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Home networking explained, Part 3: Taking control of your wires

Editor's note: This post is part 2 of a series. Here are the links to part 1 and part 2.

Now that you have learned about the basics of home networking in Part 1, and how to optimize your Wi-Fi in Part 2, in Part 3, it's time to get your hands dirty and learn how to take control of your network completely.

All home networks start with a network cable. Even if you plan on using all wireless clients, in most cases you will still need at least one cable to connect the wireless router and the … Read more

Home networking explained, Part 2: Optimizing your Wi-Fi network

Editor's note: This post is part 2 of a series. Here are the links to part 1 and part 3.

Since my last post on the basics of home networking, which is Part 1 of this series, I've been flooded with even more e-mails than I had been before (which explains why some of you haven't heard back from me). The good news is that nobody is asking about what a router is anymore. I guess I did an OK job explaining that in my previous post.

Most of the e-mails this time asked about how to … Read more

Home networking explained: Here's the URL for you

Editor's note: This post is now part of a series, of which the second part can be found here.

As the guy who reviews networking products, I generally receive a couple of e-mails from readers a day, and most of them, in one way or another, are asking about the basics of networking (as in computer to computer, I am not talking about social networks here.)

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate e-mails because, at the very least, it gives me the impression that there are real people out there amid the sea of spam. But I'd rather not keep repeating myself. So instead of saying the same thing over and over again in individual e-mails, I'll talk all about home networking basics, in layman's terms, in this post.… Read more

WiLAN sues Apple, others over wireless patents

WiLAN, a company that holds a number of patents related to the wireless industry, has launched another patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and others.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, WiLAN's suit alleges that the defendants, which also include HTC, Alcatel-Lucent, and Sierra Wireless, violate patent RE37,802, which relates to CDMA and HSPA communications, as well as patent 5,282,222, related to Wi-Fi and LTE.

Patent 5,282,222 is especially interesting because of how long it's been around and how broad it is. The … Read more

VideoLAN updates VLC, improved language translation

One of the best video players for Mac has to be VideoLAN's VLC Player, now updated to version 1.1.8. This update fixes a number of small bugs and adds more support for several features, including better language translation as well as updating security patches for known vulnerabilities.

Core Security Technologies recognized vulnerabilities in AMV and NSV files when handled by previous versions of VLC.

Two vulnerabilities have been found in VLC media player [1], when handling AMV and NSV file formats. These vulnerabilities can be exploited by a remote attacker to obtain arbitrary code execution with the … Read more

iPad LogMeIn app gets File Manager, Wake on LAN

If you have been using the LogMeIn Ignition application as a cool way to run Windows 7 on the iPad, you now can do even more with it.

LogMeIn revealed today that it has just finished an update to the LogMeIn Ignition app for the iPad that adds a major new feature called File Manager.

Basically, now, in addition to allowing you to control a remote computer over the Internet using an iPad, the app also enables you to view and transfer files back and forth between the iPad and the remote computer.

I tried out the new version of … Read more

Fast index and search

Windows indexes your computer's files, folders, and drives to speed up searches, but to really exploit the power of indexing, you need a dedicated indexing and search tool, preferably one that's fast, powerful, and easy to use. Free would be nice, too. Index Your Files fits the job description. It searches by date, size, Boolean operators, file extension, and more. It finds stuff fast not only by filtering searches but also by searching only those indexed databases you specify. You can create and search as many databases as you need.

Index Your Files is easy to use, but … Read more

WiLAN sues Comcast, Time Warner, Charter

Canadian wireless company WiLAN is firing up another round of lawsuits, this time against leading cable companies.

Alleging patent infringement over technology in cable modems, WiLAN said today that it has has launched suits against Comcast, Time Warner, and Charter Communications in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Ottawa-based WiLAN, which patents wireless products, asserts that the cable trio has been violating U.S. patent No. 5,761,602 by marketing and selling cable systems and modems. Issued in 1998, the patent in question covers "hybrid multichannel data transmission system utilizing a broadcast medium," … Read more

Judge issues order in WiLAN's patent lawsuit

The patent infringement lawsuit filed by WiLAN against Intel, HP, and other heavy hitters in the tech industry has entered a new stage.

Yesterday, Judge T. John Ward of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a 55-page order that defines the terms used in a patent claim when those meanings are disputed by the parties.

In this case, the order (PDF) may have given WiLAN an edge because the company announced that it is pleased with the decision and said it believes it can now demonstrate that many of the defendants' Bluetooth, WiMax, and … Read more