Just about anyone that gets online is at risk. Online security threats are one of the biggest challenges on the Internet today. The problem is that the people that want to attack your computer and the computers of the people that you know don't create difficult methods to create problems, instead they focus on common failures that will give them access. When those that get on the Internet know how these attacks take place, these attacks can be lessened and even prevented in most cases. The best thing you can Read More

Ethernet is the most common LAN (Local Area Network) technology in use today. Xerox developed Ethernet in the 1970s, and became popular after Digital Equipment Corporation and Intel joined Xerox in developing the Ethernet standard in 1980. Ethernet was officially accepted as IEEE standard 802.3 in 1985. The term “Ethernet” is now used to refer to all derivatives of the original Xerox “Ethernet”. Ethernet Speeds The original Xerox Ethernet operated at 3Mbps. Ethernet became popular as a 10Mbps standard over coaxial or twisted pair cabling. Fast Ethernet improved speeds to Read More

One of the most popular router brands on the market is the Linksys router. Despite this popularity; however, end-users are commonly challenged to setup the device in the home, office, or other locations. There are a number of types of Linksys routers on the market to include the WRT54G, WRT610n, and the Linksys e4200 which support both wired and wireless network configurations using an omnidirectional antenna. Popular Types of Linksys Routers Linksys WRT54G The WRT54G has been one of the most popular models of Linksys routers sold supporting the 802.11g, Read More

A single mode fiber is a fiber optical cable that uses only one ray of light known as a “mode”. A single mode fiber can be used to transfer data in either direction at incredibly fast speeds and may stretch along hundreds or even thousands of kilometers. These factors allow single mode fibers to provide large office buildings, warehouses, and other areas with large numbers of computers to maintain fast speeds and reliable connections on all computers connected to the network.   How Single Mode Fiber Works A mode of Read More

ISDN – otherwise known as integrated services digital network – is a digital phone connection that can transmit data, voice and video over a normal telephone line. It was meant to be a method of transmitting information much faster than a typical analog phone; however, the phone industry was able to survive the arrival of the ISDN and these days, is stronger than ever. Therefore, ISDN has diminished in use; however, those that do provide it as a service target high-traffic businesses that need the ability of sending information and Read More

A DHCP reservation is a permanent IP address assignment. It is a specific IP address within a DHCP scope that is permanently reserved for leased use to a specific DHCP client. Users can configure a DHCP reservation in their DHCP server when they need to reserve a permanent IP address assignment. Reservations are used for DHCP enabled devices like print and file servers or other application servers that always have the fixed IP address on the network. A reservation consists of the following information: Element Description Reservation name Name that Read More

A port scanner is a program which attempts to connect to a list or range of TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) or UDP (User Datagram Protocol) ports on a list or range of IP addresses. Port scanners are used for network mapping and for network security assessments. The first decision to make when running a port scanner is to determine the network range you want to scan. This could be a single IP address, a list of IP addresses, or a range of IP addresses. The second decision is to determine Read More

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is changing the way people communicate. VoIP utilizes a broadband Internet connection for routing telephone calls, as opposed to conventional switching methods, providing efficient use of existing Internet connections as well as lowering overall costs. Interestingly, there is no need for any large scale infrastructures; just combine a conventional phone with a broadband Internet connection to utilize a single service with minimal software and hardware support. VoIP service providers are touting unlimited local and long distance calling for as little as $199 per year. This Read More

Netopia is a popular broadband product company that produces Internet routers and other WiFi devices. Motorola acquired the company in 2007 and made partnerships with wireless providers around the world. Such providers include AT&T, Swisscom, and NextGen Tel in Norway. Unlike other router brands, Netopia’s default password is the 6 digit serial number located on its rear panel. If you have changed the password, but you want to restore the default password, you can reset the Netopia router to the factory settings and have the default password again. How to Read More

The DNS root servers are thirteen DNS server clusters which are responsible for delegating DNS requests to the top level domain (TLD) nameservers. The DNS Root Servers A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Operator: VeriSign Naming and Directory Services IP Address: 198.41.0.4 B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Operator: Information Sciences Institute IP Address: 192.228.79.201 C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Operator: Cogent Communications IP Address: 192.33.4.12 D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Operator: University of Maryland IP Address: 128.8.10.90 E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Operator: NASA Ames Research Center IP Address: 192.203.230.10 F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Operator: Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. IP Address: 192.5.5.241 G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Operator: U.S. DOD Network Information Center IP Address: 192.112.36.4 H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Operator: Read More