According to Wikipedia:  A software port (usually just called a ‘port’) is a virtual/logical data connection that can be used by programs to exchange data directly, instead of going through a file or other temporary storage location. The most common of these are TCP and UDP ports, which are used to exchange data between computers on the Internet.

Most people know what FTP is. FTP is the File Transfer Protocol. It is designated to run on port 21.

Now let’s think about this. If you want to have a FTP server on your computer that is accessible to the outside world you will need to open port 21 on your router or firewall.   Bittorrent Client Azerus uses inbound and outbound ports 6881-6889 below is how I opened them on my Dlink router.

To open a port on your network you would log into your router or firewall.  You will need this IP address and username/password to connect. Once you are in, you would look for the firewall portion of your interface. If this is over your head, go to Port Forward and they will walk you through it. All you need is your router’s make and model. Your firewall or router might call it Applications, Rules , Virtual Servers or Firewall rules.

Over the years more and more applications function over the Internet or network. About 7 years ago I needed to open ports on my Linksys router and it was not easy. It was confusing to me and at the time I was opening ports left and right on Cisco PIX firewalls and manually creating incoming and outgoing rules. To see all computers that are connected to your computer and the ports they are connected to go to the command prompt and type Netstat -a.

The third and forth columns are what we are looking at. The third column has the address of the machine that is connected to your machine then there is a colon and the port number this machine has connected or is trying to connect on. The last column states either Listening or Established. Listening means the port is open and waiting and Established means that the machine is connected.

The reason that the manufacturers made it so difficult to open ports was security concerns. By opening ports on your router you are essentially unlocking a window or door to your home. The bad guys might not know it is unlocked but by trying it, they might figure it out.

To give you an example of how opening ports can harm you, I will share with you my first time I got hacked. It was not a proud moment. It was humbling and an eye opener. I came home from work to check why I could not get to my FTP on my home computer from work. My machine was on and it looked like the hard drive was going crazy. Once I logged on to the machine I saw that my free space was at less than 1% and my machine was crawling due to no free space issues.

Apparently someone used my open port 21 to gain access to my IIS based FTP server and upload crap loads of porn. I quickly took my machine offline and checking the log files, was going in and out of the machine all day and night with a new user set up.

By opening port 21 there was a way into my machine and using some exploit they took it over. I saw that the hackers were connecting from specific IP addresses -  I blocked those in my router and then I modified my rules.

All my rules now have source IP addresses, No longer will I open a port to everyone – I will add my office IP address and work around that. Another nifty tip is to use different port numbers than the usual ports. When I say usual ports I mean port 80 is normally used to access the web but you can change the port your webserver uses to 8888 via IIS. They you would need to type in http://www.yoururl.com:8888 if the user did not know the port they could not find the website.

I used 3737 for FTP for a while. The reason this helps is that hackers scan networks for open ports. Port scanning takes time and so they scan for ports like 21,22,80,8080 and other commonly used ports. If you are able to change your ports do so. In this instance I then accessed my FTP site using my IP and the port like so:

ftp://172.23.33.211:3737 (that is a fake IP address for you hackers out there!)

Most FTP clients allow you to change the port your client connects with as well. You can use a free port scanner from an outside computer like this one or you can use a service like Can You See Me to scan individual ports.

The external website is a better test as it shows what is open from the outside in.

One you confirm that you have ports open that you want to close you will need to go to your router and find the rules and delete them or you can turn on your Windows Firewall from your services manager. For total control download Zone Alarm’s free offering. The firewall will provide you with protection from threats inside and outside your network.

How do you safely open ports and protect yourself from threats? Share your opinions with us in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
• What To Do When You Get A Copyright Infringement Notice from ISP (2)
• Technology Explained: Understanding The Internet Speed (29)
• Technology Explained: How Satellite Internet Works? (24)
• Technology Explained: How Does a Router Work? (33)

General Networking With D-Link Wireless Routers

After connecting your D-Link wireless router and opening the start page in your browser, you’ll see a login screen. All of these routers come with a default password or no password at all. The first thing you’ll want to do is set one in order to guard against local and possible neighborhood intrusion. While this measure seems a given, many may be tempted to skip this step for convenience. The administrator password is your first line of defense.

Next you’ll configure your network settings according to your connection, hardware, and purpose of the router.  In addition, the option to configure remote management is offered so you can access your router from outside your local network. It is not advised to allow this unless necessary as individual internet addresses can be spoofed and leaves your network another opening for intrusion. In the advanced settings of the network there’s a tickbox for enabling WAN (from the internet) pings. Leave this unchecked so that your router will not answer pings confirming its existence.

Wireless Settings

The most important part is under the Wireless Settings. Here you will secure your router connections. The first thing one might want to do is change the default name because most routers ship with their brand name as the default SSID, or broadcast name. While this doesn’t help a whole lot if it’s broadcast across the neighborhood, at least it will hide your brand making it a bit harder to crack.

Next is the Enable Extended Range Mode. Do not enable this unless your equipment is indeed in a large building. There’s no sense in creating a larger circle of coverage to encompass even more neighborhood hackers than is necessary. Most average sized homes and small business settings will not require this option to be turned on. Along these same lines, it’s not recommended that one exchange the factory antenna for a high-range aftermarket replacement for the same reason. If your wireless network card in your computer supports 802.11g, then perhaps you might want to tick the 802.11g checkbox, perhaps excluding some who may not have the latest equipment.

Hiding your SSID aids in security by not announcing its existence. This way only those who know your SSID will be able to use it. While some experienced hackers may own tools to detect your router regardless, it will guard against some. In and of itself hiding the SSID isn’t a strong security measure, but coupled with others decreases your chances of falling victim.

The most important part of securing your router is the Security Mode. Here you will enable encryption and require a password to connect.  With most modern routers you have several choices ranging from the least secure to more so. Leaving this disabled allows your information to soar across the air unencrypted inviting others to capture and read it, including credit card numbers, passwords, and private conversations as well as allowing connections from outsiders at will.

WEP, or Wired Equivalent Privacy, provides a modicum of protection better than nothing, but its algorithms were cracked many years ago and anyone with the tools to pull in your transmissions will certainly have these basic conversion tools as well. WPA (version 1), or Wi-Fi Protected Access, was created in answer to the WEP failings, however, it too was cracked several years ago. Again, it’s better than nothing and will keep regular freeloading neighbors from using your connection, but WPA2 is even better. Most modern computer networking cards support this newer encryption standard, but some slightly older equipment may not. If your computer supports WPA2, then that’s your choice.

After choosing WPA or WPA2, you also have the choice of TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) or AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) based algorithms. Again, TKIP is the older less secure method and most computers and software support AES, so choose that. Then you have the further choice of PSK (pre-shared key) or EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol). PSK is the type in which you have to set up your password on each device before encryption begins, so there is a chance someone could have gleaned that information during that process. EAP is more secure but encompasses many different methods and can require specialized software matching the methods of your particular router model. Many businesses use the latter for its increased security, but most home users choose the prior.  Be sure to pick a strong password with upper and lower case letters as well as numbers and even special characters.

One last element is the toggle to enable or disable accessing the configuration over wireless. If your D-Link model has this option it is recommended to use it. This way one would need physical access with a RJ-45 cable to try and guess or crack your password to change settings or invade your local network.

While nothing in the computer world is completely safe, things can be made reasonably so. By implementing these simple measures your local and wireless network is much more secure. Along with continued diligence in monitoring activity, your door is safely locked against many would-be intruders.

There were a couple of other related posts on MakeUseOf before:

- How To Set Up Your Own Secured Wi-Fi Hotspot
- How To Secure Your Wireless Network Connection

Please share your comments below. If you have other suggestions on how to secure a D-link router we would like to hear them as well.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• What To Do When You Get A Copyright Infringement Notice from ISP (2)
• Technology Explained: Open Router Ports & Their Security Implications (9)
• How To Troubleshoot Weak Wireless Connections (15)
• How To Share The Internet Connection Between Mac and PC (16)
• How To Set Up Your Own Secured Wi-Fi Hotspot (16)

So I’m taking this opportunity to share the wisdom that I’ve gained from that experience so that, possibly, I can save the next poor soul the trouble and heartache that I had to suffer through.

Am I being over-dramatic? Maybe. But what you have to understand is that at the very center of my livelihood is the Internet. I earn income, learn and unwind all on the Internet. When I lose that connection to the virtual world – I’m not a happy camper.

Rewind several months to the day when I purchased a new, shiny Sony Vaio laptop. I brought it home, excitedly opened up the box and turned it on, expecting the brand new laptop with a build-in wireless ethernet card to instantly sense my home network and connect almost completely automatically. Unfortunately, it sensed nothing. Many hours later, after an unmentionable amount of coffee consumed, I finally had my new Vista laptop on the Internet and screaming.

To save MUO readers out there who find themselves in this situation countless hours of aggravation, I’d like to offer the most important lessons I learned about Vista during this ordeal. Earlier, Aseem offered applications you can install that will improve your PC performance. However, I’d like to present the top five ways you can tweak Vista itself to get your Internet connection working, and increase your overall Internet speed.

The Most Important Vista Internet Speed Tweaks – Once You Can Connect

New technology is fabulous when it works, but I was quite disgusted to learn that Microsoft implemented IPv6 on Vista and upon install it is set as the default. The silly part is that it simply doesn’t work well with devices that still utilize the IPv4 protocol – and to assume that most home networks are fully upgraded to the IPv6 protocol is a faulty approach to setting defaults.

Many people upgrade their PCs and laptops long before they consider replacing that old outdated router that’s been sitting in the basement for five years and still works perfectly. So, when they bring home that shiny new laptop with Vista installed, guess what – the laptop and the router simply refuse to talk.

So, if you’re unlucky enough to find yourself in this situation – the very first thing you should do before we can even get started speeding up the Internet, is to disable IPv6 so that you can at least get on the Internet in the first place. Here’s how it works.

First, go to Start -> Network -> Network and Sharing Center, and then click on “Manage Network Connections.”

In this screen, you’ll likely have a wireless connection displaying that it can’t connect to any network. Right-click on that icon and select “Properties.”

You’ll discover both IPv6 and IPv4 enabled. Go ahead and uncheck the box for IPv6 and click “OK.” You’ll need to reboot your computer, but afterwards if the protocol incompatibility was your problem (and it very likely was), you’ll find that your computer can now communicate fine with the router. Maybe. There is one other complication Microsoft introduced into Vista just to encourage you that much more to upgrade your router – it’s something called “autotuning,” and it’s also the next Vista tweak.

Vista Connection Tweak #2 – Autotuning

This is another case where the cutting edge technological advances being enabled on Microsoft’s operating system by default is a recipe for disaster for users who have older networks and older network devices (specifically older routers). Vista comes installed and enabled with something called “Receive Window Auto-Tuning.”

On advanced networks, it’s actually a pretty cool technology where the transfer of data is monitored and Vista automatically “tunes” the TCP window field to optimize packet transfer. Older routers simply do not “play nice” when it comes to that kind of window resizing. This spells trouble for home users who don’t know the difference between a packet of data and a packet of sugar. What was Microsoft thinking?

Luckily – there’s a way for you, the home user, to turn this default feature off as well. First, click on “Start” and type “cmd” and right-click on the command icon. You’ll see the following window.

Click on “Run as Administrator.”  Then, in the command box, type “netsh interface tcp set global autotuning=disabled” which will disable autotuning.

Now that you’ve got your new Vista finally communicating with your router (hopefully), you’re ready to tweak Vista even more in order to dramatically boost the Internet speed.

Vista Tweak #3 To Increase Internet Speed – Take Back Your Bandwidth

Another unnecessary default setting that Vista (and actually XP as well) comes with is a 20% “reserve” of your available bandwidth in order to accommodate certain applications like Windows Update. This tweak is a pretty common one most old-school users of XP already know – it’s not at all detrimental and you can immediately gain 20% of your bandwidth back, increasing Internet performance significantly.

This is called the QoS Reserve Bandwidth Limit, and to reduce this on any version of Vista you need to edit the registry.

Go to Start and type “regedit“. You may have to deal with the UAC, unless you’ve read Sharninder’s advice on how to speed up your Vista by turning it off! In Regedit, navigate to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows”

Right-click on Windows and create a new key called “Psched“, then right click on the right and create a new “DWORD” entry. Name it “NonBestEffortLimit” and set the value to zero to disable reserve bandwidth.

Vista Tweak #4 – Modify Your Browser For Optimum Speed

Believe it or not, not only is your Vista operating system not configured by default to blaze the Internet as fast as possible, but neither is your Internet browser! These instructions include how to increase your browsing speed on Firefox and IE.

First, in Firefox type, “about:config” into the address bar (and ignore any warnings).  In the filter field, type “network” and scroll down to “network.http.pipelining” and set it to TRUE, and set “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” from 4 to anything from 8 to 12.

I use Firefox almost exclusively, and this one change increased my page-load time by what felt like a factor of 50%. Of course, there’s a similar tweak for Internet Explorer as well, but you have to edit the registry. As before, go to Start and type “regedit.”

Navigate to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Internet Settings” and find “MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server” and “MaxConnectionsPerServer.” Set these to at least 10, or a little higher if you would like. You should also see an increase in performance for IE after making this change as well.

Vista Tweak #5 – Increase DNS Cache

This tweak is one that anyone should do anyway, as it can significantly save time while surfing the web, especially if you tend to visit the same sites often. What the DNS cache does is store information retrieved from the nameservers (IP information) so that the next time you visit the same site, your browser doesn’t have to waste time retrieving the same information from the DNS servers.

You can optimize this by increasing the size of your DNS cache.  This is another registry edit – so go back in there (Start and type “regedit“) and navigate to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters” and then right click on the white space at the right and add four DWORD values: CacheHashTableBucketSize, CacheHashTableSize, MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit and MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit.

After checking a list of sites for the optimum setting for these values, the consensus seems to be decimal settings of CacheHashTableBucketSize to 1, CacheHashTableSize to 384, MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit to 64000 and MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit to 301.Of course, instead of using those old DNS servers, why not use OpenDNS?  When you’re done making all of the changes above, restart your computer and when it boots back up you’ll find yourself with a Vista PC that screams on the Internet.

Did these Vista tweaks increase your Internet speed? Do you know any other cool tweaks for Vista that work even better? Share your insight in the comments section below.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Speed Up The Shutdown Of Your Windows (14)
• Tweak Your Windows Operating System With Xpy (10)
• 6 Free Vista Utilities to Tweak and Improve Performance (8)
• 4 Tips to Speed Up Your Windows Vista PC (25)
• 10 Ways To Speed Up Torrent Downloads (49)

Over the weekend, the modem provided by my ISP packed up. This is my first day being back to normal. However, I did manage to survive without my own internet connection. And no, I didn’t use someone else’s WiFi connection or scurry down to the local Starbucks. In this article I’m going to show you how to use your basic GPRS cell phone as a modem for your PC – and achieve fast speeds from it. I don’t mean a smart phone with 3G or anything of the sort – just any old cell phone from 2004 onwards.

The most basic way of doing this is to use the disc that came with your phone. My Samsung came with software for loading music and files as well as changing the phone’s settings. Look around on your phone’s software. See if you can find anything about ‘Connections’, ‘Network’, ‘Modem’ or ‘Communications’. If you do, there should be detailed instructions on how to use your cell phone as a modem. Mine was easy to set up, I just told it I lived in Ireland and it detected all of the necessary settings for me.

However, what if your phone didn’t come with a CD, or there was nothing on the CD about turning your cell phone into a modem?

First, connect your phone to your PC using the USB cable (if one didn’t come with the phone there are loads for sale on eBay for many different makes and models of phones for low prices). You can also connect it via Bluetooth, however this will cause the final download speeds to be slower. Your computer should recognize that your phone has been connected to it and begin to install the ‘Drivers’. When this has finished, open the start menu and select ‘Connect To’. At the bottom of the window which opens opt to ‘Create a new connection’. Then select ‘Create a Dial-Up Connection’.

The window shown below will be displayed. For the phone number enter in *99# (this is a kind of universal GPRS number that your carrier will redirect). This will tell your phone to access its GPRS function.

For the username and password you’ll have to do some research on the internet. These are easily found by simply Googling ‘GPRS Setting for [Network Name]‘ or ‘Wap Settings for [Network Name]‘. I am on a network called Meteor so we’ll use them as an example for this article.

Username: my

Password: WAP

One you have done this, finish creating the connection. Then, select the connection from the ‘Connect To’ menu. When it asks for the username and password, enter in the ones appropriate for your network. This will then connect you to the internet.

Because mobile phone technology is at its height, you’ll get fast speeds, especially if you’re in the US. I had assumed that it would be slow like GPRS mobile internet it but this is only slow because of the phone’s browser’s limitations. Not the networks.

I easily checked e-mails, surfed the web and submitted work. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t exactly be streaming HD video but it can be handy when your normal internet goes down. I found that loading complex pages such as makeuseof.com took around 10-12 seconds where as simple pages such as my blog or Twitter only took a couple of seconds.

As with all my articles that require the use of GPRS, I advise you to see if your network has unlimited access for a set fee or capped costs per day like mine does as overusing GPRS can be costly.

Have you done this with your phone? If so, what method does your phone use to connect to the net?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How to Set Up Laptop Wireless Internet Access Through Your Cellphone [Windows] (36)
• Easy Mobile Internet Plan Comparison for United States (14)
• Using Yahoo Go to Stay Connected On Your Mobile (8)
• How To Embed Data Into an Image for Mobile Users (4)
• How To Connect Your PSP To The Internet (10)

Now, here’s the tricky part. In my home network, we have 2 Macs and one PC running on Windows XP. The UMTS device connects via USB. How do we decide who gets to use it? We put our thinking caps on and finally decided that it would be easier to share the internet connection using one of the Macs. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

Internet sharing between Macs is basically very easy but if you add a Windows PC into the mix, things get a little problematic. Sharing the internet connection between Mac and PC turned out to be harder than I thought. I’ll explain why in a minute. But first, let’s just assume that we only needed to share the connection between 2 (or more) Macs via AirPort (WiFi). It’s very simple.

Open System Preferences and click on Sharing.

Before Internet Sharing can be enabled, you first have to configure the proper settings.

In the ‘Share your connection from’ dropdown list, select the port that has internet connectivity. In the screenshot above, I have “Ethernet” selected when it actually should be USB — ignore that. Then select how you would like to share the connectivity. I chose AirPort so that I can share the connection with several other computers. Checking the box next to ‘AirPort’ unbricks the ‘Airport options’ button.

Click on that button and configure your network name and security options.

Alright, here’s where the whole Windows and Mac concoction starts to rear its ugly head. Due to the different methods that the two operating systems deals with Hex encryption, the password you enter here will not be easily accepted by Windows. A Windows PC will be able to detect the wireless network but it will not be able to join.

Here’s the workaround. Select the 128-bit WEP encryption option and enter a 13-character password. Then, rename the network to something really short without spaces. When you’re done, hit OK.

Now you can check the box next to ‘Internet Sharing’. You may get a prompt to start AirPort, click Start. Right, the connection is shared. Macs detect the network automatically (and so will iPhones and iPod touches) and will connect to it as though it’s a regular router.

On the Windows PC, a little bit of manipulation is required. Turn on the wireless adapter and right-click on its taskbar icon to select “View available wireless networks”. In the subsequent window, click on “Change advanced settings”.

Click on the Wireless Networks tab and then click the ‘Add’ button to add our shared network.

Print the network name accurately, then set the network authentication to ‘Shared’, data encryption to ‘WEP’, uncheck the box next to “This key is provided for me automatically” and enter the 13-character password.

Click on the Authentication tab and disable IEEE 802.1x authentication. Next, click on the Connection tab and make sure that it will connect when in range. Click OK and apply the settings.

It should now try to connect to the shared AirPort connection. Cross your fingers. This sort of busts the myth that Macs and Windows won’t work well together, doesn’t it?

I noted a few oddities during the whole procedure: 40-bit WEP encryption didn’t work when trying to share the internet connection between Macs and PC. The password was always incorrect. Then I changed it to 128-bit and everything was well. Also, the network name must not contain any spaces. The Windows PC wouldn’t connect to “Jackson Chung’s MacBook” but it connected with “jxn”.

How would you go about this procedure from a Window’s point of view? I would love to hear it. Tell me how — in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
• WiFi for Dummies: 9 Common Mistakes Setting up a Wireless Network (22)
• How To Troubleshoot Weak Wireless Connections (15)
• How To Set Up Your Own Secured Wi-Fi Hotspot (16)
• 8 Tips To Effectively Boost Your Wireless Router Signal (70)

Every PSP is built by Sony with the capability to be connected to the internet. There is an inbuilt wireless receiver that picks up WiFi signals to transmit data, thus allowing you to browse. WiFi is extremely popular at present and chances are that where you’re sitting, you can pick up a WiFi signal – most likely the one coming from your home’s wireless router. For more information on setting up your home’s wireless network, read Tim’s article on the subject here.

The first step to learning how to connect PSP to the Internet is to know your wireless router’s details. You will need the router’s name (this is chosen when setting up your home wireless network) and the password to access the signal. If your router is not protected by a password then you can ignore this step. Once you have found all the details, turn to your PSP.

On top of the PSP, there is a switch which is marked ‘WLAN’. Move this switch to the right to turn on the wireless receiver.

When you’re on the main menu, use the directional pad to move the options to the left. This will bring you to ‘Settings’. Scroll down through the setting to the bottom of the list and select ‘Network Settings’. Then select ‘Infrastructure Mode’ – this is for connecting to the internet. The other option ‘Ad Hoc Mode’ is for connecting two PSPs together.

When you have selected ‘Infrastructure Mode’, click ‘New Connection’. This will bring you to a screen with three options; ‘Scan’, ‘Enter Manually’ and ‘Automatic’. Select ‘Scan’.

When the device has finished scanning, there will be a list of all the wireless signals picked up by the PSP. Beside each signal, there will also be a signal strength measured in percentages. Hopefully, your signal being the closest, it will be at 100% or near enough to it. Press ‘X’ to select your signal.

Scroll right through all the different setting for this connection leaving them all just as they are until you reach ‘WPA key’. Select this option and enter in the password for your wireless signal. This is case sensitive and must be exactly as you entered it when setting up the wireless router.

Continue to scroll to the right, leaving all the other setting as their default. The second last screen as you scroll to the right will give you all your new connection’s information such as Name and IP address and security level. Scroll one more screen to the right and select ‘Test Connection’. Allow it to test the connection for a minute or so. If you have set up the connection correctly then the test results such as signal strength and the IP address will be displayed. If you have made an error while setting up the connection then the test will ‘time out’ and you’ll have to go back by pressing ‘O’ to make sure you have all the settings correct.

When you have set up your connection, you can scroll to the right of the main menu to begin using the HTML browser. You can also play selected games online using the multiplayer mode.

A piece of advice: When you’re just playing a game on ‘Single Player’ mode or doing anything else on your PSP, I suggest you turn the wireless receiver off at the WLAN switch as it can eat up a lot of juice unnecessarily.

Do you use your PSP to go online often? Was this instructional easy to follow? Let us know in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Top 5 Sites for PSP Game Demo Downloads (12)
• How to Set Up Laptop Wireless Internet Access Through Your Cellphone [Windows] (36)
• Top 3 Sites For Nintendo Wii Game Walkthroughs (8)
• Top 10 Websites For PlayStation 2 Free Game Cheats (14)
• Things To Know When Using a WiFi Hotspot Or a Public PC (14)

You connect directly to the proxy server and it connects you to the rest of the Internet, using its IP address. Simple, effective, but more and more hard to come by.

As groups continue to try to regulate your Internet usage, proxy servers are being shut down. This has the effect of pushing people back into the main lanes of the highway called the Internet. It’s so much easier to track your sheep if they are all in the same field.

Let’s see what we can find for free proxy lists of proxy servers you can use.

Public Proxy Servers

Around since 2002, PublicProxyServers is an independent, free service to allow you to find proxy servers for privacy and to circumvent browsing controls.

I think what makes this an excellent service is that they track the performance of each server on their free proxy list.

Poor performance, or slow download/upload speeds has been the biggest traditional complaint about using proxy servers. With Public Proxy Servers, this problem can be minimized.

On average, the proxies listed have response times of less than a second. Not good enough for you? Sort the list by access time! Want to appear that you’re coming from another country? Sort the list by country! You can sort the list by any of 7 criteria.

Probably my only complaint about this site is that they have plain text advertising that looks a lot like their regular content. Not much to complain about, I know.

Stay Invisible

Stay Invisible has more than just a free proxy list. It provides some tools to help you determine if your IP address is being effectively blocked.

According to Stay Invisible, there is a fault in Java that allows for your real IP address to be revealed, even if you are using a proxy. They also provide solutions for that problem.

You can find a traditional list of proxies here, with more information about each server, such as:

• Originating Country
• Anonymity Level
• Form Submitting
• URL Encoding
• Referrer Hiding
• Cookie Blocking
• Script Blocking
• SSL Access

These details may not seem that important to you, but it would be good for you to learn a bit more about each and what they could mean to you.

What I like best about Stay Invisible is that they have a list of other proxy lists! You can order that list by how many lists each list has added today, or in the last 7 days. This will help you find the freshest lists with more working proxies.

Centurian

Centurian is another site that offers much more than a free proxy list. With an appealing design and easy to use layout, this is a learning resource as well.

Centurian provides articles on different proxy-related subjects, scripts related to proxy usage, and a forum.

The list can be sorted by the criteria of how new it is on the list, country, or script used to provide the proxy server. The speed of the proxy servers is shown graphically with a bar, that represents its score out of 10 for speed.

Now, I don’t know how that score is calculated or exactly what it means in terms of performance, however it is a nice, simple way to see if a particular proxy is useful.

Anonymity Checker

Yet another site that lists proxy servers, but has a little twist that I think could be quite useful. Their list of servers comes with a ‘whois’ link for each server. This should help you to determine just who is running the proxy server.

Is it a university, business, or government?  Consider what each might have to gain for giving you ‘anonymity’. Nothing is free.

Things to Keep In Mind

Please keep in mind that just because you are using a proxy, does not mean you are guaranteed to be anonymous. Some proxy servers will track IP addresses that use them. Some offer no additional protection beyond being a proxy and your IP address can be accessed anyway.

Another thing to consider is this – how safe is a service that is being provided in order to ‘break the rules’? What if the server is being set up for a honey pot attack? That something is too sweet and easy to pass up, but then it becomes a trap.

So, my advice to you is to use these proxies with caution. Do some research and only use a proxy server when absolutely necessary.

Image Credit: Anonymous9000

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Set Up A Secure & Free Proxy Server (6)
• Faster Internet & Anonymous Net Surfing Through Toonel (18)
• Cover Your Tracks on The Internet & Stay Anonymous with JAP (25)
• Anonymous Internet Surfing with Tor (22)
• Remove Censorship & Browse Anonymously With Xerobank (14)

When I first hooked up my wireless router, my mind started going crazy coming up with awesome things I could do, such as running networked games between two wi-fi enabled desktop PCs and the wireless laptop, or offering my neighbors cheap Internet access.

In this article, I’m going to cover 4 free WiFi software downloads that will help you better exploit any Wi-Fi network you may come across, whether it’s at home or connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot anywhere in the world.

Make a Secure Connection With LucidLink

Before you get started on a Wi-Fi network – particularly a public Wi-Fi network – you need to be sure that you’re protected from any other system that’s also connected to that network. The first thing you want to do is take Karl’s friendly tech advice about things you should know when using a public hotspot.

Beyond that, there’s also an excellent free software application called LucidLink that detects the security settings of the network that you’re connecting to, how to configure your wi-fi settings to properly connect to the network and it also warns you if the network presents a security risk.

The main screen of the LucidLink Client looks like any other standard Wi-Fi client that detects any available Wi-Fi network near you. If the network isn’t properly secured, LucidLink lets you know.

Now, if you’re looking to “borrow” someone’s unsecured Wi-Fi network to check your email, this message would be expected. But if you’re connecting to your own home network and you get this error – it’s time to read Aibek’s article on how to secure your wi-fi network.

If you’re connecting to a public hotspot that requires a user login, like at a hotel or restaurant, you should not see a message like this. If you do – use the Internet cautiously (don’t start doing Internet banking). Select the network you want to connect to and click on “Properties” and you’ll learn what type of network (level of encryption) it is as well as the signal strength where you’re located.

Obviously, avoid “Open” networks whenever possible – but if you must access an open hotspot, make sure to download and install a copy of HotSpot Shield!

Monitor The Wi-Fi Network With AirSnare

If you must run an open network at home, or if you’re connected to an open hotspot, at the very least you should run AirSnare – a Wi-Fi network monitoring application that immediately alerts you if there’s an “unfriendly” MAC address on the network, or if there are DHCP requests. This application can provide you with a bit of a warning if your Wi-Fi network is actively hijacked by a neighbor or any other unscrupulous character.

AirSnare is a great Wi-Fi application for those situations where you really need to connect to an open network, but you still want to keep an eye on the traffic. You can set it up to run in the background and have it alert you whenever anything strange is going on. The sensitivity of the software depends on how you configure what gets monitored and what doesn’t.

Personally, my favorite feature of this particular Wi-Fi app is that you can set it up to run as a service on your home PC, and when it detects a Wi-Fi intrusion you can configure it to fire off an alert email. Other cool features include using “AirHorn” to send a network message to the intruding IP, or capture and analyze packets using Ethereal (which comes with the install).

Sell Your Wi-Fi HotSpot Access To Neighbors

The flip side of completely locking down your Wi-Fi network is actually opening it up to your immediate neighbors and selling them discounted Internet access using ZoneRider. What better way to exploit your Wi-Fi network? ZoneRider isn’t only free – you get paid revenue for becoming a HotSpot zone in the ZoneRider network.

Keep in mind that to run this software and start selling Internet access through your Wi-Fi network, you may want to check with your ISP to be sure that doing so isn’t against the Terms and Conditions of your service agreement.

Registration is fast and easy – just don’t forget to use your PayPal email address so you can get paid!

The software displays all of the Wi-Fi users who are trying to connect to your network. Initially, ZoneRider automatically configures your network so that no one is allowed to connect until you either add them as a free user, or you create a paid account for them. Installing ZoneRider gives you instant control over who connects to your Wi-Fi network and who doesn’t.

In the accounts section of the ZoneRider website, you can configure “Premiums” for your various users by whatever monthly fees you prefer. For anyone living in a large apartment complex with plenty of bandwidth to share, this Wi-Fi application could turn into a sweet little money-maker.

Instantly Network With Local Wi-Fi Users With WiPeer

Finally, saving the best for last (as usual), I would like to present one of the most useful Wi-Fi apps I’ve ever used called WiPeer.  WiPeer is a Wi-Fi based “server-less” peer-to-peer application which allows you to instantly perform certain networking tasks with other Wi-Fi users near you who also have the software installed.

The software presents users who have Wi-Fi enabled laptops and desktops with the ability to share files, play games or chat an ad-hoc peer-to-peer network without the need for any access point.

Setting up the network is a breeze. You can choose to use an existing Wi-Fi network to connect with other users, or you can create your own ad-hoc network. Once you create a network, other users who have WiPeer installed can then connect to it and communicate with your PC.

The software is your interface with other users, so you’re limited to what the application can do. The features include file sharing, a limited collection of four network games, and chat functionality. Find yourself sitting in the middle of a boring college lecture with your other friends who also have a Wi-Fi laptop? Fire up WiPeer and play chess or chat. Do you have to suffer through a long flight and your friends are scattered throughout the plane? Chat with them or swap music files during the flight with WiPeer!

Do you have any favorite applications that are tailored specifically for Wi-Fi networks? Share them in the comments section below!

Image Credit : dana -2

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• WiFi for Dummies: 9 Common Mistakes Setting up a Wireless Network (22)
• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
• How To Connect Your Nintendo Wii Console To The Internet (3)
• Technology Explained: Understanding The Internet Speed (29)
• Technology Explained: Open Router Ports & Their Security Implications (9)

The trouble is setting up the network and eventually figuring out how to connect each device. There are some common mistakes that are best avoided in the first place. If you’re struggling with your WiFi, let this be your "WiFi For Dummies" troubleshooting guide.

1. Not reading manuals

This should be common sense. Your WiFi setup depends on the router you have and the devices you want to connect. Thus it’s essential to read the respective manuals and follow their instructions. Some of the following mistakes can be avoided simply by reading manuals.

2. Using default passwords

Your wireless router comes with a default password for its administration interface. The password is required to log into the device and configure countless critical settings. To avoid damage it’s essential to secure this area by replacing the default password with a strong password. The same applies to all devices you’re going to connect to your wireless network.

3. Failing to turn on WiFi transmission

Especially laptops and mobile phones have buttons or software settings that allow you to turn on or off wireless transmissions. Naturally, you won’t be able to locate a wireless network, let alone connect to it as long as WiFi is turned off on your laptop or phone. More details can be found in the device manual.

4. Mixing or excluding wireless standards

There are several wireless standards or WiFi technologies available: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n. 802.11n is the latest standard and supports higher bandwidth as well as multiple wireless signals and antennas (MIMO technology). This article on About.com explains the differences in detail.

You may have devices supporting different standards and you should sort this out before purchasing a router or a device you want to connect to an existing router (i.e. read manuals). In general, it’s best not to mix wireless standards. You’ll see the best performance, if all connected devices "speak the same language", i.e. use the same standard. For example a device running using outdated wireless technology may slow down the entire network, even for devices that support higher standards.

That’s also the reason why many routers have an option that excludes devices only supporting old standards. So if you cannot connect your old laptop to your wireless network, maybe your router is configured to support only 802.11g and up, while your laptop only supports 802.11a.

5. Mixing encryption standards

New devices support different forms of WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption. The old encryption standard WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) should be avoided because it’s easily cracked.

Most users will be smart and set up their router with WPA encryption. Now what would happen if you tried to connect a device that only supports WEP, for example a PDA, to such a network. Of course it would not work! Again, it’s essential to read the manuals and understand which encryption standards are supported by the devices you want to connect.

If WPA is your only option, make sure you have a strong password, i.e. random, alphanumeric and longer than 10 characters. Don’t skip encryption! Even if WPA can be cracked, it does require a few minutes and a bit of skill, so your regular neighbor will probably be too lazy to try.

6. Badly configured firewall

One of the main reasons a computer won’t connect to a wireless network is a firewall that denies the connection. To test this, simply turn off the firewall and try again. If the firewall was the cause, learn how to configure it properly (check out a few WiFi For Dummies books from your local bookstore to learn more) to allow WiFi access.

7. Spelling

Another mistake could be transposed digits or wrong spelling of manually entered IDs, passwords, MAC addresses etc. that are required to setup the network or connect a device. When you’re receving a signal, but cannot connect, make sure your WEP or WPA key is correct. Double check!

8. Not using any security

Your data is transmitted over the air and it is an easy target for anyone trying to spy on you or hack into your system. So any security measurement is better than none. Use passwords, use strong passwords, use encryption, use a firewall or at least turn on Windows’ default firewall, monitor your traffic.

For more information about securing your WiFi connection, read these articles:

From Tim: How To Set Up Your Own Secured WiFi Hotspot

From Aibek: How To Secure Your Wireless Network Connection

From Karl: Things To Know When Using a WiFi Hotspot Or A Public PC

From Tina (me): Is Your Wireless Network Safe?

9. False sense of security

You may have changed all default passwords, turned off DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), set up MAC (Media Access Control) filtering, turned off remote router administration, turned on the router firewall, set up a firewall on your computer, and hidden your SSID (Service Set Identifier) beaconing and you probably feel safe.

Apparently, some people also try to secure their WiFi network "physically". They place the router in a central location of the area they want to cover and reduce the signal until it can not be detected outside that area. I hope they don’t forget that the signal is transmitted three-dimensionally. Also, someone using a strong antenna, e.g. a determined hacker, will still pick up the signal and invade the network.

Among harmless neighbors, you probably are safe even if you don’t apply any security measurements. But for a skilled hacker, you’re still a relatively easy target, despite all the precautions. Each security layer can be cracked separately and it’s only a matter of time until WPA will be hacked. So never feel too safe, back up your data and disconnect sensible data from connected devices.

If you’re interested in wireless internet, you should check out Guy’s other great WiFi for dummies type article Technology Explained: How Does Wireless Internet Work? and if you’re going to set up your own network, download the Network Guide PDF that was written by Stefan.

What other problems or mistakes did you encounter in setting up a wireless network?

Image credits: duchesssa, rolve, flaivoloka, groenmen, clix

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• 4 Free WiFi Software Downloads to Get Most of Wireless Networks (31)
• How To Share The Internet Connection Between Mac and PC (16)
• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
• The Easy Guide To Computer Networks [PDF] (22)
• Technology Explained: Open Router Ports & Their Security Implications (9)

Luckily, if you have a Windows Mobile device and you’ve signed up for an unlimited data plan through your cellular provider, then you’ve got an excellent option to set up your laptop wireless Internet access through your cellphone from anywhere you have a cellular connection.

James recently reviewed a cool app called JoikuSpot Light, which transforms your mobile phone into an Wi-Fi hot-spot. Without a doubt, JoikuSpot is probably the best solution. However, if you aren’t able to get JoikuSpot working on your device and there are no other similar options available, you may find yourself pulling out your USB cable and trying to remember how you configured your Cellphone to serve as an Internet modem for your laptop. In this article, I’m going to offer Windows Mobile users an easy step by step guide that you can refer to any time you need to configure laptop wireless Internet access through your cellphone.

The following procedure is grouped into three steps. First, setting up the laptop and the cellphone for Internet sharing, rather than connecting via an application like ActiveSync. Second, configuring both the laptop and the cellphone for the Internet connection, and finally, initializing the connection. Once you’ve completed steps 1 and 2, you’ll never have to do them again. The next time you want to access the Internet with your cellphone you simply “redial,” and you’re online. This particular setup is based on the HTC manufactured series of windows mobile devices. In my case I still use the now-ancient HTC Cingular 8125, however these steps work for the later models (and most Windows Mobile devices will also be similar).

Step 1: Getting Things Ready

The first thing that you need to do before you can establish a laptop/modem connection is to kill the current application that’s handling communications between your laptop and cellphone. In my case, I’m running ActiveSync, so I kill that process using the Task Manager.

For ActiveSync, you just find wcescomm.exe and kill the process. If you’re particular Windows Mobile device uses another application, you’ll need to find the process name and make sure that you kill it. Secondly, you’ll need to also shut down the communications software on your phone. In the case of ActiveSync, in Windows Mobile you go to Start -> Settings -> System -> Memory -> Running Programs, and then if ActiveSync is listed you’ll need to stop the process.

Once you’ve stopped the communications software on both the laptop and Windows Mobile phone, you’re ready to establish the connection between the laptop and phone as an Internet modem.

Step 2: Connecting The Cellphone As a Modem

The only real configuration required in Windows Mobile in order to set up your device as an Internet modem is to enable the “Modem Link.” The Modem Link configuration can be found by going to Start -> Programs.

Once you’re inside the Modem Link configuration, just change the Connection setting to USB. It’s likely that your other settings are already configured, however if they are not just make sure that the Access point name has the name of the connection you configured on your mobile device for Internet access. When everything looks good, click “Activate” at the bottom, and the “Status” at the top should change to “Active.”

If your device is already connected to your laptop, you’ll get the “Found New Hardware” wizard pop-up immediately. If you’re not yet plugged in, then now’s the time to do it.

Just make sure that you select to install from a specific location so that you’ll have the option to manually select your driver file. Click next.

On the next screen, you’ll click the browse button and go to the folder where the driver file is located. In my particular case with the Cingular 8125, and for most HTC mobile devices, you’ll need the USBMDM.INF driver file as well as the HTC USB Modem Dialer application. Both are offered as a free download from xda-developers.com. Download the zip file and put them wherever you’ll remember. Then in the Windows Wizard screen above, browse to the directory where you extracted the INF file. If your Windows Mobile device is non-HTC, check with the manufacturer for a USB modem driver for your device.

The Wizard will recognize the device. Depending on your particular device and the version of the driver, you may see the error message above. Just click “Continue Anyway.”

Finally, the driver’s installed and you’re ready to start using your new Mobile USB Modem anytime you want to, and anywhere you have a cellular signal!

Step 3: Initializing the Internet Connection

To establish your new mobile Internet connection using your laptop, run the executable that you downloaded from the link above. Regardless of your device or your cellular carrier, you’ll typically always need to enter a User Name and Password. You can access that information (if you don’t already know it from setting up Internet use on your mobile device) by contacting your cellular provider and asking for the User Name and Password to use with your Internet data plan.

Enter those details into the USB modem dialer, and after a few moments it’ll inform you that you’re now connected. Yes, that means that at this moment, even while you’re sitting in the middle of the lake with a fishing pole in one hand, your laptop is now connected to the Internet via your cellphone signal. It may not be lightning fast – but when you’re desperate to submit your latest article (or check on your team’s latest game results), sometimes such a connection is all you need.

Have you ever configured your laptop with an Internet connection through your cellphone? What configuration or software tools did you use to accomplish the task? Share your insight in the comments section below.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Use Your GPRS Cell Phone As A Modem (14)
• Using Yahoo Go to Stay Connected On Your Mobile (8)
• How To Connect Your PSP To The Internet (10)
• Easy Mobile Internet Plan Comparison for United States (14)
• 6 Cool Downloads for Your College Kid’s Windows Mobile Phone (1)

Do you need a express card or maybe a USB stick for your laptop or netbook to always be connected? The possibilities nowadays are endless. We are going to provide a mobile Internet plan comparison for 3 major United States Carriers and the mobile plans that they have.

Before we talk about the carriers I thought I would give you a little background on mobile broadband internet service. The standard now is 3G on either HSDPA or EVDO you need a card or stick that is compatible with your computer and service. This is a PCMCIA card from Sprint that works on most  older computers:

You can also get an express card which is shorter and works in most newer laptops or the all around Swiss army knife of the mobile world AKA the USB dongle. Take your pick and with out further ado here is the top 3 mobile broadband companies around my way and there rates in one place for your comparison.

AT&T

AT&T – I love AT&T other people don’t but I guess it is personal preference. In my neighborhood it works all the time on HSDPA as well as at work. I use it for my Windows Mobile Phone as well as for my tablet and netbooks. For my USB Modem I have the Data Connect 5GB plan which used to be called the unlimited plan. Then people started serving networks off it. If you want an upgrade to a higher speed cap the hit you for another $30 some of my friends have gotten charged another $45. Your mileage will vary!

VERIZON

VERIZON – Good old Ma’ Bell. Verizon owns all the copper in town and has a great hold on the majority of users in my hood. The price for the 5GB plan is a penny less than AT&T’s and the overage charges are the same as well. You will get a call if you frequently go over and they will offer you a business account. It is usually around another $30 as well. Verizon also offers a smaller 250MB account per month. If you are just a casual user the $40.00 may pan out. But remember going over your allowance and paying overage charges that are more than the more expensive plan is horrible! So plan accordingly! Another plan Verizon offers is the one day pass for a single days internet usage. But it says that PC users can not get this deal…

SPRINT/NEXTEL

SPRINT/NEXTEL Sprint offers the same 5GB plan for $59.99 and offers 4G service in one city (Baltimore) for $79.99. If they had the 4G service in NY this would be my provider already! Lucky Baltimorians!

Hopefully this mobile Internet plan comparison will help you make a decision. Or if this is all two rich for your blood you could always check out my Windows Mobile guide and look up how to tether internet on your laptop/netbook via your Windows Mobile device. How are you getting Internet on the road? Why don’t you let us know in the comments?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Use Your GPRS Cell Phone As A Modem (14)
• How to Set Up Laptop Wireless Internet Access Through Your Cellphone [Windows] (36)
• Using Yahoo Go to Stay Connected On Your Mobile (8)
• How To Embed Data Into an Image for Mobile Users (4)
• How To Connect Your PSP To The Internet (10)

Have you?

Of course you want to make sure that you are getting what you pay for and with all the competition nowadays providers are promising lots more than they used to.

If you choose your provider because they say they can provide 30 mbps up and down how can you be sure that they really are?

I have found a nifty Internet speed test service called Speedtest and they make it ridiculously easy! Check it out.

When you navigate to the website you will see this:

If you hover your mouse over the top banner, identifying your city and state, it will turn into a Begin Test button. Click it to begin with the default server.

A speedometer will appear and it will start to go up and down for your upload and download speed as the test runs. It will take a few minutes or seconds depending on the speed of your line.

When your Internet speed test is complete you will see a screen similar to the following with your statistics.

You will also be able to re-run the test or run it against another server in a different location by hitting these buttons:

Make sure you don’t have anything hogging up your line like other users or torrents downloading and then when you are satisfied with your results you can look at them and compare them against the promises the carrier made to you. Here were mine for a remote office with a 30/30 circuit. This should be 30 Mbits up and down and I got pretty close to my mark as you can see below:

I was happy with my Internet speed test results for the office but my home line was not up to what the carrier said! Damn you OptOnline! We would love to hear about your carriers and your speed. Are they on point?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Top 5 Vista Tweaks to Increase Internet Speed (94)
• WiFi for Dummies: 9 Common Mistakes Setting up a Wireless Network (22)
• Things To Know When Using a WiFi Hotspot Or a Public PC (14)
• The Easy Guide To Computer Networks [PDF] (22)
• Technology Explained: Understanding The Internet Speed (29)

Now, there are geostationary satellites. That’s a fancy word for saying the satellite stays still in relation to your position on Earth. You have to set the dish up just once and, barring windstorms or worse, the dish stays in constant communication with the satellite.

The latest way to communicate with satellites for Internet service is over something called the Ka band (pronounced kay-eh). The Ka band is a set of frequencies that are between 18.3 GHz and 31 GHz. More specifically, the uplink (that part of the call that is going from your home to the satellite) is in the range of 27.5 GHz and 31 GHz. The downlink (that part of the call that is coming from the satellite to your home) is in the range of 18.3 Ghz and 20.2 Ghz.

What the heck is a GHz? Giga Hertz. Giga for a 1,000,000,000, and Hertz for a cycle per second. Picture a wave on the ocean. It has two parts, the crest of the wave that comes high out of the water. Then there is the trough of the wave, which goes below the normal waterline. Now picture a cot and some Bud Light Lime….mmmmm. Okay back to school.

When the crest AND the trough are done passing over the same point in the water, that can be thought of as one cycle. Now imagine that happening in just one second. That’s a Hertz.  Now imagine that happening a thousand times in one second! That’s a megahertz. Now imagine that happening 1,000,000,000 times in a second! That’s a gigahertz. My brain hertz.

See the similarities?

Why do you need to know this? Well, those numbers relate to transmitting power and what the signal can carry for information. Just like in my first Technology Explained article, the lower frequencies transmit longer distances with less power, but aren’t capable of carrying a lot of information. That’s why the old 900Mhz phones don’t have the voice quality of the 2.6Ghz phones. Yet you could take those old phones down the block with you.

So, using the higher frequency ranges for satellite Internet allows for more data to be sent, giving us something close to high-speed Internet even if we’re an Alaskan recluse.

Because of the high frequency rates, that signal has to be stepped down and lose a bit of power before it hits the delicate electronics of the modem. This is done using a device that is on the dish itself as well as having a minimum of 150 feet of high-quality RG6 coax cable connecting the dish to the modem. So if you wonder why the installer used such a long cable just to wrap it up and drop half of it on the floor, well, this is why.

Something else you should know about is that Ka band satellite uses spot beams. A spot beam covers a specific area that really isn’t that big – about a third the size of Alberta. Each spot beam can support only so many users. If you hear that your buddy in Montana can get service, but you can’t because your spot beam is full, there isn’t much you can do about it. Also, you can’t move your service from spot beam to spot beam unless you are a certified installer. You will also need a clear line of sight to the satellite.

Here’s what the spot beams look like. As you can see, service is NOT available anywhere, like they sometimes advertise.

What’s the downside? Latency. What’s latency?  Gamers call it lag. It’s that time when your signal is going between your house and the satellite. Typically, it’s about 230 milliseconds or more. That doesn’t seem like much considering the signal is covering about 45,000 miles in that time. However, when it comes to things like VoIP or online gaming, it makes it nearly impossible to do.

Another downside is something called the Fair Access Policy or FAP. What this means is that your Satellite Internet Service Provider will put limits on how much you can download over a period of time – usually 24 hours. If you exceed that, they will automatically slow your speed down to something close to dial-up, to give other users fair access to the satellite. When this happens, you have been FAP’ed. So, if you are a chronic downloader, you’ll have to change your ways for satellite Internet.

Is it picture time yet? Of course it is.

All this for about $800 for the hardware and $50 a month for ongoing service. Not bad, when you consider bringing in a phone line down a logging road will cost about $10,000 a pole. However, if you want to put a self-pointing dish on your RV, you’re going to need to dig a little deeper as the hardware will run you about $10,000. You could try to take a stationary dish with you, but pointing the new dishes can take up to eight-hours to aim, and you must be a certified installer.

Photo Credits: cogdogblog, stewart, benchun

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Technology Explained: Open Router Ports & Their Security Implications (9)
• WiFi for Dummies: 9 Common Mistakes Setting up a Wireless Network (22)
• The Easy Guide To Computer Networks [PDF] (22)
• Technology Explained: Understanding The Internet Speed (29)
• Technology Explained: How Does Wireless Internet Work? (31)

These routers have the power to transmit intangible signals; these signals, powerful as they may be, are prone to constant interference whether it be by physical objects, other signals floating around in the air, or even because you didn’t plug the wire in all the way.

Regardless of what the issue, there are some proven ways to try to remedy the situation of a weak Wifi signal. Some may simply be a little bit of common sense, other methods require purchasing additional parts.

Here are 8 tips on how to boost your wireless router signal.

Position it better

Unless you are living in a cave and you somehow miraculously have internet connectivity at the same time, you probably figured out that if your wireless router was in the corner of your kitchen under a pile of old newspapers and your computer was located on the second floor on the opposite side of the house — it is a great idea to place your router in an open position (preferably in the center of your house) where it isn’t obstructed by dense or metallic objects such as file cabinets or brick walls.

Other items that may interfere with your signal include (but are not limited to) microwave ovens, cordless phones, garage door openers, and even baby monitors. The bottom line is that the less objects in the signal’s way, the easier it is for it to relay information to your computer.

Change the WiFi Channel

Generally, Wifi routers transmit their signals on a radio frequency of 2.4 GHz. Many other household objects may operate on or around the same frequency, like cordless phones, for example. So, the channel becomes bogged down over time with lots of excess traffic that slows down your wireless connection. In the U.S.,  routers have a predefined set of 11 channels, and the default on a lot of them is channel 6. Changing the channel would reduce some interference. So how do you change the channel?

A great utility many people use is called NetStumbler, a wireless networking tool that just so happens to offer the option for you to change your wifi channel. Once opened, the program gives the choice of fooling around with all of your wireless utilities. Here is where you change your channel:

Which leads to:

Since the default for most people (at least in the United States) is 6, you may want to change your channel to something like say, channel 11. Take note that the changing of your wireless channel will NOT in any way increase your speed or bandwith. It will simply remedy your network connection if it keeps breaking off or getting lost.

Update firmware or drivers

Updates, whether related to the router firmware or your computer’s network adapter are done to fix bugs, smoothen out performance and reliability, and maybe even add new features. It is always a good idea to stay up to date with the latest releases by either of these parties.

Tim suggested using RadarSync to easily automatically update your computer’s drivers at once.

Buy your equipment from the same company

Compatibility can be a big problem, especially for two way transmissions. It may help to purchase your adapter and your router – everything, from the same company. Aside from that, some companies have embedded enhancements that improve speed or signal strength when everything is under the same brand.

Replace your antenna

Most routers come equipped with something called an omnidirectional antenna. This means that the antenna attached to the router broadcasts the signal equally within a certain circular radius. This is great if the router is positioned in the center of a hub where it needs to be able to reach ever corner of a room, but it can prove to be extremely wasteful if your router is in the corner (then again, why would it be there in the first place?). Since the signal is transmitted in a radius, if you place it in a corner, a lot of the transmitted signal is sent into the wall or outside into the open.

That is why you can manually detach your antenna and replace it with a high gain antenna. This focuses its energy to direct the signal in one general direction. Simple enough? You may have to check and see if your router has an external antenna jack/removable antenna.

Replace your wireless adapter

Since this is a two-way transmission, it may not have occured to you that it may not be the router that is the problem, but actually the wireless adapter attached to your computer. If your computer cannot send signals back to the router, the same problem ensues.

What is an adapter?  It used to be the card that you inserted into your computer or laptop. These days, most of the adapters are in the form of USB devices. Consider switching to a USB adapter that houses an external antenna, like this one depicted below.

This is usually only applicable to desktop computers. If you purchased a laptop that has a built-in adapter, it probably isn’t your adapter because they are usually very high quality installations.

Add an additional Wireless Access Point (WAP) or Repeater

If all else fails, you may need to purchase a repeater or a secondary Wireless Access Point. The consensus among these two options is rather mixed. Constructing a secondary WAP requires the ability to feed an ethernet cable from your primary router to the new access point. There are also cost considerations to be aware of, as WAPs cost more than regular wireless routers. Even so, WAPs have certain flexibilities that normal routers do not have. They can be configured as gateways, bridges, clients or repeaters. But that’s another story. The bottom line is that the WAP is an extension of the original hub in order to extend the distance of the signal. The repeater works the same way.

Here is a tutorial on how to set up the WAP courtesy of Techskillsvideos:

Try weird things

Apparently aluminum foil amplifies reception and transmission. It may or may not work, YMMV.

A little bit of background: You may have seen 802.11b or 802.11g written somewhere on your router – these are merely wireless LAN standards that the particular router adheres to. The main difference between these is that 802.11b has a maximum data transfer rate of 11 Mbps, whereas 802.11g has a much higher 54 Mbps rate.

With that being said, there is no way to improve data transmission or bandwith outside of hardware applications and upgrades. The tips mentioned above are meant to help you solve the problem of an interfered or weak signal. These may or may not work for you, but there is a strong correlation between troubleshooting and success rate.

Have you any other tips to help strengthen a weak signal? Has changing channels made a big difference for you? Tried attaching aluminum foil to your router’s antenna? How did that turn out for you? Share your experiences in the comments!

Latest Article “10 More Cool Things You Can Do With YouTube Videos”

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Set Up Your Own Secured Wi-Fi Hotspot (16)
• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
• How To Turn An Old Router Into A Wireless Bridge (41)
• How To Troubleshoot Weak Wireless Connections (15)
• How To Share The Internet Connection Between Mac and PC (16)

There are two routes to go here. You can go the WiFi route, which is far more popular and usually in the broadband range for speed. Or, you can go the dial-up route which is slower, however you can access it from the convenience of your own home or maybe from a hotel without WiFi service.

It may be slower than molasses going uphill in winter, but beggars can’t be choosers.

All Free ISP

All Free ISP has a simple way to access their database and find a service provider near you. A major benefit is that their database covers the United States of America as well as Canada. You are more likely to find free service in the U.S.A. than in Canada, so I was pleasantly surprised to find several providers in my home province of Alberta.

Just go to All Free ISP and select your State or Province. You can also search by ZIP or Postal Code. Then click on our friend, the Go button. I’m also partial to his cousins the Enter and Next button – really handy fellows, the whole bunch.

The website then shows you a page of free and cheap ISPs you can access from your area. Here’s what showed up for me.

See how it breaks the list down into cities? That’s a nice touch. How about the rating system and letting you know what platforms are supported? Pretty nifty. From here, you can click on the name of an ISP and find out more about them. Let’s do that, shall we?

This just shows you a basic overview of the ISP. Really, do I need to explain this? No, exactly! That’s why I like this site. If you go to All Free ISP and follow through to this point, you’ll see that there is way more information than I’m showing here. Based on what they present, you can make an educated guess about whether you want to use this ISP or not.

At this point also, you realize that nothing is really free. If you choose Juno, you’ll be subjected to large banner ads for the privilege of using their service. No different than watching TV really.

Freedom List

You might be living or travelling outside of the northern two-thirds of North America and be in need of dial-up service. Yes, believe it or not, there is more to the world than North America. I know, shocker isn’t it?! Freedom List offers a, well, list of free ISPs broken down by country. Just take a look! Pretty impressive, huh?

So, if your WiFi card is broken, or you just can’t sit at the cafe any longer, check Freedom List out.

Your ISP

Another place to check for free dial-up Internet access is your current ISP. Many of them offer you a certain amount of hours of dial-up access for free, if you have a paid broadband account. Some of them even have directories of dial-up numbers that you can use across the country or even internationally. If they have a dial-up number near to where you are staying, chances are you won’t even have to pay long distance fees.

The best way to find out if your ISP has free dial-up is to check out their website, or call their customer service number. Usually, they’re more than glad to help you. The hardest part will be trying to remember how to make a connection using a dial-up modem again. What was once second nature is now a chore.

Your Town or County

Municipal Internet Access or Municipal WiFi seems to be an on-again off-again project for most communities. While driving across the countryside of Alberta for my job, I’ve noticed my WiFi card picking up access points that are provided by the county. If I were a resident of that county, I could get an account and access the Internet for little to no cost. It’s provided for with my taxes.

Municipalities also often provide totally free, unlimited Internet access at locations such as the municipal offices, libraries and some schools. To find out more about what your community offers, contact your local government offices.

Editor’s note: Remember, there are always security issues when using a public internet connection. Karl teaches you how to protect your personal information while enjoying free wifi connectivity.

Know of any other interesting ways to get legal free Internet access? Share it in the comments. We all like a freebie now and again. Got a tip on access being provided by your government? Let everyone know – it’s good to use the services you already pay for.

Image credit: andrewgrill

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Things To Know When Using a WiFi Hotspot Or a Public PC (14)
• Technology Explained: How Does Wireless Internet Work? (31)
• How To Use Xirrus To Figure Out WiFi Network Problems (8)
• How To Turn An Old Router Into A Wireless Bridge (41)
• How To Share The Internet Connection Between Mac and PC (16)

The basics of this process are pretty much the same for any router. Only the specifics will differ, so I can’t say this enough: Read your documentation, for your router, your broadband modem, and any other equipment you’ll be using.

Purchasing Your Router

For maximum compatibility, you’re going to want a router that supports the three top wireless-networking standards: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. You’ll notice in the store, some routers which are 802.11n, but that standard has yet to be fully adopted. That doesn’t mean that you can’t skip straight up to 802.11n, but please make sure that the device in question is also compatible with the other three wireless standards. It will save you a lot of headaches later.

Next, we are actually going to explain how to setup a wifi hotspot.

Physical Setup

Connecting your router to your existing home network should be a simple process. If you think of the path between your PC and the Internet, you will be inserting the router into this chain.

“Internet -> Broadband Modem -> PC”

becomes

“Internet -> Broadband Modem –> Router –> PC.”

Basically, your first steps will be to unplug your PC’s networking cable from your broadband modem, then plug each of them into your router. Please note, that there should be a port marked specifically for the broadband modem. This may be marked “Internet” or “Broadband” or something similar. Once everything’s plugged-in and powered-up, you may have some software to run which sets the router up. In my experience, running the software isn’t necessary, but may make initial setup easier. Please check your documentation, and don’t skip any steps.

Digital Setup & Security

Once everything is hooked together, please test your Internet connection by opening a Web browser and going to any site. I usually try Google, MakeUseOf, or my microblog (cheap plug), but what you use is up to you. After confirming that everything’s running smoothly, it’s time to secure the router from outside intruders.

To access your router’s on-board software, you must connect to its internal Web server. The address to use, which is always network-internal, varies; In my example, it’s http://192.168.2.1. Here’s how to find yours on Windows XP: From your Start Menu, click the Run command, and then enter “cmd” to launch a command line. Next, type “ipconfig /all” and hit Enter to show details of your network connection. Your “default gateway” is your router’s address. Open a Web browser and go to that address to access your router’s settings. You’ll be required to enter a Username and Password but that’s all in your router’s documentation. If not then you can lookup the default passwords and username for your router on sites like CIRT and Router Passwords.

While you’re still in the command line, please write down your “physical address,” also known as the MAC address, as shown below. You’ll need this later.

Time to configure your wireless settings. First, you’re going to want to change the name of your wireless network, or the SSID, into something unique. For compatibility, it’s best to go with automatic channel selection as well as a mixed wireless mode which supports multiple standards.

Your screen won’t look exactly the same as here, and some of the terminology used may be different, but that’s what the documentation and help files are for.

Now, to the security settings. You’re going to want the WPA2 encryption, as WEP is easily cracked. As for the encryption key, you can either generate one from a typed phrase, or if you’re really dedicated, specify 64 digits of hexadecimal code. Either way, I suggest visiting GRC’s secure and random password generator to get a good code.

Something I can’t stress enough is that no encryption or security method is fool-proof. Just like anyone with a lock pick and enough time can get into your house, A cracker with enough time on their hands can still break into your network, if they want to really bad. What I’m advising you of here is how to keep most of the freeloaders and snoops off your network, and to encrypt your information from end-to-end.

One more collection of settings to tinker with, the MAC address filtering. This is often the most tedious part, especially if you have multiple devices. This is also optional, but recommended, as a “fence” around your network. Each network device, whether a NIC card or a Nintendo Wii, has a MAC (Media Access Control) address (Consult your device’s documentation for instructions on how to find it), and under this setting, you can restrict access to your network such that only certain MACs can have permission.

Again, this isn’t fool-proof. MAC addresses can be plucked out of the wireless signal and then spoofed, but this will help to keep most of the creeps off your network.

Other MakeUseOf posts that show how to setup and secure wireless network:

• How To Secure Your Wireless Network Connection
• The Easy Guide To Computer Networks [PDF]

We’d love to have any additional insight you may have on setting wi-fi hotspot and keeping your wireless networks secure. Please leave comments with your favorite tips and tricks!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
• 8 Tips To Effectively Boost Your Wireless Router Signal (70)
• How To Turn An Old Router Into A Wireless Bridge (41)
• How To Troubleshoot Weak Wireless Connections (15)
• How To Share The Internet Connection Between Mac and PC (16)

To get the job right, you’re expected to be up to terms with the technical network mumbo jumbo, although most everyday Joe’s and don’t know their RDPs from their UTPs.

To get you on your way and help you set up your networks, as well as with all that comes after, MakeUseOf proudly presents the latest PDF release – The MakeUseOf Network Manual.

In 33 illustrated pages, Stefan Neagu from tuxgeek.me familiarizes us with the networking knowhow, from Adapters to Zimbabwe-proxies. It’s a great place to start off as a newbie, or to pick up as an already more advanced user.

Included are step-by-step guides on how to set up different kinds of networks, and how to use them to share internet, files and printers with other computers. Learn how to secure your connection and location, and how to access private networks.

This guide should suffice to transform you into an amateur network admin. On upcoming parties, you’ll be able to brag about WPA2 security and Virtual Private Networks. But please, don’t – before long, everyone will rely on you to solve their network problems.

Download The MUO Network Manual now and start toying around! If you liked this one, don’t forget to check out our other available PDF releases.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• WiFi for Dummies: 9 Common Mistakes Setting up a Wireless Network (22)
• Technology Explained: Open Router Ports & Their Security Implications (9)
• Technology Explained: How Satellite Internet Works? (24)
• How To Share The Internet Connection Between Mac and PC (16)
• How To Set Up Your Own Secured Wi-Fi Hotspot (16)

Public computers and Wi-Fi hot spots can be set up to log everything you do through a rouge connection.

So to keep you safe in the land of public computers and free Wi-Fi I have compiled some tips for you. Read through them and if you have something to add please feel free to do so in the comments.

When using a public computer:

• Whatever you do absolutely NEVER EVER save your log-on information. That means avoid clicking the box that says Save My Password or Remember Me. This will allow the next user of this machine to possibly log on to this web site as you. And we do not want that! Find and click the “log out” button the website before you leave.



• Don’t type personal information on the computer. Avoid credit card account numbers, banking passwords and things that can be used to give you a bad case of identity theft. Save these transactions for your home or from your handheld on a respectable carriers network. Even encryption won’t help if the machine has a keylogger on it.
• Erase your web browsing history and restart the computer (if you can’t log-off).



• Watch out for people staring at you or spying on you. This may be common sense but it should definitely be on the list.

Some other tips were also mentioned in our earlier post covering safety on public computers.

When using a public Wi-Fi hotspot:

You might already know how to secure your wireless connection but what about public Wi-Fi hostpots.

• Use a firewall – There are tons of free firewalls out there like Zone Alarm. But, your Windows XP Post SP2, Vista or Windows 7 machine has one built in. Turn it on! I like configuring ZoneAlarm to let me know what is going on and trying to access my machine and or files.



• Turn off your Wi-Fi when you’re not using it. Do not log into a network you do not know and just leave your machine on. If you are not using it turn it off. This is like locking up your machine when you walk away from it. Don’t make yourself a target. Most newer machines have a switch on them like the one depicted below or you can right click on the Wi-Fi icon on your task bar and choose disable.



• Encrypt sensitive files prior sending them over. We have covered several free file encryptions tools.
• Just like we said before don’t type in information you don’t want other people to see. If you keep the data in your head – then no one can get to it short of physically harming you!
• If you HAVE TO use a credit card or enter passwords on a public Wi-Fi connection – make sure the web site is using SSL. It will have a padlock icon on your browsers right hand corner as well as a HTTPS:// in the address.
• Disable Wi-Fi Ad-hoc Mode – Disabling this in your Wi-Fi settings will prevent your machine from connecting to someone’s computer that you don’t know. Most normal Wi-Fi connections use Infrastructure mode. Where as Ad-hoc meshes a group of Wi-Fi users into a pseudo network.

www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts

• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
• Find Totally Free Unlimited Internet Access Almost Anywhere (14)
• Technology Explained: Open Router Ports & Their Security Implications (9)
• Public Computers Made Safe – Security Tools and Tips (24)
• Keep Your Passwords Secret On A Public Computer With KYPS (13)
]]> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/things-to-know-when-using-a-wifi-hotspot-or-a-public-pc/feed/ 4 http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-use-xirrus-wifi-network-inspector-to-figure-out-problems/ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-use-xirrus-wifi-network-inspector-to-figure-out-problems/#comments Fri, 01 May 2009 23:14:05 +0000 Guy McDowell http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=16572 For some unknown reason, my WiFi connection at home drops out. Sure, it drops when the microwave is turned on high, but I understand that. It’s the plate in my head. I pee my pants and forget who I am for about a half-hour or so……Yet, there are other times when nothing seems to change but the connection cuts out.

I’ve been looking for something that would help me monitor my WiFi network and show a bit more about what is happening. That’s when I came across Xirrus, and I’m pretty happy with it. Once I installed it, I was pretty much able to figure out what the problem is. Let me show you how I figured that out.

Initially I looked at the information about my WiFi network to make sure everything was okay.



Everything seems to be good there. Just so you know, for signal strength, the lower the number the better. However you can get too strong of a signal as well. Typically once you get up around that -80 or higher dBm signal strength, it’s not really usable.

Then I looked at what is happening in my neighbourhood, since I know a lot of folks have WiFi here.



So Coffee Pot is my network. And I think I know who has Gigaset2F3. Look there – Gigaset2F3 has a slightly stronger signal strength than Coffee Pot. That could contribute to the problem, but only really if both WiFi routers are using the same channel. Well look there! We’re both on channel 11 as well as the Hallands.

Do you remember when cordless phones had three channels to use? Occasionally you would pick up your neighbour’s conversation if you were on the same channel. Now cordless phones have many channels to use and changes up automatically. That’s pretty much what is going on here. Only I can’t see their data – it’s relatively secure, but it sure could mess up my connection.

Now check this out.



Aha! Gigaset2F3 has the same wireless router as I do. I can’t confirm that would contribute to the problem, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it did.

Another interesting feature that Xirrus has is the ability to chart signal strength for one or more WiFi networks. I charted the signal strength for my network, Gigaset2F3 and michelle, just to see what kind of changes were going on.



It’s interesting to note that Coffee Pot’s signal is all over the place, whereas Gigaset2F3 and michelle do have signal strength variances, but they stay relatively constant. I have no idea why that is, but it gives me something else to investigate. Should I loose my signal and I have Xirrus running, I’ll be able to see if there is an event with my neighbours that corresponds with that time. That would prove my theory that my signal is getting beat out.

You could also use XIrrus to see if any changes that you make to your WiFi router actually make a difference. Maybe you’ve added a directional antenna or changed the location of the router. Then you check with Xirrus and sure enough the signal improved 12 points. Then when your wife says your Internet sucks, you can say to her it doesn’t, and that it’s her and you can prove it. Then you can put ice on that eye. I’m not speaking from experience here. Really.

Xirrus Widget

If all this is a bit more than you really want or need, there is a widget version of Xirrus. You can use it with Yahoo! Widgets for Windows and Mac, Windows Vista and Linux gDesklets.

In one compact widget on your desktop, you get much of the same information that you get from the desktop version of Xirrus.

Have you had problems with your WiFi network? What have you done to help figure it? I’m curious if anyone has built a cantenna and how that worked. Let me know in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts

• Things To Know When Using a WiFi Hotspot Or a Public PC (14)
• How To Share The Internet Connection Between Mac and PC (16)
• How To Set Up Your Own Secured Wi-Fi Hotspot (16)
• How to Set Up Laptop Wireless Internet Access Through Your Cellphone [Windows] (36)
• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
]]> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-use-xirrus-wifi-network-inspector-to-figure-out-problems/feed/ 6 http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/have-you-ever-wondered-how-much-bandwidth-you-use-windows/ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/have-you-ever-wondered-how-much-bandwidth-you-use-windows/#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:30:27 +0000 Karl L. Gechlik http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=15939 It doesn’t matter if you are looking to find out about how much bandwidth you are using to determine if your ISP is charging you fairly, if your net connection is a bottleneck or simply because you are like me and love statistics.

Well we can use this simple bandwidth monitoring tool called Networx. If you are paying for your internet per KB or MB than you can use this application to measure bandwidth usage and shut down your network when you reach a certain level.

So in addition to all the pretty graphs and charts we also get better control over our connection. You can use Networx to see how fast your connection actually is or see how much bandwidth your kids are using downloading MP3’s.

Networx has a installer and a portable edition. I used the portable 767kb file and ran it.



You will see a system tray icon appear like the one in the above picture. You can hover over the icon to get quick statistics also like you see in the picture.

Upon right clicking the icon you will get this context menu:



All of the options are pretty self explanatory but we will run through them anyway. By clicking on the first item Show Graph you will get a screen that looks like this:



That graph will keep updating and is very accurate. The only options it has is – open or closed

Next is the Speed Meter:



Go ahead and hit the Start button and let it calculate all your downloads and uploads – it will then calculate how much data is traveling through your system currently. You can start, stop, reset counters, copy .to clipboard or save to file. The incrementing numbers is simply a stop watch so you can see how long you have been collecting data for.

Next up is the usage statistics:



You can get detailed information for daily, weekly or monthly statistics. You can set up your own custom reports as well as set hourly rates. And for those of you still using dial up – it has some stats for you as well.

The Quota tab looks like this:



Using this tab you can have Networx alert you when you have used a certain amount of data.

Next up is our settings:











The last three options are graphical network tools. They are NetStat, Ping and Trace Route. Netstat will tell you what is connected to your machine:



Ping allows you to test connectivity over the network or Internet:



and Trace Route lets you “Trace” your network route step by step to see where it is failing (or that it is succeeding):



Do you have another way for keeping track of your bandwidth? Do you have other favorite network tool to measure bandwidth usage? If you do be nice, c’mon share them with the others…

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts

• Technology Explained: Open Router Ports & Their Security Implications (9)
• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (14)
• 4 Free WiFi Software Downloads to Get Most of Wireless Networks (31)
• WiFi for Dummies: 9 Common Mistakes Setting up a Wireless Network (22)
• What To Do When You Get A Copyright Infringement Notice from ISP (2)
]]> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/have-you-ever-wondered-how-much-bandwidth-you-use-windows/feed/ 7 http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/is-your-isp-throttling-your-bit-torrent-downloads-any-platform/ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/is-your-isp-throttling-your-bit-torrent-downloads-any-platform/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:00:47 +0000 Karl L. Gechlik http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=15852 So the cat’s been out of the bag for a while now that ISP’s are throttling or in some cases even blocking your BitTorrent downloads or seeding.

Comcast came out and admitted to it’s practices in the United States last year. You can read about it here on wired. Since then there has been lot’s of speculation on if other ISP’s are doing the same thing…

What do you think?

Yeah we do also!

Now there is a free tool that will simulate BitTorrent activities and let you know if your speed or activities have been effected and to what extent. This program (aka bittorrent throttling test) and group have picked up momentum since 2008 and now have the backing of Google and other big names.

Are you curious as to if your ISP is throttling your torrent downloads and doing you dirty?

Well so are we.

Run the tool below on any web browser on any operating system and post back what your results are in the comments. It is strictly web based and nothing gets installed. So you can try it pretty much anywhere.

I tried this in the office on my Cogent circuit. It is a 100mb Ethernet handoff so I was not really expecting any throttling. All you need to run the test is browse on over to:

a title=”http://broadband.mpi-sws.org/transparency/bttest.php” href=”http://broadband.mpi-sws.org/transparency/bttest.php”>http://broadband.mpi-sws.org/transparency/bttest.php.

You will be greeted by a web page that looks like this:



Simply scroll down on the page until you see the Start Testing button. You can run the detailed or the simple test. The only difference is the intensity of the test. Some ISP’s are believed to only throttle torrents after a certain period of time (greater than 5 minutes) so this will have you covered.



After you hit the Start testing button your test will begin and you will see a count down in a window that looks something like what you see below.



When the test is complete you will get your results. They will also look something like mine which you can see below. My ISP is NOT throttling my BT downloads or seeding activity and they go into detail on each point they checked as well as the speeds they were able to achieve with the transfers.

I love geeky statistics. Here are my results:



I had a buddy of mine run this against his machine on Comcast in Manhattan and his results came through with Throttling and max speeds of only 25kbps… Whoa that’s slow! Thanks for the tip El Di Pablo!

Post your results in the comments. And if you have another method of testing if your ISP is getting it’s grubby hands on your torrents post that as well. Don’t be shy kids

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts

• How To Cheat With Your BitTorrent Ratio (35)
• 10 Ways To Speed Up Torrent Downloads (49)
• Top 4 Sites To Download Free, Legal Concert Recordings (6)
• The Big Book of BitTorrent: The Torrent Guide for Everyone (65)
• How To Use RSS Feeds To Download Torrents Automatically (8)
]]> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/is-your-isp-throttling-your-bit-torrent-downloads-any-platform/feed/ 23 http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-ways-to-speed-up-torrent-downloads/ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-ways-to-speed-up-torrent-downloads/#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:01:33 +0000 Saikat Basu http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=12633 Imagine being on the autobahn with the accelerator down and then you realize that you are driving a wrecked car. The plight is not so uncommon on the information superhighway too.

Torrent users would attest to the fact that half of our time is spent looking for ‘healthy’ torrents and the other half trying to download (and a bit of upload too) at the maximum speed. The former is mandatory; the latter thankfully is within the realm of tweaking.

If you are the one who thinks that your torrent download speeds could do with a boost then keep reading. Below, you’ll find a few tips on how to speed up torrent download speed.

1. Your ISP is where it starts

Check the maximum download and upload speeds allowed by your ISP. Most ISP’s have specific bandwidths for both uploads and downloads. Obviously your torrent download speed won’t cross the cap set by the ISP. Go over to this article on Speed.io for broadband speed test and this one by Tina on ways to increase your connection speed. There are many other bandwidth testers like DSLReports which is included in the speed test within uTorrent.

2. Choosing the right BitTorrent client

Use the better clients out there like uTorrent, Vuze or the BitTorrent client itself. Wikipedia lists about 51 of them supporting the BitTorrent protocol. The choice of client used should always be updated to the latest version. The screenshots here depict uTorrent. The settings should be similarly configurable for other clients too. Mac users shuld also check our Transmission vs. uTorrent post

3. Go for healthy seeds and peers

A peer is any computer participating in the download and upload of a torrent file. A seed (or seeder) is anyone who has one complete copy of the file being shared across the torrent network. A leech (or a leecher) is the person who does not have the complete file yet but has joined the network to download it. A leecher becomes a seeder when he downloads the entire file and then shares it across the network.



For high torrent speeds, the best bet is in numbers. The greater the number of seeders, the healthier the torrent and the better the chance of higher speeds. The rule of thumb says to choose the torrent files with a high number of seeders and preferably lesser number of leechers i.e. a higher seed-leecher ratio.

4. Get through the firewall

Firewalls can block all incoming BitTorrent connections coming through. To ensure otherwise, a firewall should be manually configured to accept the connections and let it through the client. Windows XP has the Windows Firewall. Configure the firewall installed to accept the connections by checking the BitTorrent client on the allowed list i.e. Options – Preferences – Connection – check Add uTorrent to Windows Firewall. Also, check the Windows Firewall exception (if you keep it enabled) in your client too. Shutting down the firewall is not recommended as it leaves the computer open to attack.



Note: If the home computer is behind a router, it also should be configured through the feature called Port Range Forwarding to enable torrent traffic. The router documentation should have specific information on this.

5. Limit your upload rate

A peer to peer network is all about sharing alike, but an unlimited upload rate hits the download rate too. Using the speed tests, find out your maximum upload speed and then set your client’s upload rate (Global Upload Rate in uTorrent) to about 80% of your maximum upload speed. You can also try varying your upload speeds – keep it high initially and then gradually bring it down towards the middle of the download.

Note: Mind the speed units – it may be given in kilobits per second (kb/sec) or kilobytes per second (kB/sec). 1 kilobyte = 8 kilobit

6. Go to a different port

The default port for the BitTorrent protocol is any between port numbers 6881-6999. ISPs throttle traffic on these ports as BitTorrent sharing involves high bandwidth usage. It’s easy to configure a different port in your torrent client. Use some number above 10000 to get around ISPs and also avoid problems with other applications. By default, the uTorrent port is randomized each time it starts. Set a specific port by not enabling the Randomize Port setting.

7. Increase the number of Max Half Open TCP connections

This figure specifies how many connections a torrent client should attempt to establish simultaneously at any given time. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or newer, limits this to a default of 10 as a barrier against virus multiplication. But that’s a bummer for torrent speeds as torrents too need a large number of simultaneous connections.

A patch has been available for a while from LvlLord which modifies the TCPIP.sys file in Windows to allow a higher number of TCP connections.



After running the patch, you have to set the number of connections in your torrent client. For example, in uTorrent go to Options – Preferences – Advanced – net.max_halfopen. Set any number from 50 to 100. But see that net.max_halfopen is set lower than the value set in TCPIP.SYS. Always check if it is still patched because Windows updates sometimes overwrite it.



8. Experiment with Protocol Encryption

Some ISPs love to act like Big Brothers and constrict bandwidth for P2P protocols. Protocol Encryption in most of the torrent clients helps to override this bandwidth shaping. Enable outgoing protocol encryption and put a checkmark on Allow Incoming Legacy Connections.



With protocol encryption, ISPs find it difficult if not impossible to detect that the traffic is coming from BitTorrent. Experiment with enabled, disabled and forced options because you could be getting better speeds with encryption disabled. Non-encryption makes a torrent connection compatible with someone who is not using encryption but as a minus it makes the torrent detectable to an ISP with a bandwidth restricting policy.

9. Bandwidth and connections

Your BitTorrent client’s settings options will let you enter figures for –

Global maximum number of connections gives the maximum number of connections that a BitTorrent client can make for any P2P exchange. Setting this too high does NOT mean higher speeds. Setting it too high would take up useless bandwidth and too low a figure would miss out on peers. For my 256kbps connection, I have a setting of 130.

Maximum number of connected peers per torrent gives the maximum number of peers that a BitTorrent client can connect to for any P2P exchange. Experiment by setting this number close to the available peers for a particular torrent. For my 256kbps connection, I have a default setting of 70.

Number of upload slots per torrent gives the maximum number of peers that a BitTorrent client will upload to for any P2P exchange. A low setting may affect downloads. For my 256kbps connection, I have a setting of 3.



uTorrent has a Speed Guide which handily calculates the figures for a particular connection.

10. Some common sense

Most BitTorrent clients allow us to view the individual files in a download. You can selectively disable the download of files you don’t think necessary.

Familiarize yourself with the customization settings of your particular client available in the Help files or at the website FAQs.

Some useful resources:

BitTorrent User Guide
uTorrent FAQ
Vuze FAQ

Optimizing the speed of torrent downloads is a lot of trial & error and a bit of patience. Do you have some tips to speed up torrent download speed? Any that you have successfully tried out? Maybe we can put some wind beneath the wings with your comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts

• Check If Your ISP Throttling Your BitTorrent Downloads (28)
• Top 5 Vista Tweaks to Increase Internet Speed (94)
• Increase the Speed of Your Internet Connection (30)
• How To Use RSS Feeds To Download Torrents Automatically (8)
• WinHack – Speed Up Your Windows XP Computer (Part 1) (21)
]]> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-ways-to-speed-up-torrent-downloads/feed/ 31 http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/have-multiple-ip-configurations-manage-them-with-netsetman/ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/have-multiple-ip-configurations-manage-them-with-netsetman/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:30:41 +0000 Karl L. Gechlik http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=5709

If there is one thing I hate doing the most is walking people through IP address setup’s. In my company all of our machines are given static IP’s right out of the box. It helps us with tracking and auditing. A lot of users take their laptops home to use on their home networks in the evenings.

End users being what they are – They delete the IP information we have assigned them to revert to obtain an IP address automatically. What these users don’t know is that they will be unable to put the settings back (unless of course they wrote them down – YEAH RIGHT!).



If you have a user that often winds up in this predicament than this is the app for them! Similarly if you ‘re looking for a quick way to change connection settings you might want to get it as well. It sits in your system tray and does not use much memory. It is also free for non-commercial usage.

NetSetMan interface has two sections. The main one is where you can set and view your network settings and then there is the one on the left. You will quickly see the 6 tabs for different network setups.

This is the guts of the application. Here you get to store your IP, Subnetmask, Default Gateway and DNS information. You can also optionally choose DHCP for an auto-configured network. You can see by pressing the drop down arrow next to your network adapter you can do the same thing for ANY adapter connected to your machine.

Now the author has also decided to throw in some “Additional” options regarding your connection like allowing you to change the PC name you want to use, among others. I don’t really have a need for this but hey you might. You never know right!

The last option under the Additional tab is Scripts – this is great because it allows you to run a custom script before or after connection. This can be especially helpful for opening files or mapping shares when connecting to specific networks.

And don’t forget the quick network information you can pull by simply holding your mouse over the systray icon.

You will see this:



I have tried many times to do this with pure batch files and scripting but it just never worked out. What about you guys do you have some networking magic that you care to share with us? Put us on it the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts

• One Network Admin’s Tool to Rule Them All (13)
• WiFi for Dummies: 9 Common Mistakes Setting up a Wireless Network (22)
• The Easy Guide To Computer Networks [PDF] (22)
• Technology Explained: Open Router Ports & Their Security Implications (9)
• Technology Explained: How Satellite Internet Works? (24)
]]> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/have-multiple-ip-configurations-manage-them-with-netsetman/feed/ 4