Tag: Blog

Reviewing Wilson cellular signal booster For Phone and Mifi!

Paul2 Replies

Product Features

  • Installs easily In any vehicle
  • Significantly improves both transmitted and received signal levels
  • Reduces dropped calls and extends range
  • Universal cradle holds any cellular phone securely
  • For antenna upgrade, use the Wilson Electronics 301125 Magnet Mount Antenna
  • Built-in port for battery charging; adjustable arms to fit most any phone
  • Extends the calling range and signal strength of any phone on any North American cell service provider (except Nextel/iDEN)
  • External vehicular antenna increases any phone’s output power to cell towers
  • Reduces dropped calls, extends signal range, and increases data rates
  • What’s in the Box: amplifier/charger cradle, mini magnet-mount antenna for outside vehicle, in-car power adapter, dash mount, installation guide

Dimensions

  • Size (LWH): 7.75 inches, 6.12 inches, 2.25 inches

As you can see this come with a lot of stuff, but what you might not realize is that it can increase signal strength for Verizon Mobile, Virgin Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Straight Talk and Cricket Wireless Cell Phones and Modems.   I say that pretty much covers anyone who has a 3g Connection, you have the option of buying the 4G Signal Booster but most will only need the 3G booster.   I am sure I have left out a few mobile providers but in any case most, if not all, will work with this booster.

So I got mine for 89$ but Amazon seems to be running a special on them right  now.  I would recommend buying the bigger Antenna for it.  The  Antenna that comes with it is really a small antenna and thus you will not get as much service without the bigger version of Antenna.   I have ordered my bigger Antenna but it didn’t not make it to this review.   I must say that I am living in a area that doesn’t get much signals and this booster did help out with all my needs.

Pro’s

  • Mobility — if you are looking for the car, then this is defiantly one of those that can be a great asset to traveling.  The antenna stays on the roof with no problem, the magnet is strong and sturdy. 
  • More Coverage — After installing this booster in my home, I have found that I am getting at least 1 bar with my Virgin Mobile Mifi Modem.   Which in itself is very good thing.  I can’t get internet any other way.
  • Home Kits — Wilson sells some great home kits to make it more home friendly, so at least if you need it for the home it can easily be used for the home.
  • Money — You only have to buy this once and you are all set to use it for any phone you might buy!

Con’s

  • Heat — If you the booster has to work a lot it will be producing more heat.   Although this isn’t the end of the world it can slow or prevent some cell phones from working properly.   So you must be mindful of that.
  • Antenna — Like I said you can buy a bigger Antenna but that will up the cost of the booster by 20 to 30% but it is worth it.  It should be a kit already being sold with the bigger antenna, but I am sure someone has thought of that somewhere.
  • Phones — This is one of those really obvious ones but not all phones will be able to use this booster because of the location of the battery and the internal antenna.   It sometimes is a hit or miss when it comes to cell phone boosters.

All in all I am really happy with this little Cellular Booster that actually does increase my data and phone speeds a lot and let’s me have more steady connections.   It is a must for anyone who lives in a rural area that needs to be connected to friends and family.   I am really happy with this little device and you should go check it out yourself!

The NSA and You, what they probably know about you!

Paul

A Spy's Spy

NSA has Secrets!

VPN4ALL TurbostreamIn a recent report by USA Today, we see just how much the NSA is keeping behind closed doors! I have been seeing this come over the years and quite frankly have expected this to happen.   Nothing has changed in my mind, but I am sure everyone is either quite uncomfortable or in denial of the whole thing.  They have everything they need including your identity, although they already had that if your a US citizen.

Cell Phone Data!

With Prism program being exposed you can bet they are wire taping all the data from Cell Phones, your IMEI, GPS location, and even who you sent or received text messages from.  That is however where you should worry.   

Most phones are using data to place phone calls now a days.   We have went from analog to digital on over the air televisions and they did the same thing to digitial voice calls.   So when you dial your cell phone and talk to your friend or family member.   You can bet the NSA is listening in.   

Emails and You!

Just like Google will look for keywords in your emails to serve up relevant ads in your Gmail account. That was to unexpected they have to make money somewhere.   It can be very dangerous though to email someone with really bad words and I mean those words you don’t want to flag you as a potential terrorist.  Emails are being sent to other servers without encryption and this is a good example on how the NSA is also getting your private emails to friends and family.

All Data is be collected!

I am almost certain that all data you have is being collected at some form or another.   You can really expect it to change over night but you can at least keep what privacy you have safe and secure.   You need something like VPN4ALL Enhanced VPN Security Military Grade Encryption Hide your Identity from Hackers and Government ALIKE.   I won’t say this is the only thing you need but it will help you protect your privacy online.   I like them because they have mobile VPN that you can use with your mobile phones and tablets and keep your safe and secure.

 

How to protect your privacy online and from the NSA!

Paul

Code Pink NSA protest at Sen Dianne Feinstein's house

Who watches the watcher?

That phrase has always made people think and I think it is high time we think really hard to ask those tough questions.   A few weeks ago we had Edward Snowden release statements on the NSA, and it got me asking questions that I am sure you are asking to.  Some of the questions I have are:

  • What can I do to protect myself?
  • What does the NSA actually know about me?
  • What programs, and ways can I keep my privacy private?
  • Why Do I need to keep my privacy private?

As you can see this is going to be a pretty big multiple posts.   To start it off with we need to lay a few building blocks and hopefully it will help you to understand the problem at hand.

The Internet and You!

When your on Facebook, or any other social network.   You have to understand that what you put out on the network.   More than you can see.  Although it shouldn’t be a surprise to my readers, you may want to at least consider that what you put out on the networks, might come back and bite you on the behind later.  

So obviously when you visit a site and maybe you are using an Android Device.   You probably don’t see the long outlandish URL and that can be problematic at best and at worst it can be used against you.  If you know anything about URL’s you know that nothing is sacred on the browsers and every link you click someone is tracking you.   Whether it be your ISP to an Affiliated Link, or it could be a bad guy just waiting for you to give out your personal information to him!

Privacy and you!

So now we come to the question of why protect it if we have no privacy?  Just because we have no privacy doesn’t mean we can’t keep what we have a secret.   I know all to well that people say or do stuff that they doesn’t want others to see.   It can be a make or break a person depending on who and what they see from a post on Facebook and other social media sites.  

If you were to walk into an interview unprepared then you will not get the job.   You can bet that most hiring managers will do a quick name search on your name on Google and other social media outlets.   Just to get ready for that interview.   Now we all know that if it is a really important position you can bet they may want to know all your profiles.   I don’t know if it is legal or not so that is up to you, it may help and it may harm.   You see the point in this, and why it should be kept private until you think it should be public.

In the coming weeks I will talk about rest of this but for right now.   You can sit back and reread this and absorb what you can from my post.   It might be a good idea to subscribe by email for the updates!  You never know when I will post more about my favorite topic…Security!!

PRISM and Edward Snowden scandal!

Paul

Prism Reflections 1877

Prism Scandal?

Some of you would wonder if the Surveillance scandal of 2013 will be remember in 2050?  I really can’t say for sure in the past few hours the US Government has issued an arrest for Edward Snowden.  It really looks quite suspicious that the government uses this tactic.   It seems almost like they want to blame someone who wanted to let the world and the his fellow US citzen the right to know what they are doing.   This is getting quite scary as some of you would like.   With Obama on his last term as president, we have to wonder what will happen for the next 3 years.   Will he make our privacy just as bad as China?

Tech Giants are the ROOT to this!

Most Tech giants are afraid of the government and what will happen to their reputation if they were to be truthful.   I really doubt the government would do anything but slap them for saying no.  They afford so much of this blame that seems to be going around and around in circles.   One company blames another company and it is an endless blame.   Just like the US government is blaming Snowden for leaking this information, you wonder why all the fuss about leak.   He didn’t leak any personal information such as people and social security numbers.

Tempora program and The British Secret Service!

While we are on the subject of PRISM, we have to at least show that it has been going on in other governments around the world and good old James Bond likes his Tempora Program “Shaken, Not stirred”.  We’ve see that the US isn’t the only one doing the serviceable of their people.   Quite scarey isn’t it?   The Tempora program is a co-operation between the NSA and Britain exchanging information about what people do.

What can I do?

If you wondering about cloud backup, you can try Malwarebytes Secure Backup Pro and that will at least encrypt all your data before it is stored in the cloud.   I won’t say that is the only thing you can do.   You can also use a VPN Service such as VPN4ALL The Best Protection Online AES-256 RSA 2096bit (Military Grade) Encryption for all your internet traffic. Unlimited and Metered VPN Plans starting 9.95 / month which is what I am using now so It will help keep your privacy a little more safe. There are no guarantees that government has keys but at least it is one more step to privacy that shows them that you want to be “Do Not Tracked”.   One last way to help keep your information a little more private is Secured Texted on the Android phones.   Looks nice and it is opened source so you have little worry about who has access to your text messages.   In the last 30 days, this app has been getting popular.  

 

Reviewing RavPower Dynamo-On-the-Go 10400mAh External Backup Battery Pack!

Paul

      

RAVPower — Flashlight   USB Car Charger(2 Port)  And More!

Reviewing the RavPower!

I must get this out in the open,  I was given the chance to review the RavPower Dynamo-On-the-Go 10400mAh External Backup Battery Pack.  The kind folks over at the marketing department, contacted me and asked for me to review their product.  Other than the unit is self, the Ravpower people did not pay me to say these things.   I said I would love to review it, being that I have a Phone that constantly needs to be charged and my tablet.   I must say this has been a life saver for me, when I forgot to charge my phone over night one night during the week.  

My thoughts

After having this over a week, I will say that it is heaver than I thought but it does come with 4 Samsung 2600mAh(Milli-Amp-hours), and thus can be the best portable power solutions including my Kyocera Rise from Virgin Mobile.   Which can be a very useful to keep my phone working on the run!   

 

It came with a White wall usb charger, My thoughts are just pitch it in the trash and us another usb charger other than that one.   When I used that wall charger, it got REALLY hot.   It definitely wasn’t hot enough to catch fire but I was concerned so I used another wall charger to charge the Ravpower and The charger itself did not get so hot with unlike the white usb charger.  

The Unit itself is very user friendly with that power meter built into the device so I can keep track of when I need to recharge the portable power battery pack and I really haven’t had to charge it every night.   I have been only using it for small stuff such as my phone or my portable speaker, which can be useful walking around!

Iit comes with a carrying pouch black holder and two USB to Micr usb cords which can be very useful for when you don’t have one.   The holder part of this set is very useful to keep your Portable power pack safe and secure.  

I would recommend this product to anyone who has phones that constantly need recharging or those who might need an extra power for Ipads, and Iphones for long trips.   I can’t see this being anything other than useful for me and it has quite a few possibility when it comes to keep things charged on the go or when I am out and about.   

Go check it out yourself, I give this a 4 out of five and the only reason not a five is the wall charger issue.   Which is very good!

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