Mac Laptop questions

[iGuy]

Another question, is a computer connected wirelessly vunerable to hackers?  Can someone more easily get your credit card number or cell phone number while using wireless over the road?

Also, can a mouse be connected to the Mac Book Pro and used instead of the track pad.  Recommendations on a mouse would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ryan

[swhitset]

Yes any USB mouse or bluetooth mouse will work with a Macbook Pro.  I think you can now get the Verizon EVDO card for mac.... but you do need to be within Verizon's service area to get it.  I believe it is quite expensive as well.

As far as security is concerned... Wireless is inherently less secure than wired internet, but if you use WPA encryption (not WEP) and a long random password, you are as safe as is possible (most would feel this is sufficient).  However,  and this is a BIG however, if you are connecting to a public access point, there is no way to be sure who else is on that network and how it is being secured.  Many public spots actually simply use a HUB to connect there network together and seeing other people's computers is trivial.  Some people are setting up what is known as VPN's (virtual private networks).  They use these when connecting to public wifi hotspots.  Essentially, what they do is set up an encrypted connection between themselves and some outside server.  All of their internet traffic is routed through that server so that all traffic to and from it is encrypted and cannot be used by a hacker within the local public network.


I would highly recommend the Security Now  Podcast to anybody interested in being more secure.  This is hosted by Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson

Steve

[Mayo]

The point about wireless security while using public access spots (wireless OR wired) is very important and I wish I had I thought of it earlier!

While Internet financial and shopping Web sites are almost always protected by automatically encrypted SSL connections, most other Internet connections are not, including most e-mail services.  And the message itself isn't the only thing sent "in the clear:" the username and password is also sent unencrypted and that Is Not A Good Thing. Any other "surfing" that is done is also easily intercepted by anyone using free software readily available online that can do things like display all the images that are being downloaded by the folks using an unprotected Internet connection. Scary, isn't it?

Fortunately, there are some very effective and relatively inexpensive solutions available and they are very easy to use. I have reviewed the three major "personal VPN" providers (VPN is a very secure encrypted connection protocol used by coprorations and others who care about the security of their online communciations) and I have been using Witopia for months now.

Their personalVPN service is only $40 a year, which is the least expensive I have found. There is no usage limit. An added bonus is that Witopia uses the most secure kind of VPN available through these types of services.  Since Witopia uses the more secure protocol it can take 24-48 hours until the personalized security "certificate" may arrive, but installation is a snap once it does. The service isn't restricted for use while on the road; it can be used with any unprotected Internet connection or to add security to connections that are already WEP or WPA encrypted.  (Keep in mind that WEP/WPA only protects data between the router and computer; from there the data is unencrypted.)  

It is currently not possible to have the VPN connection be automatic or "always-on," so the connection is initiated via an icon in the Finder Menu Bar.  There are three caveats with this system: automatic logging-on needs to be disabled in e-mail programs and Web browsers because the VPN connection needs to be established first. If VPN is in use and the Mac is put to sleep and later awakened, the icon will stilll indicate a secure connection when in actuality it is an open connection. (This is a known software bug in the connection software and it will presumably be fixed sometime in the future; the latest update did not address this issue.)  The "fix" is to use the icon's drop-down menu to disconnect and then reconnect the VPN connection.

Finally, the VPN connection can reduce the download speed between 25-75% in my experience, depending on a number of factors generally beyond our control. This is the price one must pay with any online VPN service that I know of... Witopia's service is the fastest one I have tried. In real life use the speed hit is very tolerable when using a 3MB broadband connection and rarely interferes with normal usage.  The only time it has been somewhat of a problem is when streaming music, but then one shouldn't require VPN for that kind of thing anyway. I keep an IP Address indicator link in the Safari Bookmarks Bar so that I can easily see that I am securely connected when using VPN.

A couple of added bonuses of VPN is that the IP address of the user is changed to one of a number of rotating IP addresses used by the VPN service, so the Internet connection cannnot be traced back to the Dale Gribbles of the world.  (If you don't know who Dale Gribble is, check out King of the Hill.) And the ISP managing your connection can neither intercept your data nor know where you go while online because the data flows through their server while encrypted and isn't decrypted until it exits the VPN server.  This may be important to even "regular folk" who are bothered by ISPs and Google (among others) turning over connection records to the government (sometimes without a legal warrant) that can be traced to specific IP addresses.

Now THAT is really scary!

[swhitset]

Nice job Mayo....

I wanted to mention VPN's but I haven't gotten into them as much as you obviously have.  It always amazes me how many people will worry about their home network's  security, but think nothing about logging on to a hotel's network and doing anything they want with no worries.  

Steve

[iGuy]

Mayo, thank you for taking the time to type out that post. It is very helpful.  Can you explain to me what exactly the IP indicator link does for you?  I don't understand that.

[iGuy]

QUOTE

The existence of an 802.11b device within an 802.11g network typically defaults the entire network to a much lower data speed.

I read the above off of Mayo's Witopia site.  What does that mean?  If a hotel was transmitting a 802.11g wireless internet connection.  And there was someone in the hotel with a laptop using 802.11b it would cause the connection to slow down for everyone in that hotel?

The Witopia link you provided has very helpful info on it.

[Mayo]

The definition of an Internet Protocol Address from Webopedia:

"An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address."

ISPs can assign permanent IP addresses to an account or the IP address can periodically change; an ISP will generally use one system or the other but not both. It is a unique identifier on the Internet akin to a street address. An ISP can keep a log of where an IP address goes on the Web; some ISPs keep the information permanently. This information can be used in law enforcement investigations but someone else will have to explain any other possible reason for the data to be retained because I don't know why the information would have any value to an ISP.

Google has recently been criticized in some quarters because it became public that the company retains records of all the requests made at its Web site.  In other words, any keywords a person has ever entered in the Google search field can be directly linked to the IP address from which the request originated.  Google has not been able to proffer a rational explanation as to why the company finds it necessary to retain this data. But the practice obviously raises serious privacy issues and makes a LOT of people very nervous when they consider the possible implications if the information was sold to other companies or obtained by the government. At the very least there could be some very embarassed folks out there who rue the day they ever Googled "Britney Spears naked."

So if you use that IP address link I provided earlier you can see what your current IP address is.  And if you then use a VPN service and reload the IP address page it will be a totally different IP address. If you cut-and-paste the IP address in the tiny box labeled "Whois: IP or domain name" and  click the "go" button the next browser window will show you detailed information about the IP address.  It won't identify the account user by name, but it will show the public Whois directory information on the ISP that controls the IP address.

In Witopia's case it would probably be one of a bank of IP addresses assigned to a server in the Washington D.C. area. (That might change when the company adds another server I believe is planned for the west coast of the United States.) If I entered my own IP address it would identify Charter Communications as the ISP and that the server is located on the west coast.

(The IP address identifier page also has another field labeled "My public IP is."  If you click the button it will show IP addresses that are otherwise hidden by other ineffective methods that are sometimes used to mask a user's IP address.)

[Parker]

QUOTE

Also, can a mouse be connected to the Mac Book Pro and used instead of the track pad. Recommendations on a mouse would be appreciated.

three words...
BLUETOOTH MIGHTY MOUSE

"Thank you, come again!"

[Reiddm]

QUOTE(gailwin @ Aug 28 2006, 11:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

three words...
BLUETOOTH MIGHTY MOUSE

"Thank you, come again!"

That I totally agree with, my wife loves her mighty mouse, got scared when it first came out, quite a few people had trouble with them but our’s works without any flaws, according to another Mac web site “follow the installation instructions and do not deviate”!

[daryl66]

More fuel for your fire, may want to look here. wireless stuff From the latest "macworld"

Daryl

[iGuy]

Very good read, Daryl.  Thanks for the link.  It was very helpful.  I am now going to check out EVDOinfo.com which was supplied in that MacWorld article.

[kps]

Very good info in this thread and I wish better technology existed when I was trucking...instead, all I had to deal with were $700 per month usage bills on a $3500 'bleeding edge' cell phone the size of a compact car.  'Roaming" wasn't cheap back then.


So with that intro, let me throw in my 2 cents worth. The problem with being on the 'bleeding edge' is that it's unproven and unreliable technology costing huge dollars.

My advice would be to keep-it-simple initially and go with prepaid WiFi access at truck stops. If that proves to be inadequate, then consider some of the other more costly options.






















10-4 (?) abd

[Xairbusdriver]

Interesting thread, as I may be in the market for a replacement of Judy's iBook soon. Hopefully, it will be a second generation MacBook ( with most of the early troubles fixed ). And the VPN info is certainly important. Although we use only a wired connection at home, I can see how it might benefit both Macs on our little network.

So, a question that may be answered at the Witopia site that I'm too lazy to read first! How does the VPN change an IP address that is "behind" a router? No, wait, the address I've seen reported is actually the ISP assigned address, not the routers. So VPN must do some 'tricks' with the packets sent over the wire/air?
I'll go look at that site, now...

OK, that helps, but it also raises another question:

QUOTE

To allow you to use all Internet resources, we assign you a completely random WiTopia Internet address and decrypt your data to its destination (so your intended party can make sense of it).

That sounds like the "secure" pathway is only between me and the Witopia server. They decrypt everything and send it on to the desired address. So, how is that more secure, except that no one between me and my ISP server can 'monitor' my traffic? OK, my ISP server may be several states away and that creates thousands of possible places to snoop, I guess. But there may be even more stops/routes from Witopia's server to the final destination. And, of course, the final destination may not be secured at all.

I was wondering how Witopia hadnled decrypting things at whatever the destination might be, apparently that is simply not possible, unless both parties are using Witopia.

[swhitset]

ABD... you have goten the jist of it however, I think you may be missing the point a little bit.  When you surf from home... You control the local network and who has access to it.  Therefore you can be relatively secure in the knowledge that your network is safe.   If you are using a wireless connection at home... you are using WPA with a good password etc.... If you are using a wires only network even better.  You must always trust somebody, and in this case it is your ISP.  However, when you connect to someone else's network all that security is gone.  You have no Idea who else is on that network and what they may be doing.  As mayo has said above... most email connections including the login are not secured.  Therefore anybody INSIDE that network connection can very easily sniff your email password etc... and use them at any future date that they wish.  The purpose of the VPN is to give you a secure encrypted pathway OUT of the unsecure local network and onto the internet.  Once you get out of the local network, your traffic is protected (or not) in the same way any other internet traffic is handled.

In fact one way many people implement a VPN without using a third party server, is to use software to start a VPN between themselves connected from some outside source (like a hotel, starbucks etc...)  and their home computer network.   They set up an encrypted connection to their home network (which is inherently more secure) and then surf out to the internet via the home internet connection.  The down side of this is twofold, One this is rather complex to set up and requires a rather good home router on a static IP.  It also has quite a speed hit since you are literally surfing to your home network and then depending on the upload speed of your home internet connection to serve web pages files etc.... to you at your remote location.

Steve

[Mayo]

QUOTE

So VPN must do some 'tricks' with the packets sent over the wire/air?

No tricks... it's just the IP address of the VPN server(s).

If you want absolutely secure Internet data transfer then the data needs to be encrypted in both directions.  Since e-mail is used the most and can contain sensitive info it is relatively easy to encrypt messages going in both directions using software like PGP. Of course, both parties must be encrypting their e-mail. In most online financial transactions the data is encyrpted using SSL in both directions. In all other instances where the data isn't being transferred entirely via VPN servers or using SSL there will always be some point where the data will not be secure.

To return to the original subject... I always recommend David Pogue's "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition" for Mac newbies.