Home-grown
innovation rules
Canadian
heroes: Wireless PCs, privacy protectors
by Alan
Zisman (c) 2002
First published in Business in Vancouver , Issue #661 June
25- July 1, 2002, GearGuide column
With
Canada
Day around the corner, this month I'll celebrate
by featuring a trio of Canuck companies making world-class products.
Shielding
your
computers
Does
the
term "firewall" make you shudder? While most users
of "always-on" broadband Internet connections recognize the need
for added security, software and hardwall firewalls have typically
required the sort of configuration that makes
most users pause.
Burnaby-based
Alphashield (www.alphashield.com; formerly 
Saafnet International)
hopes to change that. Its $199 Alphashield privacy protection
device offers plug-and-play ease of setup and use. The company promises
it requires "no maintenance, no configuration, and no upgrades." The device
is a small silver box that sits between the cable or DSL modem and
the computer.
In
my tests, it worked as advertised. Setup took only a moment
or two. And unlike routers, which also provide firewall security,
no configuration of the Alphashield unit, the computer, or my
network was necessary. In fact, no software is included in the package.
Testing at the well-known Shields Up Web site (www.grc.com)
showed that my computer was hidden to outsiders on
the Net. Unlike software-based firewalls,
the Alphashield boasts its own built-in CPU, and has no noticeable
impact on Internet performance. And it works with any sort of
computer.
A
few things to note, however. Making your computer invisible
to outsiders on the Internet means it's invisible to peer-to-peer
file sharing software, instant messaging, and remote access software.
You can use all of these sorts of programs from your protected
computer, but you have to initiate the contact
-- since your computer is hidden, others cannot contact you first.
Home
or
small offices with multiple computers on a network can
protect the entire network with a single unit placed between
the modem and the network router. But since most network routers
also have firewall protection, Alphashield's firewall is less
needed.
Picture
Perfect
While
Toronto-based ATI Technologies has more mindshare
(and market share) in the hot market for computer video adapters,
Montreal-based Matrox Graphics(www.matrox.com)
is a competitor worth keeping in mind.
Many
of
their current products support multiple monitors from
a single video card; the Millennium G550 Dual-DVI is the only
card on the market capable of controlling two flat-panel displays
at once.
AirCard
on
the go
Last
month,
we noted how cellphone-provider Microcell
offered notebook and PDA users a wireless PC Card, the Novatel
Merlin, for Internet-access on
the go.
Not
to be outdone, TelusMobility now offers
computer users its Velocity Wireless service,
featuring the AirCard 555 from Richmond's Sierra
Wireless.
The AirCard is a
credit-card-sized PC Card for notebooks and personal digital assistants
that combines the features of
a wireless modem and a network card. It even allows users to
make voice calls and send text message to cellphones from their
laptop computers. The AirCard is designed to work on Telus's
(and Bell Canada 's) new CDMA2000 1X network at speeds between
86 and 144 Kbps (about 10 times as fast as typical wireless data
transmission speeds), but will also connect
at slower speeds on Telus's older networks. The card costs $480,
with a special offer from Telus of unlimited data service for
$50 a month. High-speed service is available in major Canadian cities
and is being expanded to smaller centres. Roaming privileges in the
U.S. through Telus partner Verizon are expected later this
year. Stay tuned.
