Notes from the September 12, 2002 meeting of the Rochester Genealogical Society, Computer Interest Group. There were 50 members in attendance. Roy Thurston, Rochester Genealogical Society Vice President/Computer Interest Group chaired the meeting.
The meeting was opened by Roy Thurston, Rochester Genealogical Society, Vice President-Computer Interest Group. The meeting was held at Brighton High School, Room 262, 7 P.M.-9 P.M. There were 40 members and 1 visitor in attendance
STATUS REPORTS:
Jim Hall, Meeting Announcement Preparer, and Meeting Notes Transcriber asked about receipt of the meeting announcements, and was given a unanimous response on getting the announcement. He noted that it is important that he have the correct mailing address as return and resending by First Class now cost us 74¢. Also, the return and resending of Here Ye can cost up to $1.00.
Bob Coomber gave a repeat on the preliminary announcement about the Salt Lake City trip in the Spring of 2003. More information is given at the Rochester Genealogical Society meetings.
Paul Blake gave a brief summary of the Program Questionnaire, showing 30 responses. The Program Committee was to meet on September 14th. Some highlights of the survey showed 24 used IBM clones, 4 use MAC, 14 use FTM (Family Tree Maker), 6 PAF (Personal Ancestral File) , 5 Generations and 3 Reunion.
Subject of interest, by popularity were: Picture Formatting and electronic storage, Genealogical Website reviews (live), scanning, web site creation and maintenance, Genealogy CD-ROMs, FTM videos (pro & con). (There is a problem with the Family Tree Maker videos going through the VCR and video projector system. The FTM version 10 video has been received and will be presented soon.
TECH TALK:
Acronyms: Some acronyms were presented: IPX, SPX and FTP. (Answers are at the end of these notes.)
CURRENT PROBLEMS/SOLUTIONS:
-
Using PAF, separating a large file into 2 or more parts is desired. It appears that erasing persons does not reduce the size of the file. This was noted as reserving space by PAF, maintaining the same file size, but this space can be reused with future data input. It was recommended that each part be exported as a GEDCOM file. In the future, recombining the parts can result in some duplication of records, but these can easily be removed with "Match & Merge."
-
A question on viruses attacking multiple partitions on a hard drive was responded to that it appears that only one portion is attacked, at least with the KLEZ virus. Others may attack differently. Finding the source of the virus can be difficult, but it was suggested that the file header usually can be expanded to review the route taken by the virus.
-
If you do not have virus protection, with very current data update, you are very likely to be attacked. A possible prevention of forwarding one virus requires the insertion at the top of the address list of two exclamation marks, then several zeros. The viruses cannot read this and will be stopped at this point. Unfortunately, most hackers/virus writers are aware of this ploy and are writing around it.
MAIN PROGRAM:
The speaker for the evening was Jeff Leist, President of Microworx Direct, Inc., 793 South Goodman Street, Rochester, New York, phone (585) 271-0050. He spoke on the fundamentals\methods of setting up a wired or wireless network in a home environment. He noted that Microworx has acquired and expanded into the Serviceland location in the Win-Jeff Plaza at Winton and Jefferson Road. A brief historical review of networking described the early days is the late 1980's, leading to Windows for Work Groups, a very complicated DOS procedure. Windows 95 enhanced the ease of an installation and then Windows98, 2000 and XP were leaps forward in ease of installation and operation. Today's setup and operations are fairly trouble free. Why network computers? Sharing large files, photos or documents, is just a lot easier. He uses his notebook for Family Tree Maker file transfer from a notebook to a desktop.
With the high transfer speeds of broadband networks, the desire to play games has pushed multiple connections.
The choices in networking are two, wired and wireless. He displayed a category 5 cable with RJ45 endings; telephone type connectors on each end. The cable can be up to 300 feet, avoiding any radio type interferences, which are seldom found in the home. The cable must be routed through walls and ceilings from location to the next. Prefabricated cables are recommended due to the difficulty in attaching the cable ends. He displayed a PCI card with a single RJ45 connection for installation into a computer. An MCIA card is used for a laptop. Newer computers use USB connectors and the installation does not need to open up the computer; again, this is even easier. USB is limited slightly in distance.
Next, Jeff described a 16 post HUB, and then a 5 port unit that is usually the style used in a home. If just connecting two computers, without going onto the Internet, a simple cable called a crossover cable can be used, allowing high speed two way communications.
HUBs or SWITCHES are a much faster way for more than two computers to communicate. There are 5 port units cost about $45. Each network card can cost about $50. Connections to the Internet use a device called a ROUTER, combines the router, switch and a firewall which connects multiple computers or other devices to Road Runner or DSL to the Internet. It gives a single connection to the Internet, whereas additional Road Runner connections cost about $5 each. If there are service problems, Road Runner will not support a router. The function of a firewall will protect the system from many viruses. The KLEZ virus is running rampant, as is a new one, BUM BEAR. The cost of the router is about $90.
A variety of hook-ups to a network and either/or to the Internet are possible and easily prepared. For a small business, this can allow different departments to have different services. The firewall will prevent an attacker from entering your system and leaving with your address book entries. A hub is a useful device, but has limited protection. Before the protective devices, Jeff had the awful experience of having 6 computers in his home being attacked at the same time. He tightened up his security with haste!
Comparing firewall software and hardware, Jeff believes that the software option is much more vulnerable than the hardware systems. He briefly discussed the benefits of having the protection of this software and/or hardware, Black Ice, etc. He noted that firewalls can stop Spyware sending info back to advertisers.
Next, Jeff described wireless installations, noting the convenience, but also restrictions of distance (300 feet between units), or troubles with radio frequency interferences. The central unit should be placed "centrally" to minimize the distances to the other devices. The freedom given by wireless can often save quite a lot of installation frustration. Not all locations in a home can be served satisfactorily, no matter where the central unit is placed.
The wireless technology is developing rapidly, supporting 4 megabits/second, none, vs. 11 megabits/second later; the advantages of the higher speed may not be utilized. Wireless cards have built-in antennas. Notebooks seem to be very suited to this technology. Wireless combined with hard wire access to the Internet or another network can be a very useful arrangement. Wireless units cost about double, $200 vs. $100 for wired units. Road Runner accepts the new devices as they only have to provide the 2 megabits/second, without the interference of other devices.
Wireless technology can lead to some abuses as operators cruise the neighborhood looking for open access points. The signals must be encrypted to protect your privacy, and access to the Internet and your files.
Jeff was given a well-deserved round of applause.
Acronyms:
IPX= "Internet Packet Exchange" = The network layer protocol in the NetWare Operating System.
SPX= " Sequenced Packet Exchange" = The transport layer protocol in the NetWare Operating System.
FTP= "File Transport Protocol" = A protocol used to transfer files over a TCP/IP network.
wishes
to thank Gloria Church for her continued efforts in keyboarding these notes, and Dick Halsey
for uploading the notes to the RGS Website.
