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Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 8:16PM I was recently presented with a good website you can use to comparison shop home security options. The website is more comprehensive than I can be here, so check it out here.
Sunday, November 10, 2019 at 11:42PM
Browsing slowing to a crawl, the inability to stream, dropped Wi-Fi signals, wireless dead zones—every one of these problems is maddening in a world where getting online has become, for some, as necessary as breathing. (Well, maybe not that critical...but important.) If you feel like your Wi-Fi has gotten sluggish, there are many tools you can use to test the speed of your internet. However, if the only way you can get decent reception is by standing next to your wireless router, these simple tips can help optimize your network. Perhaps your router just needs an update. Router manufacturers are always tweaking software to eke out a bit more speed. How easy—or how hard—it is to upgrade your firmware depends entirely on your device manufacturer and model. Most current routers have the update process built right into the administration interface, so it's just a matter of hitting a firmware upgrade button. Other models, particularly if they're older, still require you to go to the manufacturer's website, download a firmware file from your router's support page, and upload it to the administration interface. It's tedious, but still a good thing to do since it would be such a simple fix. In fact, even if your wireless network isn't ailing, you should make it a point to update your firmware on a regular basis for performance improvements, better features, and security updates. (Here's how to access your router's settings.) Not all rooms and spaces are created equal. The fact is, where you place the router can affect your wireless coverage. It may seem logical to have the router inside a cabinet and out of the way, or right by the window where the cable comes in, but that's not always the case. Rather than relegating it to a far end of your home, the router should be in the center of your house, if possible, so its signal can reach as far as possible. In addition, wireless routers need open spaces, away from walls and obstructions. So while it's tempting to put that ugly black box in a cabinet or behind a bunch of books, you'll get better signal if it's surrounded by open air (which should prevent the router from overheating, too). Keep it away from heavy-duty appliances or electronics as well, since running those in close proximity can impact Wi-Fi performance. If your router has external antennas, orient them vertically to bump up coverage. If you can, it even helps to elevate the router—mount it high on the wall or on the top shelf to get a better signal. There are plenty of tools to help you visualize your network coverage. Personally, I like Heatmapper or our Editors' Choice inSSIDer, which shows you both the weak and strong spots in your Wi-Fi network. There are plenty of mobile apps, too, such as Netgear's WiFi Analytics. Take a look at your network's administrator interface, and make sure you have it configured for optimum performance. If you have a dual-band router, you'll likely get better throughput by switching to the 5GHz band instead of using the more common 2.4GHz band. Not only does 5GHz offer faster speeds, but you'll likely encounter less interference from other wireless networks and devices, because the 5GHz frequency is not as commonly used. (It doesn't handle obstructions and distances quite as well, though, so it won't necessarily reach as far as a 2.4GHz signal does.) Most modern dual-band routers should offer you the option to use the same network name, or SSID, on both bands. Check your router's administration interface, look for the 5GHz network option, and give it the same SSID and password as your 2.4GHz network. That way, your devices will automatically choose the best signal whenever they can. (If your router doesn't offer you the option to use the same SSID, just give it another name—like SmithHouse-5GHz—and try to connect to that one manually whenever possible.) Interference is a big issue, especially for those who live in densely populated areas. Signals from other wireless networks can impact speeds, not to mention some cordless phone systems, microwaves, and other electronic devices. Ever play with walkie-talkies as a kid? You may remember how the units needed to be on the same "channel" in order for you to hear each other. And if you happened to be on the same channel as your neighbors, you could listen in on someone else's conversation, even if they were using a completely different set. In the same vein, all modern routers can switch across different channels when communicating with your devices. Most routers will choose the channel for you, but if neighboring wireless networks are also using the same channel, then you are going to encounter signal congestion. A good router set to Automatic will try to choose the least congested channel, but many cheaper routers will just choose a predefined channel, even if it isn't the best one. That could be a problem. On Windows-based PCs, you can see what channels neighboring Wi-Fi networks are using. From the command prompt type netsh wlan show all, and you'll see a list of all wireless networks and the channels being used in your vicinity. At PCMag, for instance, most of our networks and those of our neighbors are using channels 6 and 11. In general, for 2.4GHz you want to stick to channels 1, 6, and 11 since they're the only ones that don't overlap with other channels (which can degrade performance). 5GHz generally uses non-overlapping channels, however, which should make selecting the right one much easier. If you find the Auto setting isn't working well for you, sign into your router's administrator interface, head to the basic wireless category, and try selecting one manually (ideally, one that isn't in use by many networks in your area). See if that provides a better signal and faster speeds over the Automatic setting. Keep in mind that channel congestion can change over time, so if you choose a channel manually, you may want to check in once in a while to make sure it's still the best one. It's also possible the problem isn't interference or other networks. Is there a chance you have unwanted guests piggybacking on your network? These tools can help you find a list of devices on your Wi-Fi to sniff out uninvited neighbors. If it's an open network, close it and set up a strong password—preferably WPA2, as WEP is notoriously easy to crack—so others can't join in. Most modern routers come with Quality of Service (QoS) tools to limit the amount of bandwidth that apps use, like the Netgear menu below. For example, you could use QoS to prioritize video calls over file downloads—that way, your call with grandma won't drop just because someone else is grabbing a big file from Dropbox. (Sure, their file will take longer, but grandma is more important.) Some QoS settings even allow you to prioritize different apps at different times of day. QoS settings can typically be found under advanced settings in the network's administrator interface. Some routers may even make it easier by offering a one-click multimedia or gaming setting, so you know those applications will be prioritized. It's a good idea to get the most out of your existing equipment, but if you are running old hardware you can't expect the best performance. We have a tendency to subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality with back-end devices, especially networking gear. However, if you bought your router years ago, you might still be using the older, slower 802.11n standard (or God forbid, 802.11g). These wireless standards cap at fairly low bandwidths. Thus, all the tweaking we've outlined above will only get you so far—the maximum throughput for 802.11g is 54Mbps, while 802.11n caps out at 300Mbps. The latest 802.11ac supports 1Gbps, while next-gen Wi-Fi 6 routers can theoretically hit 10Gbps, but it's early days. Our list of the best wireless routers is a good place to start the search for a faster router. Even if your router is new, you might have some ancient devices that are falling back to older, slower standards. If you bought a PC within the last couple of years, you likely have an 802.11ac wireless adapter, or at least 802.11n. But the older your devices, the less likely they are to have modern tech built in. (You might be able to buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter that makes things a bit better on those old machines, though.) Remember, a higher-quality router won't just support those faster standards—it'll also do all the things we've outlined above better. It'll perform better channel selection, band steering for 5GHz devices, and have better QoS features. Others may have features like Multi User-Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO), like the Netgear Nighthawk X10 AD7200 Smart WiFi Router. MU-MIMO routers can send and receive multiple data streams simultaneously to multiple devices without bandwidth degradation and require specialized testing with multiple clients, but the clients need to be MU-MIMO compatible. If your router uses an internal antenna, adding an external one would be a good idea, as the latter tends to send a stronger signal. Your router may have come with antennas you can add on yourself, but if not (or if you threw them away long ago), many router manufacturers sell antennas separately. In many cases, you can choose between omnidirectional antennas, which send a signal to all directions, or directional ones, which send a signal in one specific direction. Most built-in antennas tend to be omnidirectional, so if you are buying an external one, it should be marked "high-gain" to actually make a difference. A directional antenna tends to be a better option, since odds are that you aren't experiencing weak spots in your network in every direction. Point your external antenna in the direction of your weak spot, and it will broadcast the signal accordingly. Check your router manufacturer's website for details on what to buy. Distance is one of the more obvious problems—there is a certain optimal range that the wireless signal can travel. If the network has to cover an area larger than the router is capable of transmitting to, or if there are lots of corners to go around and walls to penetrate, performance will take a hit. If all of the above fail, it's possible that your house is just too big for a single router to send a good signal everywhere. All routers are only capable of broadcasting reliably up to a certain distance before the signal gets weak. If you want to extend your signal beyond that, you'll need a range extender of some sort. Range extenders looks similar to standard routers, but work differently. For starters, they pick up the existing Wi-Fi signal from your wireless router and simply rebroadcast it. As far as your network router is concerned, the range extender is just another client with an IP address, much like a laptop. Even though it's not a router, you should still use the same rules for figuring out placement; the extender should be close enough to your main network router to pick up a solid signal, but close enough to the weak spot so it can do its job of, well, extending that signal. The extended signal will almost never be as good as the original, but it's better than nothing—though if you can connect the extender with Ethernet or Powerline instead of wirelessly, it'll be much better. You don't need an extender that is the same brand or model as your existing router, though in some cases, extenders of the same brand may offer extra features (like Linksys' MaxStream routers and their "seamless roaming"). Above all else, make sure you pick one that can broadcast an equivalent signal: don't buy an 802.11n extender if your router is on 802.11ac. For more on how to choose and set up an extender, take a look at the best wireless range extenders we've tested. Range extenders help bring connectivity to dead zones, but wireless range extenders usually provide about half the bandwidth you'll get from your primary router. Plus, they often require separate management from two different administration pages, and can even force you to use two different SSIDs, which is a huge pain. If you want seamless connectivity everywhere in your home, manageable from a simple smartphone app, consider upgrading your whole network a mesh Wi-Fi system instead. Designed to cover every corner of your home, mesh Wi-Fi systems aim to replace your router rather than just extend it. You'll connect one node directly to your modem, then place one or more satellite nodes around your house. The included app will walk you through the setup, ensuring each node is placed in the ideal spot for the best signal. The resulting setup blankets your house with a single wireless network, which uses a single administration interface (in the form of a friendly mobile app), and often dedicates at least one wireless band to network backhaul, offering better performance than many extenders. Lots of mesh systems will even update your firmware automatically, so you always have the latest performance and security enhancements—no more downloading firmware from the manufacturer website. The downside: mesh Wi-Fi Systems aren't cheap, especially if you have a large home, which will require multiple nodes. But if you're in the market for a new router anyway, they might be worth considering as an alternative. For more, check out our list of the best mesh network systems, as well as our guide for setting one up. If you really want to get the most out of your current router, the adventurous should look at the open-source DD-WRT router operating system. Many major router manufacturers, such as Linksys, Netgear, and TrendNET offer routers that can run DD-WRT. Or you can simply download DD-WRT and install it on any compatible router you have lying around. DD-WRT can ramp up performance and give you access to more advanced networking features including virtual private networking (VPN), security, and granular customization. You can even install one right onto your router. For more tips to help speed up your surfing, check out How to Set Up and Configure Your Router. Having problems with even getting or maintaining a signal? Then Tips for Troubleshooting Your Internet Connection is worth a read. Once you've made all the necessary tweaks to optimize your wireless network, test your Internet speed below.
1. Update Your Router Firmware
2. Achieve Optimal Router Placement
3. What's Your Frequency?
4. Change That Channel
5. Control Quality
6. Don't Rely on Obsolete Hardware
7. Replace Your Antenna
8. Set Up a Wireless Range Extender
9. Upgrade to a Mesh-Based Wi-Fi System
10. Get Into the Guts of Your Router
Monday, October 21, 2019 at 11:51PM USBs have become the go-to device for installing any sort of operating system. They’re easy enough to carry, every single computer has at least one USB port, they come in large size configurations at a cheap price point, and optical drives have almost disappeared from computers so there really isn’t much choice.
You will find that there are many, many apps that can burn a disc to a USB drive. The stock tools on Windows 10 doesn’t support burning to a USB just yet but let’s give it ten years and it’s bound to catch up. Burning a disc image to a USB is fairly easy but, if you want to burn a disc image to an SD card, you’ll find that some of the best apps don’t support it. Here’s how you can burn a disc image to an SD card.
A reliable tool for burning disc images is Etcher. It supports burning to all sorts of storage devices, and it works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. It’s also free, and easy to use. Download it, install it, and run the app.
Make sure you have a disc image ready to burn, and insert the SD card in your PC/laptop.
Etcher normally auto-selects the first device it detects for burning so it may automatically detect the SD card. If it doesn’t, or it detects a different device, click the Change option under the device name and select your SD card.
Next, select the disc image that you want to burn to it, and then click Flash. Etcher will tell you when the process is complete and you can use the SD card to install whatever you burned to it.
You can burn just about anything to an SD card with Etcher but you can’t necessarily use an SD card as a boot device for all sorts of devices. There are select devices that allow it to be used as a boot device and a laptop/PC isn’t one of them. Etcher will let you burn a Windows 10 ISO to an SD card but the card itself will not show up as a device that you can boot from in your BIOS, and there isn’t anything you can do about it.
It is up to you to make sure the SD card has enough space to accommodate the image that’s being burnt to it. Having space equal to the size of the image isn’t always enough. Look up the requirements for the image file, and make sure your SD card meets them all.
Monday, October 21, 2019 at 11:48PM Windows 10 requires a license to work. A Windows license can be bought and used on any system of your choice, or you can by hardware that comes with Windows 10 installed with an OEM license. The license basically comes with a Product Key that you enter in Windows 10. Generally speaking, if you have an OEM license, there is little to no need to back it up. A license that you bought separately i.e., one that isn’t associated with hardware is more likely to be lost. Regardless of what type of license you have, here are two fail safe ways to back up a Windows 10 product key.
Before we show you how to back up a Windows 10 product key, you need to know that product keys are specific for different Windows 10 editions. A Windows 10 Home product key will not be able to activate a Windows 10 Pro installation even if it’s authentic. It is important that you know which Windows 10 edition the product key is for. What doesn’t matter when it comes to using a product key is whether you’re installing 32-bit or 64-bit Windows. A product key for Windows 10 Home will work regardless if you’re installing the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version.
There are two methods you can use to back up a Windows 10 product key and regardless if you have an OEM license or not, you should still back it up.
The best solutions are often the simplest ones. Find your Windows 10 Product Key, copy it to a Notepad file, and save it somewhere safe. Make sure it isn’t saved where anyone else might have access to it but, also make sure that you do not save the file to a location where it might be deleted by accident.
Microsoft knows that its activation services fail on occasion. To work around it, there’s an option to associate your Product key with your Microsoft Account. It’s fairly simple but you must be using a Microsoft account on Windows 10 for this to work. You must also be signed in with the Administrator account, and your Windows 10 version must be 1511 or later.
Open the Settings app and go to the Update & Security group of settings. Select the Activation tab. You will see an ‘Add account’ option. Click it, and sign in with your Microsoft Account. The product key will be associated with the account right away.
Now that you’ve backed up the product key, you may want to know how you can use it to activate Windows 10. If you used Notepad to back up the key, copy the key from the file. Go to the Settings app and select Update and Security. Select the Activation tab and enter the key when prompted to.
If you associated the key with your Microsoft Account all you need to do is sign in to the account on the system you want to activate Windows 10 on, and the license will automatically be detected. This method cannot be used to transfer OEM licenses to other systems.
Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 1:54AM
Microsoft made it clear back in August at the Samsung Unpacked event that it wanted to allow Android phone calls to be possible through Windows 10. Now the feature has rolled out in the latest Insider Preview build of the operating system. The new Calls feature forms part of the existing Your Phone app which already allowed texting, notifications, and file transfers between an Android device and Windows. Linking your Android device to Windows 10 is easy. Now it allows you to leave your Android phone in your bag or pocket and make/receive calls through Windows 10. The feature set of Calls extends to answering incoming calls, initiating calls, declining incoming calls or sending them to voicemail, accessing recent call history and quickly dialing one of the numbers, and finally, seamlessly transferring calls between your PC and Android phone. In order the Calls to work, you require a phone running Android 7.0 or higher, a Windows 10 PC with Bluetooth enabled, and the latest Insider Preview build of Windows 10 for all the functionality detailed above to be available to use. Even with all of the above requirements in place, Calls isn't without its bugs right now. Microsoft says it may be required to repeatedly pair and unpair your devices and "go through the Calls set up flow again" to get it to work. Calls will gradually roll out to Insiders on the 19H1 build or newer in the Insider program. If you don't have it yet, keep checking the Your Phone app on your handset to see if the new functionality has appeared.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 4:41PM I initially got started doing this kind of work teaching Senior Citizens computer skills way back in 1998. One of the more infuriating things I had to deal with is people scamming them. There are countless scams out there. I am in the middle of a fun one. I put a Macbook Pro up on Letgo. In short, a scammer wants me to mail it to his "son" (in the military, a typical scam, plays on your love of the troops). He is willing to pay me $100 on top of my price for shipping and for helping him get his military son a computer. He is sending the money to western union for me to pick up. I am screen shotting the the whole conversation so that the world can see how these scams work. Will update shortly.......
Thom McClain
I wont bore you with details, it has been hours of fun dragging this Nigerian scam artist to hell and back. He thinks he has me hooked, but I keep dragging out the scenario frustrating him. I was going to screen shot, but this is hours of back and forth. Here is something you should read instead, straight from Western Union!