 – Striped Disks with Parity – Copies the information across the disks, but keeps one for parity information. Requires 3 disks at a minimum.
RAID 1+0 – Mirrored Data Set which is Striped – Minimum of 2 Disks needed.
Most NAS devices will only allow for 2 Disks (drive bays) to be added to the unit, but there are 3 disk versions which are normally a lot more expensive.
Having a NAs in your network is a great way to not only share files across multiple computers, but also to have a place to store files, so they are not residing on your personal pc. The best application is to use the NAS to store images of your hard drive, so if you ever experience a crash, your data can easily be recovered.
So what do you use your NAS for? Do you have a favorite manufacturer?
A NAS is a device that sits on your home network, and it allows your to have a centralized location for all your files to sit. NAS stands for Network Area Storage, and that’s exactly what it does. It is a self contained box that plugs into your home netowrk, normally into your switch or router, and it provides a place to dump common files.
People use NAS devices for storing Photos, Music, Movies, and other programs. Some NAS devices will allow you to have access to the files from remote locations as well.
These devices can be used in a variety of configurations, and normally hold atleast 2 Hard Disks. They will allow for RAID configurations, such as:
RAID 0 – Striping – Faster Data access as data is written across both disks.
RAID 1 – Mirroring – copies the files from Disk 1 to Disk 2
RAID 5 – Striped Disks with Parity – Copies the information across the disks, but keeps one for parity information. Requires 3 disks at a minimum.
RAID 1+0 – Mirrored Data Set which is Striped – Minimum of 2 Disks needed.
Most NAS devices will only allow for 2 Disks (drive bays) to be added to the unit, but there are 3 disk versions which are normally a lot more expensive.
Having a NAs in your network is a great way to not only share files across multiple computers, but also to have a place to store files, so they are not residing on your personal pc. The best application is to use the NAS to store images of your hard drive, so if you ever experience a crash, your data can easily be recovered.
So what do you use your NAS for? Do you have a favorite manufacturer?
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Which type of Wireless Security is best?
If you remember a little while back I wrote an article on wireless security and I briefly mentioned that you should make sure that its turned on, and I mentioned that at a minimum you need to have WPA.
Now is the time to explain the differences between the different types so you can understand why I make the recomendations that I do.
There are 3 main types of Wireless security for your router. They are WEP, WPA and WPA2.
WEP Encryption – (Wired Equivalent Privacy) 1997
This form of security has a few flaws. The most noticeable being that the encryption is done in plain text. It can be set to handle 64 bit encryption and 128 bit as well. This format uses RC4 for its traffic key. This is a very short key, and requires less packets to determine the network password.
Tests have been done on secured WEP Networks, and the key was determined in about 1 minute. There are software packages that are readily available for people to download in order to hack into this type of network. The latest ports have even been setup for the iPhone. The info I saw showed an iPhone hacking a network in less than 2 minutes.
WPA – (WiFi Protected Access) 1999
This is still using the RC4 stream, but the key type was changed to TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol). This was designed to replace the older, failing WEP format. This format was designed to fix some of the flaws from WEP, but still needed to communicate with the older hardware. This meant that a flaw was available for hacking in order to find the key. This flaw is only able to decrypt short packets that were known to contain data.
WPA2 – 2006
This is a newer protocol, and might not work with all the older equipment that is still in some networks. Some hardware will need to be replaced, or if you are lucky just have the firmware updated.
Based on the WPA format, WPA2 uses a much stronger advanced encryption standard, rather than RC4.
With WPA2 being the stronger format available, this is the best option for your network. While nothing can ever be truly secure, there are steps that you can take to make it harder for hackers to retrieve your personal data.
1. SSID (Service Set IDentifier) – try not to use common words or names for your network. Use random letters B2BIR or pick an acronym that you can remember. ROY G BIV, JJASONDJFMAM, or SOHCAHTOA works for me.
2. Once you have the network setup there should be an option to disable broadcast of your SSID. This is why having a random acronym that you can remember makes it easier for you to enter your credentials
3. Turn on the MAC (Media Access Control) Filter. This means that only approved MAC addresses are allowed to connect to your network.
*note – While 99% of network cards have this information hard coded onto the hardware, there are some network cards allow you to type in your own MAC Address for the card. This is primarily used to hack networks and to bypass licensing restrictions for software. I own one of these cards, and they are extremely handy for those situations*
4. Change your Network Key in intervals, ie every 3 – 7 days. This is a manual process and requires all clients to update as well.
5. Use a NetBEUI protocol for file sharing (Advanced users only). As most people do not have this option enabled, and rather than using the IP address of the machine it uses the computer name to authenticate.
6. While setting up the DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) on the router, set the available amount of licenses that it delivers to the exact number of machines on your network.
7. Don’t use 192.168.0.1 as your default address for your router.
8. Change the admin login and password on your router.
While some of these are basic and should be done, others are more advanced, and unless you feel comfortable, should be avoided, or you might need a professionals help you to set these options in place. I am not able to post screen shots for setup as there are hundreds of manufacturers, and each one does things just a little bit differently.
I am happy to help you as much as I can through the comments, or I can do some consulting for you to assist with your setup.
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Is your Wireless Network secure?
Hello again!
I came across this issue the other day, as I recently moved into a new area. I didn’t have my Internet Connection setup, and I was just logging into my laptop to use my iPhone as a tethered device, so I could check my email, and surf a little as well.
Low and behold, I saw 10 different networks in my area. 9 of the 10 were secure. 7 using WPA and 2 using WEP. Of the 2 my preference is on WPA.
WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access. This protocol was created after problems were found with the security of the WEP protocol. WEP stand for Wired Equivalency Privacy.
If you have a wireless router at home, and you are unsure if you network is secure, you can login to your router and check wireless security. There will be a setting there for WPA, and it will ask you to generate a passphrase or a key depending on the router.
Once this key is generated you will be able to add this to your connection, and know that your network is more secure, as people will need this key in order to log in to your network.
As I am writing this, I am logged into an unsecured network, and I am able to see all the other PCs that are on the network for this user. I may or may not be able to log in to each PC, but I am still able to access the Internet, and if you have a limit on bandwidth, then other people might start large downloads, or play games, watch movies etc. All the time they spend on the Internet is on your dime!
If you have any questions about securing your wireless network, leave a comment, and I will do my best to answer your questions.
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Categories: Computers, Hardware, Tips and Tricks Tags: Networking, WiFi
How can I tell what type of CPU or RAM I have?
There is a great free little tool that you can use to find out some important information about your computer. This is a little freeware program that gives you some specifics about your computer, that you don’t have to go digging to find.
I use a program called CPUz. This program gives a wealth of information about your core system, so you know just what you have.
you can get the program here: CPUz
After installing the program, it will immedately get your system specs for you, so you can see all the important information about your system
The CPU tab will show you your processor, and the speeds that it runs at:
The Memory tab will show you the timings of your RAM and the amount that you have installed:
The SPD tab will show the size of each stick, and the type that you have. This is the information that you will need in order to go to your local computer store to purchase more.
Remember that your computer mother board might not accept certain types of RAM, and certain sizes. This means that you need to also know what type of mainboard your computer has installed as well. This information is on the Mainboard tab.
If you need help to figure out what all these numbers are, I would suggest that you print off the images that CPUz generates of your computer, and take them with you to your local computer store. The sales associates should be able to help you get the right kind of RAM for your system.
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How much RAM do I have?
Have you ever been told:
“You’re computer would run so much better if you just had more RAM”
What does this mean? RAM is the memory that your computer uses to actively work on something. Your computer also stores information on your Hard Disk, but the more RAM you have the better.
Think of it this way, your RAM is like your desk that you work at, and it only has so much space that you can use. After its filled up, all the information needs to be filled into that shiny filling cabinet behind you. It’s a pain to take files to and from the filing cabinet, but it has to be done, as your desk is only so big.
What if you could increase the size of your desk? Then you would need to make less trips to the filing cabinet. The same is true if you have more RAM.
How can you check how much RAM you have? Well you can see this information in your task manager and its the most helpful there, so lets have a look there. You can right-click on your taskbar and choose “Task Manager”
This will bring up your Task Manager. This is what your Task Manager looks like.
Where it says “Physical Memory” this is the amount of RAM that you have installed on your PC. The PC that I am using to write this has 8 GB of RAM, and 2.26 GB of it is in use at the moment.
If you notice that your graph is almost at the top, then you are maxing out the RAM, and you might want to consider putting more in.
There are some other tricks that you can do to squeeze out a bit more from your system, but we’ll save those for another time.
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