Wireless Reviews

Security Setup

As a test, I left the guest login unprotected and the wireless network unsecured. It didn’t take long for someone to attach. When I viewed the network map, I noticed a new computer I didn’t recognize, so I deleted it. When I applied the changes, I got the following error message seen in Figure 4:

Figure 4: Error screen when removing a computer from my network

I checked the network map and confirmed that the "intruder" was indeed deleted. Thereafter, I changed the guest password and enabled wireless security.

After a successful registration, you are prompted to optionally download and install the Bsecure thin client (Figure 5). This enables antivirus/anti-spyware, identity protection, and a popup blocker.

Figure 5: Bsecure thin client installation is optional

The download for the PC is a little under 3MB and installs fairly quickly. I contacted Bsecure, and they informed me that there currently is not a Mac OS client available but one is currently under development that should be available by the end of summer. Once the thin client is installed on your PC, an icon appears in the system tray and hovering over the Securespot icon displays its status (Figure 6).

Figure 6: System tray with Securespot icon

By right-clicking the Securespot icon (Figure 7), the client has full control over the thin client’s functions, including scheduling AV scans, updating signatures, or, for that matter, deleting scheduled scans. In some managed environments, administrators would probably not want to cede that much control to their clients, but I didn’t find a way to "lock down" the Bsecure thin client. In fact, due to the current architecture of Securespot, these settings have to be done at the local computer—they can’t be accomplished from the central management console.

Figure 7: Right-clicking on the Securespot icon shows the thin client options

Parental Controls

Parents who want to control Internet access for their kids will be especially interested in the parental control and parental reporting features of Securespot 2.0 As mentioned previously, Parental controls policies can be set for the entire network or for individual computers. Parental control has six main features as shown in Figure 8, below, in the right panel.

Figure 8: Parental Control functions