Category: Linux

Reviewing the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 Prepaid Mobile Hotspot (Virgin Mobile)

Paul

Click picture to see the Price! (Affiliate Link)

My Review of the Mifi 2200 Card!

I probably am not the only one who will be reviewing the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 Prepaid Mobile Hotspot(Virgin Mobile) card (Affiliate link).   I do however have used this card for over 3 weeks and I wanted to give you my opinions on this.  I know I originally bought this for a really good deal for $69.99 and I said a few weeks ago that I was going to talk about this little card.

Technical details:

  • What’s in the Box: MiFi Broadband2Go Prepaid Mobile Hotspot, AC charger, USB cable, battery, carrying pouch

  • experience faster average download speeds of 600 kbps – 1.4 Mbps

  • Ready-to-connect with no software to install

  • Universal Wi-Fi for ultimate compatibility

  • Connect up to 5 devices simultaneously

 

Observations on the Mifi Virgin Mobile!

I have had several weeks to play around with the Mifi card.   I must say that I am really impressed with this.   I don’t have a lot of options on having broadband in my neck of the woods, so when I found this on sale.   I really couldn’t help myself because I could now do what I have always wanted to do.   Having internet where I am live and be able to blog more readily available to me.

Pro’s:

  • Stream Hulu, CBS, NBC, Royal Pains (Affiliate link), Mythbusters (Affiliate link) and Netflix!  (Might require less quality and some buffering but I had no problems watching what I wanted, when I wanted to.)

  • Portability of having WPA connections wherever I went.

  • I even used my Sisters Ipad to stream Netflix and YouTube on the Mifi card.

  • Uses the Sprint Network

  • Can use Linux and other Operating systems with the card.

Although, I don’t stream all the time and thus I am probably not one of those who is going above their ceiling cap they have.   I’ve heard once you get above a certain limit.   Probably 10 gigs or something like that they will cut you off but that is something they will not say for sure.   The 2.5 gig limit will slow your speed down but I’m fine with that.  I haven’t had any problems with the slow down.

Con’s:

  • Battery life — I was able to use my battery for over 6 hours without recharging it but that was with me using it almost all the time.   If you have a long drive or am planning on use it more in your house.   It is best to just keep it plugged in when you use it.  (You can use a Dual USB Car charger to keep the Mifi working while travelling!)

  • Signal Strength — You basically have to keep it close to the windows to get any decent signal strength from the closest cell tower.   I haven’t had much problems with speed but I occasionally have had signal drops and reconnects from time to time.

  • Cricket Wireless broadband — This is just as good as Cricket Wireless broadband but since they aren’t in the are or have 3g services in my area, I had to go with Virgin Mobile.

 

All in All!

To sum it up, this isn’t a really a bad deal for the price.   Even though the so called “unlimited” is slower than normal speeds after 2.5 gb used, it is probably not going to be any faster than when you use it on a daily basis and thus it is still a good way to have internet in areas where there may not have many internet options.  The Novatel MiFi 2200 from Virgin Mobile (Affiliate link) isn’t a bad choice with a no contract.  I’ll definitely recommend it for those who might just be needed for spots that don’t have internet!

Paul Sylvester

 

 

Related articles

 

 

Scareware sites being sent through email!

Paul

setup_security_defender_622.exe Chrome Scareware site on a Linux system!

Don’t try this home!

If you are not careful you could easily get infected with spyware, or worms. I on the other hand know how to fix the problem if it happens or how to prevent it in the first place. I was using a live Kubuntu CD to do my test with the link that was given to me, so I didn’t have to worry to much about infections.  The URL which was given to me was “[Website]/wp-content/plugins/(random letters and numbers)“.   You could easily tell that it was just spam because there was no subject or anything else but a link in the email.   I did this a number a times and I got some very interesting websites:

  • http://scan27.delfasd.co.in (scareware site, See picture above)

  • http://wikimedicinepatients.eu (Canadian Pharmacy) [WHOIS]

  • http://systemtestnow.com  (Scareware site I think) [WHOIS]

  • http://scan7.oggnot.co.in

  • http://update17.oggnot.co.in

Never Run an unexpected Program!

I knew this was scareware site because it automatically sent me a file “setup_security_defender_622.exe“.   I decided to check it out even more so I submitted to Jotti and you can see what they said by clicking the filename.   I also submitted it to the Virustotal to see what it said and I wasn’t surprised but again, you should never run programs that your not expecting.    This is a really old scareware tactic that is still being used today and your self be taken advantage of.

Antivirus is KEY!

To prevent viruses, if your on a computer you really should consider buying an Antivirus.  There is even Antivurs for Macintosh machines, and Linux if your interested.   I don’t know if you really need a Linux antivirus but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have it.   I think they are far behind Mac/Windows Antivurus programs but yet they are getting better.   You never really know what is needed in the future but you should be ready when it comes.

Which Antivirus Software do you use?

I am quite curious as to which you use when it comes to having an antivirus software.   By all means leave a comment and tell me which one you use or if you found another website that you have found, and I’ll investigate it and tell others about it.

Paul Sylvester

Related articles

Enhanced by Zemanta

My Top Five Favorite Posts for 2011

Paul

English: Posts in the sand Presumably these po... Image via Wikipedia

It’s that time again!

I know this blog has been up and down this year and thus I want to discuss some of my more popular and ones that I am really proud of.   We all know that is isn’t going to be easy for me but I thought we could at least talk about some of more favorite posts and let people who just found my blog see some of my other posts!

We’ve all seen those post each year on different blogs and I am sure I am not the only one who does this but it is something that I like to do.   It after all is about community and sharing with my friends.  I know I consider my readers like close family because I am always thinking what I can do to better my life and yours.   This is my biggest reason for blogging, to make life better for everyone and make it much more enjoyable for me also.   You don’t know how nice it is just to sit down and write to my family(readers) and not have to feel like there is pressure to post.   This is my goal every time I write a post to share and hope it makes people think about how to work smarter and not hard.

Top Five Favorite Posts!

I will start off with my Five favorite posts and discuss them in length.   You can always feel free to look around and click any article on my site without worries.

  1. How to Get a Free VPN for Ubuntu/Kubuntu! –This is was one of those that I did because it was essential for me to find a free VPN for when I go to hotspots and not have to pay.   When you are on a limited income and trying to get to your next paycheck, then you know why I couldn’t afford to pay for a VPN service.  Also I use Kubuntu and thus couldn’t use the Windows only free VPNS that were available.

  2. Three ways on how to NOT waste your Money! —  This one is a supposedly a recruiting job from (crmglobalresources.com) but after doing my research it looks to be like my other post “Why do I need to pay for recruitment?” So I was really proud of this one to tell people about it! So don’t always think there will be easy money.4

  3. Apple Needs to Worry about Security and Virus! —  This one was of my favorite post also because I am always tell people that there will always be Apple viruses and that their advertisements in the past will always haunt them because Apple can and will be targeted now and in the future for virus attacks because they are getting a larger share in the Marketplace.

  4. My Reasons why Amazon will make an Android Tablet!  —  This is another one of my favorites because it was one of those that came true.   Just look at the the Kindle Fire to verify it, that is after all an Android tablet.   I think they have more to come in the future but only time will tell!

  5. Android Malware, Ridiculous! —   Let’s face it, most people think that Androids can’t get virus or have malware.   I discuss this in length and tell you that even Linux can have viruses and you should count your eggs before they are hatched.  I am not going to say that they will or will not but I discuss why hackers and virus writers would love to do it.   Once the market gets saturated enough with Android devices they will start to develop viruses and malware for them, I am sure it.

As you can see that there were some really good posts in 2011 and I hope to get even more post done in 2012. I am going to be resolute to doing a better job of posting but that could be a futile effort.

Paul Sylvester

Need Glasses? Try GlassesUSA!

Related articles

Are you on Fire for Kindle?

Paul

Amazon Introduces the Kindle Fire!

I must say that seeing this is definately something that I would like to get myself. After reading what it will do I am thinking this will make Ipad drop their price. I did predict this a few months back, and I knew it would have to be an Android tablet. This would greatly increase their market share and also get more and more people to buy their Premium Service and that will make it that much easier for people to watch their streaming media also.

Will it Succeed??

I don’t know if it will but I am certain it will make a big impact on what happens in the future. I do hope that the $199 version will allow me to stream on the road without a wifi signal but I can only wait to see. I would guess that if not Amazon would start to offer services for this also probably through Sprint or Verizon since they already have deals with them on their Wireless Amazon Website but then again I could be wrong. Even though I have played around with the Ipad 2, I am still trying to figure out if it is really worth the money to buy it.

This is Eye candy!

I must say just looking at this tablet makes me want to pre-order it now but I will wait a little while before I start buying it because of the price. Maybe in the next few weeks they will drop the price because of the high demand of this tablet. They will make a killing on people buying it just to watch their favorite movies where ever they are without having to boot up their laptops or computers. I can am curious if they will let you download your amazon movies or shows to the tablet so you can view them while on the road or other places. I will definitely have to see in the next few months what Amazon has planned but that would be a nice feature to be able to take my shows and movies with me either on a SD cardor on the internal memory. Although I suspect that is in the design somewhere, I am hoping they do have a card reader on this device if not they should add that for people like to make even more space available for it. I can’t wait to see all the reviews of this and how people like it. I wouldn’t mind getting one of these myself to test and explore even more.

Have a Good day!

Paul Sylvester

Five Essential Packages for Ubuntu/Kubuntu!

Paul

Why do I need these packages?

There is no right or wrong answer but when I say it is needed, it is because us as a community should be ready. I know I already talked about people getting a Virus on Linux, and that some people think you can’t get a Virus. In all aspects, the Linux community is in a holding when it comes to security and viruses. I will not discuss this enough but for today we will discuss what packages you should have already installed when you first start using Linux. Even the Ubuntu developers have talked about viruses on their main website, so it isn’t something that I am not a little worried about when people start to use Linux.

The Packages I have installed!

While there is no right or wrong package for your Linux system, I thought I would at least recommend the ones that I did install not just for security but also for convenience. It will be your decision on which ones you will be install and which ones you think you’ll need. This list is for those who are serious about security and want to avoid any chances of being compromised.

  • VLC Media Player — Although this has nothing to do with security it is something that will prevent those nasty attempts, claiming your don’t have the right Codex to play this streaming Video. At least, if you have this installed you are one step closer to and knowing that this is a fake because I have found to be very affective having all the codex I will ever need.
  • AVG Antivirus — I have personally installed means I am a little more safer but not out of the woods just yet. Although, I am much safer having installed there is a long way to go before there is a good enough Antivirus program for linux and that I hope that changes in the future.
  • Firewall — Although this is your choice, I picked arno-iptables-firewall, which seems to be what I need right now. It however is something of a personal choice and probably even an OS choice.
  • Password Manager — Yes you heard it right, if you have a good Password manager then you are less likely to give out your password to sites that look like the real thing, which is called phishing attacks. With a good Password manager, you can go to right the right site with a click of the manager. I personally recommend Lastpass, but it is all up to your which one you want to use. I really don’t know if there are more linux based password manager but I am sure you can find them.
  • VPN — Although this isn’t really a package per say, but one that talked about in the past. How to get a VPN on Ubuntu/Kubuntu. I am sure there are others out on the internet. I just don’t want to make it to complicated for beginners, so I did make my own tutorial on getting a free VPN. You really don’t want anyone listening in while at a public hotspot do you?

Your one step closer!

As you can see these are what I call essential because of most of these will make you a little more security conscience and that in turn will make you a better Linux user. for the most part your be more ready than a lot of Linux user but that doesn’t mean your invulnerable, just more educated the rest. If you have a recommendation, I encourage you to leave a comment and let others know, but for the time being these are just what I have installed on my Kubuntu 11.04 right now and I’m really happy.

See you on the Flip Side

Paul Sylvester