Speed Up Your Internet with Google Public DNS

Are you looking for a faster way to browse the Internet and have pages load faster? If so, you might be interested in trying out Google Public DNS, here we will take a look at adding it to your router or home computer.

DNS (Domain Name System) translates an IP address to an easy to remember hostname. If you use your ISPs DNS settings by default, it may not be the fastest way to get to your favourite sites. We have previously recommended the service OpenDNS as speeds are usually faster than your ISP and it offers several other cool options. Google has recently launched a free public DNS service, and we’ll take a look at setting it up on your PC or router.

Add Google DNS to a Window Computer

To add Google Public DNS to your Windows 7 machine, right-click on Network and choose Properties.

Alternatively, you can enter Network and Sharing Center into the search box in the Start Menu.

The Network and Sharing Center opens and you’ll want to click on Change adapter settings which is located on the right side of the screen.

Now right-click on Local Area Connection and select Properties. If you have a wireless connection, right-click on Wireless Network Connection and click Properties.

The Local Area Connection Properties screen opens and you’ll want to highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) then click the Properties button.

The Internet Protocol Version 4 Properties window comes up. If you already have DNS settings listed, make sure to copy or write them down in case you want to switch back. Select Use the following DNS server addresses and type in the following for Preferred and Alternate DNS server:

Note: According to Google you can interchange the Primary and secondary address, but don’t use the same number for both.

Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8

Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4

Click Ok and then close out of the remaining windows and reboot your system, then you’ll want to test out the settings. Basically browse around to your bookmarked sites and make sure they display properly.

Add Google DNS to Your Router

In this example we are using a Belkin Wireless Router. Each router varies but the principle is the same. Go into your router configuration settings by typing the Router IP into your browser. Mostly in Home Router it will 192.168.1.1..otherwise if you want to check how to get this IP Address then Go to Network Place Properties and Double Click the "Local Area Network" Click the "Support" tab and there you will find "Default" in the default column IP Address is you Router IP address, 

Open you Browser and put the 192.168.1.1 IP and press Enter, Put the Username & password, Go to the WAN Configuration and find the DNS setting 

Now enter in the primary and secondary DNS addresses and apply changes. Again according to Google you can interchange the Primary and secondary address, but don’t use the same number for both. We set ours up as the following:

Primary:  8.8.8.8

Secondary: 8.8.4.4

After you apply the DNS changes your router may need to restart, where in the case of a Belkin it is a 40 second reboot. After the router reboots, go through and test the settings to verify they work.

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Five Mostly Used VPN Apps

Many businesses depend upon the ability to access their servers and documents from multiple locations. To enable that, many take advantage of the Virtual Private Network (VPN). When proposing this to end users, it is very often met with fear and uncertainty. It is change and people don't like change. To make that easier for end users, selecting the right VPN client is key. Some VPN servers (such as Sonicwall and Fortinet) require you use their own proprietary clients. But other VPNs allow the use of third party clients. As for the third-party clients, there are quite a lot of them out there. Some are free, some are cheap, some are worth your time, and some are not. I have gathered together five of the clients I believe to be worth looking into. Each client may or may not meet your VPN needs – that will depend upon the server you are running. But each client offers plenty of features and each offers different levels of user-friendliness.

OpenVPN Client

OpenVPN Client is a full-featured SSL VPN client that seamlessly integrates into an OpenVPN server. This client is as simple to use as any VPN Client and makes connecting to the OpenVPN server a snap. OpenVPN Client is free and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. For Windows, this client is compatible with all versions of Windows, including Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. Of course, you will have to have a working OpenVPN server to connect to. Fortunately, that server is incredibly easy to set up.

Gadmin VPN Client

Gadmin VPN Client is another means to connect to the OpenVPN server. This tool is part of the Gadmin Tools suite of administration tools (you can even install a Gadmin VPN Server GUI to help you easily set up an OpenVPN server).

This particular client tool is available only for the Linux platform, but offers tons of options for configuration. Of course, because of the amount of available options, Gadmin VPN Client isn't the best tool for users who are less familiar with how VPNs work.

Shrew Soft VPN Client

Shrew Soft VPN Client is an easy to use client for IPSec Remote Access VPN servers. This client is available for Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2000 (both 32 and 64-bit flavors) as well as the Linux platform.

This client was originally developed to connect to open source servers such as FreeSWAN and OpenSWAN, but now can connect to VPNs by Cisco, Juniper, Checkpoint, Fortinet, Netgear, Linksys, Zywall and many others. Shew Soft VPN Client is free.

VPN X Client

VPN X Client is one of two VPN clients on the list that has a price attached. That price depends upon the license type and how many licenses you need (check out the Pricing page and check outthis comparison matrix.) The VPN X Client will only connect to the VPN X Server. You will find the VPN X Server quite easy to set up and secure enough for small to medium sized businesses.

Viscosity VPN Client

Viscosity VPN Client is a cross-platform client (Windows and Macs) that makes connecting to an OpenVPN server a breeze and will only cost you $9.00 USD.

Viscosity is used in Fortune 500 companies, continuously monitors your OpenVPN connection, fully integrates with OS X's advanced DNS system, can work with AppleScript and Batch/Vbs scripts, and offers Smartcar/token (PKCS#11) support, multiple connections, proxy integration, IPv6, and more.

Bottom line

Having a VPN doesn't mean you have to use a client your end users can't grasp or will put you and your IT budget out of business. These five clients work with different VPN servers and offer different levels of complexity and costs. If you're looking for a new VPN client, or replacing your VPN architecture all together, give these clients a look to see if one of them will fill a hole in your IT infrastructure. 

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Resolve IP Address Conflict on Network

Each device connected to a network is assigned a unique IP address to identify it to the network. When one IP address is accidentally assigned to more than one device, an IP address conflict occurs. If your computer is using an IP address that is conflicting with another device, you will get a pop-up error telling you that the system has detected a conflict. To find out where the conflicting device is, check the system log for your computer and look up the conflicting device's MAC address by using the IPconfig command.

Find Which Device or User trying to Conflict your Network IP Address

The way to understand, the IP Conflicts.

• Access the Control Panel through the Start Button or you can reach with command prompt (Go to the "Run" and type "control" and press enter)
• Select the "Administrative Tools" on List
• Again select the "Event Viewer" 
• Select the "System" Option in Event Viewer (Local)

• You find the "Red" Error in Source "Tcpcip" double click that one. 

• Now read the description you will find the IP address which is conflict and the Source Mac Address also you will find, Which Hardware try to conflict you IP Address. 
• After get the Mac address download the IPScanner and search the Mac address.
• If you find the Mac address then this user or device try to conflict you IP Address. 

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Network Diagram | 6 Free Diagram Application for Network

At some point, every administrator will need to diagram a network. For some, it's their primary duty, and they tend to rely on powerful, But for those who need to use a diagramming tool only occasionally, a cheaper solution is best. Luckily, there are several free apps that handle the task well.

Here are five tools that can help you diagram your network without breaking your budget. Some are Windows-only, while others are cross platform.

CADE was developed primarily as a CAD tool, but it also serves as a handy network diagramming tool. It's a 2D vector editor for Windows. Although it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some costlier tools, it can handle the task of diagramming your network with ease.

Dia (Figure B) is an open source, GTK+ diagramming tool that has a shallow learning curve and can help you create basic network diagrams. Like CADE, Dia was inspired by Visio — but with a much more casual approach and feel. Dia loads and saves XML formatted documents that are gziped by default to save space. Dia is also available for Linux, Mac, and Windows.

Diagram Designer (Figure C) is another freeware tool that suffers (like Dia) from looking a bit on the outdated side. But Diagram Designer’s ease of use should certainly make up for the old-school feel of the application. DD features include customizable template objects, a spell checker, import/export (WMF, EMF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, MNG, ICO, GIF, and PCX), a slide show viewer, a graph plotter, a calculator, MeeSoft Image Analyzer integration, and compressed file format.

Gliffy (Figure D) is the only Web-based tool on this list. It’s easy to use and it works on any platform. With the ability to drag and drop shapes from numerous object libraries, you can have your network diagram ready in no time. You can use Gliffy for free, but if you really want to get into creating some diagrams, you may want to pony up the $4.95/month fee for 200 diagrams, 200 MB of storage, public and private diagrams, and unlimited collaborators.

yEd (Figure E) is a Java-based tool that’s available for Windows and Linux. It has a great user interface and features diagram creation, auto-layout, data import (GraphML, Excel XLS, GEDCOM, GML, XML), and data export (PDF, SWF, JPG, GIF, BMP, and HTML image maps). The auto-layout feature is particularly cool. It uses a wide range of sophisticated layout algorithms to automatically arrange your diagrams, saving you time and effort.

Office Visio 2007 Office Visio Professional 2007 is helping IT and business professionals worldwide visualize, analyze, and communicate complex information, systems, and processes. Extend Office Visio 2007 programmatically or integrate it with other applications to fit your industry-specific scenarios. Develop your own custom solutions and shapes, or use those from Visio Solution Providers. Embed and program the Visio drawing environment to include the power of Visio in any smart client application.

The all above tools are free for use, Use these tools and describe you network diagram and each network point, full feature and support on Windows and Mac OS.

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How to Find Your Computer Public & Private IP Address ?

An IP address (or Internet Protocol address) identifies each networked computer and device on a network. When computers communicate with each other on the Internet or a local network, they send information to each other’s IP addresses.

Your computer likely has public and private IP addresses. You’ll need the IP address if you’re hosting server software – the client computers will need your computer’s IP address to connect to it.

Public vs. Private IP Addresses

IP addresses can be either public or private. “Public” means an IP address can be reached from the Internet, while “private” means it can’t. For example, in a typical home network, a router has a public IP address on the Internet. The computers, smartphones, game consoles, and other devices behind the router all have unique private IP addresses on the home network. The router acts as an intermediary, forwarding traffic to the local IP addresses that request it. From an outside perspective, all devices on the home network are communicating with the Internet from a single public IP address.

Assuming you’re behind a router performing network address translation, you have two IP addresses that matter. Your computer’s IP address is likely a private IP address, probably starting with 192.168 — is a range of IP addresses specially allocated to private networks. You also likely have a public IP address, which is used when communicating with other computers over the Internet.

For example, if you’re hosting a server on your computer, people on the Internet will need the public IP address from your router to connect to your server. People behind your router — on the same local network as your computer — will need the local IP address from your computer to connect.

If your computer is connected directly to the Internet with no router sitting in between, your computer’s IP address is a public IP address.

Finding Your Private IP Address

To find your computer’s IP Address on Windows, open the Control Panel and select View network status and tasks.

Click the name of your Internet connection to view its status.

Click the Details button in the connection’s status window.

You’ll find the IP address listed in the Network Connection Details window – look for the IPv4 Address field

A quick way to find your IP address in Windows is by running the ipconfig command in a Command Prompt window. You’ll see your IP address in the IPv4 Address row beneath the name of your connection.

 Finding Your Public IP Address

The easiest way to find your public IP address is by asking a website, since that website sees your public IP address and can tell it to you – for example, you can search for what is my ip or what is my ip address on Google. Google will display your public IP address.

You can also access your router’s administration page to find this information. This page displays your public IP address and other information about your Internet connection. Different routers have different administration page layouts and different default local IP addresses – consult your router’s manual if you need more information.

Unlike street addresses, IP addresses aren’t necessarily fixed. Your Internet service provider may regularly assign you a new IP address, just as your router may occasionally assign your devices new IP addresses.      

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