Wall-to-wall: wireless jacks are the "in" thing for networking

Entrepreneur, Jan, 2005 by Amanda C. Kooser

While Wi-Fi is a convenient advance, installing a large wireless network can be costly. Large offices and older buildings require special care to extend the network to every cranny. Wi-Jacks are the latest hardware offering aimed at making Wi-Fi easier and cheaper for businesses. Manufacturers Aruba (www. arubanetworks.com) and Ottronics (www.ortronics. com) developed the product.

Wi-Jacks are Wi-Fi wall outlets that fit an access point into a standard data wall outlet (the kind you're familiar with for Ethernet use) so you avoid installing costly access points on the ceiling. Ortronics estimates a 65 to 75 percent savings over the legacy style of Wi-Fi installations. Wi-Jacks allow for more centralized network management and easier deployment. Models will be available with either 802.11a or 802.11b/g and with or without Ethernet connections.

Lower installation costs permit more of a grid approach to building out a wireless network--good news for larger networks, where getting adequate coverage is an issue. Small businesses will still be content with standard hardware. But if you're considering upgrading to wireless or moving into a new building, check into Wi-Jacks.

That's the real question--to which there really isn't a good answer anymore. One thing is for sure: You can't afford to be a default Windows user; someone who accepts a Windows PC's default directories, settings and applications like Internet Explorer and Outlook. Computing today requires aggressive use of security tools and almost weekly patching of Windows software. Yet a recent study by the National Cyber Security Alliance (www.staysafeonline. info) found that two-thirds of all PCs lack a firewall and up-to-date virus protection, and up to 80 percent may already be infected with spyware.

CERT, the federal Computer Emergency Response Team, suggests sidestepping some of those dangers by using a browser other than Internet Explorer. And Chris Hofmann, director of engineering for the Mozilla Foundation in Mountain View, California, says security concerns are driving a boom in downloads of his Mozilla and Firefox browsers. Firefox alone logged 1 million downloads within days of its fall preview and more than 5 million within its first month.

No Soup for You!

The case for Internet Explorer alternatives got stronger when Microsoft let it be known that its long-awaited security overhaul won't be made available to that half of Internet Explorer users who haven't upgraded to Windows XP. Microsoft characterizes Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) as "all about security."

Some might call that crack-filling. Microsoft considers it adding value, and non-XP users who want those "features" can pay $99 and embark on an OS changeover. Even that won't guarantee your security because, as security expert Secunia (http://secunia.com/ product/11) points out, SP2 doesn't fill every crack.

Even if it did, it's the vulnerabilities not yet born that threaten us most, the only real antidote for them being a proactive commitment by your software's developer. One surefire way to ensure that it stays committed is for its browser market share to fall below its current 90 to 95 percent. Does that mean you should dump Internet Explorer, as so many e-mails in my inbox advocate? No.

That's simply not practical for the overwhelming majority of businesses that rely heavily on Windows technology. For one thing, you can't download those megabyte-size patches for Windows software without Internet Explorer. Besides, Microsoft became your principal software provider because you really like its products, and they contribute to your productivity every day.

Plan B

But a backup browser plan doesn't require an OS change or an application makeover. Open source browsers (see "Just Browsing," below) are free, quickly installed and easily used.

While devotees swoon over tabbed browsing, pop-up blockers and constantly updated news feeds, their use is optional, and none require training. Their interfaces differ, but hopping between Mozilla, Netscape and Opera is no more challenging than switching between Microsoft Word and Excel. The key "feature" of open source browsers is what they don't have: a plague of spyware and Internet Explorer exploits like the new Trojan that invades your PC inside a JPEG image.

Some argue that they'll prove just as buggy as Internet Explorer once they're popular enough to attract hackers. Maybe, but that's not the record of Apache web servers (http://secunia. com/vendor), which already dominate the web. Open source code is subjected to more rigorous review by outside programmers, says Hofmann. Its development team puts a higher priority on security, pointedly avoiding some of those services that make Internet Explorer convenient but more vulnerable. All software contains bugs, but there's no equivalence to the flaws in Internet Explorer, says Hofmann.

Will an open source browser solve all your security problems? Heck, no.

But then again, having an Internet Explorer backup couldn't hurt, and it might just mean you avoid that one bug with your name on it.