Questions Answered plus You Might Want To Know
For today’s Grab Bag, I am going to answer some reader questions, and point out a couple of items of interest.
|
||||
| Samsung E2420L 23.6″ LCD Monitor – 70,000:1, 5ms, 1920X1080, VGA/DVI | ||||
|
||||
| *When you use Promo Code 51D1AAE for $20.00 off |
First up: we all know bigger is better (in tech, anyway). And nowhere in your “computing experience” is that more evident than the size of your monitor. There are three ways to really improve (aka “upgrade”) your computing:
1) buy fastest Internet (aka “speed”, aka “bandwidth”) and,
2) have a big, bright monitor and,
3) add RAM.
I spotted a deal today that makes upgrading to a 24″ monitor hard to resist (VGA, DVI).
Reader Questions Answered:
Q: “Can you recommend some cooking games for girls?”
A: I am sorry, Dear Reader, but I cannot help you out with that question. Perhaps people in the audience can help us out with some suggestions.
Q: “How can I get more wifi than my roommate?”
A: Well, short of planting limiting software on their machine, you really can’t (short of bringing in your own Internet line..). But there are some ‘tweaks’ you can make to your router which can help you get as much as is possible. (See, How To Limit Your Roommate’s Bandwidth)
Q: “How can I attract all the bandwidth to my Xbox via a laptop?”
A: That really isn’t how networking works. If you really want the fastest online experience, whatever the Internet-connected device, you want to use wires (aka “Ethernet cables”). If you’re using Wi Fi, you want the fewest devices accessing the ‘net as possible.. so turn off your laptop’s wifi when Xbox-ing. Unless .. you are “tethering” your Xbox to the laptop to gain a Internet connection, for some reason.. which is the worst way to do it and will have serious lag. (See, Wired or Wireless?*)
Q: “Does Gigabit router multiply megabit Internet speeds?”
A: Again, that isn’t how networking works, so no, it doesn’t. Purchasing a higher service level from your ISP is the only real way to increase your Internet speed. (See, Gigabit Ethernet Didn’t Make Internet Faster)
Q: “Can you put more than one virus protection on a tablet?”
A: Well, you could.. but you do not want to. Antiviruses most often do not play well together. (And spend more time fighting each other than protecting you.)
|
Q: “Is there any way to look at logs of what website my kids visited through a linksys router???”
A: I know you can blacklist (block) websites but, I have not looked that deep into Linksys router config’s since, basically, when Wireless N came out (i.e. all the Linksys models I own, and support, are older) so I’d have to look up “DNS lookup logging” or “domains accessed logging” to answer that specifically. (If you set your DNS server to OpenDNS, they do free DNS logging.) You can look for a “Logs” tab in your (router’s) Control Panel. Generally speaking, I doubt your router creates logs that you could easily see where they visited.
But, if your child has erased their browser’s History, my (technician’s) advice is to install parental control/monitoring software; such as the excellent and free K9 Web Protection or Norton’s Family Protection services (Norton Family is free).
And finally.. Not a bad price on a higher-end 7″ Tablet..
That’s all I have time for today.
Today’s quote: “At sixty, I know little more about wisdom than I did at thirty, but I know a great deal more about folly.” ~ Mason Cooley
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
A New Wireless Router
“Internet security made me decide to buy a new router...”
Folks, the very first article I published was, “The first Tech Paul Post: secure your web connection Increase the security of your Internet connection for less than $50“, which described the importance of using a router/WAP – especially in the era of ‘always on’ high-speed Internet connection – and provided the How To for enabling the protection features.. such as wireless encryption (WEP/WPA).
Linksys Wireless-G WAP
If that was the first thing I wrote about, I must have thought it was pretty important.
Well, guess what? I still do. (In fact, a router’s NAT may be the most important defense available.)
Since I wrote that article, in June of 2008, computers (and technology) have changed and progressed (at the exponential rate known as Moore’s Law) and routers and WAP’s (aka “wireless access points”) have as well. In 2008, “Wireless G” was the standard, which has a whopping 54 Mebabits-per-second “speed” (way more than my 3 Mbps Internet connection has). I have been using a Linksys WRT 54G, arguably the “most popular” router/WAP ever sold.
Today, 300 Mbps wireless is available to us with “Wireless N” hardware (aka “gear”)(way more than my 3 Mbps Internet connection has). Many offer “Gigabit LAN” (wired) ports as well. And, Wireless N has been on the store shelves long enough now that the prices for this new hardware are well within the range of the “average consumer”. But it wasn’t these facts which got me onto thinking it was time to upgrade my router. My Linksys was serving me well (and I am not trying to do any “media streaming”).
It was Internet SECURITY that made me decide to buy a new router
While chatting with a friend, it inadvertently came to my attention that an Enterprise Grade security feature was now being offered to us consumers (sometimes called “SOHO”), finally! (I had written letters to the manufacturers about this..) This feature was previously only available on “gateway appliances” costing thousands.
Have I got your attention?
What I am referring to is sometimes called (marketed as) “dual firewall”, “packet filtering”, and more precisely “SPI“. I won’t bore you with the Geek gibberish and technicalities (you can click the link if you are interested) but, short version: the router analyzes each ‘packet’ of your Internet ‘traffic’ to make sure it belongs, and the good ones do a basic antivirus scan of the ‘packets’ as well. That’s right: antivirus in your router. I want that. So I bought a new router. (Not all new routers have SPI/”dual firewall: you have to look for it.)
Dlink DIR-655
What I looked for: What I wanted in a new router (and, maybe, you do too) boiled down to 3 “factors”. Um.. four factors, actually.
* Gigabit Ethernet ports
* 300 Mbps version of Wireless-N
* Dual firewall/SPI
and…
* Under $100
What fit my bill best turned out to be the DIR – 655 from D-Link. It is an older model, and I found it priced at $70. (For those interested in a “virtual tour” of the DIR- 655, http://support.dlink.com/emulators/dir655/ss20/dir655_firewall.html.)
Unfortunately, I happened to get one of the devices which had a ‘bug’ and would not do a special, advanced ‘trick’ (port forwarding) which I needed for a special device I have. Most folks will not need port forwarding, but I did, so I returned the D-link. I could have tried a different DIR – 655, not all of them have that ‘bug’… and I really liked it, but I wanted to explore.
Netgear-WNR3500L
Next up was the WNR3500L from Netgear.
The Netgear was priced the same as the DIR-655, even though instead of 3 antennas, it had none.
Just kidding! The Netgear’s antennas are internal. Otherwise, the specs are much the same. I decided enough experimenting, and decided to stick with this make/model, and I did not put any special “firmware” on it, such as dd-wrt, though, as a Linux box, doing so is (supposed to be) simple.
I did not try the lesser known products – such as Billion. And.. if I had it all to do over again, I would probably be not so .. “thrifty”, and get a D-link DIR – 825, (about $130) as it has the additional feature of “true dual band” (that’s important when looking at dual bands.. most make you choose a bandwidth.)
Now I have Gigabit for my wired network, significant wireless range and speed improvements (and could “stream” Hi-Def video if I wanted to) and improved Internet safety for all the devices on my network.. for under $100.
Not bad!
Related articles:
* Protect Yourself With a Router
* How to secure your wireless network
* Protecting your network–use your router for access control (repost)
* How To Limit Your Roommate’s Bandwidth And Keep More For Yourself.
* Which Is Better, Ethernet Or Wireless?
* Gigabit Ethernet Didn’t Make Internet Faster
* Boost your wireless for 25¢
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
Reader Question: Slow downloads problem
Q: Hello, my normal internet speed is 50kb/s. But Now when I download programs, It’s always very slow from 3kb/s- 9kb/s. How can I fix this problem?
~ Mitchell 
A: Mitchell,
I have to assume you really do mean to use a little “b” (“bits”; a “B” is “bytes”) which tells me that you are on a dial-up Internet connection.
I also have to assume you only get this slow down when actually downloading files.
Okay. My answer is two parts.
1) If it is at all possible, get off of dial-up. Dial-up technology was fine for the era when it was used (1985-1998) – teletype, e-mail, and text-only websites. Look to http://www.broadbandreports.com/search to find a ‘high speed’ (aka “Broadband”) provider in your area. Or, maybe, look at satellite. (Frankly, I would not use dial-up, except to send an SOS.) 3kbps, even 3KBps, is ridiculously slow… slow to the point of un-usability.
2) There are two factors which determine speed: your ability to receive, and the server’s ability to send. File servers are (almost) always set to use a low speed.. “low” meaning 300KB’s or so (800 x’s faster than your getting) as well as use a different protocol (FTP). If upgrading your service is simply not doable, for some reason, about the only thing you can do is use a download manager program to break up the file into several parts, and establish multiple ‘requests’ to download those parts simultaneously. (Firefox does this automatically) I have not used a download manager in over a decade, so I am unfamiliar with the current crop, and don’t have any personal recommendation, but CNet Editors give this one, Internet Download Manager, five stars.
Related: This article has some good tips for dial-up users: Browse the Web Faster on a Slow Internet Connection
To see what your bits-per-second are, click here, http://www.speedtest.net, and then click “Begin test”.
Quote of the week: “The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
Reading reco: NEW Online Photo Sharing Service that is Drag and Drop Easy
“There are numerous ways to post and share photos (or pictures) on the internet; however, the processes to share your photos can be quite confusing.
If you are looking for an online service that makes photo sharing fast, fun and easy, then take a look at.. (more)”
Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
| Share this post : |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Brief Lesson In Networking: Gigabit Ethernet*
Reader asks why upgrading to Gigabit Ethernet didn’t improve their Web surfing speed.
(Folks, I am networking a new office today and do not have time to write a new article. This article demonstrates some fundamental concepts of “networking” computers together, as well as “Internet speed”.)
Q: “I recently purchased a Linksys WRT 310 wireless router that has four Gigabit ports. My Dell desktop is a XPS which I was told was “Top of the Line” has a built-in gigabit port. I even purchased new cables to make sure my network was going to be “gigabit”. I hooked it all up and I don’t see any improvement in my internet. The salesman told me that “gigabit” was the fastest.. so how come I’m not surfing faster? Did I do something wrong or do I need to buy a different brand? Thanx.”
A: No, you (most likely) didn’t do anything “wrong”, and you don’t need to buy a different router.
Let me, first of all, cover a few “basics” (see also, Wired or Wireless?*)
Kilo = 1,000 = thousand
Mega = 1,000,000 = million
Giga = 1,000,000,000 = billion
And then let me ask you to look at a simple network diagram.
In this diagram, the Internet is represented by the “cloud” (thus.. “cloud computing”) and I made it appropriately dark and stormy. The Internet connection is represented as the yellow zigzag — this can be a phone line (dial-up, DSL, IDSN) or cable, or satellite, or WiFi.
The blue arrows are the Ethernet cabling of your network (aka “LAN”) which is now Gigabit.
For sake of argument, I made the Internet connection a cable High-speed connection, and I made the download speed a Premium-grade 12 Mbps .. 12 “megabits” per second. Note that I said “download speed”. Unless you order a special line into your home/office, your “Internet speed” is always your download speed. And, your “upload” speeds are always significantly slower.. as represented by the 486 kilobits per second.
The lines (cables) you changed are the blue arrow lines. And so, yes, you have billion-bit lines there (Gigabit). You have multiplied by a thousand the theoretical rate at which computers A, B, and C can “talk” to the router and to each other. You did not change how the modem and the cloud are talking. That is still 12 Megabits down/point 486 (.486) Megabytes up.
Your Internet speed is controlled by two things: one, your service “level” (3 Mbps is more expensive than 1.5, and 6 Mbps is even more expensive, etc.) and two, the technology that can come into your home — dial-up, DSL, ISDN, Satellite, cable, wireless, and fibre-optic.
Because your desktop can “talk” to the router at a higher rate of bits, you might notice a very slight improvement in surfing speed.. but, if you want faster Internet, you have to upgrade either your service level, or/and the method it comes in on (change the yellow zigzag) .. For example, upgrading from dial-up to cable.
The advantage to Gigabit Ethernet comes in when transferring data across the LAN.. say, from computer A to computer B. Such as if you are backing up the files on A over to B, or “streaming” videos from C to A and B.
The Linksys is a good router (though I read that it runs hot, so you want to keep it in an open, well-ventilated area) and all-Gigabit on your LAN is a “good thing”.
I think you were simply expecting the wrong results from your upgrade.
Today’s free link: Curious as to what speed your ISP is really providing? Click here, and pick the “server location” nearest to you. You’ll see both your upload and download speeds. Flash required.
Orig post: 3/8/09
** 3 Chances To Win A Valuable Prize! **
1) The folks at Eset have generously donated ten licenses for NOD32 Antivirus 4, to award to my readers. You might not have heard of Eset or NOD32, but it has quietly been around, and winning awards, since the early 90′s (the days of DOS).
To enter the drawing, please see: Software License Giveaway: NOD32 Antivirus 4 Enter my current giveaway and (possibly) win!
2) For those of you who missed out on winning a business-use license for LAlarm, you have another chance as Gizmos For Geeks is currently running a drawing contest for 30 licenses (yes, 30!). To go there and enter, click here. (The site is certainly worth a visit even if you aren’t interested in this contest, so check it out.)
3) PC World’s $25K Dream Come True Sweepstakes. (prizes awarded daily)
Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All Rights Reserved. 
post to jaanix.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
| Share this post : | |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Wired or Wireless?*
This networking question was submitted by a reader recently.
Q: Paul, I am hoping for some guidance. I will soon be moving, and will have to set up a new network. I have three computers, a laser jet printer and a photo printer. My old network was wired and 
worked well, but I have heard that the new wireless is faster.
Which is better these days, wired or wireless?
A: I hate ambiguous answers, but in this situation I really must answer, “that depends”. And I must also say that it really isn’t a case of one being “better” than the other.
In my experience, a “blended” network (both wired and wireless) is the most common.
Consideration #1: Mega-bits-per-second:
1) Wire “speed” is typically either 10/100, or 1,000(Gigabit).
2) Wireless “speed” is either 54 (g) or 270 (n).
… and your Internet is coming into your home at.. 1.5? 3? 6 Mbps?
(My point here is that, as far as sharing your Internet is concerned, even a very old 10 Mbps network is “fast” enough.)
Consideration #2: Stringing cable:
Most newer homes are built with Ethernet wiring, and so your network is already there (to a large degree), but for older homes a very real concern — should you choose to go Gigabit wired — is 
where will the wires go? How will you get them upstairs?
This is not an insurmountable issue (and, you could hire a professional) but it may be that wireless is the best for you.
General advice:
* Networking gear defaults to the speed of the slowest component.
What that means is, let’s say you go and buy a brand-new Wireless -N router (technically, a “WAP”) that runs at 270 Mbps, and the wireless adaptor on your 2 year-old laptop is a “G”, your connection will be at 54 Mbps – the G speed.
And if the port on your Desktop is Gigabit, and your cable is Cat 5e or better (Gigabit capable), but there’s no Gigabit port on your router.. your LAN can only run at 100 Mbps.
The trick is to make sure everything ‘matches’. For instance, in the first example (laptop), buying a Wireless-N PCMCIA card, or USB dongle, will now give you the 270 you bought the fast router for. And for the Gigabit example, a new router that has Gigabit ports will make things ‘match’ and give you a Gigabit LAN.
Last bit of advice: Buy the fastest gear you can afford. You may not get full advantage of it today, but it won’t be a bottleneck tomorrow.
Today’s free link: In today’s article I mentioned that there are alternatives to drilling holes in your wall/floor/ceiling, and one method is EoP (Ethernet over Power lines). This uses the electrical wires already in your home to send your 1’s and 0’s from device to device. Fellow Tech Blogger Bill Mullins has a very informative article on this topic, here — http://billmullins.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/your-electric-wiring-is-a-wi-fi-network-alternative/
* Orig post 11/16/08
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
| Share this post : | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restrict Roommates Internet Use
Quick Tip — Use Your Router’s Advanced Features For Best Use Of Shared Connections
If you are in a house with multiple computers, and you want to restrict “the amount of Internet” those other machines use, you can use settings (aka “options”) in your router and give yourself #1 priority.
Today’s topic comes from a question from a (younger) fella who lives with roommates, and they all “share” his connection. Which is fine with him except for when their online activity slows down his surfing or online gaming.
So he wanted to know how to make sure he got “first dibs”. (Though I confess, he called it “more bandwidth”.)
Tip of the day: Use your router’s advanced abilities to limit other computers’ Internet usage.
1) Open your browser and access the router’s Control Panel. (for instructions, see Protecting-your-network – use-your-router-for-access-control)
2) Find the Advanced Settings tab for “QoS” (Quality of Service).
On a Linksys router, that is under “Applications and Gaming”, but yours may have a different name.
3) Give your PC’s MAC Address a rating of “Highest”
* To get the MAC, open a command prompt (Start >Programs >Accessories) on your machine and enter “ipconfig /all” {no quotes}. Look for “Physical Address”. A MAC address will look like 01-23-45-67-8A-9B.
* Note: You might also want to set other machines to “low”.
4) Enable, Save, and exit.
That’s it, your done. Now your Internet “data packets” will go first, and any other Internet user will have to wait for your request to finish.
[note: there are some other priority tweaks you can make here too. Click on the image to see large version, and note my arrows.]
Today’s free download: EncryptOnClick is a very simple to use program that lets you securely encrypt and decrypt files… basically, with a click.
[addenda: You can further limit the amount of bandwidth your roommates use by setting keyword and website blocking that will cripple their P2P file downloading and video watching — the two biggest bandwidth hogs. The access control article (above) has the How To.]
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
| Share this post : | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Which Is Better, Ethernet Or Wireless?
This networking question was submitted by a reader recently, and I think it may be of interest to “everyone”.
Q: Paul, I am hoping for some guidance. I will soon be moving, and will have to set up a new network. I have three computers, a laser jet printer and a photo printer. My old network was wired and worked well, but I have heard that the new wireless is faster.
Which is better these days, wired or wireless?
A: I hate ambiguous answers, but in this situation I really must answer, “that depends”. And I must also say that it really isn’t a case of one being “better” than the other.
In my experience, a “blended” network (both wired and wireless) is the most common.
Consideration #1: Mega-bits-per-second:
1) Wire “speed” is typically either 10/100, or 1,000(Gigabit).
2) Wireless “speed” is either 54 (g) or 270 (n).
… and your Internet is coming into your home at.. 1.5? 3? 6 Mbps?
(My point here is that, as far as sharing your Internet is concerned, even a very old 10 Mbps network is “fast” enough.)
Consideration #2: Stringing cable:
Most newer homes are built with Ethernet wiring, and so your network is already there (to a large degree), but for older homes a very real concern — should you choose to go Gigabit wired — is where will the wires go? How will you get them upstairs?
This is not an insurmountable issue (and, you could hire a professional) but it may be that wireless is the best for you.
General advice:
* Networking gear defaults to the speed of the slowest component.
What that means is, let’s say you go and buy a brand-new Wireless -N router (technically, a “WAP”) that runs at 270 Mbps, and the adaptor on your 2 year-old laptop is a “G”, your connection will be at 54 Mbps.
And if the port on your Desktop is Gigabit, and your cable is Cat 5e or better (Gigabit capable), but there’s no Gigabit port on your router.. your LAN is running at 100 Mbps.
The trick is to make sure everything ‘matches’. For instance, in the first example (laptop), buying a Wireless-N PCMCIA card, or USB dongle, will now give you the 270 you bought the fast router for. And for the Gigabit example, a new router that has Gigabit ports will make things ‘match’ and give you a Gigabit LAN.
Last bit of advice: Buy the fastest gear you can afford. You may not get full advantage of it today, but it won’t be a bottleneck tomorrow.
Today’s free link: In today’s article I mentioned that there are alternatives to drilling holes in your wall/floor/ceiling, and one method is EoP (Ethernet over Power lines). This uses the electrical wires already in your home to send your 1’s and 0’s from device to device. Fellow Tech Blogger Bill Mullins has an informative article on this topic here, http://billmullins.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/easy-computer-networking-use-your-electric-wiring/
Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
| Share this post : | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
-
Say "thank you!" Buy Tech Paul a cup of coffee (and keep T4E ad free).
-
-
McAfee® Cybersafety Resource Portal, an online help center designed to assist victims of computer crime and provide information on how to avoid becoming a victim.
-
Subscribe to Tech--for Everyone by EmailRecent Comments
-
-
-
-
Also:
-
-
Tech - for Everyone 