Forgot Router Username and Password – How do I Reset My Router to Factory Settings?

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Question
I forgot my username and/or password, how do I reset my router to factory settings?

Answer
We do not assist users in bypassing any security measures. If you lost your password to the router you own, you can perform a factory reset or hard reset and then re run the router setup.

First Try the Default Login Information
Before performing a hard reset on your router, you should try the default login information.

Username: admin, administrator, or root
Password: <leave blank and press enter>, admin, password, or root

If none of these work, try viewing default settings for your router at http://www.routerpasswords.com/

Perform Hard Reset on your router

If all attempts to login have failed, you should consider performing a hard, factory reset. On the back of the router, locate the small “pinhole” reset button and press it with a pen for 10-15 seconds. After this has been done, you will be able to login to your router with the default login information and complete the router setup wizard.

Filed Under: Computer Q&A Tagged With: ,

How Do I Crack My WEP Key For My WI-FI Connection?

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Question
How Do I Crack My WEP Key For My WI-FI Connection?

Answer
We do not assist users in black-hat, illegal, or methods used to hack or crack. But, if you forgot your WI-FI WEP password, you may access your router setup by following the instructions here. Once opened, access your wireless security settings and you should find your WEP key.

If you forgot your router password, you can reset your router by finding the reset button on the back and pushing it for 10 seconds with a pen or other small object. Once your router has been reset, you will be able to run through the new setup options.

Filed Under: Computer Q&A Tagged With: ,

Why Has My IP Address Changed?

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Question
Why has my IP address changed?

Answer

Using Dialup Internet
If you are dialing in to your Internet Service Provider each time with a Telephone based modem each time you connect to the internet, you will be assigned an IP address that is available each time you connect to the internet. Because of the type of connection where you are only connected when you dial in, it would be almost impossible to connect with the same IP address every time. Therefore you are assigned a random IP on the network when you connect. If you are looking for a static (never changing) IP address, you must subscribe to an always-on internet connection (cable, dsl, t1, t3, etc…).

Using Broadband Internet
Generally, standard priced packages come with what is called a leased IP address. Not lease in the sense of the term that it costs you extra money, but where you are simply borrowing an IP address from the DHCP pool of your ISP for a defined period of time. Upon expiration of your lease, you are automatically assigned a new IP address and start a new lease.

If you are looking for a Static IP address, most ISP’s provide static IPs in premium or business grade packages. Call your ISP for more information.

If the reason you are looking for a static IP address is to self host your own website, e-mail, etc… you will be much better off instead leasing a VPS from a data center. Your bandwidth and reliability are much better and you will be able to retain your own high speed access to the internet. We used Wiredtree for our servers, they are amazing, check them out before self hosting your own website off your home broadband connection.

Filed Under: Computer Q&A Tagged With: , , ,

How do I adjust the settings of my home linksys router?

March 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

Question
How do I adjust the settings of my home linksys router?

Answer
Once a router has been connected to your home network, you may adjust your settings by simply using firefox, internet explorer, or any other settings by using the following steps.

1. Make sure your computer is connected to one of the switch ports (group of 4) and not the WAN port (stand alone port next to the group of 4).
2. Determine your routers IP address. By default, your router’s IP Address is 192.168.1.1 you may try connecting to the default address by opening firefox, internet explorer or your web browser of choice. Click in the address area and type (without quotes): “http://192.168.1.1” If successful, you will be asked to enter your username and password. By default, the username and password on a linksys router is: Username: admin Password: admin. If successful move to number 4.
3. If logging into your router was unsuccessful, double check that you are connected to your router. You may need to determine your routers default gateway address. Click “Start” and click “Run” or hold the windows key and press “R”. In the run command type (without quotes) “cmd“. You will open the windows command shell. In the command shell area type (without quotes) “ipconfig“. Write down the “Default Gateway Address”. Go back to 2 and follow the steps with the default gateway address your wrote down instead of 192.168.1.1.
4. If you logged in successfully, you will see the linksys setup screen.

Cisco Linksys Router Setup Screen

Filed Under: Computer Q&A Tagged With: , , ,

5 Great Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Tips and Tricks

February 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Ubuntu is a great distribution for anyone from the beginner, all the way to the advanced level. Canonical, the company that works on and hosts releases for

Ubuntu releases a new distribution every April and October. The first two numbers in the release version relate to the year that the distribution was released, and the second two numbers after the “dot” relate to the month of the release.

The most current release as of this post is Ubuntu 10.10 named Maverick Meerkat. The next version is expected in April of this year (2011) and will be Version 11.04 named Natty Narwhal.

  • Better Clipboard Package
    Clipboard packages are very linear in use, but why do they have to be BORING… Change up your default Ubuntu clipboard package by opening your terminal and typing: “sudo apt-get install glipper”
  • Archive Creation and Management Options
    Ubuntu 10.10 provides many different options for creating, extracting, and managing archives. With over a dozen different archive formats available, Ubuntu provides amazing control and flexibility over this sometimes tedious and confusing process. By default, Ubuntu provides support for .zip and .tar.gz without purchasing winrar or other insignificant costly software. To make your Ubuntu distribution more flexible, open your terminal and type: “sudo apt-get install unace rar unrar arj zip p7zip-full p7zip-rar sharutils mpack lha unzip file-roller” without quotes. Follow the onscreen instructions and you will be able to open any type of archive imaginable!
  • Fully personalize visual effects
    Ubuntu 10.10 is a very flexible operation system with an almost unlimited selection of options for expansion. For example, one can personalize visual effects that would make any Mac OS X user envious with Compiz Fusion. To install Compiz Fusion, select Applicatons>Ubuntu Software Center or if you are a power user, open your terminal and type: “sudo apt-get install ccsm” without quotes.
  • Drivers are hardware flexible
    Drivers included with Ubuntu allow for support of most computing equipment right out of the box. I have a dell laptop and I once had to reinstall Windows XP. Windows did not support any hardware on my laptop out of the box, I had to browse to the dell website (with another computer) just to download a driver for my WIRED Network controller. I installed Ubuntu on the same laptop and everything worked right out of the box: wired and wireless networking, graphics card, usb connections, printers (most will just work, extra feature s scanning/photos/etc, may require digging for drivers), I connected an epson All-In-One and used the built in scanner. The scanner just worked, no hassle, no drivers, no popups.
  • Windows Dual Boot Installation is Simple.
    The same laptop referenced to above is a system that I installed a dual-boot environment – Here is an earlier post I made for “How to Dual Boot Ubuntu 10.10 and Windows XP Professional”. The installation was easy and flawless, providing me with an ultra flexible system.

These are just some high points of using Ubuntu Linux. Remember, you don’t have to completely switch over, you can install a dual boot installation and take advantage of the speed, power, and flexibility of Ubuntu by still keeping Windows.

Filed Under: Linux/Unix Tips Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Run Ubuntu in Windows 7, XP, Vista with VMware Player

February 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you run Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 7, or Windows Vista and need to run Ubuntu Linux software without setting up dual boot? With just a few easy steps, VMware player is a great solution!

How the Process Works

Download VMware Player

From this link: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/
You will need to complete a short registration form before downloading VMware player. Install your VMware Player software. On occasion, and this will vary system to system, you may see some prompts about installing drivers – Approve Them. After installing VMware player, restart your computer.

Install Ubuntu 10.10, or most recent distribution

Open VMware Player and select “Create a New Virtual Machine.”

VMware allows you to install from a disk or directly from the .iso image provided by Ubuntu. If you don’t already have the .iso image file from Ubuntu, you may download it from here: http://www.ubuntu.com/

If you insert your disk, VMware player should detect it, otherwise browse to your .iso image file to complete installation.

  1. 1. Enter your name, username, and password as required.
  2. 2. Choose a name for your virtual machine and save it in your location of choice. Click next to accept default settings. Default hard-drive setting is 20gb, but you have the ability to choose something different.
  3. 3. Review your settings and click “Finish” to start installing Ubuntu.

NOTE: During installation you will be prompted to install VMware tools for linux. Just click “Download” and the tools will automatically download and install – you will have to approve the UAC prompt.

Once the installation of ubuntu has completed, enter your username and password and WELCOME TO UBUNTU!!!

VMware Tools for Linux Installation Failure

If you are connected to the internet during installation, the VMware toolset for linux should download and install successfully. If you were not connected to the internet during installation, these tools will not be installed successfully.

To Complete Installation of VMware Tools for Linux:

  1. Make sure you are connected to the internet
  2. Click “VM” and then select “Install VMware Tools” in the menu.
  3. In the file browser window, double-click the VMwareTools icon and Click “Extract” on the button at the top of the window. Select “Desktop” on the left as the location to extract the files and click the “Extract” button to complete. Once all files are extracted, click close.
  4. At the top of the screen in Ubuntu, click “Applications>Accessories>Terminal”
  5. Once in the Terminal, type (case-sensitive and without quotes): “cd ./Desktop/vmware-tools-distrib”
  6. Now type (without quotes): “sudo bash” – enter your password at prompt
  7. Now install wmware tools by typing (without quotes): “./vmware-install.pl”. Press enter to accept prompted default settings at installation. If prompted with questions about documentation files, press enter through prompts to accept defaults.
  8. VMware tools should now be installed. When asked to configure tools, select “Yes” at the prompt. If prompted for the experimental backup feature, select “no”
  9. When prompted to set up graphics configurations, select “yes”
  10. You should see a message that install has been completed. Restart Ubuntu by clicking on the on/off symbol at the top right corner and select restart.
  11. Log back in to ubuntu and enjoy.


I hope that you enjoy this tutorial. As always, with any questions or comments, please use the comment feature below.

Filed Under: Linux/Unix Tips Tagged With: , , , ,

3 Different Types of Web Hosting

February 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Website files are stored on a web server computer called a Web Host. A domain name points at the web server computer where it’s website files are stored (through the domain name’s DNS settings). Because of the way this works, web hosting does not have to be purchased from the same company where a domain name is purchased. Websites can be hosted anywhere and domain names can be purchased from anyone that sells them.

There are many different types of Web Hosting available ranging from super cheap to very expensive. The three most common types of hosting are: Shared Hosting, Virtual Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting.

Shared Hosting

Shared Hosting is the most popular type of hosting available today. Shared Hosting is a great entry level option for low traffic volume sites. In essence you share the server with many (sometimes 500+) other websites. Because of the large volume of sites packed into one hosting box, this option is very affordable (as little as a few bucks per month). The cons with Shared Hosting are generally related to reliability and bandwidth. For example, if as little as just one user in a shared hosting environment receives a significant spike in traffic, it will affect the bandwidth and resources for all websites on the same server.

Virtual Hosting (VPS)

Virtual Hosting on a Virtual Private Server is a great mid-level option and can be used to host many sites or one “traffic hog” site. Basically a Server computer is split into multiple Virtual Servers with software. The software allocates Memory, Hard Drive Space, Bandwidth, etc… to each container where each container is separate and cannot borrow resources from other Virtual Containers on the same server computer. The pros to Virtual Hosting are reliability, security and root access control. The cons for this type of hosting is the cost which can range from as low as $50 per month to several hundred dollars per month depending on specifications and Service Level Agreement.

There are two types of Virtual Hosting which will affect the cost, Managed and Unmanaged. Managed VPS Hosting includes support (depending on service agreement) for server management, upgrades, troubleshooting, backups, etc… Whereas unmanaged hosting may offer zero support where you assume responsibilities as the Server Admin. Some companies may provide a-la-carte Server Admin services, but can really add cost depending on support issues. You can’t go wrong with a Managed VPS, save time and headaches.

Dedicated Server Hosting

Like Virtual Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting offers all of the same options except for the server is not split with virtualization software. The whole server is yours to control with root access privileges, generally a lot of public domain names, etc… Also, like Virtual Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting comes with two different options through various vendors (Managed and Unmanaged). Managed Hosting includes support, whereas with unmanaged you, the end user are responsible for all server admin functions.

For the hobbyist, shared hosting is generally good enough. For a business, I would recommend at the very least to use VPS hosting for control and reliability. On the very top, if you run a resource hog of a website, most likely you are already using a dedicated server or multiple dedicated servers.

We have multiple VPS’s through Wiredtree and they have always offered amazing support. Check out our review here: http://www.ntechcomm.com/blog/2009/08/best-place-to-rent-a-vps-or-dedicated-server/

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

6 Must-Have WordPress Plugins

February 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Wordpress LogoHosted WordPress (http://wordpress.org/) has almost an unlimited supply of plugin options available. Today I want to point out plugins that aim towards accomplishing common goals of the typical blog: Boost Speed, Attract Visitors, Proper Search Engine Indexing, Thwart Comment Spam, and Make Money.

WordPress Performance/Speed Boost
Caching software will speed up any WordPress blog.

Social Networking/Sharing


Anti-Spam

  • Akismet
    Website: http://akismet.com/
    Plugin Page: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/Who likes spam? Akismet is an Anti-Spam plugin that comes pre-packaged with WordPress. Even though it comes pre-packaged, I wanted to comment about it anyway. Comment spam is annoying, by using this plugin, you will save yourself time and headaches.

SEO/Organic Site Promotion

Tools to Make Money

If anyone has any recommendations about plugins that should be listed here, please comment and I will add your suggestion.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Add Twitter Follow Button to Left Side of Website

February 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Add Twitter Follow Button to Left Side of WebsiteTwitter is a popular service that helps people deliver real-time mass communications. If you have a blog or website and a Twitter account, why not make it easy for your visitors to follow you?

Included in this tutorial is: simple HTML code for your site (html and text file), and two follow images.

Download the file pack from here (right-click and save-as): Twitter Button Files

For your reference, here is the code:
<div style=“border: 0pt none; position: fixed; top: 220px; left: 0pt;”><a href=“http://twitter.com/ntechcomm”><img style=“border: 0;” src=“images/twitterblue.png” alt=“Follow Us on Twitter” /></a></div>

Modify the code for your site:
Change the Twitter link to your username: http://twitter.com/yourusername
Change the image path: Upload the follow images to your site. If your site pages are in the directory root and you have a ‘/images’ folder, the current path will work. Otherwise, use the full path to your follow image: http://www.yoursite.com/images/twitterblue.png

How to use the follow button code on your website:
To use this code on your website, you must place this code immediately following the start <body> tag on every page you wish to display your Twitter follow button.

How to use the follow button code on a hosted WordPress blog:

  • Make sure to backup your WordPress template before making any changes.
  • Upload the follow button images to your site and note the location.
  • After you have uploaded the follow images and have determined the full file path – browse to the wordpress templates folder and find the header.php file of your current blog template.
  • Paste the follow button code immediately following the opening <body> tag.
  • Depending on how you decided to edit your header.php file, either save your changes or upload and replace with your new header.php file.
  • Open your web browser of choice and surf to your blog.
  • If you only see text without an image, double check your image file path settings.
  • If you don’t see anything at all, make sure that your button code has been saved to your template’s header.php file.

Please comment with any questions.

Filed Under: Web Development Tagged With: , , ,

How to Hide Clicky Ad Badge – Breakdown of Tracking Code

January 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A few days ago I wrote a post about how to use clicky to track Craigslist ADs but I never explained implementation. Below you will see a break down of the code and explanation. A very important side note, THIS EXPLANATION ONLY APPLIES TO THE PAID VERSION OF CLICKY.

 

Clicky Code Breakdown

Above is an example of Clicky’s tracking code. As you can see, I blurred out my tracking numbers (easily accessible I know, but for confusion purposes, I thought it would be a good idea). Anyway, here is my explanation of the tracking code:

The YELLOW code area is the code for the graphic badge. You may exclude this piece of code if you WISH TO HIDE THE CLICKY ADVERTISEMENT BADGE.

The GREEN and BLUE code make-up the clicky tracking code, you should include both the GREEN and BLUE on any website you are tracking. This code should be placed before the end </body> tag.

The BLUE code is for Craigslist. Craigslist doesn’t let you execute JavaScript in your postings, but the little 1×1 pixel graphic gathers data that you receive on your Craigslist posting. You should include this part of your tracking code at the end of your Craigslist AD. Maybe throw in some <br><br> tags and then the code to space the code from your listing.


If you are using a different domain name (other than craigslist.org) in your clicky settings to track craigslist ad postings, you need to go into your preferences and add the (<insert city>.craigslist.org) domain for your posting in the mirrors section. You can find the correct domain by looking at the web URL of your posting. For instance if you were tracking a post in Minneapolis, MN. You would add “minneapolis.craigslist.org” to the mirror area of your preferences.

If you don’t add your subdomain (ie. minneapolis.craigslist.org) to your mirrors area, Clicky may not gather traffic data.

To read my original post about using Clicky to track Craigslist Postings,
Click Here: How to Track Craigslist Ads.

To read more about Clicky as a web analytics software,
Click Here: Clicky

If you have any questions, comments, or simply need some additional explanation, please feel free to comment below.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »