Shared-Hosting Perils

SSID Broadcast Question

By M. David Stone

In “Making the Best of WEP” ( www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1429905,00.asp ), you recommend disabling the SSID broadcast for access points as a security measure for 802.11b networks. But Microsoft says, “Disabling SSID broadcasts on an access point is not considered a valid method for securing a wireless network” ( http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811427 ).

With the SSID broadcast disabled, if there is another access point within range that is broadcasting, systems will automatically switch to the access point that’s broadcasting its SSID. This happens even if you didn’t list that broadcasting system as a preferred network and you’ve listed the access point that’s not broadcasting as preferred. It seems, then, that turning off the SSID broadcast is something you shouldn’t do. – Carey Holzman

You’re right about Microsoft’s statement, but the access point manufacturers we’ve talked to disagree. More important, the behavior you describe applies only if you are using Windows XP SP1, let Windows control the connection, and have Win-dows set to connect automatically to nonpreferred networks.

To ensure that Windows will connect to an access point that’s defined as a preferred network but has broadcasting turned off, open the Control Panel and choose Network Connections, then Wireless Network Connection, and then the Properties button. Next, choose the Wireless Networks tab and then the Advanced button. Make sure that the Automatically connect to nonpreferred networks check box is not checked. Now you should be able to connect without problems to an access point that’s not broadcasting its SSID, as described in our original tip.

Multi-Monitor Compatibility Database here

HitBox 10 review by PC Magazine

Remove User Name and Password from a Single Site

By Neil J. Rubenking

Is there any way to remove the saved user name and password from a single Web site? I need to remove this information only from one particular site; I want to keep all of my other saved password data. So far, all I can find in Internet Explorer is the option to clear all the passwords from all sites.

Removing a stored user name and password is pretty simple. Navigate to the site in question. When it prompts you for the user name and password, click in the user name box and press the Down Arrow. This will show all the user names stored for the particular site (usually just one). Press the Down Arrow until the name to be removed is highlighted, and then press the Del key. Windows will ask whether you want to delete the user name and password. Click on Yes and they’re gone.

Apple – AirPort Express

They’re slashing MP3 prices!

ITunes: $.99 per song. Napster: $.99 per song. Wal-Mart: $.88 per song. Rhapsody: $.79. Complete albums from any of these services: $9.99 to $20. Allofmp3’s pricing? They charge you per megabyte. OK, sounds all right, you say. But get this: you pay $.01 per megabyte. A typical 4-minute MP3 song encoded at 128KB costs about $.04. That’s no misprint. To make the deal even sweeter, you have a choice of encoders: MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, Windows Media, or MusePack.

-Hp has a new prototype in the works. They call it “Troy“.

-Sony announced it will be halting production of all Cliés in the U.S. for the remainder of this year. The company says it is taking this time to reevaluate the PDA market.

Get the Last Nonblank Cell in An Excel Range

By Neil J. Rubenking

I have an Excel spreadsheet containing several instances of information for each month in a two-year period. In each case I need a formula to display the contents of the last nonblank cell in the two-year range. I tried using the IF function, but you can only nest seven IF functions. I tried other formulas without success. What formula can I use to display the most recent entry—that is, the last nonblank cell?

First, let’s work up a formula that will yield the row number of the last nonblank cell. We’ll assume labels in cells A2:A25 and values in B2:B25, with the formula for the most recent entry in B26. In that cell, type

=MAX(IF(NOT(ISBLANK (B2:B25)), ROW(B2:B25),0))

Instead of pressing Enter, press Ctrl-Shift-Enter to create an array formula. Excel processes each element of the array B2:B25 in turn, returning the row number for nonblank elements and a zero for blank elements. The MAX() function returns the maximum of these results, which is the last nonblank row.

To get the contents of that cell, we’ll use the OFFSET function. OFFSET returns the contents of a cell that’s a specific number of rows and columns away from the starting cell. To convert the row number found with the first formula into an offset, simply subtract the row number of the starting cell. Don’t delete the first formula; insert OFFSET(B2, at the beginning and add -ROW(B2),0) at the end. That yields this new formula, which you must again finish using Ctrl-Shift-Enter.

=OFFSET(B2, MAX(IF(NOT (ISBLANK(B2:B25)), ROW(B2:B25),0))-ROW(B2),0)

You can copy this formula to the cell just below each of your other two-year ranges. Note that the same technique works even if the data has some gaps.

Control Launch Order

By Neil J. Rubenking

You may need to launch multiple start-up programs in order, perhaps to connect to a VPN before launching a program that needs that connection. Create a new folder called C:\Ordered Launch and drag any shortcuts that currently reside in Start | All Programs | Startup to this new folder. If the shortcuts don’t already exist, create them in the new folder.

Open a command prompt, navigate to C:\Ordered Launch, and issue the command DIR /B /S > ordered.bat. Enter notepad ordered.bat to open the resulting batch file in Notepad. Copy and paste the lines in the desired launch order. Surround each line with quotes and precede it with the start command and a space; for example, start “C: \Ordered Launch\First Program.lnk”.

Double-click on the batch file to test it. The programs will start in the specified order, but if one takes longer to initialize, it may appear out of order. In that case, insert a delay line after the slow-starting program. This line will insert a 5-second delay: ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 > nul. Edit the value after -n to set a different delay. After testing the file, open Windows Explorer and right-drag it to the Startup folder, selecting Create Shortcuts Here.