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Out of the box, the HTC Touch Pro is really an amazing device.  However, it still brings the infamous Windows Mobile lag with it.  While the lag is not as bad as previous Windows Mobile smartphones, it still is present and may bug people who notice the lag.

Slow tab scrolling in TouchFlo 3d, laggy scrolling in windows,  slow opening programs, slow opening menus, etc are all typical lag indicators.

The good thing is, there are a few things tweaks you can perform to make the Touch Pro more responsive.  First off, you will need to install Advanced Configuration Tool on your phone.  You can download it here:

http://www.touchxperience.com/en/advanced-configuration-tool/downloads.html

After you have installed the program on your phone, launch the program and make the following changes:

Under the “Perfomances” category:

• Change file system cache to 8MB
• Change file system filter cache to 131072
• Change Glyph cache to 32KB

Here’s what the configuration should look like:

After you’ve made the changes above, soft-reset your device for the changes to take effect.  Once the phone is booted up, enjoy the increased speed and performance from your Touch Pro!

WEP, WPA/WPA2, and the associated authentication methods are designed to keep invaders out. However, it has become increasingly easier to crack WEP encrypted networks (see the video here) and cracking WPA/WPA2 networks is difficult, but feasible. These methods help keep external users from being able to access sensitive data, but what about internal, authenticated users?

Internal wireless security is important when utilizing networks of hundreds of users. Say I have a WPA2 AES encrypted network. A normal user will connect to the network and be granted access to the internal wireless network. Unlike wired networks, wireless networks do not have switches to direct traffic to the right ports (users), therefore, every authenticated user can see everybody else’s traffic. Now, with a network of hundreds of users, this can pose a problem. Once somebody is authenticated, they are free to sniff traffic, perform man-in-the-middle attacks, etc. It doesn’t matter what encryption method (WEP, WPA/WPA2) was used because each authenticated user is using the same key as everyone else to encrypt their data.

For example, many universities are now creating wireless networks around campus which hundreds of students may be connected to simultaneously. What is preventing one student from logging onto the wireless and sniffing all traffic from the gateway until he gets some passwords? Information like that can be used to access someone’s email account and once your email account is compromised, you’re hosed (hint, “Forgot Password?”)

The standard solution to this problem is VPN tunnels. Here’s an example, a user joins an open access point provided by the company. When he opens his browser, he is redirected to a page where he needs to download and install the VPN client. After installation, the user will login and the VPN client sets up an encrypted, independent tunnel. Now, he is safe from both external and internal hackers because every bit of his data goes through this tunnel and is encrypted. You could do a man-in-the-middle attack, but all you’ll get is encrypted packets.

However, the implementation may not be an option for universities or companies who give 2 cents about user friendliness. Establishing a VPN tunnel requires a client program. That’s one more program users need to install on their computers; one more program that users DO NOT want to install. Not only that, the VPN client is yet another product the IT department must support and it also creates an additional level of failure. Some product’s installation procedures are less than stellar and can cause more headaches than smiles. You also have to look at how easy it will be to implement over the existing system, support options, delivery of the client, and finally, compatibility. With Windows Vista and it’s dreaded UAC, installation of a VPN client has become even more of a hassle that some vendors are trying to overcome for the sake of user friendliness.

A simple solution would be to issue different, unique keys to each user. This encrypts their data with different keys and would act like a VPN tunnel. You could “MacGuyver” it and create an access point with a different key for each user, but that relies on IT “manual labor” and is vastly inefficient. However, if each user got a different key, there would be no client program (a plus for user friendliness) and no additional hardware needed if the software lies on the access point or controller.

http://www.fonerahacks.com

Yep, that’s what I’ve been up to lately. Many people seemed interested in the aircrack video I had posted here a few weeks ago so I figured I’d make another website dedicated just for the Fonera. I also noticed the lack of comprehensive, easy to understand tutorials regarding flashing procedures, so I decided to make some myself.

The site has many tutorials and guides with screenshots to help you flash the firmware. There is also a growing forum where you can get your questions answered.

I also have 15 invites to give away for people who register for the forums and follow these simple instructions.