3 Reasons you need an anti-virus

March 10th, 2010

If you are new to computers and Internet, or if you just brought a new computer it is certain that you would ask yourself the question: "Do i need an anti-virus software on my computer ?". We will take the case where you use Windows operating system, if you have Linux or Mac this is not something that should concern you.

It was a time when the viruses were made only by executable files that you must run in order for the system to get infected, and that file was copied from a floppy disk. Times changed and i will list 3 reasons why you should get an anti-virus software. Read the rest of this entry »

Use Google public DNS to avoid connectivity problems

February 11th, 2010

The DNS ( Domain Name System ) server is responsible to translate domain names, such as website.com to IP's such as 123.123.123.123 in order to establish a connection to that website. In many cases this process takes the most time during a page load. Fortunately, your browser will cache the result and will not ask the DNS server every time, only when trying to access new websites.

In my experience i encountered a lot of problems when using a router when the DNS requests could not be resolved. In some cases the things came back to normal after a period of time, 5-10 minutes, in other cases the only solution was to restart the router. Read the rest of this entry »

What is a DNS server

February 9th, 2010

When you go to a website you type the web address in address bar and a webpage opens. As i said in previous posts about Internet and Ip addresses, computers are using the IP address to connect to another computer. A website is just a place on another computer.

The DNS ( Domain name system ) is responsable to convert web address into IP addresses. So, when you type a domain in your browser, if your eyes are fast enough you can notice that your browser will tell you what is he doing. In the status bar in left-bottom you will notice: "Connecting", "Waiting..", "Resolving Host". Read the rest of this entry »

How to set your network IP address [video]

February 4th, 2010

In recent posts i talked about IP addresses, networks and more. Many people are asking if they can change their IP address. Normally, you cannot change the public IP address, it is true that there are many techniques to hide it, but it is still the same, the only thing you do is to redirect your connections trough another computer. I will discuss about that in another article.

Now i want to talk about changing the IP address that your local network can see, so they can identify you and grant web access.

Read the rest of this entry »

How to setup and configure a local network

February 1st, 2010

The best way you have to go if you want to setup a local network is a router. It is very easy: get a router, plug it, stick your network cables into it and then you have the network. You can read more about routers and how to set them up to share an internet connection on my article Age of routers .

But, if you simple want to create a network between two or three computers you can do it right now without router or anything. For 3 computers or more you will need to use at least a switch, which is cheaper, but if you still have to go to the computer store to buy a switch, why don't you buy a router instead. Read the rest of this entry »