Technical Terms of the Week

1. Buffer - Contains data that is stored for a short amount of time, typically in the computer's memory. Buffering is used to improve several areas of a computer's performance. Without buffers, computers would be a lot slower, and a lot less efficient.

2. Trojan Horse - Like the story in Greek mythology, a Trojan horse is accepted, like a gift, into your computer, and when you activate the file or program, it attacks your computer. Trojan horses can come in various forms: games, programs, and files. To prevent this virus from affecting your computer, scan your computer with an anti-virus program frequently.

3. LAN (Local Area Network) - A computer network limited to a small area, for example, your house. Businesses use this mainly to share information. A LAN is run from your network connection.

Every Friday we will be posting the "Technical Terms of the Week." It is our hope that over time, you will be able to better understand the technical terms of the computer world.

How to keep your wireless network from being hacked

Wireless networks are not near as secure and encrypted as a traditional wired network. This is because a wireless network can be accessed anywhere in its broadcasting area. This means that a wireless network has more vulnerability to be hacked. Hackers can do terrible things to your computer, such as implant viruses, worms, spyware, malware, adware, and weird pop ups. They can even make your computer quit working altogether.

To prevent this from happening, make your wireless network as secure as possible. Following are a few possible options to make your wireless network as secure as possible:

• Antenna Placement - Set your wireless access point, or router as far away from a window as possible, if possible. The best place for a wireless device is in the central (middle) location of a building.
  
  
• Set the Security High - Most wireless devices come with security. Whether it be WEP, WPA, WPA2, or Radius, any security is better than no security. I would recommend always having security on your network; never go without it.
  
  
• Disable DHCP - Basically, DHCP is the automatic assigning of protocols, or "numbers." By disabling this, the hacker will have to find the correct protocols in order to hack your network. This will take the hacker a very long time.
  
  
• Hide your SSID - Standing for Service Set Identifier, SSID is the name of your wireless network. By disabling this, the hacker will have to manually enter your SSID.

These simple steps are guaranteed to keep those hackers out! If you have any questions on how to do this, you can call me, Treyton, at 701.850.0166. If I do not answer, leave a message, and I will return your call as soon as possible.

Windows 7 vs. Windows Vista

On October 22, 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7, the successor of the joke-of-an-operating-system, Windows Vista. Some may disagree, and as a matter of fact, I disagree, but I did agree when Vista first came out. After three some years as a Windows Vista user, I became quiet acquainted with it.

Now a Windows 7 user, I've moved more over to its side, rather than Vista's. Here's some reasons why:

• Windows 7 had little (to no) bugs that needed fixing, whereas Windows Vista didn't run smoothly until mid-2008, over a year after it was released.
• Windows 7 has a much more friendly-user interface. Windows Vista needed twice the configuration that both Windows XP and Windows 7 needed to personalize it to your liking.
• Windows 7 is evolution. Windows Vista is revolution.

The first two reasons are factual, but the third one is an opinion, but it's an opinion made by many people, including myself. Windows Vista was released mainly to steer people away from Windows XP, because Windows XP had been around almost six years before Vista was released. Now, in my opinion, I think Windows Vista was released in its "development" stage, rather than its "completed" stage.

However, Windows Vista did have a few pros:

• Windows Vista had a new design, much better than Windows XP's.
• Windows Vista (like all other OS's) came with a wider range of hardware support.
• (After a year or so) Windows Vista became more popular than Windows XP.

Being that Windows 7 is the newest "next big thing," Windows Vista will become like Windows 98, obsolete, just like Windows XP will.

What to know if you want to have a gaming computer

If you've used a gaming computer before, you know that it has to be fast, reliable, and be able to run your games smoothly. But what about the rest who have not had a gaming computer before? This article may be a great helper for those who want one.

Before we start talking about new computers, let's start with your existing computer. Believe it or not, you might not have to change a single thing to make your computer a gaming computer. Check to see if your computer has the following components, and if it does, you have what is minimum for a gaming computer. If you don't know how to check this, contact your hardware manufacturer.

Minimum requirements:

1. CPU (Processor) - At least Pentium 4 or Athlon with 2 Ghz speed.
2. RAM (Memory) - Minimum of 2 GB (233 Mhz or faster).
3. Video - At least 256-512 MB, 1024 MB HD card recommended.
4. Hard drive - 250 GB SATA 7200 RPM (Western Digital Caviar or Seagate Barracuda).
5. Power Supply - 350 watt or better recommended.
6. Cooling System - At least 3 fans (including CPU fan).

If your computer meets these requirements, start gaming (or consider upgrading your hardware)!

Now, for those looking into a new computer, here's a setup that will cost under $600!

1. Motherboard - Asus M4A785TD-V Evo ($100)
2. CPU - AMD Phenom II X2 555 3.2 GHz ($90)
3. RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 RAM ($85)
4. Video Card - Diamond Radeon HD 5670 1024MB ($130)
5. Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB ($70)
6. DVD Burner - LG GH22NS50R DVDRW Drive ($25)
7. Case - Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case ($35)
8. Power Supply - Corsair CMPSU-450VX 450-Watt ($55)
   

   TOTAL COST: $590 (USD)