SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS:
If you would like to meet in a small group to discuss one of the following subjects, contact the following people.

We are going to continue on the email lessons with Lesson 5 and Lesson 9 for Beginners by Corinne Higbee at our web page www.bgrcc.com. If you are satisfied you have already mastered these skills, you might want to refresh your Basic Computer Skills by reading Perry Babin at www.bcot1.com/workingwithfiles01.html Working with files is an important skill to see as to:(where did they go???) and how do I find those downloads??? The Lesson 10 does a wonderful job of showing you the files on the computer. The illustrations are clear and easy to understand.

Those of you using Internet Explorer 7, will find that if your Google Tool Bar has it over loaded ,you can uninstall the tool bar and then IE will talk to you about the problems it is having and help you correct them.

www.microsoft.com has help information that you can use for IE7. For the little more advanced you can find excellent help and diagnostic tools at www.majorgeeks.com They have many downloads for your computer and everything at this site is safe for downloading.

Due to the amount of information José has to bring to you, I would like to do some of his introduction here rather than to take away form his time during our meeting.
José Domínguez is a retired CPA making his primary home in the RGV. He is operating his business out of McAllen TX. He basically turned his hobby of video and audio with computers into a successful world wide business. His website http://www.svideo.com/ will introduce you to some of his several hundred products, many are manufactured within his company and others are manufactured exclusively for his company. He created and maintains his web site which is his primary window on the world with customers world wide.

CHANGE YOUR ROUTER PASSWORD!

Here are a couple of the 65 similar headlines from February 16, 2007 news.

Router Hack Attack Could Expose Home Network Users

Symantec and Indiana University have warned of a security weakness that could leave users open to attack through their routers if the devices are left on their default settings. Router manufacturers regularly include with their products materials informing buyers about the need to change their default passwords. How many consumers, though, are tech-savvy enough to heed the warnings?

The Dangers of Default Passwords

Stroll through any neighborhood with an open laptop in hand and you will probably notice your machine automatically connecting to various wireless Internet routers that local residents have set up. If you are given a connection that allows you to surf the Web, chances are very good that you can also assume control over the same network that gave you the access.

Harold Buechly and I have both cruised the park with a laptop on 802.11g wireless and have discovered several open routers that can be associated and connected to without doing a thing. These routers become subject to what is referred to as "War-drivers," that is people who drive around looking for open sites. If your network can be that easily connected then your computer is totally defenseless. You can use encrypted connections to prevent this but that is not the subject of the news that flooded the Internet Friday.

A simple java script can take control of your router and then of course your computer if the router is left with its default user name and password (admin/admin) . Senior Principal Researcher at Symantec, Zulfikar "Zully" Ramzan, said he's been able to get the proof-of-concept code to work on Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear routers, and that one can easily create a single Web site to be able to attack all routers.

Ramzan said that all kinds of home routers are susceptible to the attack - only if their default router passwords haven't been changed. He explained that malicious JavaScript code embedded on the hacker's Web page logs on to the router using really simple default credentials, and then changes the settings.

One of the reasons why people don't change router passwords, according to Ramzan, is that typically router set-up steps do not prompt users to change passwords. As such, many people end up never properly configuring their networking gear at all.

A quick Google for default user name and passwords provided a chart like this for every router!

Router Family Default Username Default Password

RT328, RT338 ISDN Routers - 1234

RM356 Modem Routers - 1234

RT311, RT314, RP114, MR314, RO318 admin 1234

FR314, FR318, FV318 Firewall Routers admin password

FVS318 Prosafe VPN Firewall admin password

DG814 ADSL Modem/Router admin password

FR114P, FR114W, FM114P Prosafe Firewall Routers admin password

Once access has been gained to your router, your DNS (Domain Name Server - where you change the www.name.com to a number 98.162.54.232) can be diverted to a malicious DNS which leads you to sites that can steal information and/or infect your computer. If you haven't changed your router password you really need to - or pay the consequences.