I recently blogged about reasons why you might want to hide your IP address and a comment by Larry Westfall asking how this can be done.

So here I present to you an introduction to how you can hide your IP.

But before I start I will say that one of these methods will require you to be comfortable with adjusting your computer settings with the other just requiring you to install a piece of software.

Just before we dive in though a quick walk through on IP’s. An IP address is akin to your post or zip code and applies to one single machine at a time. When we surf the internet we utilise two IP Addresses – a public and a private one. It is the public address we are talking about hiding in this case. (more…)

According to NetLingo, these are the top 10 of 50 acronyms you as a parent need to know (emphasis mine). For the full 50 click through on their link above.

1. 8 – oral sex
2. 1337 – elite -or- leet -or- L337
3. 143 – I love you
4. 182 – I hate you
5. 1174 – nude club
6. 420 – marijuana
7. 459 – I love you
8. ADR – address
9. AEAP – as early as possible
10. ALAP – as late as possible

I’m not sure I fully agree with all of them or even a lot of them but Netlingo’s unstated point is valid – that parents need to understand what their children are up to when on the web, texting or in real life (IRL).

I make no excuses for coming back to this time and again – not knowing what your children are doing is not an excuse. You should know and to some degree you should also understand.

• Have you ever come across an acronym you don’t know?
• Do you rely on ‘trust’ or google or ?
• Is there anything about tech you don’t understand and what do you do about that?

Mashable have written a nice article on the “Top 10 Ways to tweak Your WordPress Theme”.

The nice part is that even if you don’t understand they take you through the why you might want too and then show you how. Here are the 10 points

1. Edit Your Theme’s CSS
2. Display Post Excerpts or Full Content
3. Create a Custom Page Template
4. Crafting The Loop: Excluding/Including a Category
5. Crafting Your Page Navigation the Easy Way
6. Enabling Menu Management in WordPress 3.0
7. Create a Simple Conditional Statement
8. Add Post Thumbnails
9. Add Something (Anything) to the End of Every Blog Post
10. Add Google Analytics Tracking Code

To see the rest of the content you’ll need to head on over here.

Wireless LAN or wi-fi kit is getting everywhere these days.

And you’ll likely find that like most folks, your wireless surfing has slowed of recent especially if you’ve had it running a while.

The likelihood is that if you live in a densely populated area or you’ve made internal changes to your living space then either or both these (and more) could impact on your wireless surfing speed.

So what can you do?

• First off you can try changing your wi-fi channel. Most modern routers allow you to do this. It could simply be that your selected channel is now over-lapping or even on the same channel as a nearby neighbour. You could go for the trial and error approach or you could download Netstumbler (a free Windows tool) and allow it to show you all WLANs within reach, their SSIDs, channels and other information. Simply pick the least populated channel of the strongest ones near you.
• Secondly you could try moving the router. Sometimes we add new kit or other equipment degrades and leaks signals that can interfere or we even re-model our living spaces and that can cause problems with signal degradation.
• Another option would be to buy an add-on aerial – these range from simple rubber stick like items to omni or mono-dirctional to homemade “cantennas“. Whatever option you pick will boost the distance / receptivity of your wlan.
• A more involved option would be to install a wireless bridge. This is effectively a second router that can be added in an appropriate location to extend your wlan.

Two other less obvious options you could employ but could well be valid in your situation are:

• Ensure all your wifi kit is using the same standard. Most wifi routers will happily adapt to the lowest common denominator buy why restrict your 802.11n network to the speeds of an 802.11b? It’s akin to buying a Bugatti Veyron and putting a Mini’s engine in it.
• Lastly why not change your passphrase / password whilst you’re in the router control panel. If you use a simplistic one there’s no telling who might have ‘cracked’ it and be using you bandwidth for whatever.

So there you have it.

Six ways you could potentially boost your wireless surfing speed.

• Have I missed any options?
• Is this something you’ve experienced and tried to remedy?

I’ve been away for a few days – nine in total.

I had precisely two bits of “tech” with me as I was more than happy to shed the need to connect. In reality, I could have reduced the tech to one – my iphone as it has a GPS built in and thus makes my Garmin surplus. Well not yet it doesn’t – that is not until the battery life improves and the accuracy gets locked down.

But I digress.

In the nine days we were away as a family I seriously used my tech once – and that was the GPS when we did a day of geocaching around Saundersfoot and Caldey Island.

Other than the very rare phone call or text message I checked my emails once a day at the most.

We enjoyed, as a family, getting away from the TV, from the computers, the Nintendo DS, the xbox, the … well you get the picture.

It’s good to detach, de-stress and recharge (oh look, a tech play on words).

Whilst I don’t think we need to go as far as committing Seppukoo it is important that we identify the distinction between real life and online.

Equally it’s important we take time to detach ourselves from the addiction that online life can so easily become.

Don’t get me wrong – there is great value in our online personas and one hopes that the person I meet online is the same as the one I’d meet in real life.

There is great value to be had online and great stores of knowledge to be tapped but let me ask this:

For those of you, like me, who are over 40 – how much did you rely on technology as a child?

My fear is not that we over-utilise the tech or get caught up in it (though that is a genuine concern as a parent) but it’s what being online might be doing to our creative selves.

I refuse to let my two youngest (the same for the eldest but he’s an adult now) ‘play’ with or via tech all the time. I make them ((horrid dad that I am) go outside or build something with lego or play a game with cards or … again, you get the point.

I come across so many young children these days that are listless or agitated or hyper or angry or bored or … and whilst I don’t have any facts to back it up (do you?) I do have a very strong belief that most if not all of this is caused by being too connected.

Or as I’ve seen it said – hyper-connected.

Let me ask you this:

• Are we sometimes too hyper-connected?
• Do we not spend enough time away from technology?
• Have you ever passed up opportunities in real-life due to your online activities?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one so please dive in and comment – especially if you are a first time commenter or vehemently disagree with me.

Have you ever considered hiding your IP address?

It’s a bit like trying to hide your post or zip code – it’s not easy but it can be done. But today’s post is focusing on why we should consider this and not a one of them is for illegal reasons.

Here’s some reasons why you might hide your IP:

• to protect your privacy from search engines ‘profiling’ your surfing habits.
• or from marketing companies sharing information or profiling.
• to stop your ISP from keeping logs of your activities.
• to overcome geographic blocks.
• to stop competitors knowing about your research of them.
• fear of being persecuted.
• or simply as a matter of principle – after all how many of us are ex-directory with our phone numbers?

Have I missed any obvious reasons?

Do you hide your IP?

Why or why not?

I’m still wandering through the #31DBBB project that OurChurch.com has running and today’s task is to effectively introduce you to one of my readers.

I can think of nobody better than a fellow blogger – Greg Simmons.

Greg has been a loyal reader and commenter at my site almost since it’s inception.

It may be that he’s also a fellow geek (though he’s a self-confessed one and I’ve been labelled one by friends & family) or that he works in the same industry as myself or any number of reasons.

Also, in a similar vein to me he has served his local church for over 20yrs and most of that in some technical capacity.

It may be that my affinity to Greg is to do with the fact that he’s a fan of coffee and getting away to unique locations rather than re-visiting the same old same old.

Greg is also one of my fellow writers at ChurchTechMatters.com.

Whatever the reasons, Greg has made valid and valuable comments to many of my posts that not only enhance the subject but take it in a direction I hadn’t previously considered.

However, right now I feel it is very appropriate to bring Greg to your attention as he is very shortly going to be heading off on a foreign mission. I’ve been on some of these (and hope to again) so I get some of what he’s feeling and going through.

Right now Greg and the rest of the team are in the less than 10 days to go zone and he even has a countdown on his site showing how long is left. They are off to Romania on June 10th and whilst most of their physical and practical needs are already taken care of they would still value your prayers and any donations you can make.

Here’s a little list:

• That their ‘individual testimonies’ are powerful tools
• That flights and journeys go smoothly and without problems.
• Funding – for individuals and the end aim of the mission trip.
• That all paperwork is in order.
• That God gets the glory.

And I’m sure if you ask Greg he’ll happily add any specific requests.

Greg’s personal website is an eclectic mix of everything from technical thoughts to spiritual challenges to ministry opportunities.

Please allow me to thoroughly recommend Greg and TheBetaVersion.org.

A goodly number of years back…2002 to be precise, the EFF published a whitepaper on protecting your online privacy.

Despite this being 8yrs ago now the advice is still apposite and really it mostly boils down to common sense. I’ve linked to the original as they go into greater detail but here for your edification are the main points:

• Do not reveal personal information inadvertently.
• Turn on cookie notices in your Web browser, and/or use cookie management software or infomediaries.
• Keep a “clean” e-mail address.
• Don’t reveal personal details to strangers or just-met “friends”.
• Realise you may be monitored at work, avoid sending highly personal e-mail to mailing lists, and keep sensitive files on your home computer.
• Beware sites that offer some sort of reward or prize in exchange for your contact information or other personal details.
• Do not reply to spammers, for any reason.
• Be conscious of Web security.
• Be conscious of home computer security.
• Examine privacy policies and seals.

That’s it – ten succinct and common sense pointers.

Have you any old advice that still applies equally today?

Do you bother to protect your privacy?