But that has all changed. Today, the costs have come down on every component. Wireless is not much more expensive, and sometimes less, than cabled gear. A bit of Cat 5 Ethernet cable costs not much more than plain stereo equipment wire. A hub costs a few dollars. Even routers, once $200 or more are now available for little more than the cost of an ordinary switch. At the same time with broadband, speeds have increased dramatically.

Reliability has improved for both cabled and wireless networks. The latter were once just for experiments by hobbyists. A cordless phone call, a wall or just a solar flare hiccup could easily knock your network offline. Distances were limited to a few meters, making wireless networks much less attractive for networking the whole home. Now, they can cover the whole of a large, two story home with ease.

But perhaps best of all, besides the lower cost and better performance, home networking is now simpler than ever. Today’s gear comes with better instructions, ones that don’t assume you are a computer or networking expert. The software and hardware both are simpler to configure. The diagnostic tools are easier to use than in times past.

At the same time, most people have increased their basic computer knowledge by leaps and bounds. With the Internet, cell phones, iPods, iPads, and tablets being a daily part of everyone’s lives, the intimidation factor is at an all time low. Everyone today knows how to use email. Most people know what HTTP or HTTPS is, how to ping something and other things once considered esoteric. Discussing routers, IP addresses and other aspects is no longer just for wild eyed guys with glasses.

Security consciousness has been raised, too. As a result of thousands of articles on credit card or identity theft and other computer related issues, people are much better informed and more cautious. They may not follow all the standard recommendations touted by security professionals, but they’re no longer indifferent. Anyone who has ever been hit by a computer virus, which is just about everyone today, has seen first hand the need for some efforts in this area.

There are still a few minor hurdles to overcome. The biggest one is usually just absorbing a fair number of unfamiliar terms, such as protocol, NIC (Network Interface Card) and other related words. Once that wall is breached, the rest is pretty straightforward.

Even adding an Internet connection to the home network, so that it can be shared by all systems instead of just one, is very simple today. A little bit of homework, sometimes a modest amount of troubleshooting, and you’re in business. So get in gear and start hooking together those computers owned by each member of the family. You’ll find that printer sharing is easy. You’ll be able to pass files without emailing them from one system and downloading them from another. You’ll find your security enhanced. Most of all, you’ll have the same kind of fun that used to be limited to computer experts. Who wouldn’t want that?

Watch for future articles that will help you with your Home Network.

HTTP:
HTTPS:
Router:
Network:
Wi-Fi:
Computer Virus:

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Most people know by now that in order for one computer to share information with another, it’s necessary to connect them together in some way. Those connections and the computers that are part of them form a network. Just like a spider web, when the trapped fly tugs on one part, a signal is sent to the spider at the other end.

In the case of a home network, the web is made up of either cables or wireless signals. Those two basic options make up the difference between what is called a cabled or wired network versus a wireless network. As recently as five years ago, a lifetime in the computer world, the wireless option was complicated and expensive. Today, wireless home networks are often less expensive and easier to create.

At different points along the web there are junctions called nodes. Those nodes can be in the form of computers, switches or routers.

Switches provide a place to plug the cables in that allow a physical connection between communicating computers. Routers perform a similar purpose but with more functions, such as the ability to connect multiple networks together and (as the name suggests) route traffic intelligently between them. In many cases, computers themselves can perform those functions. Software within the system can use the network cards in each computer, with a simple switch in between, to allow communication between them. Though routers have become commonplace, that’s still possible and if your needs are fairly simple it can be the cheapest, easiest way to create a home network.

But computers, switches and routers aren’t the only possible components of a home network. Familiar devices that go under the general name of peripherals are often part of the home web.

One of the reasons for undertaking the expense and effort of creating a network is often to share folders, printer, fax or scanner among multiple computers. If you splurged for a color laser printer or a fax machine at home, you save money by only needing to purchase one device each, instead of multiple printers and faxes for each computer. A home network allows sharing those devices. As part of the basic home network system, you’ll often want to include software and/or hardware known as a firewall. A firewall allows for passing some information sent by trusted sources, but blocks other types of data, or unfriendly malware, viruses, etc that are sent from any other source.

With wireless networks or any home network connected to the Internet, they are a must. Fortunately, routers typically contain some inherent firewall functions. Even software within the OS today can usually perform that function. Putting all these different pieces together in a coherent way that allows you to send and receive files, share printers and more is the process of creating a home network.
Of course, doing it in a way that doesn’t get you tangled up in a sticky web requires a bit of homework.

Probably by the year 2015 all of your appliances in the kitchen along with every entertainment device you have in the house will be connected to the internet.

Watch for future articles that will help you with your Home Network.





Restarting closes all the software running on your PC, not only the programs you see running on the taskbar, but also dozens of services that might have been started by various programs and never stopped. Restarting can fix mysterious performance problems when the exact cause is hard to pinpoint.

If you keep so many programs, e mail messages, and websites open that you think restarting is a hassle, that’s probably a sign you should restart your PC. The more things you have open and the longer you keep them running, the greater the chances your PC will bog down and eventually run low on memory.

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You can choose which visual effects to turn off, one by one, or you can let Windows choose for you. There are many visual effects you can control, such as the transparent glass look, the way menus open or close, and whether shadows are displayed.

To adjust all visual effects for best performance:

1. Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type Performance Information and Tools, and then, in the list of results, click Performance Information and Tools.

2. Click Adjust visual effects. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3. Click the Visual Effects tab, click Adjust for best performance, and then click OK. (For a less drastic option, select Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer.)

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Here’s How:

1. Turn on your PC or restart it if it’s already on.
2. Watch for a “entering setup” message in the first few seconds after turning on your computer. This message varies greatly from computer to computer and also includes the key or keys you need to press to enter BIOS.

Here are some common ways you might see this BIOS access message:
• Press [key] to enter setup
• Setup: [key]
• Enter BIOS by pressing [key]
• Press [key] to enter BIOS setup
• Press [key] to access BIOS
• Press [key] to access system configuration

3. Quickly press the key or keys instructed by the previous message to get into BIOS.

Note: You may need to press the BIOS access key several times to enter BIOS. Don’t hold the key down or press it too many times or your system may error or lock up. If that happens, just restart and try again.

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To prevent a library from being shared.
1. Open HomeGroup by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, typing homegroup in the search box, and then clicking HomeGroup.
2. Clear the check box for each library you don’t want shared, and then click Save changes.

To prevent specific files or folders from being shared.
1. Click the Start button, and then click your user name.
2. Navigate to the file or folder you want to exclude from sharing, and then select it.
3. Do one of the following:

a. To prevent the file or folder from being shared with anyone, in the toolbar, click Share with, and then click Nobody.

b. To share the file or folder with some people but not others, in the toolbar, click Share with, click Specific people, select each person you want to share with, and then click Add. Click Share when you are finished.

c. To change the level of access to a file or folder, in the toolbar, click Share with, and then select either Homegroup (Read) or Homegroup (Read/Write).

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About once every week, you should run the Windows Disk Cleanup utility to clear your PC of these temporary files. The Windows Disk Cleanup tool requires user input to complete its designated task. For this reason, it is recommended that, when setting up the utility to run automatically (as described in the next paragraph), you choose a time when you are typically on the computer so you can provide this input.

When using the Create Basic Task Wizard, select the Open the Properties dialog for this task when I click Finish check box. This allows you to access additional properties related to the task. On the Settings tab, select the Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed check box to ensure that the task starts the next time you are logged on to your computer.

Schedule Disk Cleanup to run automatically:

Windows 7
1. Open Task Scheduler: Click the Start button, click Control Panel, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Task Scheduler. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Click the Action menu, and then click Create Basic Task. This opens the Create Basic Task Wizard.
3. Type a name for the task and an optional description, and then click Next.
4. To select a schedule based on the calendar, click Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or One time, and then click Next.
5. Specify the schedule you want to use, and then click Next.
6. Click Start a program, and then click Next.
7. Click Browse, and, in the File name box, type cleanmgr.exe, click Open, and then click Next.
8. Click Finish.

Windows Vista
1. Open Task Scheduler: Click the Start button, click Administrative Tools, and then click Task Scheduler. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Click the Action menu, and then click Create Basic Task.
3. Type a name for the task and an optional description, and then click Next.
4. To select a schedule based on the calendar, click Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or One time, and then click Next.
5. Specify the schedule you want to use, and then click Next.
6. Click Start a program, and then click Next.
7. Click Browse, and, in the File name box, type cleanmgr.exe, click Open, and then click Next.
8. Click Finish.

Windows XP
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Performance and Maintenance.
3. Under or pick a Control Panel icon, click Scheduled Tasks.
4. In the Scheduled Tasks window, double-click Add Scheduled Task.
5. In the Scheduled Task Wizard, click Next.
6. Scroll down to Disk Cleanup in the list of Applications, click it (to highlight it), and then click Next.
7. Under Perform this task, click Weekly, and then click Next.
8. Set the time and day of the week you would like to run Disk Cleanup. For best results, choose a time when you’re typically at your computer so you can provide any required input. Click Next.
9. Type your password in both the Enter the password and Confirm password boxes, and then click Next.
10. Click Finish.

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Custom Search

1. Choose Start> Control Panel and, under the User Accounts and Family Safety heading, click the Add or Remove User Accounts option.

2. Click the Create a New Account option.

3. Type a name for the new account.
You can give a new account just about any name you like: first name, last name, nickname, titles, abbreviations. No sweat, as long as you don’t use the characters!
\ [] “ ; :1<> + = , 7 or .

4. Tell Windows whether you want the account to be a standard user account or an administrator account.

The choice of standard versus administrator account status isn’t nearly as straightforward as the Microsoft description would lead you to believe.

5. Click the Create Account button.

You’re done. The name now appears on the Welcome screen.

This topic is more than a bit confusing, but you aren’t allowed to create a new account named Administrator. There’s a good reason why. Windows 7 prevents you from making a new account with that name: You already have one. Even though Windows 7 goes to great lengths to hide the account named Administrator, it’s there, and you bump into it if you ever have to restore your system.

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Windows 7 changes that by simply and quietly scheduling a disk defragmentation to run every week. You don’t need to touch a thing.

Windows 7 doesn’t run automatic defrags on solid state drives which is to say, flash memory drives that don’t have any moving parts. (You probably don’t have one yet, but they’re becoming more common every year.) Solid state drives don’t need defragmentation. They also have a finite lifespan, so there’s no need to overwork the drives with a senseless exercise in futility.

If you’re curious about how your computer’s doing in the defrag department, choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. Disk Defragmenter gives you a full report allowing you to make scheduling changes if you so desire. You can also choose which drives you want to defrag.

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Custom Search

1. Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Task Scheduler.
The Task Scheduler appears.

2. On the right, select the Create Basic Task option. The Create Basic Task Wizard appears. In spite of its intimidating appearance, the Task Scheduler can help you schedule almost any repetitive task.

3. Type a name for the task, and then click the Next button. The wizard asks for a trigger. That’s computer talk for “Under what circumstances do you want the scheduled task to run?”

4. Choose Daily if you want the cleanup to run every day, and then click the Next button.

5. Set the time of day that you want the cleanup to run, and click Next.

6. Choose an action. In this case, select the Start a Program option, and then click Next. The Task Scheduler asks you for the program you want to run.

7. To run Windows 7 Disk Cleanup, click the Browse button, navigate to \Windows\System32\cleaningr.exe, click the program once, and click the Open button. You can similarly run any other program with the Task Scheduler by clicking the Browse button, navigating to the program, and clicking Open.

8. In the add Arguments (Optional) box, type /sagerun:9
This step tells Windows 7 Disk Cleanup to use the “number 9” parameters (9 = your Disk Cleanup settings, this can change. This just happened to be mine.).

9. Click Next, select the Open the Properties Dialog for This Task When I Click Finish check box, and then click the Finish button.
The Task Scheduler Wizard adds your cleanup run to its list of active tasks. You can verify it by clicking the Refresh button at the bottom of the Task Scheduler window and then scrolling through the active tasks.

10. In the Task Properties box, select the Run Whether User Is Logged On or Not option, and then dick OK. If prompted for a password, type it and click OK. You have to complete this final step in the Task Properties dialog box so that the cleanup can run whether you’re logged on or not.

These tutorials are a one-person effort. Please donate if you find them useful.