HOEI

Which one is the real cool toy? Is it the airplane he’s leaning on or the cool software for your PC that allows you to interact with your Treo 650 on the desktop using your mouse and keyboard?

I had no idea this PDAReach tool or the PDANet application was on the market. The folks over at June Fabrics have done a fantastic job with these two applications.

The PDAReach application ($24) as shown in the above image lets you display and control your PDA on the desktop. This is especially helpful for me since one of my favorite Bible study resources is my Palm Bible Reader software from OliveTree. The specific functionality found in Bible Reader is only available on PDAs. I can access the bookmarks notes and search feature using my PC mouse and keyboard using PDAReach. You can read more about my experiences with Bible Reader on The Land of Ozz. The PDAReach application works with just about any Palm OS device on the market.

The PDANet application ($34) allows for me to connect to the Internet via the unlimited data plan that I already have with Verizon Wireless using the USB cable that shipped with my Treo 650. Basically you can use your Treo 650 as a modem that can reach connection speeds up to 144 kps. I have done a little research and found a couple of other applications that help you use your Treo 650 as a modem, but I have not tried them.
These two applications from June Fabrics get high marks for affordability and functionality. Both products have trial versions available and can be downloaded from June Fabrics.

Today we feature a case of making a mountain out of a mole hill. The Washington Post released a story about how a Windows Wireless Flaw a Danger to Laptops. I have a news flash for you WaPo. This is a functionality of hard wired Windows based laptops and computers anywhere. Yes, you can gain access in more unsuspecting places like on airplanes via wireless, but this is not a new idea. The types of additional tools required to hack a laptop via a wireless connection as described in this article can also be used to hack a hard wired computer over a dial-up, cable modem, LAN, or DSL. Simply having an IP address on the same IP segment does not constitute hacking a computer as this article suggests. The meat of the story was skipped to satisfy the fear of the general population. In order to gain access to the target Windows computer remotely you must also gain user rights on that computer which requires using software that is not included on Windows computers. Computers plugged in via a standard network cable to a hotel, office, or home network are susceptible to the same kinds of attacks if they are not taking measures to “try” to stop hackers. This news story is not really that big of a story after all. The most interesting portion of the article found below was where they are talking about hacking a laptop while on a plane over international waters.

Loveless said he believes that since the attacks were mostly carried while the plane was over international waters that U.S. law enforcement might have a hard time making the case that he was violating any laws. The real answer to that very interesting question, he said, would probably not be evident until someone gets sued in court for it.

Law enforcement authorities don’t seem to have a problem prosecuting a person for other offences over international waters. What makes computer crime over international waters any different than computer crimes committed on the ground? The bottom line is that your data is only safe when it is on a computer that is turned off, unplugged from power and network, locked in a safe, and guarded by the US Marines.