Help Desk - 21st April 2006

This week a very naughty reader tries to connect to a WiFi network and another asks about the very important issue of backing up your data.

Q) I have a WiFi enabled laptop and have noticed that there is a connection available near my house. However, it shows up as “security enabled” and I cannot connect to it. Can you tell why ?

From Terry N - Torrevieja

A) l Terry, the first thing I have to tell you is that you really shouldn’t be trying to connect to any WiFi network without the owners express permission.

One of the biggest problems in the WiFi Internet world is what we call “Freeloaders” or “War Drivers” who connect to unprotected wireless networks and use the bandwidth that others are paying for !! Not the nicest or most honest thing to do !!

If you need to connect to the internet then I suggest you either visit an internet café or get a connection in your own property via Telefonica (chance would be a fine thing for most !!) or through a provider like Wi-Surf. From the location you gave, I believe we can provide you with a high spedd broadband internet connection and phone all of your own !! Just visit our website at www.wi-surf.com for more information.

As to the “Security Enabled” issue, this means that the WiFi network you are trying to connect to is using either WEP (Wired Equivalency Privacy) or WPA (WiFi Protected Access) to restrict access to their network to users who have the appropriate “key” or Code”. Without this code you simply will not be able to connect.


Q) I know backing up my files is important but I'm not sure how important it really is ?

From Nigel M - Benidorm

A) A back-up is intended to prevent you from losing your business critical data. Sooner or later, you will loose the data on your computer. The computer's hard disk will crash, an accident will happen, or something such as a severe virus will come along. To assess how important your data is, make a list of all the information you use on your computer. Examples include: customer data, financial information, contact information, letters, company collateral or even recordings. When the list is complete use it to answer the following questions:

Ø Would your business be able to run without the data?
Ø Would your family be able to run without the data !!??
Ø Is the data replaceable and what effort would it take to replace it?
Ø Is it used for strategic planning?
Ø Are you under any customer obligation to retain information?
Ø Are you under any legal requirements to retain the information?

Backing up your data is the only way to protect yourself from all the possible ways you can loose your business data.

The easiest way to do it is to simply use Windows Explorer to select and copy the files you want to protect to a floppy disc, USB Memory stick, tape or CD/DVD.

If you want to get a little more organised (especially important in a business environment) you can use Window’s own integral backup application to schedule and create backups automatically or, alternatively, there are many packages on the market that do a great job. Depending on the importance of your data, you should be backing up either daily or weekly or whenever you change an important file.