Wi-Fi Security tips for public hotspots

Wi-Fi hotspots present a special set of security issues, notably unknown computers sharing the same local network with you. Unlike home or office networks, most public hotspots in hotels and cafes broadcast their SSIDs, lack WEP or WPA encryption, and don't bother with MAC address filtering. After all, turning on any of these functions would negate the "public" aspect of hotspots. That said, even if they used closed networks and encryption, making customers go through hoops to get connected, there would still be no way to tell a "legitimate" client from a "malicious" one out to hack other customers' data. Anyone with a credit card can sign up for hotspot service. So what can you do to protect yourself at a public hotspot? Plenty...

Top 10 Security Tips for Public Hotspots Make sure you're connected to a legitimate access point. Encrypt files before transferring or emailing them. Use a virtual private network (VPN). Use a personal firewall. Use anti-virus software. Update your operating system regularly. Be aware of people around you. Use Web-based email that employs secure http (https). Turn off file sharing. Password-protect your computer and important files. 1. Make sure you're connected to a legitimate access point! This first step is probably the least obvious, but one of the most important. Rogue access points in public areas have been springing up that have the same SSID as what you'd expect (such as "Wayport" or "tmobile"), but really connect directly to hijackers' databases to collect the passwords and usernames you use to sign in. Even worse, they can collect credit card data from people who sign up for new accounts. So don't connect in places where there is no sign for a legitimate provider, and check the list of available SSIDs to make sure you are connected to the right one. Don't set your wireless card to connect automatically to any available network. Turn off the ad-hoc mode (which lets other clients connect directly to you!). And turn off your Wi-Fi card entirely as soon as you are done. 2. Encrypt sensitive data. As you beam emails from your laptop to the wireless access point and back, or as you enter your username and password to check your bank account balances someone nearby can be intercepting those packets of data as they fly by. Much of the information -- even information that you might think should be encrypted -- is sent in clear text. That means that the person intercepting those packets may be able to read your emails or learn your passwords. While data sent to and from secure Web sites (those starting with https:) is generally protected, you can also use encryption in other contexts. If you are sending a sensitive file via email, for example, encrypt it first with a password. Most file compression programs, such as Allume's StuffIt Deluxe, offer encryption, and there are numerous freeware and shareware encryption programs as well. 3. Use a Virtual Private Network. One of the best ways to protect your data when using a public wireless network or hotspot is to use a virtual private network (VPN), such as JiWire SpotLock. A VPN establishes a private network across the public network by creating a tunnel between the two endpoints so that nobody in between can intercept the data. Many companies allow remote users to connect to corporate networks as long as they use VPN. This keeps the users' communications just as secure as if they were sitting at a desk in the building. If you don't have a corporate VPN, you can be secure at any hotspot using JiWire SpotLock. SpotLock's IPSec VPN is supported by almost all wireless routers, both public and private, and SpotLock also includes full Wi-Fi connection management. 4. Use a personal firewall. When you connect to a public wireless network you are joining a local network with other unknown computers. Having these computers on the same IP subnet makes them more dangerous than machines elsewhere on the Internet. Machines in your network and subnet range are able to more easily capture traffic between your computer and the wireless access point or attempt to connect with your computer and access your files and folders. To protect your computer you should run a personal firewall program. There are many excellent choices. Some, such as Zone Labs ZoneAlarm, Kerio's Personal Firewall, and the built-in Windows XP Firewall are available for free for home or personal use. You should not install them on your corporate laptop, however, without purchasing the proper licensing or consulting your IT manager. Security software vendors such as Symantec and McAfee also make commercial personal firewall products. A personal firewall will help you restrict the traffic allowed in and out of your computer. This protects you not only from attacks that originate outside of your network, but also those from other computers on the same network. Personal firewall software generally monitors both incoming and outgoing traffic, as well as applications trying to interact with other system processes or with the operating system. Should your computer somehow become compromised with a Trojan horse or backdoor program, a personal firewall application should flag the unusual communication attempts and alert you. Make sure you take the time to familiarize yourself with the product you choose and configure it properly to get the maximum protection without getting in the way of legitimate traffic and applications. 5. Use anti-virus software. When you are on your home network or even on your company network you can operate with a fair assurance that the other machines on the network with you are at least as protected as yours is against viruses and other malicious code. When you connect to a public network you have no such assurance. Suddenly it is more important than ever to have antivirus software installed. Of course, antivirus software is only as good as its last update. If you updated your antivirus software a month ago there are probably at least 10 and maybe 50 or more new viruses, worms and other malware that you aren't protected against. Make a special effort to go to the vendor's Web site and download the latest update any time you hear about a new high-risk or fast-spreading threat, and take advantage of the auto-update features now found in most such programs. 6. Keep your OS and apps up to date. It seems that almost every week there's a new "security patch" for various parts of the Windows operating system or Office programs. And it's not just Microsoft. Apple has its own fair share of security updates, as do most utility and business software vendors. Most of the malicious viruses and worms that have plagued users recently spread through email, so be especially cautious about opening attachments. Windows users should enable Automatic Updates or visit the Windows Update site to scan your system and identify patches you may be missing. Mac OS users should enable the automatic Software Update feature in System Preferences; and Linux/UNIX users can visit sites such asBugtraq or subscribe to receive bulletins and alerts from the Department of Homeland Security'sUS-CERT. 7. Be aware of people around you. When you're at an ATM, you make sure noone can see you type your PIN. Be just as careful about typing in your name and password at a Starbucks. You pay big bucks for your T-Mobile access! 8. Use Web-based email when you're connecting at a public hotspot, instead of Outlook, Eudora, or Apple Mail. Most ISPs these days let you send and receive email via a Web interface as well as downloading it into your email program. These Web sites generally use secure sockets layer (SSL) or other security protocols, which protect your data while it's being transmitted. 9. Make sure file sharing is off! On home networks, file sharing is frequently used to copy files back and forth between computers. On a public network, this is the last thing you want to have on, for obvious reasons. If necessary, put a sticky note on the edge of your computer screen reminding you to turn it off before you close your laptop. Just don't write your passwords on the same sticky note... 10. Use passwords for personal data. Our final tip: use strong passwords for sensitive files and folders, as well as for access to your computer as a whole. This is especially important for mobile warriors whose laptops are attractive theft targets. Consider keeping your most important data on an encrypted USB keychain storage device, so even if you lose your portable, you won't lose your presentation or email folder.

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What is WiFi?

If you have a network in your home or office, there are several different ways to connect the computers on your network together. The article How Home Networking Works covers all of the basic networking principles. WiFi is the wireless way to handle networking. It is also known as 802.11 networking and wireless networking. The big advantage of WiFi is its simplicity. You can connect computers anywhere in your home or office without the need for wires. The computers connect to the network using radio signals, and computers can be up to 100 feet or so apart.In this article, we will discuss two different aspects of WiFi. First we will discuss the basic technology that makes WiFi networking possible.

Then we will discuss the hardware you need to create a WiFi network, and help you understand how to set up and access a WiFi hotspot in your home. The Walkie-Talkie Network If you want to understand wireless networking at its simplest level, think about a pair of $5 walkie-talkies that you might purchase at Wal-Mart. These are small radios that can transmit and receive radio signals. When you talk into a Walkie-Talkie, your voice is picked up by a microphone, encoded onto a radio frequency and transmitted with the antenna. Another walkie-talkie can receive the transmission with its antenna, decode your voice from the radio signal and drive a speaker. Simple walkie-talkies like this transmit at a signal strength of about 0.25 watts, and they can transmit about 500 to 1,000 feet. Let's imagine that you want to connect two computers together in a network using walkie-talkie technology: You would equip each computer with a walkie-talkie. You would give each computer a way to set whether it wants to transmit or receive. You would give the computer a way to turn its binary 1s and 0s into two different beeps that the walkie-talkie could transmit and receive and convert back and forth between beeps and 1s/0s. This would actually work. The only problem would be that the data rate would be very slow. A $5 walkie-talkie is designed to handle the human voice (and it's a pretty scratchy rendition at that), so you would not be able to send very much data this way. Maybe 1,000 bits per second. WiFi's Radio Technology The radios used in WiFi are not so different from the radios used in $5 walkie-talkies. They have the ability to transmit and receive. They have the ability to convert 1s and 0s into radio waves and then back into 1s and 0s. There are three big differences between WiFi radios and Walkie-talkies: WiFi radios that work with the 802.11b and 802.11g standards transmit at 2.4 GHz, while those that comply with the 802.11a standard transmit at 5 GHz. Normal walkie-talkies normally operate at 49 MHz. The higher frequency allows higher data rates. WiFi radios use much more efficient coding techniques that also contribute to the much higher data rates. For 802.11a and 802.11g, the technique is known as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). For 802.11b, it is called Complementary Code Keying (CCK). See this page for details. The radios used for WiFi have the ability to change frequencies. 802.11b cards can transmit directly on any of three bands, or they can split the available radio bandwidth into dozens of channels and frequency hop rapidly between them. The advantage of frequency hopping is that it is much more immune to interference and can allow dozens of WiFi cards to talk simultaneously without interfering with each other.  Because they are transmitting at much higher frequencies than a Walkie-Talkie, and because of the encoding techniques, WiFi radios can handle a lot more data per second. 802.11b can handle up to 11 megabits per second (although 7 megabits per second is more typical, and 802.11b may fall back as low as 1 or 2 megabits per second if there is a lot of interference). 802.11a and 802.11g can handle up to 54 megabits per second (although 30 megabits per second is more typical). You might be wondering where the funny 802.11 nomenclature comes from. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) creates standards, and they number these standards in unique ways. The 802.11 standard covers wireless networks. The a, b and g notations identify different flavors of the 802.11 standard: 802.11b was the first version to reach the marketplace. It is the slowest and least expensive of the three. As mentioned above, 802.11b transmits at 2.4 GHz and can handle up to 11 megabits per second. 802.11a was next. It operates at 5 GHz and can handle up to 54 megabits per second. 802.11g is a mix of both worlds. It operates at 2.4Ghz (giving it the cost advantage of 802.11b) but it has the 54 megabits per second speed of 802.11a.  Fortunately, all of this radio technology is hidden in a WiFi card and is completely invisible. WiFi, in fact, is one of the easiest technologies that you will ever use. Adding WiFi to a Computer One of the best things about WiFi is how simple it is. Many new laptops already come with a WiFi card built in -- in many cases you don't have to do anything to start using WiFi. It is also easy to add a WiFi card to an older laptop or a desktop PC. Here's what you do: Buy a 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g network card. 802.11g has the advantage of higher speeds and good interoperability on 802.11b equipment. For a laptop, this card will normally be a PCMCIA card that you slide into a PCMCIA slot on your laptop. Or you can buy a small external adapter and plug it into a USB port. For a desktop machine, you can buy a PCI card that you install inside the machine, or a small external adapter that you connect to the computer with a USB cable. Install the card Install the drivers for the card Find an 802.11 hotspot Access the hotspot. A hotspot is a connection point for a WiFi network. It is a small box that is hardwired into the Internet. The box contains an 802.11 radio that can simultaneously talk to up to 100 or so 802.11 cards. There are many WiFi hotspots now available in public places like restaurants, hotels, libraries and airports. You can also create your own hotspot in your home, as we will see in a later section. Configuring WiFi On the newest machines, an 802.11 card will automatically connect with an 802.11 hotspot and a network connection will be established. As soon as you turn on your machine, it will connect and you will be able to browse the Web, send email, etc. using WiFi. On older machines you often have to go through this simple 3-step process to connect to a hotspot: Access the software for the 802.11 card -- normally there is an icon for the card down in the system tray at the bottom right of the screen. Click the "Search button" in the software. The card will search for all of the available hotspots in the area and show you a list. Double-click on one of the hotspots to connect to it. On ancient 802.11 equipment, there is no automatic search feature. You have to find what is known as the SSID of the hotspot (usually a short word of 10 characters or less) as well as the channel number (an integer between 1 and 11) and type these two pieces of information in manually. All the search feature is doing is grabbing these two pieces of information from the radio signals generated by the hotspot and displaying them for you. WiFi Security WiFi hotspots can be open or secure. If a hotspot is open, then anyone with a WiFi card can access the hotspot. If it is secure, then the user needs to know a WEP key to connect. WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy, and it is an encryption system for the data that 802.11 sends through the air. WEP has two variations: 64-bit encryption (really 40-bit) and 128-bit encryption (really 104-bit). 40-bit encryption was the original standard but was found to be easily broken (see this page for an explanation). 128-bit encryption is more secure and is what most people use if they enable WEP. For a casual user, any hotspot that is using WEP is inaccessible unless you know the WEP key. If you are setting up a hotspot in your home, you may want to create and use a 128-bit WEP key to prevent the neighbors from casually eavesdropping on your network. Whether at home or on the road, you need to know the WEP key, and then enter it into the WiFi card's software, to gain access to the network. Setting Up a Hotspot in Your Home It is very easy to set up a WiFi hotspot in your own home. You can do it in one of two ways: If you already have several computers hooked together on an Ethernet network and want to add a wireless hotspot to the mix, you can purchase a Wireless Access Point and plug it into the Ethernet network. If you are setting up a network in your home for the first time, or if you are upgrading, you can buy a Wireless Access Point Router. This is a single box that contains: 1) a port to connect to your cable modem or DSL modem, 2) a router, 3) an Ethernet hub, 4) a firewall and 5) a wireless access point. You can connect the computers in your home to this box either with traditional Ethernet cables or with wireless cards. Either way, once you turn your Wireless Access Point on, you will have a WiFi hotspot in your house. In a typical home, your new hotspot will provide coverage for about 100 feet (30.5 meters) in all directions, although walls and floors do cut down on the range. Even so, you should get good coverage throughout a typical home. For a large home, you can buy inexpensive signal boosters to increase the range of the Hotspot.  If you are setting up your 802.11 network from scratch, you will have to choose between 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g. 802.11b is slightly less expensive, but it is the slowest of the three options. For home use, 802.11g costs just a little more, but is up to 5 times faster. If you will be doing a lot of file transfers between computers in your home, 802.11g is definitely the way to go.  Configuring a New Hotspot in your Home Most wireless access points come with default values built-in. Once you plug them in, they start working with these default values in 90 percent of the cases. However, you may want to change things. You normally get to set three things on your access point: The SSID -- it will normally default to the manufacturer's name (e.g. "Linksys" or "Netgear"). You can set it to any word or phrase you like. The channel -- normally it will default to channel 6. However, if a nearby neighbor is also using an access point and it is set to channel 6, there can be interference. Choose any other channel between 1 and 11. An easy way to see if your neighbors have access points is to use the search feature that comes with your wireless card. The WEP key -- The default is to disable WEP. If you want to turn it on, you have to enter a WEP key and turn on 128-bit encryption. Access points come with simple instructions for changing these three values. Normally you do it with a Web browser. Once it is configured properly, you can use your new hotspot to access the Internet from anywhere in your home. For more information on wireless networking and related topics, check out the links on the following page.

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How To Steal Wi-Fi

When I moved into a new neighborhood last week, I expected the usual hassles. Then I found out I'd have to wait more than a month for a DSL line. I started convulsing. If I don't have Net access for even one day, I can't do my job. So, what was I supposed to do? There's an Internet café on the next block, but they close early. I had no choice—it was time to start sneaking on to my neighbors' home networks.

Every techie I know says that you shouldn't use other people's networks without permission. Every techie I know does it anyway. If you're going to steal—no, let's say borrow—your neighbor's Wi-Fi access, you might as well do it right. Step one: Lose the guilt. The FCC told me that they don't know of any federal or state laws that make it illegal to log on to an open network. Using someone's connection to check your e-mail isn't like hacking into their bank account. It's more like you're borrowing a cup of sugar. (Unless you hog their bandwidth by watching lots of streaming video—that's like hijacking a sugar truck.)

In the end, it's your neighbor's Internet service provider—not your neighbor—who will pay for the added traffic, and the ISP has already factored a small amount of line-sharing into their price plan. It is true that your surfing could cause the folks next door to break their service contract—many broadband providers do specifically forbid home customers from sharing a connection. But let's deal with those abstract ethical issues later—you have important mail to answer!

If you want to find a Wi-Fi network,don't start by looking on the sidewalk for chalk marks. "Warchalking," a technique for writing symbols in public places to alert neighbors to nearby wireless access points, is a cool concept that's been undermined by the fact that no one has ever used it. The best method to find some free wireless is to treat your laptop like a cell phone. Since Wi-Fi and cell phone signals travel on a similar radio frequency, the same tricks you use for getting a better phone connection might work on your computer. Sit near a window, since Wi-Fi signals travel better through glass than through solid walls. Stay away from metal objects. Pay close attention to your laptop's orientation—rotating your machine just a few degrees could help you pick up a network that you couldn't see before. Raise your laptop over your head, put it flat on the floor, tilt it sideways while leaning halfway out the window—get out the divining rod if you have to. You might get a reputation for being some sick laptop yoga freak, but isn't free Internet worth it?

If you live downtown or in a suburb where the houses are close together, a few minutes of laptop gymnastics will probably reveal several Wi-Fi networks. Certain names are a giveaway that a network probably won't be password-protected. Look for "linksys," "default," "Wireless," "NETGEAR," "belkin54g," and "Apple Network 0273df." These are the default network names for the most popular wireless routers. If a network owner hasn't taken the time to change the default name, that's a good clue that they probably won't have a password either. You should also look for signs of hacker culture. Since hackers love giving away Net access, an all-lowercase name like "hackdojo" is most likely an invitation to log on. On the other hand, a name in all caps is typically a network under corporate lockdown.

If you do get prompted for a password, try "public"—that's the default on many of Apple's AirPort units. You can also try common passwords like "admin," "password," and "1234"—or just check out this exhaustive list of default passwords. You should also try using the name of the network in the password space. A generic password could mean that the network's owner didn't have the sense to pick something less obvious or that they've decided to welcome outsiders. But who cares? You're in. And again, there's no specific law barring you from guessing the password, as long as you don't crack an encrypted network and read other people's transmissions.

You can tell that you've successfully joined a wireless network when your laptop's IP address changes as it's assigned a local number by the network's router. To watch it happen on a PC, keep the Network control panel in Windows open; if you have an Apple notebook, look at the Network section of the System Preferences program. (And if you're running Linux, I don't need to tell you where to look.) Once your laptop has an IP address, your next hurdle is getting DNS to work. DNS stands for Domain Name Service—it's what translates Internet domains like "slate.com" into IP addresses like 207.46.141.216. On most networks, DNS works automatically. But if you get a browser error like "Cannot find server," go back to your network menus and configure your laptop to use a public name server—144.162.120.230 in Dallas, for instance.

Once DNS is working, you should be good to go. While you should be able to surf the Web with no problems, you may have trouble sending mail from Outlook or other desktop programs because of restrictions on e-mail routing that have been set up to stop spammers. If you have problems, just use a Web-based mail service like Hotmail or Gmailinstead.

Keep in mind that the neighbors may not be thrilled that you're sharing the line. One guy next door to my new building shut off his network the day after I moved in, probably because he got spooked by all those blinking LEDs on his router. Even neighbors who are happy to share may see you in a different light if they check their router's URL logs and find a few hundred hits on porn sites. While your browsing will show up under an anonymous address, the short range of Wi-Fi means that they'll at least be able to figure out that one of the laptop owners within 100 feet of their living room is a stuffed animal fetishist. (As a San Franciscan, I need to point out that a stuffed animal fetish is perfectly normal. It's your neighbors who have the problem.)

Since everyone isn't as eager to share their network as I am, it's only fair to explain that there's an incredibly easy way to keep neighbors and drive-by geeks off your network. All you have to do is set a password that isn't as obvious as "1234." There's an eye-glazing list of Wi-Fi security measures you can implement to block overachieving Russian teens from monitoring your keystrokes, but in real life the only people sniffing your wireless signal are jerks like me who need a place to log on until the phone company wires the apartment. An unguessable password sends as clear a message as a shot of Mace: Go find a Starbucks, creep.

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what is Essembly

Essembly is a non-partisan political social networking website that allows its users to connect with one another based on political opinions, participate in unmoderated discussion, and organize for political action. It was founded in 2005 by Joe Green, a Harvard graduate and college roommate of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the collegiate social-networking site Facebook. Essembly differentiates itself from other social-networking sites by actively promoting intelligent discussion and debate while remaining (as the site's "About Us" page claims) "fiercely non-partisan." A July 2006 Newsweek article put the number of registered users at over 17,000^[1]

After its launch in 2005, Essembly membership was offered by invitation only, as the website was still in closed beta. In May 2006, Essembly opened membership to the public (to anyone with a valid email address), and began to run advertisements on Facebook. As of September 2006, Essembly remains in public beta, the staff of Essembly has, on the whole, moved on to a new venture called Project Agape. This has resulted in intermittent user support and server crashes, as well as some bitterness by many of the long-time users.^[who?]

On January 30, 2010 Essembly stopped working. After being alerted to the problem by a long-time Essembly user, Joe Green restored the site by Valentine Day. However, since May, 2010 the site has been down.

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Wireless Home Networking For Dummies

Wireless Home Networking For Dummies by Danny Briere , Pat Hurley , Edward Ferris
W i l e y | English | 2010 | ISBN: 0470877251 | 384 pages | PDF | 4,4 MB

Share stuff safely and wirelessly on Windows PCs or Mac OS X machines

Why go wireless? It's easy, convenient, inexpensive, and, with the emergence of new industry standards, better than ever! These experts know what you should look for (and look out for). They'll walk you through the pros and cons of the different standards, planning and installing your network, setting up security, and getting the most from your investment.

Discover how to: 

• Choose the right networking equipment 

• Integrate Bluetooth into your network 

• Work with servers, gateways, routers, and switches 

• Protect your network from intruders 

• Understand 802.11n

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Data Mining: Concepts, Models, Methods, and Algorithms

Data Mining: Concepts, Models, Methods, and Algorithms By Mehmed Kantardzic

Publisher: Wiley-IEEE Press; 2 edition 2011 | 552 Pages | ISBN: 0470890452 | EPUB | 9 MB

Now updated—the systematic introductory guide to modern analysis of large data setsAs data sets continue to grow in size and complexity, there has been an inevitable move towards indirect, automatic, and intelligent data analysis in which the analyst works via more complex and sophisticated software tools. This book reviews state-of-the-art methodologies and techniques for analyzing enormous quantities of raw data in high-dimensional data spaces to extract new information for decision-making.

This Second Edition of Data Mining: Concepts, Models, Methods, and Algorithms discusses data mining principles and then describes representative state-of-the-art methods and algorithms originating from different disciplines such as statistics, machine learning, neural networks, fuzzy logic, and evolutionary computation. Detailed algorithms are provided with necessary explanations and illustrative examples, and questions and exercises for practice at the end of each chapter. This new edition features the following new techniques/methodologies:

• Support Vector Machines (SVM)—developed based on statistical learning theory, they have a large potential for applications in predictive data mining

• Kohonen Maps (Self-Organizing Maps – SOM)—one of very applicative neural-networks-based methodologies for descriptive data mining and multi-dimensional data visualizations

• DBSCAN, BIRCH, and distributed DBSCAN clustering algorithms—representatives of an important class of density-based clustering methodologies

• Bayesian Networks (BN) methodology often used for causality modeling

• Algorithms for measuring Betweeness and Centrality parameters in graphs, important for applications in mining large social networks

• CART algorithm and Gini index in building decision trees

• Bagging & Boosting approaches to ensemble-learning methodologies, with details of AdaBoost algorithm

• Relief algorithm, one of the core feature selection algorithms inspired by instance-based learning

• PageRank algorithm for mining and authority ranking of web pages

• Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) for text mining and measuring semantic similarities between text-based documents

• New sections on temporal, spatial, web, text, parallel, and distributed data mining

• More emphasis on business, privacy, security, and legal aspects of data mining technology

This text offers guidance on how and when to use a particular software tool (with the companion data sets) from among the hundreds offered when faced with a data set to mine. This allows analysts to create and perform their own data mining experiments using their knowledge of the methodologies and techniques provided. The book emphasizes the selection of appropriate methodologies and data analysis software, as well as parameter tuning. These critically important, qualitative decisions can only be made with the deeper understanding of parameter meaning and its role in the technique that is offered here.

This volume is primarily intended as a data-mining textbook for computer science, computer engineering, and computer information systems majors at the graduate level. Senior students at the undergraduate level and with the appropriate background can also successfully comprehend all topics presented here.

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Active networking

Active networking is a communication pattern that allows packets flowing through a telecommunications network to 

dynamically modify the operation of the network.

How it works

Active network architecture is composed of execution environments (similar to a unix shell that can execute active packets), a node operating system capable of supporting one or more execution environments. It also consists of active hardware, capable of routing or switching as well as executing code within active packets. This differs from the traditional network architecture which seeks robustness and stability by attempting to remove complexity and the ability to change its fundamental operation from underlying network components. Network processors are one means of implementing active networking concepts. Active networks have also been implemented as overlay networks.

What does it offer?

Active networking allows the possibility of highly tailored and rapid "real-time" changes to the underlying network operation. This enables such ideas as sending code along with packets of information allowing the data to change its form (code) to match the channel characteristics. The smallest program that can generate a sequence of data can be found in the definition of Kolmogorov complexity. The use of real-time genetic algorithms within the network to compose network services is also enabled by active networking.

Fundamental challenges

Active network research addresses the nature of how best to incorporate extremely dynamic capability within networks^[1].

In order to do this, active network research must address the problem of optimally allocating computation versus communication within communication networks^[2]. A similar problem related to the compression of code as a measure of complexity is addressed via algorithmic information theory.

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Wireless Andrew

Wireless Andrew was the first campus-wide wireless Internet network. Built in 1993^[1], it was located on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University at its Pittsburgh campus before Wi-Fi branding originated.^[2] [3]

Wireless Andrew is a 2-megabit-per-second wireless local area network connected through access points to the wired Andrew network, a high-speed Ethernet backbone linking buildings across the Carnegie Mellon campus. Wireless Andrew consists of 100 access points covering six buildings on the Carnegie Mellon campus. The university tested the current setup with over 40 mobile units before allowing general use by researchers and students in February 1997. ^[4]

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Technological evolution

Technological evolution is the name of a science and technology studies theory describing technology 

development, developed by Czech philosopher Radovan Richta

Theory of technological evolution

According to Richta and later Bloomfield,^[1][2] technology (which Richta defines as "a material entity created by the application of mental and physical effort to nature in order to achieve some value") evolves in three stages: tools, machine, automation. This evolution, he says, follows two trends: the replacement of physical labour with more efficient mental labour, and the resulting greater degree of control over one's natural environment, including an ability to transform raw materials into ever more complex and pliable products.

[edit]

Stages of technological development

The pretechnological period, in which all other animal species remain today aside from some avian and primate species was a non-rational period of the early prehistoric man.

The emergence of technology, made possible by the development of the rational faculty, paved the way for the first stage: the tool. A tool provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task, and must be powered by human or animal effort.

Hunter-gatherers developed tools mainly for procuring food. Tools such as a container, spear, arrow, plow, or hammer that augments physical labor to more efficiently achieve his objective. Later animal-powered tools such as the plow and the horse, increased the productivity of food production about tenfold over the technology of the hunter-gatherers. Tools allow one to do things impossible to accomplish with one's body alone, such as seeing minute visual detail with a microscope, manipulating heavy objects with a pulley and cart, or carrying volumes of water in a bucket.

The second technological stage was the creation of the machine. A machine (a powered machine to be more precise) is a tool that substitutes the element of human physical effort, and requires the operator only to control its function. Machines became widespread with the industrial revolution, though windmills, a type of machine, are much older.

Examples of this include cars, trains, computers, and lights. Machines allow humans to tremendously exceed the limitations of their bodies. Putting a machine on the farm, a tractor, increased food productivity at least tenfold over the technology of the plow and the horse.

The third, and final stage of technological evolution is the automation. The automation is a machine that removes the element of human control with an automatic algorithm. Examples of machines that exhibit this characteristic are digital watches, automatic telephone switches, pacemakers, and computer programs.

It's important to understand that the three stages outline the introduction of the fundamental types of technology, and so all three continue to be widely used today. A spear, a plow, a pen, and an optical microscope are all examples of tools.

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Theoretical implications

The process of technological evolution culminates with the ability to achieve all the material values technologically possible and desirable by mental effort.

An economic implication of the above idea is that intellectual labour will become increasingly more important relative to physical labour. Contracts and agreements around information will become increasingly more common at the marketplace. Expansion and creation of new kinds of institutes that works with information such as for example universities, book stores, patent-trading companies, etc. is considered an indication that a civilization is in technological evolution.

Interestingly, this highlights the importance underlining the debate over intellectual property in conjunction with decentralized distribution systems such as today's internet. Where the price of information distribution is going towards zero with ever more efficient tools to distribute information is being invented. Growing amounts of information being distributed to an increasingly larger customer base as times goes by. With growing disintermediation in said markets and growing concerns over the protection of intellectual property rights it is not clear what form markets for information will take with the evolution of the information age..

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Insurance

In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the insurance; an insured, or policyholder, is the person or entity buying the insurance policy. The insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage, called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.

The transaction involves the insured assuming a guaranteed and known relatively small loss in the form of payment to the insurer in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate (indemnify) the insured in the case of a financial (personal) loss. The insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be financially compensated

Principles

Insurance involves pooling funds from many insured entities (known as exposures) to pay for the losses that some may incur. The insured entities are therefore protected from risk for a fee, with the fee being dependent upon the frequency and severity of the event occurring. In order to be insurable, the risk insured against must meet certain characteristics in order to be an insurable risk. Insurance is a commercial enterprise and a major part of the financial services industry, but individual entities can also self-insure through saving money for possible future losses.^[1]

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The Hardware Information Navigational Tool

The Hardware Information Navigational Tool, or HINT, is an information web service developed by the former AG Communications Systems (now Alcatel-Lucent) which displays hardware and software characteristics of a central office switching system. It displays the hardware equipment as it is positioned in the central office and shows how this equipment is being used. The program displays an interactive map, allowing the user to select the applicable states/provinces or country, then select the switching system, and then finally the module, circuit pack, and circuit. The statistical reports allow customers to maintain a watch on their resources. It is also useful for engineering and the daunting task of assigning all of the various telephony services.

All telephone exchanges are customized to local conditions. Because of this, there exists a dynamic difference between one central office to another due to capacity, provided features, and hardware vintages. HINT started out as an internal resource used by GTD-5 EAX Engineering Services, Remote Technical Assistance, and Sales Support. It was created with the intent to accurately view a customer’s unique hardware configuration without physically being present at the site. Deciphering the switch’s own Office Dependent Data (ODD), it provided switching system hardware images that were accurate and up-to-date. Through internal feedback and subsequent modifications, it evolved into a tool that was viable enough to be offered as a product and sought after by customers.

Due to the similarities between the GTD-5 EAX and the 5ESS product lines, numerous requests were made by HINT users to develop and expand the scope of HINT so that it includes the 5ESS switching system. After hearing the same request for several years and realizing the revenue potential of adding the 5ESS, AG expanded HINT to include the 5ESS switch type, providing the same features, look, and feel that has made the GTD-5 EAX version so popular.

Presently^[when?], over 90% of GTD-5 EAX switching systems are supported and maintained by the customer using HINT. These users have been using the tool for several years and purchase the service as a yearly subscription subject to annual scrutiny and review. Because of this, the vendor is continuously upgrading and adding new features to excite interest and retain its customer base.

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Area 51

Area 51 is a nickname for a military base located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States (north-northwest of Las Vegas). Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield and one of the most secretive places in the world. The base's primary purpose is to support development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.

The base lies within the United States Air Force's vast Nevada Test and Training Range. Although the facilities at the range are managed by the 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, the Groom facility appears to be run as an adjunct of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, around 160 miles (260 km) from Groom, and as such the base is known as Air Force Flight Test Center (Detachment 3). Area 51 researcher Glenn Campbell claims that AFFTC Detachment 3 is located at Groom, citing the title of a leaked security manual, the mailbox in Henderson, Nevada he believes formerly served Groom, and the NASA biography of astronaut Carl E. Walz who was formerly a manager at AFFTC detachment 3 (AFFTC-DET3.)

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