To VoIP Or Not To VoIP

Unless you live under a rock somewhere in Antarctica, you already know VoIP is an abbreviation for voice over Internet protocol, also known as broadband telephone. That being said, should one use VoIP? How does it work? What are some benefits? Are there any problems with VoIP?

To answer this question we first need to know how broadband telephone works. First and foremost VoIP works on a broadband Internet connection like high speed cable or dsl, a DTA ( digital terminal adapter ), and just about any average home telephone will do.

Most long distance telephone calls are carried over the Internet (yes, traditional calls) Continue reading

Top 10 Ways To Protect Yourself From Computer Viruses

As more and more people are becoming comfortable using their computers at school, home or in the office it?s only a matter of time before they encounter a computer virus. Here are our top 10 steps to protect you from computer viruses.

Use a high quality anti-virus program. There are many different anti-virus computers programs on the market some of them are better than others. Look to reputable computer magazines or websites for ratings to help you find the one that matches your needs.

Always use your anti-virus software. Make sure your anti-virus software is always turned on and scanning, incoming and outgoing email messages, and any software programs you run Continue reading

Traditional Antivirus Programs Useless Against New Unidentified Viruses!

Most traditional antivirus programs rely on their database. Potentially hazardous files are matched against the database to see whether they are to be considered safe or not. Since a new virus can spread world wide within a few hours it can cause severe damage to your computer long before the manufacturer of the antivirus program identifies the virus and updates the database. You also need to go online to import the manufacturers’ database to you antivirus program, which means that your computer will be online totally unprotected. The new Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 however, contains TruPrevent Technologies: a new system designed to protect your computer against unknown viruses and intruders Continue reading

Uncle Sam Cracks Down Online!

(c) Jim Edwards – All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
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In a move that rocked the online world and left many
Internet marketers shaking in their boots, the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) initiated a sweeping crackdown on
what they termed “Internet Scammers” and “Deceptive
Spammers.”

The FTC, along with state and federal officials, filed
numerous criminal and civil law enforcement actions and
froze the corporate and personal assets of some defendants.

According to the FTC, they went after a wide array of
deceptive schemes and illegal scams including auction
fraud, illegal sale of controlled substances, bogus
business opportunities, deceptive money-making scams,
illegal advance-fee credit card offers, and identity theft Continue reading

Understanding Spyware

Spyware is a “malware” or malicious software that is placed on your computer without your knowledge. This can happen when you visit online web sites offering free downloads of games, when you download videos or music, or any share files, such as when you download that comic e mail from your friend. Spyware programs are piggybacked into your machine at the same time you download a file. Spyware is infecting millions of home computers today.

Spyware tracks your on line computer habits. It knows each site you visit and what you have looked up on that site. Some spyware even tracks each keystroke you make, including every bit of information you fill out on a form, such as name and address, and credit card information when you make a purchase Continue reading

Understanding the Components of a Home Network

Home networks are becoming more common. People want to be able to share a single broadband Internet connection to several computers in the house. There are many different devices that you can use to make up your home network. If you have never heard network terminology device names like router, hub, etc may seem confusing.

The purpose of most of these devices are to control how the network passes around information. This information is sent in the form of “packets”. I will refer to the term packet several times in this article. It simply means the data that the network is transporting Continue reading