Top 5 Easy Tips To Increase Your Internet Speed

Dragging internet speeds can be frustrating and annoying. Watching streaming videos or downloading files can become impossible when your high speed Internet stops being high speed. Fortunately, a few simple tips can help you boost your high speed Internet back to the speed you prefer. Check out few tips for a faster internet speed connection. These simple tips may help you a bit extent.

TIP 1: SPEED UP YOUR COMPUTER

Your high speed internet cannot operate any faster than your computer can process information, but even if you have a slow processor, there are some things you can do to speed up your computer.

Delete your Internet cache from time to time. While caching is helpful, after a time the data stored in the cache can become too much for your computer to handle. Likewise, be sure you are using the fastest Internet browser. Firefox, Chrome and Opera are some popular browsers that are known for their speeds.

Shut down computer programs that you are not using. All those programs that run in the background use valuable computer resources, and can slow your Internet speeds. For fastest Internet connections, you will want to be sure that your processor has the resources to maximize your broadband speeds.

If you have had a recent slowdown in your high speed Internet, run an anti-virus program, as you may have an Internet virus that is slowing down your connection.

TIP 2: ONLY USE ONE COMPUTER

If you live in a home with multiple computers and users, this may not always be possible. Be aware that many computers sharing the same high speed internet will likely slow your speeds a bit. When other users are not using their computers, turn them off.

On a similar note, be sure that your wi-fi connection is secure. If you leave it open and not password protected, neighbors can also use your wi-fi connection, eating up valuable bandwidth and slowing down your high speed Internet.

TIP 3 : GIVE YOUR ROUTER SPACE

If your router is surrounded by furniture or near a wall or heater, it will most likely not operate at its best. Like your computer, the router needs a little space to breathe and to be able to vent so it does not become too warm. Ensuring that it has free space around it will allow it to operate at its fastest.

TIP 4: AVOID HIGH GRAPHIC CONTENT

If you visit a lot of websites where the graphics are not relevant to you, you can always switch to text only internet usage. This can significantly increase your page loading speeds and leads to a much faster browsing experience.

TIP 5: CALL YOUR SERVICE PROVIDER

If you have tried the other tips and still are not getting the high speed Internet you are paying for, check with your provider regarding any technical problems. By first running an Internet speed test, you can verify how fast your current connection is. If it is significantly lower than what the provider has promised, they may be able to fix it for free. If they cannot or will not fix it, and you believe the problem is with the connection, not your computer, it may be time to shop for a different Internet service provider.

Article written by Tre Wiseman from Broadband Expert where lots of different high speed internet plans can be compared.

10 Smart Ways of Protecting Your Facebook Account From Being Hacked

Protecting Facebook account is very much important nowadays. A lot of people are facing this common issue of protecting Facebook account. People are simply creating their Facebook account and are posting all personal information in it in no time. But they never try to protect it. Simple things will make your account to be hacked by any common friend of yours. Today i will tell you how to protect your Facebook account from being hacked. First thing you have to keep in mind is, A Facebook Account is very easy to hack specially for a person whom you are very close with. If you have not taken necessary steps to protect it, It would end very badly and ruin your personal life. Just follow some steps below to protect your Facebook account to be hacked.

And its not a must that only a professional hacker can hack a Facebook account, It can be anyone who have a minimum common sense of using the proper information at proper place. Since Facebook is no where connected or bothered about the security issues of your email id, which are Gmail, yahoo and etc.. we cant guarantee that our Facebook account is in safe hands. If once you have lost access to your email address, you have obviously gained access to your Facebook account. It can be your any one from your family, friends , or a professional trained hacker, how ever it is, never give them a chance to hack your account. Let us understand few basic steps of protecting Facebook account.

Protecting Facebook Account :

1) Don’t Display your Facebook Account Id : This is a very common mistake which everyone does. We just display our Facebook login ID details in our info page on Facebook. Which is a direct hint to the hacker saying which ID you are using to login the Facebook account. If you are not getting my point.. Just watch out the screenshot below.

You can find this page in your info tab. I suggest you to remove your personal info like Email and phone number soon. This is the worst way to tell a hacker what account you are using to login Facebook.

2) Protecting Your Respective Facebook Account Id : This means, for example if you are using your Gmail account to login your Facebook account, You have to make sure that your Gmail account is properly secured. This is the most important concept which people usually forget to note. You can check out Strongest Way To Protect Gmail Account which will secure your Gmail account from any possible way to hack your account. And if you are using Yahoo mail or Any other mail service, make sure they are properly verified. Which means you have to verify it with other alternate email or atleast connecting with your phone.

3) Keep Changing Your Passwords : You must change the passwords frequently to secure your account. You can use special characters in your passwords like !@#$ and %^&& to make it very tough for the hacker to crack it and guess it. Also remember that, you should never ever share your password with anyone. A strong password is always a plus point in protecting Facebook accounts.

4) Connect Your Mobile Phone : You can connect your mobile phone to your Facebook account, so that when ever your account has been compromised. You can get a security code to your phone to get back to your Facebook account. You can connect your mobile phone in the Mobile tab in Account Setting Options. Take a look at the screenshot below.

You can also add more than one phone to your account to protect your account. Just go to Account tab in Facebook which is beside Home and Profile and again in Account tab, select Account Settings which will navigate to above options page. Here you can edit any information which you want to.

Protecting Facebook Account With Built In Options :

5) Enable Secure Browsing : The normal Facebook account is set to HTTP browsing which is less secured when compared to HTTPS. When you enable the secure browsing, you can find a lot of changes in your Facebook browsing. Your account will be more secured from virus and spam posts. Also you can get notifications on the change of location if anyone is trying to hack your account.You can find this option in Account -> Account Settings -> Security.

6) Login Notifications : You can make Facebook to send you messages to your Mobile and Email if you are tying to login from a different computer. This way you can be more alert in changing your passwords often. I use this service with my Facebook account which is very useful for us to get update on what is happening with our Facebook account. You can find this option in Account -> Account Settings -> Security.

7) Active Sessions : This will allow you to see the last and the current session which have been active with your account. For example if you have find any unfamiliar locations, you can click the end activity to close the session. With this you are blocking the person to access your account from that location. You can find this option on Account -> Account Settings -> Security which is the last option.

8 ) Remembering Passwords : When even you are browsing in any Internet cafe or at friend home, Make sure that you wont allow the browser to save your passwords. If it offers to save the passwords, Just ignore it and move on.

9) Get your Account back : If at all your Facebook account is being hacked. Just make sure that you are still able to login your respective email id, which is Gmail, yahoo or any other and if not possible to login there, just come to Facebook home page and click on Forgot Password and restore the link to any other alternate email id or to your phone to get you Facebook account back If even that is being changed. Make sure you have 3 good friends in your account who can refer you to get your account back. Just click on No longer have access to these? Link in forgot password page and enter a new alternate email id and then wait for a day to get a confirmation message to change your password. For that you have set your security question too. Which cant be changed that easily.

10) Look For Key loggers & Phishing Sites : Always suspect a chance of getting affected by a key logger in any Internet cafe or at friend home. Generally a key logger will store all the data which you enter in a system, storing all your passwords, chats and any other alternative things which you have done with your keyboards. And remember Facebook will never ask you to login from anonymous mails and places to verify yourself. If any Facebook App is trying to ask your Facebook Account ID and Password, Just ignore it. Most of them are phishing pages where your Login details will be sent to a hacker within no time. Never login facebook account from other  3rd party links. Directly login from www.facebook.com. So don’t ever login to your Facebook in any where unless you trust that place well and good.

These are the 10 few simple ways of protecting Facebook account from being hacked. Just follow them and apply carefully to get rid of hackers sand intruders. Please let me know your queries below if you have any. Protecting Facebook account is not that difficult now.

Change Windows 7 Logon Screen In Just 1 minutes – Simple Steps

Did you ever try to change windows 7 logon screen ? If not, let me tell you how to, Because its really fun and interesting to change windows 7  logon screen with your any own wallpaper. We usually see a boring blue logon screen every time when we try to login windows 7. But you can easily get rid of this routine logon screen with some easy tweaks in registry. You can customize it very easily and feel the pleasure of having a different logon screen compared to your friend’s computer. You can put any wallpaper as your logon screen. Just follow the below steps to change windows 7 logon screen.

How To Change Windows 7 Logon Screen In Simple Steps :

1. Open Run (Windows + R) and type Regedit and press Enter.
2. Navigate your registry to  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Authentication\ LogonUI\Background.
3. Now double click on the value OEMBackground and change the value from o to 1.You can check the above screenshot for reference.
4. Now create a JPEG that is smaller than 256kb and this picture should match the aspect ratio of your display.. Like for example if you are using 1152 x 864 then you can use upto 1280 x 965. Don’t worry if you have lesser or bigger resolutions. Windows will stretch the image to fit automatically.
5. Now navigate to the C: Windows\System32\oobe folder on the windows drive (default c).
6. Create a new folder named “info”. Open this folder and create a new folder named “backgrounds.”
7. Now copy the JPEG picture you want to serve as the logon. Just copy paste the picture in this sub-folder.
8. Now rename the JPEG file as “backgroundDefault”.
9. That’s all. Now reboot and check your new custom made windows logon background.

In few windows 7 operating systems, you can automatically found that the info and background folders are already created. If so, then no need to create these folders again. Just copy the picture and rename it as mentioned in step 9. And if you have any queries on this change windows 7 logon screen post, simply ask your query below. It will be addressed as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and we hope you will share this simple trick to change windows 7 logon screen with your friends.

6 Must Install Tools To Use With a New Windows PC

Windows 7 is the newest operating system that comes installed on Windows personal computers. Windows 7 comes bundled with many useful tools, but there are other tools you need.

As far as programs go, if your new computer did not come with an antivirus program, it is very important to purchase one or download a free one! Without a reliable antivirus program, your computer is at great risk! An anti-malware program such as MalwareBytes is also needed and is free, along with an anti-spyware program such as Ad-Aware.

Speaking specifically of tools, there are some that you need to install on a new Windows personal computer:

• PC Decrapifier
• Windows Backup and Restore or Macrium Reflect
• Revo Uninstaller
• CCleaner
• Microsoft Security Essentials
• Dropbox or Syncback SE

Most brand laptops and desktops comes with unwanted preinstalled software which you should uninstall if you want your computer to function better. PC Decrapifier lets computer owners get rid of junk software and make more room for software and programs that are needed. PC Decrapifier is free for personal use; the commercial version is available at a small cost.

It is very important to create a system image when you buy a new computer. You can create one using the built-in Windows backup and restore center, but this may not be installed on all Windows editions. A more powerful tool isMacrium Reflect; use it to create the first system image and for other similar tasks when you start using your computer. You can download a free edition.

Revo Uninstaller is a great tool to clean uninstalled applications and programs from a Windows PC. It’s much more powerful than the default add/remove programs tool. Sometimes there are problems encountered when trying to uninstall programs using Windows Add or Remove Programs.

CCleaner is a wonderful free tool to perform routine computer maintenance and get rid of temporary files and data that you don’t need. CCleaner is an optimization tool that removes unused and temporary files from your computer.

 Microsoft Security Essentials is one of the best free software tools that has been released by Microsoft. It can protect your computer from viruses, spyware and malware.

People tend to procrastinate when it comes to backing data up. Many times a crisis situation happens where people lose important data without any backup at all. An online backup tool like Dropbox and an offline sync and backup tool like Syncback SE allow online backups and data to be synchronized with an external hard drive.

These tools can be downloaded free of charge and are highly recommended.

Best Ways to Secure Digital Life From Hackers

Its very important to secure your digital life from hackers. Cyber crime is constantly evolving, and a data leak to rogue third parties can wreak havoc to our business and personal lives. It’s not just big businesses that are being targeted, increasingly as more and more of our personal information is disclosed on social media sites, the average computer user is being targeted by hackers and script kiddies, primarily because individuals are far less likely to have their system security in order. In order to stay protected we need to learn about system vulnerabilities and ways we can overcome them. In this article I discuss 10 effective steps you can implement to stay secure. This article on secure your digital life from hackers will help you to move towards the next level of security.

10 Best Ways To Secure Your Digital Life From Hackers :

1. Secure your WIFI connection

Home users are particularly prone to leaving their routers open without passwords, in order to make sure that you’re protected check your router settings to verify whether encryption is turned on or not. leaving access unencrypted can be just a minor issue of bandwidth being stolen by unauthorized users freeloading off your connection to more serious cybercrimes like credit card fraud or hacking taking place using your internet connection, which may be traced back to you.

The majority of routers support encrypted connections, support either WEP or WPA/WPA2, always opt for WPA/WPA2 as it’s far more secure. If you have the option hide SSID broadcast, turn that on as well, it basically allows you to make your wireless router invisible to outsiders and they need to know your SSID to access the network.

2. Encrypt your hard drive

It’s important to keep your data secure in case of loss of hardware or even theft. An encrypted hard drive basically prevents its contents from being access without the password. It is obviously more important to encrypt thumb drives and laptop drives. Windows 7 Ultimate and Business editions come with a built in hard drive functionality using a software called BitLocker which will encrypt your entire hard drive, but users with Home Premium or Basic users shouldn’t feel left out as there is a free way to encrypt your hard drive using trucrypt.

Mac users can use FileVault to encrypt their folders, and OSX Lion will allow you to encrypt your entire hard drive as well.You can also get hardware encryption which will use fingerprint recognition to unlock data inside the drive like the Lacie Rugged Safe.

3. Keep your software updated

It’s a given that you need to keep your operating system, antivirus and web browser up to date in order to protect yourself from exploits, and if you haven’t got automatic update turned on for them, you should do it now.

However a lot of users often overlook other software such as Acrobat Reader, Flash, Java and iTunes when it comes to keeping software updated. It’s important to realize that many of these applications have direct access to the operating system, and an exploit in these applications can be used as a gateway into your system files. Flash and Acrobat are used heavily with web browsers which is the number one source of malware infections.

4. Upgrade your antivirus suite.

It’s as important to keep your virus suite updated as much as it is to keep your virus definitions updated. The reason for this is because antivirus software evolve in the way they deal with malware, such as introducing heuristic technologies which identify common traits of viruses, the way they interact with the system and actively block these scripts. This is why having an outdated antivirus software, despite updated virus definitions may not provide the best possible protection. If you’re using an older version of antivirus software you may entitled to discounted upgrades to newer versions.

5. Secure your smartphones

Many people completely overlook this fact, but smartphones are essentially mini computers which hold swathes of personal information about you. They often hold logins to your facebook/twitter accounts which are set on auto login, online banking and other financial information as well as access to email. If someone gets hold of all these details it can cause a lot of stress and havoc to your life.

It’s vital to keep your devices with password lock activated, additionally you should take some precautionary measures in case you lose your device.

Apple has a very cool security software called Find my iPhone which is a free app by Apple, which lets you track your phone by GPS, lock and remotely delete data from it. You can even use it just to locate your iPhone if you misplace it, causing it to sound an alarm.

For Android users it’s important to stay protected, smartphones are just as vulnerable to viruses as a PC, although the android platform is more prone to them than apple due to the open platform nature of the former. Android phones require antivirus protection, all the popular desktop antivirus brands offer android support as well.

The app store is less prone to malware due to the fact that all apps are vetted by Apple before publishing, although if you’ve jail broken your iPhone, antivirus protection may be something you need to look at.

6. Vet web page links using a link checker

Cyber criminals are using sophisticated strategies to drive users onto their web pages, increasingly innocent websites are being targeted using exploits to find security holes to hack and implant code on them which can launch JavaScript applications and infect computers when users visit the infected site. Link checkers scan links on your search results and optionally other websites and indicate whether links are safe, websites are scanned by their own servers so it does not impair your computer performance. Link checkers are available with most anti malware security suites such as with AVG, McAfee and Symantec.

7. Laptop Security for mobile workers

Laptops thefts are common, and are easy targets due to their transportable nature. If you work away from your office it’s important to invest in a Kensington Lock. While a lock won’t prevent trained thieves armed with cable cutters, it will prevent opportunistic thieves which is the overwhelming majority of laptop thefts.

It’s also important to keep prying eyes away from your data, always password protect your login, and when leaving your laptop unattended, using the screen lock feature in Windows to prevent unauthorized users from looking at or accessing your information.

If you work with particularly sensitive data a privacy screen may provide an added level of protection, the screen is only viewable to the person sitting directly in front, so people sitting around you cannot look at your screen. Targus and 3M are well known for producing privacy screens for all manner of monitor sizes.

8. HTTPS encryption for websites

Most people are well informed with the necessity of using https secure connections with online shopping when entering sensitive personal information. However, it can be argued that websites like facebook, twitter, gmail and others hold equally sensitive information about you.

Did you know you can elect to use https secure connections on these websites? For case by case uses, you can insert a ‘s’ after the http on the web address, if there isn’t one already to access the site securely. However if you want to access the sites securely every time you visit, you can login select the option to always use https in the profile settings.

9. Use online backup to keep an offsite storage of your files.

A great way for mobile workers to keep data kept safe and secure while on the move is to use online backup, this provides great peace of mind if your computer gets lost, as it allows you to recover your files from the cloud. Online backup services like Sugar Sync also provide users with high level synchronization features which can be used as a great time management tool as well, as it keeps data across all your computers consistent and up to date. You can look up various online backup reviews here to compare their features and read up user reviews.

10. Avoid public wifi and public computers.

Using public computers can be incredibly risky as malware and key loggers can be installed to track your keystrokes and cached files in order to gain access to your private information.

Additionally, public wifi connections can be risky as the servers can be breached with malware additionally phantom hotspots can be set up which appear like legitimate hotspots, but are actually other ordinary laptops which act as a middleman eavesdropping into the connection.

An example on how cached data can be hijacked to login to your web accounts can be demonstrated using FireSheep.

Thankfully mobile 3G internet connections are becoming more affordable, and are often faster than public wifi hotspots. 3G connections are far more secure, additionally you may be able to tether your Smartphone internet connection to work on your laptop. I hope this article helped you all for sure. And do follow these above 10 steps and secure your digital life from hackers.

Speed Up Your Computer In 6 Easy Ways

So your computer has been running slow lately? Boot up taking longer than you would like? Files taking way too long to open? All of these and some more common problems can be fixed with just a little housekeeping, so to speak. Here are some tips to keep your PC running smooth and fast:

1) Clean your registry : The Windows registry is a database of setting and associations. It’s pretty much one of the most important components in your operating system. The registry does the all-important job of connecting everything together. How does your OS know that clicking a video file should open a certain program? How does it know clicking a shortcut should open a certain file? All this and much more are handled by the registry. Sometimes program installations and uninstallations can cause broken registry links, orphaned file associations and general conflicts. This can lead to errors and unnecessary clutter. Needless to say, always keep your registry clean and free from any conflicts.

2) Defragment your hard drives : You’re clicking on your hard drive partition and it takes a bit too long to access data and display it, wonder why? It’s because of fragmentation. When hard disks are brand new, there are huge blocks of empty space. Any data you wish to keep is saved in smaller parts sequentially. But as time goes by and more data is added or removed, fragments of data are removed and it can cause smaller amounts of free space between occupied data fragments. Now if you try to save data, it uses those smaller fragments and maybe spread it over a few too many smaller fragments, not necessarily in sequence. When the OS tries to access fragmented data, it has to look over a larger space for smaller chunks of data, and so it takes time. The solution? Regularly defragment your drives, especially the ones that see a lot of reading and writing of data. The Windows defragmenter will do just fine.

3) Get rid of unnecessary startup programs : When you start up Windows, some programs are automatically set to start up. Often, these programs serve no immediate purpose. Do you really need a program updater to stay on all the time and start up with Windows? Do you need a PDF reader as soon as you start up Windows? Probably not. Sometimes even useful programs startup a small optional component so that the main program starts up faster when you do choose for it to, so even if you have no plans to use that particular program, there’s still that component running. Isn’t it better you have a generally faster Windows boot instead of a faster program boot? All these startup programs slow down your Windows boot. Remove all unnecessary startup programs and see how much faster you can start using your computer instead of waiting for everything to load.

4) Remove unused programs and use alternatives : Try not to keep multiple programs that serve the same purpose. Do not keep multiple antivirus programs or video players. Keep just one good program that serves the purpose you want. Also try to use some alternatives other than the status quo. For example, for opening PDF files, use Foxit Reader, it’s a free and lightweight PDF reader and editor with all the features you’d need. Look for lighter alternatives, lots of the commonly used programs are simply bloatware. Another good example is K-Lite Codec Pack, install it and view all video files on Windows Media Player itself, you won’t need another video player again.

5. Scan for and remove malware/spyware/viruses : Often, Windows can be slowed down by malicious programs. Install a respected antivirus or internet security suite and keep it updated. Turn on active protection so you’re protected all the time. Also scan your computer regularly for any malicious software. Some good free antivirus programs are Avast! Antivirus and Avira Antivirus.

6) Clean your disks of temporary files : You know how when you start a program setup it takes a while to install because it copies all setup files into your hard drive? After the setup is done, these installation files are still kept on your hard drive and are completely unnecessary. Over a period of time, these files accumulate and take up a lot of space. Make sure to remove all temporary files regularly.

So there you have it, a few simple tips to speed up your computer. Following these regularly can keep your computer healthy and you can avoid crashes and lockups. Most of these functions can be performed by multiple programs, but I recommend a free and useful program called CCleaner, which can be downloaded here. Another great suite is TuneUp Utilities, you can get a trial version from here.

Good luck and happy cleaning!

Speed Up Internet Speed By Tweaking DNS Server Address

Last month, Google and several DNS resolution and content delivery network (CDN) companies joined forces to enhance Internet speed by localizing domain name system (DNS) resolution responses. This move should reduce delays in downloading online content due to failure to find the closest CDN server of the website being visited.  All you need to do is change the DNS server address of your computer to enjoy the benefits of the new DNS resolution standard.

Internet Speed : The EDNS – Client – Subnet Standard

This is the name of the new domain name resolution protocol forged by Google and its industry partners. Under this standard, your computer’s location will be taken into account when finding the server of the web site being visited. But isn’t that how the current system works? Definitely not.

The process of downloading a website begins with a search of the IP address of its host or cache server. This is the job of the DNS. Your ISP’s DNS server is the one that initiates the IP search.

A website could have copies stored in many servers located in various places, each having its own IP address. These servers are operated by CDN providers. Websites with copies stored in many CDN cache servers are therefore associated with many IP addresses. The DNS server of your ISP attempts to find the server closest to itself, not the one closest to your computer. What if your ISP server and your computer are 10 cities apart? Who wants to waste Internet speed due to poor DNS resolution standard?

The edns-client-subnet standard is developed to address the inefficiency of the current DNS resolution standard in order to minimize download latency. This standard requires DNS servers to know the location of the client so that the CDN cache server closest to it can be located. This will guarantee that the Internet surfer will be directed to the cache server closest to his current location, and not the location of his ISP DNS server, thereby minimizing the dampening effect of geographic distance on Internet speed.

The edns-client-subnet standard is only implemented by a number of CDN companies. As of now, you need to use the server addresses of either Google Public DNS or  Open DNS to experience the new DNS resolution standard.

IPV4 ADDRESSES OF GOOGLE PUBLIC DNS:

• 8.8.8.8
• 8.8.4.4

IPV6 ADDRESSES OF GOOGLE PUBLIC DNS:

• 2001:4860:4860::8888
• 2001:4860:4860::8844

OPENDNS

• 208.67.222.222
• 208.67.220.220
• 208.67.222.220
• 208.67.220.222

Find and Change Your Current DNS Address to Boost Internet Speed

FOR MAC OS X

1. Go to System Preferences-> Network.
2. Select the connection you want to configure. Then click Advanced.
3. Click the DNS tab on the menu bar. Click the plus sign at the bottom of the screen to add the DNS server address of  Google Public DNS or OpenDNS. Click Apply and OK.

FOR VISTA AND WINDOWS 7

1. Go to Start Menu-> Control Panel-> Network and Sharing Center.
2. Choose Manage Network Connections for Vista or  Change Adapter Settingsfor Windows 7.
3. Right click the network connections you want to change, then choose Properties.
4. Click the Networking tab on the menu bar.
5. Choose either Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 and go to Properties.
6. You will see a new window like the one below.
7. Choose Use the Following DNS Server Address. Add either the Google Public DNS  or OpenDNS IP addresses.

Let’s hope the new standard gains more acceptance from ISPs and other CDN and DNS companies.You wouldn’t see improvements in Internet speed if the websites you are visiting are not using the servers of CDN companies participating in this initiative. Hope you all enjoy good Internet Speed.