Joseph Moran

Last week, we looked at how Vista’s Network and Sharing Center (NSC) puts network connection information and configuration options within easy reach. Although the network sharing underpinnings of Vista are similar to XP, the Network and Sharing Center makes configuration in Vista more convenient. This week, we conclude our look at the NSC by examining […]

My Lockbox in ActionMy Lockbox from FSPro Labs is a utility that’s designed to keep your files safe from prying eyes. This free program is compatible with Windows versions from 2000 through Vista. We tested the app on a computer running XP Professional. My Lockbox is a quick and easy install. The wizard will prompt […]

Windows Vista has been out for well over a year now, and it’s no secret that plenty of people have opted to forgo Microsoft’s newest operating system. With the recent release of Vista’s Service Pack 1, this is changing, however. Many people who previously chose to stick with the (relatively) tried and true XP may […]

Before you plunk down your hard-earned money for a smartphone, you’ve got some tough choices to make, and not just about deciding between the Windows Mobile, Palm, or Symbian operating systems. You also have to consider the design of the device—do you go with one that squeezes a keyboard into a conventional phone’s vertical orientation, […]

You may have heard the term NAS, or Network Attached Storage, but if you aren’t entirely clear on what NAS is, how it works and most importantly, how it can benefit your small business, you’ve come to the right place. Data is the lifeblood of firms large and small, and how effectively a business manages […]

Twice in the past week, and many more times before that, I ran into a specific kind of network printer connectivity problem. I suspect many people experience this issue from time to time, so this week we’ll outline the problem and a solution for it. Both of these encounters with this particular problem involved a […]

You may have heard about virtual private networks (VPN), which let you securely link computers using an ordinary Internet connection. The catch is that VPNs can be notoriously difficult to configure and get working properly, especially through broadband routers. But a free software utility called Hamachi will in most cases let you set up a working VPN in just […]

Internet bandwidth is always a finite resource, and that’s especially true of upstream connections, where speeds typically range anywhere from 1/3 to 1/12 that of downloads. And when limited Internet connection bandwidth isn’t used efficiently, you can experience performance problems for certain kinds of applications – like VoIP – that rely on speedy data delivery. […]

When it comes time to buy a mobile phone, many people opt for the PDA-like features of a smartphone over a standard model. Smartphones become even more useful when paired with a mobile data plan that provides Internet access over a cellular carrier’s network. The catch is that mobile data plans can cost a bundle, […]

In our article A Tale of Two Passwords, we looked at two commonly overlooked router-related passwords that can leave your network vulnerable if not configured properly. But it’s not just the seldom-used passwords that many of us neglect — we still manage to ignore or forget there plenty of passwords that we use far more […]

There’s no two ways about it—passwords can be a pain in the… well, you know. Most people would avoid dealing with them if they could and thus engage in some bad password habits, like creating overly simplistic passwords (plus using the same password for everything) and failing to change default passwords. On your broadband router, […]

In Part 1 of our small-business networking story, we talked about the various parts that comprise a basic network. Now it’s time to discuss a wireless network (or WLAN, for Wireless Local Area Network), which serves the same purpose as a wired one: to link a group of computers. Because a wireless doesn’t require costly […]