Internet | Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners

Posts Tagged: Internet

A Pigeon is faster than the Internet

photo credit: Bu Yousef

I count this as sort of a misleading article, but it is fun none the less. A homing pigeon with a 4GB flash drive took off from a location 80 miles away from its destination. A download of the same amount of data was started at the destination at the same time the pigeon was released. The bird landed with the 4GB of information in just over 2 hours. The computer had only downloaded 5% of the 4GB file in the same 2 hours.

4 GB is a lot of data (1000 songs, or 3000 photos, or a 2 hour movie), but it does wound pretty pathetic that a pigeon can move that information faster than a high speed Internet connection. However, the story also illustrates how Continue reading →

Riding Shotgun with Rick / Tech News — No Comments
1
Sep 09

Should government have right to cut off Internet service?

Senate Bill 773 provides for protecting the country’s tech infrastructure by declaring a cybersecurity emergency. This emergency would authorize the government to shut down Internet access to key non-governmental computers and networks. If passed, the bill would create a whole new government agency that trains and certifies cyber-security professionals to help manage and carry out the rules set forth in this proposed law.

Click the link below to read a complete news store from CNET and get links to other news stories on the subject.

Bill would give president emergency control of Internet | Politics and Law – CNET News.

Email Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
24
Aug 09

Do not open attachments from people you know

photo credit: shannnnnonlowe.

Those of you who have followed this site and my show since its early days in the 90s know that I have always warned against opening attachments from people you know. Probably the most egregious security problem among emailers is the myth that opening email and attachments is safe as long it is from someone they know.

I hear this statement at least five times per week and dispel it every single time I hear it. Now, I need your help in spreading the word about this growing problem and misinformation.

Recently, there has been a wave of hackers sending email with your friends and family names listed as the sender. Despite not hearing from Aunt Martha in 5 years via email, despite the fact that your mother’s best friend has never sent you a party picture, and despite the cryptic and brief subject and body, folks continue to click on these emails and the links and attachments contained within them. And time and time again, they are greeted with Continue reading →

Internet Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick / Tech News — 2 Comments
14
Aug 09

Bresnan cable has nearly 18 hour outage

photo credit: Chad The Great

Our local cable Internet profider, Bresnan, had a complete system failure that affected Internet and VoIP service that started around 7:00pm yesterday, and continued through much of the day today. In fact, it affected customers in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and here in Colorado.

I received so many phone calls about Internet outage, that I changed my voicemail to include special instructions for Bresnan users. As of early this morning when I left for work (more than 12 hours after the outage ocurred), nothing was posted on the Bresnan web site about the outage.

This type of problem presents a great opportunity for me to remind you about my Troubleshooting Your High Speed Internet Connection article. Please review it, print it, and pass it on to all your Internet buddies who use any broadband (high speed) Internet service no matter where they live.

My friend and colleague, Adam Cochran, wrote and article and produced a video on his site, TalkingDigital, that demonstrates how to fully reset a cable modem and router. Check it out by clicking here.

Most folks should be online by now, but these two articles are invaluable to high speed users who run into Internet issues…keep them handy.

Internet Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 9 Comments
7
Aug 09

Use the address bar

It always amazes me (even after more than ten years) how unintuitive computers can be for many users. One call I fielded today was from a computer user who has been using computers for many years, but had a befuddling question. She was trying to browse to her bank’s web site, but couldn’t get there. After talking with her for a few moments, it became apparent that she was Continue reading →

Riding Shotgun with Adam — 26 Comments
31
Jul 09

Free & Pay WiFi Hot Spots in Grand Junction, CO

I thought it might be a good idea to make a complete list of open WiFi hotspots in Grand Junction, CO.

A WiFi Hotspot is a place where anyone can access wireless Internet for free and without setting up an account or through the use of a pay account. I also added a few pay sites as well. I certainly don’t know all the spots in town, so please help me make this list more complete with your additions by leaving a comment below. Continue reading →

Computer User Group / Internet Tips — 7 Comments
7
Jul 09

The Castellini Approach to Internet Security

photo credit: The Joy Of The Mundane

This past week I saw way too many people who are not taking advantage of the free information we give out on the show and the web site. Their computers were suffocating from a preventable disease…viruses and spyware. Yes, preventable, almost 100%. And fighting the war on our home computer security front does not have to be costly or time consuming.

We talk about this subject quite a bit on the program and the web site because of its rapid growth worldwide. In today’s tip, I am providing you with links to information that we have on this site that have been up for months to years that contain the essential information about protecting your computer.

Continue reading →

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 9 Comments
6
Jul 09

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 released – Get it!

Mozilla released version 3.5 of their browser, Firefox, less than two weeks ago. I jumped on the update the day it came out and have had zero problems. You already know that I recommend everyone use an alternative to Internet Explorer for daily browsing. If you aren’t using an alternative browser yet, then now is the time to jump in and start using something other than Internet Explorer.

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 shored up a lot of speed and memory problems that seemed to hamper some with their 3.0 release. I noticed an immeadiate improvement with Continue reading →