Tag: NETWORKING

Google's Public DNS has been up and running for a few days now, and the reviews and benchmarks are slowly starting to trickle in. Initial results seem to suggest that it works well, but may not be a blanket solution for all, or even many, Internet users. It seems to depend wildly from ISP to ISP. If you're fortunate enough to have an Internet provider like Verizon's FiOS that runs a ...

Ages ago, I used a combination of Hamachi and UltraVNC for hassle-free remote support setups. At the time (again, this was a long time ago), Hamachi had a lot of reliability and speed issues - so I ended up switching to TeamViewer. Recently, however, I decided to revisit my options. One alternative I happened upon was Comodo's free Easy VPN application. Like Hamachi, Easy VPN supports multiple ...

Many of you have probably been adjusting Windows' half-open connection limit since Windows XP. It's widely regarded as one way to help increase the speed of your torrent downloads. If you're running Windows 7 beta (or one of the plethora of leaked post-beta builds), Half-Open Limit Fix is a small, portable utility that is compatible with your OS and will patch your tcpip.sys in just a few ...

While network planning and design isn't usually part of my job, I do sometimes need to put together a quick sketch of a client's systems to help me oragnize a plan of attack. Network Notepad is exactly what I was looking for - a small, free app that lets me lay out network devices, servers, printers, and workstations quickly and easily. It's a great tool for documenting sites in case another ...

I had tried NetStumbler before on my Vista laptop and not met with much success. So when I read on MetaGeek's web site that their inSSIDer was designed to do the same job with native Vista APIs, I was intrigued. If you're a road warrior, this is a great utility to keep at the ready. inSSIDer's scanner makes it a snap to identify available access points, quickly displaying available SSIDs and ...

I can't read, write, or speak Turkish, but that didn't stop me from downloading BD IP Organizer. If you provide service for customers that need an easy way to switch IP settings, don't let it stop you, either. NetSetMan - which I reviewed recently - may be English and sport a larger feature set, but it's not free for anyone but home users. I highly doubt that anyone that really, really needs this ...

If there's one thing I hate having to talk a user through over and over, it's how to change their IP settings in Windows (especially Vista). NetSetMan provides a simpler way to manage these settings. It allows you to set up profiles for any number of networking situations. Need to hard code an IP or leave it up to DHCP? Alter your hostname and workgroup? Map a printer and network drive? Create a ...

If you're anything like me, you're probably at least a little bit addicted to your internet connection. The first thing I do when I wake up is check my email and RSS feeds, and it's also the last thing I do before going to sleep. But that addiction can sometimes be a problem. Staying on-task these days is not easy, particularly if you work at an internet-connected computer. The possible ...

Want to invite all your Twitter friends to one event at the click of a button? Twitzu has simplified the process, allowing you to quickly create and publicize events. Fill in the details and it's sent off as a link in a Twitter update, along with a short optional message. Your followers can then RSVP on the Twitzu website. Twitzu has great potential for organizing public events like blog meets ...

Way back in the dark ages of 1993, we were introduced to this thing called email. Email in the olden days was not like email now. All the packets traveled uphill no matter where they were going, and usually there was a good three or four feet of snow on the internet backbone. We used these big hulking things called VAX/VMS nodes that were attached to some pretty sweet fourteen inch monochrome VT ...

If you're itching to get your hands on Windows Home Server, Ars Technica reports that a number of retailers are ready to ship the new Microsoft OS. But if you're not ready to drop $150+ on an operating system that essentially lets you backup and share files on your home network, it looks like the OS has reportedly been leaked onto the BitTorrent sites. The folks at Ars Technica took Windows Home ...

You do realize that everything you do these days must have a social element, right? If you're so inclined, you can socially network almost every component of your life: college, work, sports, hobbies -- heck, even dying. So, if that's your thing, you'll be happy to know that one of the last vestiges of solitary activity has given way to social media. That's right, you'll never have to read alone ...

Those of us on a Mac have been fortunate enough to enjoy Apple's Zero-config technology Rendez-Vous Bonjour for years, however people are often surprised to know it's available for Windows too as a download from Apple.com. Now, there's probably some of you wondering what on earth Bonjour is as, at least in our experience, it's little known by Windows users. Thankfully, Apple answers that question ...

Social networking sites have become an increasingly popular way for people to connect professionally but, once you've added someone to your contact list, what then? 8apps is one of the first sites we've seen that answers that question. It goes beyond just connecting people and actually gives them tools to develop whatever brainstorms happen to come up once they get to know each other. Like other ...

Gen Y, a term sometimes used for those 20-35 years old, are old enough to be (some of) our kids but more importantly make up our next generation of clients. This generation, defined more by popular culture than by age, is an Internet-hungry and online-casual bunch. Currently, there are about 76 million of them in the U.S., not a bad market slice. They communicated first via Instant Message and ...