For cyber criminals, free wireless public networks provide great tools for stealing sensitive data of laptop owners. Users who are therefore not familiar with procedures to secure their computers could become victims of a "channeling" attack, a practice that allows hackers to obtain online banking passwords and other personal information by creating a fake access...
More and more Canadian small businesses are turning to combined systems of wired and wireless networks to improve office productivity. Hybrid solutions allow for more mobility and enable companies to maximize investment in hardware, peripherals and wired networks. Speed is one major reason why companies opt not to go completely wireless at the moment. "If...
More than a decade ago, an EDN article examined the developments that paved the way for the wireless technology era. A March 4, 1993 feature entitled "Digital wireless networks" foresaw the existence of wireless LANs that could operate over infrared or RF channels and predicted that the Federal Communications Commission would allow various frequency-hopping and...
HP unveiled a $2,199 high-definition LCD TV that has built-in 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi radio and standard Ethernet network connections. The new SLC3760N 37-inch MediaSmart high-definition LCD TV can link up with PCs running HP's proprietary software. But because the display only has WiFi radio and not a router, users must secure another Wi-Fi connected device...
IBM has partnered with Xing to develop Kyoku-NAVI S and Kyoku-NAVI II, which are karaoke controllers with built-in WLAN. Users need to only use the machines' touch screens to search a database hosting tens of thousands of songs, by singer, song title or category. Access to the catalogue is made possible by IBM DB2 Everyplace,...
A survey by YouGov revealed that WiFi users hope for more hotspots in more locations. Half of the 253 respondents want WiFi access in trains and a quarter on the tube. Some 86 perecent with laptops, however, do not know how useful having such connection during rush hour. The study also showed that 45 percent...
Cisco has teamed up with Congio to reduce the volume of radio interference around WLAN devices. Cognio's Spectrum Expert for WiFi -- a CardBus device that plugs into a Windows notebook -- can analyze WiFi interference and would complement the company's Wireless Control System. These tools would help companies deploy wireless LANs and manage interference...
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that would label WiFi routers with security warning stickers. The law, which will take effect on October 1, 2007, aims to ensure that consumers would know how to activate security setting on a new home networking equipment. Schwarzenegger also vetoed a bill that would restrict the way the...
ABI Research sees a rise in the demand for consumer electronic products with wireless networking capabilities and an explosive growth for WiFi with a shift in the way entertainment is delivered. The firm expects shipments of WiFi-enabled consumer electronic devices to jump from 40 million this year to 249 million in 2011. The key to...
Free-Hotspot.com plans to start a new campaign that will give people free Internet access, and even phone calls, if they watch a cinema advertisement and answer a two-question quiz later. According to CEO Dan Toomey, the scheme is intended to expand the company's presence in the U.K. Via [theinquirer.net]
Skyriver Communications is extending its fixed wireless coverage in Los Angeles county to include Pasadena and nearby communities such as Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead and El Monte. The company said it now delivers continuous wireless coverage from Palm Springs through Ventura using pre-WiMAX technology. According to Skyriver's VP of Sales Manny Fennessy,...
Trapeze Networks Inc. unveiled its "Smart Mobile" software, which conveys copies of Station Switching Records to each access point in an 802.11 network. The new solution renders local copies of information on Quality of Service policies, firewall protection, and Virtual LAN tags. It enables encryption to be carried out in a distributed manner and it...
The WiFi Alliance plans to certify the interoperability of draft-n products ahead of the full approval of the 802.11n standard. Under the two-phase certification program, the alliance will begin testing the products including baseline features from the standard in the first half of 2007 while the next phase will involve the final ratification, which is...
Wyse Technology Inc. has started shipping its V-Class systems of thin-client computers embedded with 802.11b and 802.11g wireless capabilities. According to David Angwin, a Wyse senior marketing manager in the U.K., WiFi-embedded computers are particularly useful in environments such as airports and schools where Ethernet may not always be available. Although the current setup does...
Information technology has come a long way from what it was 10 years ago. In 1995, people were just getting acquainted with the Internet and Netscape Navigator 1.0. Going to countries like Indonesia and Thailand would mean that a traveller must bring along a medley of devices to ensure his or her laptop would function...