Security

After reading about Wendy's experience being hacked, I decided today was the day I was going to beef up my wireless security.  I'd been putting this off for two months because I knew it was going to be a PITA, and, yes, it definitely was.  I, of course, am a computer amateur.  I set up my own router and modem, but Linksys's online instructions for making my network secure were so intimidating that I figured I could do it some other time.  Today was that other time.

I don't think professionals have to deal with puppies biting their feet while they are doing online security installation.  And I don't think they have kids looking through encyclopedia sets and asking, "Mom, what animal starts with the letter S?  Snake?  Where are the snakes in this book.  I can't find the snakes.  Can you find the snakes.  Mom, I'm looking at all the pages, but there aren't any snakes.  Oh, there they are.  Thanks for finding them...Mom, what animal starts with the letter B?  Beaver?  Where are the beavers in this book?"  Etc., etc., etc.  I don't know if this is true, but I imagine professional computer people know how the software operates and can work fairly distraction free.  

I tried resetting the security options online but could not connect to the site they suggested.  Which meant I had to use the CD-ROM they included with the router.  But it wasn't immediately clear which option on said CD-ROM would take me where I wanted to go.  So I wasted about an hour fiddling around before I found something useful.  In the meantime, between long pauses while the computer was "working," I changed all my online passwords and converted a 3-tier password system to a 5-tier one (with a few extras).  This necessitated recording these passwords since there was no way I could remember all the strange number, capitalization, and extra character passwords I made up by myself.  

Finally, I got the network security the way I wanted it.  Then I couldn't get my laptop to establish a wireless connection.  I wound up using the Microsoft wireless assistant to re-connect there, but am now getting a bunch of error messages from Linksys ("Network Problem!  The connection to the Router is not working."  Which begs two questions:  How can this be when I'm working online right now?  And why is Router capitalized?) , so when Max finally goes to sleep, I'll be trotting upstairs again to see if I can troubleshoot again.  He's almost there, but like every night, he's fighting it, and if he hears me leave this room, he'll start asking questions and getting up out of bed again.  Argh.  It's just easier to stay put for a little while longer.  

So.  My brain hurts.  I'll try to get a review up by Wednesday, but other than that, I've only got plans to sleep.