Question so I can BURN! someone

Ok... my mothers boy friend keeps bugging the Heck out of me for these reasons:

He wants my laptop to be shut off because:

• He says my laptop runs up the electric bill

  
  
  [*]He says that ports are open that will allow crackers to put in viruses

  
  
  [*]And that people can get in the Nextwork and get access to all computers in the house

  
  
  [*]He also accuses me of hacking his stocks and email... I have a laptop connected to a network... he has an apple... and we have firewalls on each computer and I believe the router has one
  
  
  

Please answer all of these... so I can finally prove him wrong... and then the only arguement he has is "because I say so"...

 

1. Technically it could, but it really would be insignificant. If it's idle, we're talking only a few Watts, so give him 2 dollars every month to cover it.

2. Ports will be open whether your laptop is on or off, though if it's off, it can't be "hacked".

3. Tell him that it's his responsibility to put a WEP encryption on the network. If shared files are hosted on your computer, theoretically, I could come and steal them if the network is open and your computer is on.

4. ??? You could base your argument on "I haven't the slightest clue how to hack".

 

well your laptop does use electricity, but so little. they use around 25 watts/hour which is less than a light bulb.

crackers are something you eat, not something that puts viruses in your computer.

sure, if a hacker could hack your network and he could potentially hack your laptop too, and this can only happen when it is on...but seriously, i doubt that will happen.

maybe hes mad at his plummeting stocks that he accuses you of hacking it?

firewalls are not fool proof, they just make it harder for someone to gain access, but honestly, someone that knows how to hack, knows how to get around a consumer firewall. i think hackers have more productive things to do with their time than hacking YOUR computer though.

maybe just close the lid and put it to sleep when your away from it to make him happy?

when i read the title, i thought you wanted to light someone on fire...

 

For electricity usage, you can check out this website: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/computers.html

According to that, I'm sure you're using VERY little per year depending on how you use your computer and what you use it for.

 

Lol #1. I'm pretty sure the OP meant "white people with no ghetto-ness".

Lol #2. I was a bit more civil and though he wanted to burn some DVDs.

 

* I agree with the others. You shouldn't be worried about the laptop running up the electric bill. If he's so tight on money, tell him not to drive a car and not to turn on the heater. Those things are what he should be worrying about when he talks about $money$.

* If he does know anything about computers he would install a good antivirus software so he can protect his computer from viruses. He needs to understand that having a firewall and an antivirus software would adequately protect him from most dangers.

* As someone mentioned, he needs to enable WEP, and learn about protecting his wireless network. There are tons of guides here on NBR.

* That's silly. You should talk to your mom that her boyfriend doesn't trust you and that he's accusing you of hacking his stocks and email. Unless you are an experienced hacker it would be hard for you to access his stocks and email over a wireless network.

Your mom's boyfriend may have a problem. He shouldn't be acting like this to you and imagine yourself living with him when he may get married with your mom. Try talking to your mom tonight to discuss all the things he said.

 

LOL! At first I thought he wanted to make it so when someone touches his laptop they burn.

Anyways, another precaution you can take is to disable SSID Broadcast through your router settings.

 

OK... the thing is I like to come to my computer and just open the lid and check messages etc... since I hate turning my computer on and off...

another thing is that he turn it off when im at school by pushing the power button for like 10 seconds...

Yes his stocks got cancelled whatever... so he sai it was me... and second of all I was at school when this happened...

I feel like I want to BURN! him btw...

Im pretty sure I cant hack anything asides my psp... by using directions from others... lol
Or I can hack food when im at work...

I thought Crackers came in and messed everything up... and hackers just modified things to accomode their needs... such as hacking a psp...

He was SO surprised a couple minutes ago when he found out I usually left my computer ON when at school... and not on Sleep or so...
And he threatened me by taking my laptop away from me and turning it off whenever im not home... Am I not too old to be fooled or taught that way... I mean... wow...

 

Set this as his wallpaper, delete all of his desktop icons and hide his taskbar.

 

Well you can just ''argue'' that I know you are wrong...just like how he says because I say so I hate people like that...

Yeah leaving a notebook on doesn't use up much power...maybe he should get some energy saving light bulbs or something, and just don't turn lights on at all.

 

You've got bigger issues than your computer usage. Why not just turn off the computer when you're not using it? It will only take a minute or so to turn on the next time you want to use it.

Face it, as long as your mother is with the guy, you'll have to put up with him. So fight the fights that actually mean something. If it doesn't mean anything, just let it go and try to get along.

 

he sounds as if he could be a stubborn guy. however, i can see leaving your pc on while your home, but why not just put it to sleep when your at school?

 

AHAHAHA!!!

Genius!

Must be those damn crackers.

 

Tell him he is being paranoid, and explain to him that you have no idea how to hack....tell him also to calm down, and try to find the root of this problem. I have friends in school who have parents' boyfriends or girlfriends who antagonize them to try to take power, and you have to show them that you can't be a complete tyrant inside this household..

You should talk to your mother as well, she will probably help.

And as another precaution, make sure that he has little to no control over your personal items...and backup the hard drive of the comp as well to a WSBI, so you have your data in case it gets taken away.

 

I usually like to leave it on because my laptop actually takes about 1-2 minutes to turn on... and if I forget to press "dont run safe mode" because he shut it off by pressing the power button it costs me an extra 30 seconds... then I have to go run Opera, Msn Messenger, Myspace messenger... log in... check my stuff... about 3-5 minutes have gone by... just to get there...

I figure its easier if I go open it and just check it...

Oh and another funny thing... he says that if my laptop is connected to the network it "steals the connection" ... I actualyl giggled at that because that sounds absurd... there is NO downloading or refreshing going on at all... just msn showing email count and getting messages once in a while, my programs up and myspace messenger telling me if I have messages or comments...

 

WSBI?

My mother knows all about this... she agrees mostly with me... but she cant stop him from shutting my computer down... And he always thinks hes right... so you cant really change his mind... and I hoped for all these replies so I can finally get my peace by showing him hes not right...

 

What? so if someone is treating you not as they should, you should just let it continue?

LMAO

yeah 100% agree with that

 

Sry for double posting

Why not get a lock for your room?

 

Its just that this arguement is COMPLETELY NONSENSE imo...

And... he says that if my laptop is connected to the network it "steals the connection" true or false?

And... why should I waste 3-5 JUST because he says so?

Why cant I just leave it on like it always is when im home... only when I go to school and sometimes gone for extended periods... hell shut it off... also whenever the internet slows down... he just shuts mine off...

If I can prove him all wrong... it just shows that hes not always right... and it gives me less stress

 

,,,,,,,,,,,

 

Yes he says he lost emails....

He just thinks ports mean open connection for people to get in...

and my mother is laughing her @ss off because of crackers... she says shes too busy making crackers than telling her bf to stop turning my computer off....

 

LOL # 1

LOL # 2, that's what I figured too.

I figured crackers for people who don't genuinely use their own tools but borrow those belonging to others.

Why not put it into standby or sleep? It will take you a minute or two longer but that should reduce the antagonism between the both of you.

 

you could also disconnect the power button, so pressing it does nothing

 

Or use the Hibernate function. That would be quicker than a boot-up, and he wouldn't know the difference...

How about this on his desktop!?

 

haha i think that would be great, it would really make him mad as he owns a mac too!

 

But I want to leave it on so it receives messages and so...

And right now hes acting like any button blinking or on on my laptop will mean its on....

whats WSBI?

 

This is a no-win situation. He won't listen to anything you have to say, so don't bother wasting your time arguing with him. If he pays the bills, and he doesn't want your computer on when you aren't home, then turn it off. If your mother pays the bills, and she won't tell her boyfriend to stay out of your business, then you'll still end up doing what he says.

Here are my recommendations:

1. Enable hibernation on your laptop - it only takes 10-15 seconds to be back up and running.

2. If you are running Windows XP, create a password for your logon, and then stop using the Welcome screen.

3. Always lock your computer when not in use.

4. Buy a good laptop case/backpack and take your laptop with you.

 

tell the man he is a dumb ho and just hide your laptop from him diring the day in sleep mode. It will waste barely any battery and you can just plug it in when you get home.

 

HAHAHA! that's great! When people leave their workstations unlocked at work, I take a screenshot of their desktop, set it as the wallpaper, and remove all the icons. I get a good 5 minutes of enjoyment out of watching them try and click all of their shortcuts until they call the IT guy (me)


But to answer your question, much like everyone has stated already,

1. The power usage is negligible on a laptop, it's not like you have a server farm in your room.

2. If a hacker who can get through the router encryption (let's say it's 128-bit WEP) that he SHOULD be employing on his router, he won't be messing with someone's home network, unless he owns skynet, or an FBI mainframe, or something, haha.

3. If he is missing emails, he probably deleted the silly things himself. 90% of the time it's user error.

 

Thanks... the persons who said its a no win really didnt help me much... thank you...

My actions I always take are hitting WINDOWS KEY + L to lock it.

I could take it etc... but the ONLY single reason I want it on at home is receiving messages etc... and having my programs up. Yes hibernating works... but its offline and I dont receive any messages...

And can my laptop hog away all the connection from our home network?

Yes we have 128bit WEP... And why does he care about hackers if hes blabbing on and on about MY computer being on...

Now my mom and him believe hackers are going to come in and plant a virus / whatever and it will spread throughout our network....

 

1) Any hacker worthy of the name will be able to get into your network, and from there into your computers if he wants to. Even wannabe hackers can crack WEP encryption and get into your network. Tell him to enable WPA encryption instead, with a strong password. That will help a lot as far as security goes. It's not going to keep a determined, skilled hacker out, but it will help.

2) Your computer being on has nothing to do with someone getting into the NETWORK. He obviously has little to no idea how networks function. All communications between your computer, or his mac, to the internet, go through the router before going out to the internet. There isn't some hacker magic that can hop past the router, get into your computer, and access the network from there. This seems to be what he believes will happen. Even if your computer is off, someone could still hack your NETWORK, and get into the other computers on it.

3) The only way your laptop would steal the entire connection from everyone else on the network is if you were utilizing all the bandwidth the router or ISP allowed. IM apps are NOT going to do this. Unless you're downloading or uploading large files, then no, this shouldn't happen.

It sounds like this guy is just extremely misinformed, and operating on some radical assumptions.

 

WOOHOOO!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ANSWERS!!!!

One more question is left...

I have a DSL subscription and I get at most 30/kbps average 18/kbps
I am sure that is close to dial up speed ...

I have no clue why this happens... SPEEDTEST.NET says I get 600/kbps or so... I know thats the connection but I am EXTREMELY sure that 30/kpbs is the fastest I have ever gotten on here... I actually got 80/kbps last year...

I cant live with it anymore...

 

Because you're downloading from the internet at 30 KiloBYTES/s and your connection is rated at 600 KiloBITS/s. A byte is 8 bits. 30KB/s is ~240Kb/s. While this still doesn't account for all of your bandwidth, it should give you a better perspective on why you're seeing those speeds. Where the rest of your bandwidth is going is anyone's guess.

My EV-DO wireless connection speedtests at about 1300Kb/s download, and I can get downloads from internet sites at about 150KB/s. I hope that makes it a little more clear.

 

How big is he, and how big are you?

 

iiiO iiiiiiii( )
/( )\ iiiii/|\
ii/ \ iiiii/ | ii\
iiiiiiiiiiiiiii/\
iiiiiiiiiiiii/ iiii\

I don't know why I wasted my time. I want my 5 minutes back.

 

No no no you dont get it... I think at least...

ME GETTING ONLY 30 KILOBYTES PER SECOND...

there is no way that is DSL speed...

What is the typical DSL download speed?

 

fyi hes taller than me... but im heavier... and smarter...

 

Correction noted.

Also, don't worry about your internet speed. Your amazing GMA 950 will more than make up for it.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=194372
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=139768

 

LOL! You just made my day.

Giblets was trying to explain that while your DSL is rated at 600 K bitps, you're downloading at 30 K Byte/S. Since 1 byte is 8 bits, 30 KB = 240 Kbits. This leaves 360 bits unaccounted for.

And dial-up is far slower than that. 56 Kbps = 7 KB or so per second.

 

Fastest constant download speed I ever achieved on dial-up was 3.6 KB/s. EV-DO may not be fast, but it's a freakin miracle compared to what I had before

If you've got a cheaper DSL package, like the $20/month packages that most ISPs offer that give you a 768kb download rate, 30 KB/s downloads would be pretty normal I would think. Maybe a tad on the slow side.

 

I've had 7-8 KB/s on dial-up, I'm not quite sure how. Then again, I've also had 700+ bytes.

I was under the impression that most DSL services offer 1500kbps?

 

I've seen DSL services that offer 3MB+. But most, at least in this area, have a cheapo package for basic home users that's around 768Kbps down, for about $15-20 a month. That's just the most basic though.

I've seen those speeds on dial-up too, but never for more than 5-10 seconds at a time. Generally I'd get 3.2-3.6 KB/s.

 

DO IT! DO IT!

 

I have the 3mb download dsl package and i download at 320kb/s.

you shouldnt be getting that low of speeds...is someone downloading things?

 

just cover the little button that turns the screen off with sticky tape or sumthing and tell him its off

 

PS i have a 8 Mbitps cable connection so that rounds dow to 1 MByte per second witch is awsome!!!

 

OP: I agree that your mother's BF is clueless and a bit of an ass. Given what you say about him it's obvious. But c'mon, if you can't wait a couple minutes for the computer to come out of sleep or hibernation and download your messages, then perhaps you have some issues that need addressing too. Gotta give a little to get a little. Frankly, even though on the face of it this is about the computer, you realize that it's really about a power struggle, right?

 

very true.

 

True, but people who think they know everything about computers and really know nothing are the most dangerous, and the most annoying. They're the ones that get their identities stolen. And they're also the ones that come into my store and yell at me because their computer is slow and they have viruses, like it's my fault that it happened. <sigh>

OP, you should try to find a compromise, and while you're at it, educate this poorly misguided man. Do you really need to be online to receive messages when you're not even there to answer them though? And if someone really wanted to tell you something while you're offline, that's what email is for. I'm not saying you should capitulate, but there has to be a nice middle ground you can find.

And if he can't be educated with words, I could draw some nice colorful Cisco-style diagrams to show him how a network really works.