Techization

UW-Stout’s e-Scholar program has come under fire early this summer.  An editorial in the Leader-Telegram talks about the cost in having a school-issued laptop for their four-years at UW-Stout.  It cites the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill that pay a fraction of what UW-Stout students do.  The editorial makes some good points, however it’s not a 100% accurate comparison.

UW-Stout is substantially more than UNC because of how the program is designed.  UNC is almost a more ala carte offering where students can choose from 4 different PC’s and isn’t required to be pre-loaded with all software the university has licenses for.  This is where most of the cost is incurred, software.  UW-Stout’s laptops are packed with professional, top-notch software that is often hundreds of dollars each by themselves.   Some of these packages include AutoCAD from Autodesk, Symantec Anti-Virus, Adobe Design Premium, Microsoft Office, and Rosetta Stone.  That’s not even the complete list!  The software offered from UW-Stout is quality, but it could be improved in the way they issue it to students.

UW-Stout has stated it would be more costly to split the software so certain software is installed on computers for students who will actually use it.  I have never once, in my three academic years, open up AutoCAD.  Why?  I’m not an engineer nor apparel design major and have no idea how to use it.  It may be installed on my machine, but it holds no real value to me as a student.  I could probably scrap about half of what is installed on my laptop because of two reasons; I’m not trained on its use or I have no interest/need for the piece of software.  This is one area where UW-Stout should evaluate its procedures.

Is this the most cost-effective method for students?  Or, could UW-Stout get by with less licenses and only install it only on certain laptops for particular majors.  I presume it has to do with how the contracts are structured with Vanguard Computers, the supplier for UW-Stout’s e-Scholar program. 

Students should be able to bring their own computers, right?  Students can bring them, but are still given a laptop from UW-Stout.  It does have multiple advantages over your personal machine.  Screen broke?  No problem.  Got a virus and can’t use it?  No Problem.  Battery wore out? No problem.   The support UW-Stout provides is critical to the programs success is quite good, though it could use some upgrades.  UW-Stout takes away the hassle of owning a high-end notebook computer.  Another area of concern is compatibility.  With a consistent offering across the board with standards, UW-Stout minimizing compatibility issues and other software related problems.  It’s much easier to support two or three computer models with identical setups rather than thousands of different laptops with who knows what on the machine.  Uniformity leads to sanity for the Stout IT department in this case! 

Let me be clear, UW-Stout should certainly be analyzing how to bring down costs and/or re-structure the e-Scholar program.  It does have draw backs and universities need to be fluid and responsive to our current economic crisis.  However, I can’t stress how imperative the e-Scholar program is to students.  UW-Stout is a technology epi-center in the UW-System and a good platform for other universities to observe and mold themselves after.  Technology is literally transforming our world, whether personal, business or otherwise.  Citizens who are unfamiliar or unable to use technology are already three steps behind in the workforce.  With my urging I hope UW-Stout continues its innovative focus and takes their technology view another step further. 

E-textbooks or iPad anyone?

Securing wireless networks has been a headache for broadband users for years now.  I wanted to write a short blog on how the average home user or small business can secure their wireless network and keep moochers and even more malicious users at bay.

Your Not Secure Out Of The Gate

Most users think just having a router is an automatic shield after listening to various media stories praise routers for their firewall abilities.  This is not the case.  Most routers you purchase at your local electronics store (Best Buy, Wal-Mart etc.) is not secure when you first plug it in. Routers are normally pre-configured to be open wireless access points.  This means anyone within its range will be able to use your connection, no questions asked.  This is done to make setup easy and compatible with most operating systems.  The only problem is it leaves your network open to attack.

The very first thing you’ll want to is login to your router’s administration panel.  This is done by typing in a 192.168.x.x address into your browsers address bar.  The actual number varies by router manufacturer, look in your user guide or online to find the local IP address for your router.  Linksys for example is 192.168.1.1.  The manufacturer sets very easy non-secure passwords.  These are easily found online as well as in your user guide and if left unchanged will make your network exceptionally vulnerable.  You’ll want to change the password to your router right away.  Make sure it is a secure password of at least six characters and preferably with upper and lowercase letters and numbers.

Bad Advice From GeekSquad

Local sales associates at places like Best Buy are often clueless on network security and sometimes offer up misleading advice.  Here are some steps that aren’t harmful, but mostly just a waste of time because they don’t secure your network.

• Turning off your SSID broadcast. - The SSID (Service Set Identifier) is an identifier broadcast by a wireless router.  You might know this as your network name.  Most routers default SSID broadcast is the manufacturers name (linksys, netgear etc.)  Turning this off does nothing to protect your network.  With the proper software, a malicious user could easily spot your networks presence even with the SSID off.  It is a false sense of security.   Changing the network name won’t make you more secure either, though I would recommend doing it.  Just make sure you SSID isn’t identifiable making it easy for outside users to know where the network is located (i.e. last name, home address are all no no’s)
• Turning DHCP Off - This in theory is a good idea but really doesn’t make you more secure.  It is easy to detect the method in which ip addresses are being assigned and make a request matching that method.
• Filtering MAC Addresses – Filtering MAC addresses is a good practice to get into, but for most households and businesses it causes more headache than what it’s worth.  For homes with many devices on the network like game systems, multiple computers and cell phones, filtering MAC addresses simply isn’t practical.  That being said, a malicious user with easily attainable monitoring software can replicate a MAC address and still penetrate your network.  This method has some value for keeping the average user off the network but will crumble with ease against advanced computer users.

What You Should Do

The easiest thing you can do to secure your network is protect your wireless access point with encryption.  There are two different kinds of encryption you can use.  One is known as Wired Equivalent Privacy or WEP. This encryption is better than nothing but it does have a huge problem.

Beginning in 2001, several serious weaknesses were identified by cryptanalysts with the result that today a WEP connection can be cracked with readily available software found online within minutes. — Source:  Wikipedia

WEP can be easily cracked within minutes therefore it should not be your first choice, though it is better than having no encryption at all.  It will keep your pesky neighbors with no computer skills from using your bandwidth, but even the most novice 13 year-old could brute force their way into your network.  You want something with a little more ‘umph’.

You will want to use Wifi Protected Access, otherwise known as WPA,  for your wireless encryption.  WPA was designed after flaws were discovered in WEP that led to its demise.  Recently, researchers have found a way to crack WPA-TKIP connections, though it is still tougher than cracking WEP.  Since this has happened, you’ll want to make sure your using WPA-AES encryption to remain secure.  AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard and the encryption contains three block ciphers.  It has been adopted by the U.S. government as their standard for encrypting sensitive networks and has yet to be cracked.

WPA2 is an even newer advance in WiFi network security.  If you have an older router or a computer older than 3 years old you may have compatibility issues.  For less headaches and still secure network, stick with WPA-AES unless you have all ‘newer’ hardware.

Conclusion

The simplest thing you can do to protect your wireless network is still encrypting it.  There is no need to cause yourself more trouble by turning off DHCP or hiding the SSID identifier. It will only give you headaches and nightmares down the road.  Most need for securing your WiFi comes from nosey neighbors or passer-by’s looking to score free Internet.  They don’t want to steal your credit card info or read your e-mails bur just score free interwebs. However, there are individuals who go around looking for easy targets to steal sensitive information from.