Welcome to RAL Systems Tech Tips. In this section you will find various articles, links, and resources related to hardware, software, and web design. I will also include a software “download of the month” that I have found useful or interesting. How it works:

• + Click on an area of the site such as System Repair
• + Scroll down and browse through the tips and information
• + Click comments to leave a reply or ask a question about a particular topic

That’s it! My goal here is to bring together the best information and resources on different computer-related topics into one area for you.

With its recent release of the Vista operating system, Microsoft has continued its long succession of code-bloated, feature copying, imgination destroying OS’s. Don’t get me wrong, I use Microsoft products just as much as the next guy. Why, you ask? Well, unfortunately, most alternatives won’t give me the features I need. (more…)

Want to install a wireless network in your home or office? Your number one concern should be security. Wireless networks are vulnerable to attack because information is being sent through the air as radio signals and can be intercepted. Just like everyone in town can listen to the same radio station, people within range of your wireless router can pick up its signal and tap into your network. If you have file sharing or other options enabled on computers in your wireless network, these files and resources will be vulnerable if your network is not secure. Some terms you will run across when dealing with wireless encryption and security are:

• + WEP
• + WPA
• + WPA 2
• + TKIP

Each of these has benefits and drawbacks. WEP (Wired Equivalency Privacy). This was the original standard for wireless security. However it is the most unsecure method to date with many flaws and vulnerabilities. According to Wikipedia, an FBI group used publicly available tools to crack a WEP encrypted wireless network in three minutes in 2005. (more…)