Home Computing
A firewall is a security device that can be a software program or a dedicated network appliance. The main purpose of a firewall is to separate a secure area from a less secure area and to control communications between the two. Firewalls can perform a variety of other functions, but are chiefly responsible for controlling…
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The great thing about PCs (non-Apple/Macintosh computers) is that they’re relatively inexpensive, operate a boatload of programs and there are plenty of makers and styles to choose from. You can buy a desktop, laptop or even a combination PC/tablet. But after a while, all PCs can start to show their age and suffer some wear…
[Read More]When computers communicate over the Internet, the send messages to each other in a manner much like the postal service and just like your local mail man, the computer needs to know which address to send your information to – this takes the form of an IP Address and will look something like “216.239.59.99”. For…
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Every time you visit a website, you are interacting with the largest distributed database in the world. This massive database is collectively known as the DNS, or the Domain Name System. Without it, the Internet as we know it would be unable to function. The work that the DNS does happens so seamlessly and instantaneously…
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Dialup internet service is a service that allows connectivity to the internet through a standard telephone line. By connecting the telephone line to the modem in your computer and inserting the other end into the phone jack, and configuring the computer to dial a specific number provided by your internet service provider (ISP) you are…
[Read More]Find Out Before You Have to Pay Up. There’s a reason a lot of people have stopped going to movies—it’s expensive, especially in big cities. That’s the same reason why many of those people have started watching, or “streaming,” movies over the Internet. It’s easy, cheaper, and you don’t have to buy a bucket of…
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Technology is great…when it works just the way it’s supposed to. But when something goes wrong with your computer—maybe it slows down or you can’t get an Internet connection—you can curse the computer age because now you can’t get anything done. Very few of us know how to fix computers, but it’s worse for computer…
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Are you and your computer on a first-name basis? That is to say, did you know your computer has a name if it’s on a network? Fact is, every computer on a network has both a name and an IP address. (On a network, your computer is referred to as a “host.”) Why a name…
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It wasn’t an April Fool’s joke or the usual cute media stunt pulled by tech companies every April 1st. Cloudflare’s launch of its first consumer product — 1.1.1.1 – is real, and claims to be the “Internet’s fastest, privacy-first consumer DNS service”. The decision to launch on April 1 was a geeky play on the…
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Using the “Cloud” Makes It Easy to Get Your Files Anywhere, at Any Time. For some computer users, especially those over the age of 40, technology can seem a little scary…or at least “unsafe.” Sometimes the new, fast and “digital” way of doing something doesn’t seem as safe as the old way. For instance, there…
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Your browser is a piece of software on your device that connects you to the Internet. That probably makes it the most important (unless you spend all day “geeking out” over numbers on spreadsheets). That’s why it’s important for your browser to able to stand up to the online vulnerabilities and security threats. In the…
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CAPTCHA: It’s a Way to Distinguish Machines from Men… and Women Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart is quite a mouthful to say isn’t it? So let’s stick with the acronym: CAPTCHA (pronounced “KAPT-chuh”). CAPTCHA, as the explanation of the acronym implies, determines whether an online request or submission is…
[Read More]Don’t Let Vendors Sell You Hacker-Friendly Technology Take these steps to be “security smart” when buying technology Before you invest in new technology, especially with a new vendor or manufacturer, you need to make sure you’re not inadvertently purchasing a problem just waiting to happen. This is especially important if the devices, gadgets and systems…
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Even though smartphones and tablet sales continue to grow, most people still want to have either a computer at home or a laptop they can take wherever they go. If it’s time to replace your old computer or get a new one for a family member, it’s a good idea to brush up on what…
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Every time you visit a website, your internet browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.), saves a copy of every page that you visit. This list of web pages – and associated data like title page as well as time and date of visit – forms your Web Browsing History. The web browser software does this…
[Read More]Every time you go online from your computer, your browser saves a copy of every page that you visit. That’s right: Your computer and Internet browser—whether you use Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or something else—keep track of where you’ve been and a history of what pages you’ve seen. That’s not something they’re hiding from you…
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Broadband internet service is the most used form of internet access because of its high access speeds. Broadband comes in four different forms: These are simply different ways the internet is delivered to your home. The old dial-up connection (which does still exist) is the only non-broadband internet service available. While it is cheaper, most…
[Read More]Bypass content restrictions, Netflix blocks and government censorship with a VPN. What a VPN is and how it works A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an online service that can help bypass internet restrictions, allowing you to view the content you want. First, a VPN takes the Internet connection you’re on—whether your home connection or…
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