Showing posts with label wireless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wireless. Show all posts

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Hotspots: Surf Anywhere in Canada

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa, Canada


If you have a computer device that has Wifi like a notebook or a cellphone, then you can connect to the internet wirelessly in places that are designated Hotspots.

Here is a website that lists the Hotspots in Canada.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Bluetooth? On Cell Phones?

Computer Coaching for Seniors Toronto Canada

965 AD Jelling, Denmark

Haraald Bluetooth, the king of Denmark and the new King of Norway, sat next to the Jelling Runestone that honoured his mother and father. With a deep sigh he wondered, "Will people remember me after I am gone?"

Present Day, Ottawa Tim Hortons

"Bluetooth??? What's that?" You ask Charlie after he describes all the features of his new cell phone.

"Oh Karl, its the latest thing in phones," Charlie replied.

"OK Charlie, I still don't know what it does."

"Karl, I can't explain it to you. It is too complicated for you to understand."

"Sooo Charlie," you pause looking at him straight in the eyes, "you don't know either."

"Darn you Karl, you found my weakness!!!!!!!"

Bluetooth gives your cell phone the ability to transmit wirelessly to hands-free headphones or even to your hearing aid (if you have the proper accessory).
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bluetooth-hearing-aids.html


If your computer is able to transmit and receive Bluetooth signals, then you can also transfer pictures, video and other data stored on your cellphone to your computer. However, Bluetooth has a short range, so your phone and your computer have to be close in distance to transfer data between them.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Surfing in Public: Part 2 Security

Computer Coaching for Seniors

It is a beautiful day in Montréal and you find yourself and Charlie eating breakfast in a café on St. Denis. Charlie picked this place because it was a WiFi-Hotspot (a place where you can connect to the internet if you have a device that can transmit and receive wireless signals using WIFI).

However, the tranquility of the day is disturbed by a minor dispute that you and Charlie are having.

"But Charlie I can't believe you did that well on your XYZ funds"

"Karl you always doubt me. Here I will logon to my trading account at Bank of Ottawa and show you"

"Charlie it is not important. I believe you. Besides it is not safe to access your accounts here"

And there it was the annoying look of tech superiority that Charlie gave when it came to his computer knowledge.

"Karl you are timid. Trust me I know what I am doing"


You (Karl) were right. When you surf in public you cannot guarantee that the network you are connected to is secure. This goes for wireless or for wired connections. The only place you can guarantee security is in your own home.

Best practice is to not access private data or do financial transactions on a public computer or while surfing in public with your own computer.

If you are using a public computer like in a library you should also think about erasing stored data that the browser collects (like cookies or your surfing history). Below are steps in which you can erase "Private Data"


Internet Explorer
1. Click "Tools/Options"
2. Click "Delete Cookies" button
3. Click "Clear History" button
4. Click "Delete Files" button. A pop up window will appear. Checkmark "Delete all offline content" and click the "Ok" button

Firefox/Opera
1. Click "Tools/Clear(Delete) Private Data"

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Surfing in Public: Part 1 Wifi Hotspot

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

Eastern Canada was beautiful and now you are at your last stop Montréal.

Charlie brought his notebook with him on the trip because he loves to surf the web whereever he goes. He heard that there were a few Wifi Hotspots in Montréal and he wanted to try them out.

Of course the first question that comes to your mind and most people's mind is "What is a Wifi Hotspot?"

Wifi is a means by which you can connect to the internet through a wireless signal. Your portable computer like your notebook or your handheld computer (PDA Personal Digital Assistant) needs a card to transmit and receive a Wifi signal but you also need a physical location that connects you to the internet . This location is called a "Hotspot". A Hotspot can send your wireless signals to the internet and return the responses back to your computer.

Some Wifi Hospots lets you surf for free and some require a membership which cost money.

In the next part we'll talk about the security issue while surfing in public.