Computer & Network Upgrades: Afterthoughts

It took some time, but I am now done with all the upgrades to my computers and home network. To start, I had to move the all the components from inside my desktop PC (motherboard and all) back into the Compaq case they came in. If you are wondering why I moved those components into my own PC case in the first place, in a nutshell, the Compaq case was too small. I had some extra components I wanted to add to the computer, but simply could not since the case is so small. I then installed some awesome new hardware into my now empty PC case. Once all the parts were in place, I installed Windows 7 and configured it on both machines and installed Windows Home Server onto my test machine. Read on to find out exactly how I did all this!

Computer & Network Upgrades

Being an IT savant, I enjoy enhancing and upgrading my computers and home network, which is exactly what I started doing this summer. My first upgrade was a Westinghouse 47 inch LCD HDTV which is being used as the monitor for my Media-PC, Xbox 360, Wii, and Playstation 3. Yes, I do have them all. Not only is it a great screen to game on, but it is also great for watching online and locally stored videos. My next major upgrade was a Cisco Wireless N router, which not only gave our network a wider wifi radius, but it also enhanced our networks transfer rates significantly. That is what I have done so far. Continue reading to find out about my upcoming projects!

Roll Your Own Firefox!

Do you use Firefox as your primary Internet browser? Would you like to get more out of it in order to make your Internet browsing easier and more productive? Then what you need are Firefox extensions! What are ‘extensions’ you say? Extensions are add-on for Firefox that can increase its functionality! If you are not using any plugins in your Firefox browser, you are missing out!

Click below to see what extensions I’m using and to find out where you can get your own!

Project: Major Server Upgrade

Well, it’s time for yet another upgrade to my home server. This time, however, my server is getting a major overhaul. Click the headline to see a list of everything I’ll being doing in order to complete this upgrade process:

OMG!!! Zeus Struck Me Down!

A couple days ago, when I tried to boot into Windows I was unable to since I was one of 100,000 victims of the Zeus botnet attack. At first, I found it strange that I was suddenly getting the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) in Windows 7 which, although a beta, had not given me any trouble since I installed it. However, I later read an article on ArsTechnica.com, entitled “Botnet Master Hits the Kill Switch, Takes Down 100,000 PCs,” where I learned that I was only one of many victims of a botnet attack. For those who do not know, a botnet attack is an attack that uses large groups of compromised computers  for malicious purposes. In the case of the Zeus botnet, it used a software kit, known as Zeus or Zbot, to extract personal and financial data from infected machines. Zeus’ most dangerous feature was the kos, or kill operating system, command that was built into the software and, when invoked, triggered the BSOD, making it difficult to boot into the operating system. In my case, I was fortunate that this attack happened when I was already planning on upgrading my operating system from the Windows 7 Beta to the Windows 7 Release Candidate. After the upgrade, any malware that Zeus left on my computer was gone. In order to stay protected from such a threat, make sure you have some type of anti-malware  ( anti-virus, anti-spyware, etc) software running on your computer and ensure that it is kept up-to-date.

For more info check out Ars Technica

I Was Mentioned in the Wall Street Journal!

A few weeks ago, after reading some of the articles I had been posting here regarding netbooks, Wall Street Journal reporter Justin Scheck contacted me. He wanted to know how I personally felt about netbooks and why I chose the Asus EEE PC 1000HE over the rest. What I have found is that netbooks represent a growing market for those who do not want to lug a huge fifteen inch laptop with them everywhere, especially if all they want to do is get on the Internet.

Click this articles title to read an excert from the WSJ article where I am mentioned.

Server Upgrade: Drobo

The Drobo from Data Robotics really is an amazing solution for data storage. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that it may be the LAST solution you’ll EVER need for data storage. As you can see in the above video, the Drobo makes it incredibly easy to increase your hard disk capacity. When you run out of space on the Drobo, all you have to do is pop in a larger capacity hard drive and the unit takes care of the rest. Despite the $499 price point, I am really looking forward to getting one of this things for my server at home. I currently have a single terabyte drive connected to the server which I use to store and serve my media throughout my house. With hard disk prices as low as they are, the Drobo could prove to be a great investment, seeing as how it offers easy unlimited storage, with the keyword there being easy.

Click this articles title to see a demonstration of Drobo’s functionality by Geek Brief host Cali Lewis!

Project: Server Reconfiguration + iTunes Server

I recently realized that I could make my home network more efficient by adding my one terabyte hard disk drive to my server. Currently, my server has an external 700GB hard disk drive that is being used to store various media files and server them throughout my house. That drive is actually two hard disks connected in a RAID 5 configuration. However, I have also have a one terabyte hard disk drive that I use externally on my desktop. By adding that to the dual-bay external enclosure I use on my server, I could gain a lot more storage space there.

Click this articles title to find out more about this project.

Conficker Worm Update #2

The Conficker worm is still loose and apparently it is now capable of bypassing security implementations in order to receive updates from its developers, despite the efforts of security experts in the past few months. While it may have seemed like Conficker’s April 1 D-Day came and went without a hitch, something major did happen without any of us actually knowing it. On that day, the worm received an update with instructions on how to link up with all of its newly registered nodes, which number in the tens of thousands. The Peer-to-Peer (P2P) botnet that the worm has created is now at point where it can longer be stopped. It has become apparent to experts that Conficker’s main goal is to infiltrate and sustain itself within computer networks for an extended period of time.

Click this articles title to find out how to check if your computers been infected.

Conficker Worm Update

Well, D-Day for the Conficker Worm has come and gone, and so far nothing has happened. That’s not to say that nothing WILL happen, I’m just saying nothing has happened YET. My sources tell me that the worm has now begun its search for new behavioral instructions by visiting a sizable sampling of around 50,000 randomly generated web addresses. Other than that, not much else will happen. No botnet attack. No DDOS attack. Not even a Dark Google. At least not yet. Only time will tell what nefarious deeds the evil genius behind Conficker will do with it.

Click this articles title to find out more about this worm.