Use a Cell Phone Number as an Email Address with iNumbers

These days, we have countless addresses for communication. We have an email address, an @Twitter address, a Facebook ID or fan page (if promoting a business or cause), a handful of instant messenger accounts and a cell phone number that can receive phone calls and text messages. At the end of the day, it would be nice to have one ID to rule them all…
A Web site called iNumbers has plans to turn our cell phone numbers into our main ID, Web or otherwise. Right now, all the site does is create an email address from a cell phone number and then forward all email sent to that address to a normal email address.

The sign up process for iNumbers is very easy. On the homepage, type your phone number (with country code—if you live in the USA, your country code is 1) and click sign up.

An authentication code is then sent to your phone via SMS text message. When the code arrives, type it in the box on the far right of the next page.
You can then fill in the rest of the required information, such as your name, address, and the email addresses where you would like your iNumbers email delivered. Select a password for your new account, then click sign up at the bottom of the page.

That is all there is to it—now you can receive email at the address @iNumbers.com. The site also hopes to add instant messaging and other services in the near future, all centered around cell phone numbers. iNumbers makes money by adding an advertisement to each email forwarded.
The value of the service iNumbers provides varies depending on your needs. If you need an official looking email address with your cell phone number as part of the address and do not mind extra advertisements, then try the service.
Also keep in mind that most free email services will allow you to create an address using the digits of your cell phone number, then you can forward that email address to your main address. So, for now, we must continue use a multitude of IDs to communicate in the real and virtual world.
https://www.inumbers.com/cgi-bin/inum

Jaxtr – Link your phone to your online network and recieve calls for free

Jaxtr is a voice service that lets you link your phone to the web so that you can be contacted by anyone worldwide without having to share your phone. Since Jaxtr uses a normal URL address to link to your phone, you can post this address on your blog, your profile on MySpace or FaceBook, on auction sites like eBay or Craigslist, or just about anywhere!
You can also control who can call you and who goes directly to voicemail and who gets to ring through to your phone. Jaxtr works with your cell phone or land line phone, so no additional equipment is required. Once you create an account, log into the system and add your phone so that you can begin receiving calls. You’ll receive a phone call from the Jaxtr service and you must put in the code displayed in your browser. Wait a minute or two and the web site will update with confirmation that you phone has been activated.
On the home screen, you’ll see your phone link that you can use in emails, web sites, etc. Using Jaxtr, you can call other Jaxtr users for free or receive calls from anyone that use up Jaxtr credits. Every month you get 100 Jaxtr credits for free. You can get more Jaxtr credits by recruiting others to the service or by simply buying them.
Using Jaxtr, you can receive calls from over 51 countries at rates that are comparable to calling someone locally. Also, they have a very nice widget that you can use on your blog or other social networking site. It also integrates well with GMail, Hotmail, AOL, etc for inviting friends to the service.
The downside is that if you run out of Jaxtr points, you won’t receive any more calls on your phone, they all simply go to voicemail. Hopefully, they change this in the future and allow calls to come through and simply charge for the extra services. Also, they currently do not have a way to buy Jaxtr credits directly from the web site, you have to invite others to get more credits! However, they are working on setting up some kind of system to allow direct purchase.

Overall, an interesting service that might be useful for some people who want to use the service on a small scale.

How to open multiple Google user accounts on one computer

How to open multiple Google user accounts on one computer
Wish you could log into multiple Google or Gmail accounts at the same time?
So how can you setup your computer so you can log into multiple Google profiles at once? There are actually a couple of ways you can go about this, each having it’s own advantages and disadvantages. Note that I am not talking about logging into multiple email accounts at one time, like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo mail, etc.

If you want to see all of your separate email accounts at once, you can go to your Gmail settings and tell it to check all of the other accounts so you get your email in one place. I’m only talking about situations where one computer is being used by multiple people and each person needs to log into their own email.
How to access multiple Google accounts/profiles at once
1. Use multiple browsers – This is probably the simplest way to solve this problem. Basically, if you’re on Windows, you’ll already have IE installed and you can go ahead and install Firefox and another browser like Safari or Flock. You can actually install all four if you want!
Each browser maintains their own settings, so you can have one Gmail or Google account logged into each different browser. Of course, the downside is you have to use different browsers, which you may or may not like. This method has worked out nicely for my situation since my wife likes IE and I love Firefox! Problem solved! I open my browser, she opens her browser.
2. Use CookiePie Firefox Extension – The reason why you don’t have to constantly keep entering your password to log into Google or Gmail is because cookies are stored on your computer which save your personal settings. If you can maintain separate sets of cookies for each user and switch between the sets easily, then you can use run multiple Google (Gmail, etc) accounts in one browser!
CookiePie is a cool add-on that does just that. The cool thing about CookiePie is that you can use it to not only log into multiple Gmail accounts, but any sites that uses cookies, i.e. multiple Yahoo email accounts, Hotmail accounts, etc. It’s not just specific to Gmail or Google.
3. Gmail Manager Firefox Addon – This also requires that you use Firefox as your main browser. Gmail Manager for Firefox is another cool add-on that allows you to manage multiple Gmail accounts from one browser window. It resides at the bottom right task bar of Firefox and displays your account details including unread messages, saved drafts, spam messages, labels with new mail, space used, and new mail.
4. IE Tab Firefox Extension – This is another Firefox extension that basically allows you to run IE within Firefox. Since IE is loaded into a Firefox window, it’s still maintains it’s own separate set of cookies and therefore allows you to manage two profiles or accounts at the same time. Download IE Tab Firefox extension.
5. MailPlane For Mac – Don’t worry, I didn’t completely forget about the Mac people out there! If you’re looking for a way to use multiple Gmail accounts on a Mac at the same time, your best best is MailPlane. I’ve not used MailPlane myself, but I’ve heard it can handle this type requirement. There’s also a Firefox and Safari add-on for Mac called Profile Manager, but you have to know how to use the Terminal.

Please suggest if there are other ways out !

How to make Firefox look like Internet Explorer and Safari

Are you one of those people that has been using Internet Explorer for as long as you can remember and then suddenly one day someone told you to check out Firefox because it’s a hundred times better? You give it a shot and end up really like it, especially with it’s ability to be extended and enhanced using addons and extensions.
However, a problem that you can end up having is the fact that you’re so used to the location of all the buttons in IE that you’re constantly clicking in the wrong places to get to Home or to Refresh the page, etc. Or maybe you simply liked the Internet Explorer interface more, especially after the release of version 7? Or maybe you hate that too and really like the Mac interface a lot?
Whatever you like or don’t like, you can change the interface of Firefox to look like Internet Explorer 6, 7 or Mac Safari browser! This may not be very practically useful, but for those people who like to stick to one type of GUI, this is the best way to switch browsers without feeling like you really have!
Of course, only a Firefox addon would allow you to do this. That’s why Firefox is better!
Make Firefox look like Internet Explorer 6
Once you download the addon, you’ll end up with the good ol IE 6 interface.

Make Firefox look like Internet Explorer 7
Now this one is really cool! The interface is an exact replica of IE 7! Neat!

Make Firefox look like Safari
This is addon also does a very good job of replicating the Mac Safari interface.

That’s about it! Now no one has an excuse not to switch to Firefox! It’s faster, more secure, and has the ability to things IE could never dream of! If you’re not already using Firefox, you should definitely check it out. Source: Techno Juice
Neofox IE 6 1.6

Spoof Card

How to fake caller id, spoof calls, change your voice and record calls
How to change or spoof caller ID, change your voice before calling someone, and record calls! Using some of these techniques, you can keep your calls very private whether it be for business use or just for fun!
You can do all of these things by using a single web site called SpoofCard. This site is just plain cool. Using the service, you have the ability to change the Caller ID number that the person you are calling sees to anything you want! That’s the really cool part, it can be any number! Once you sign up for the service, you call a toll free number followed by your pin. You’ll then enter the destination number and then enter the number you want to appear on their caller ID. Not only will the number show up, but the name registered under that number will also show up.

So you might be wondering if this is legal or not? Actually, it is AS LONG AS its intent is not to cause hard or defraud someone! So DO NOT use the service for those purposes!
The other really neat feature of SpoofCard is the fact that you can change your voice to a Male or Female voice. You can actually even change it in the middle of a call in real time! Also, all calls can be recorded at any time in the conversation and can be retrieved later on by logging into the web site.
SpoofCard can be very useful for many business professional, such as doctors who have to return calls to patients or lawyers who may want to record all conversations with clients for future reference, etc. It can also be used to call in a woman’s voice etc !
As of right now, you cannot use SpoofCard to make calls Internationally. The pricing for using SpoofCard is also very reasonable with the breakdown shown below:
60 minutes – $10
120 minutes – $20
240 minutes – $40
480 minutes – $80
Overall, a very useful service.
http://www.spoofcard.com/index.php

How to connect your Laptop/PC/Computer to your TV

How to connect your PC or computer to a TV
1. S-Video – This is probably the most common method out there currently because an S-Video cable is cheap as heck and just about every TV under the sun has a S-Video port. You’ll have to make sure you laptop is equipped with this port. Remember, there are two types of S-Video cables: 4-pin and 7-pin. Most laptops and PC’s are equipped with a 7-pin port, so if your TV only has a 4-pin S-Video port, then this method will not work.
2. VGA – If you have a HDTV, then you will be better off connecting using a VGA cable. It gives much better quality than S-Video and as with S-Video, the cable is very cheap. You usually won’t find a VGA port on regular TV’s though, so this option is if you have an HDTV.
3. DVI - DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface with “digital” being the key word there. The digital signal will give a higher quality picture than either S-Video or VGA. Of course, your computer will need to have a DVI connection and your TV will need to be an HDTV. This cord is definitely not cheap, it ranges anywhere from $40 to $80.
4. HDMI – Using HDMI will give you the best quality by far. No computers that I know of yet have HDMI ports, but you can get a DVI to HDMI cable to connect it to your HDTV. HDMI is compatible with DVI.
5. Scan Converter Box – This is the last method that I could think of and it involves using a scan converter box, which takes a VGA signal and converts it into S-Video or component video.

Devices attached and involved :

How to check all of your email accounts from Gmail

Everybody these days has more than one email account, usually more than can be counted on one hand. Personally, I have 5+ accounts with different email service providers, including Yahoo, Gmail, Cox, my office email address, my website email, etc, etc. Currently, I use Outlook to check all of my accounts from one client application since it makes it easier to manage.
If you’re ok with Outlook, then there’s not a problem. However, if you prefer to use Gmail for everything since it’s web-based and therefore not tied down to one computer like Outlook, then you might be interested in knowing how to setup all of your email accounts in Gmail so you can receive all emails via your Google Inbox.
So here’s how to setup Gmail as a master account for collecting email from all of your other online accounts:
First, log into your Gmail account and click on Settings at the top right corner.

Now click on the Accounts tab and click on Add another email account under the Get mail from other accounts heading.



Now you’ll be presented with a little pop-up window where you can enter in the email address for the account you want to add in. The cool thing about this is that you don’t have to sit there and worry about finding the pop and smtp server names for your ISP, Google will automatically try to determine the servers for you based on the email address!




After you enter your email address, Google automatically determined the POP server name and the port number. All you have to do is enter in your password for the account.
You also have the option to leave a copy in your account, label the messages from the new account so you can sort them quickly, and to archive them directly so that they don’t show up in your Inbox.
Now the email accounts will be checked by Google on some periodic basis and the emails will be retrieved and stored according to your preferences. Unfortunately, you cannot set the time period for the email checking.
Even if you do not want to use Gmail as a catch-all account, it’s still a great way to backup all of your other email accounts, especially if you’re using Outlook. Just configure each new account to be archived automatically. That way, you can continue to check emails through Outlook, but it’ll all be backed up on Gmail too. If your computer crashes and you lose your Outlook data file, the emails will still be in Gmail!

Kindly feedback ,

XP SysKey Trick

XP SysKey Trick



If you have Windows XP then I really think you're going to like this week's security tip. Are you in a situation where you really don't want anybody accessing the family PC while you're not around? Maybe you don't want anybody to use your computer at all. Maybe you just want a little tighter control over when and by whom your PC gets used. If any of these situations sounds like yours then read on.

This week's security tip is on the syskey command. The syskey is a command line tool to help you enable your Startup Key. Without getting too techy on you, the Startup key is a complex algorithm that if configured can stop anyone from logging on to your system who doesn't poses the key. No startup screen or user accounts will be available until you present the key, you're basically looking at a black screen with one small lonely window asking for the Startup Key to gain access. The Startup Key, which is a floppy disk with the appropriate key code, simply needs to be inserted into the floppy drive, and activated. This will satisfy the security request and allow you to proceed to the login screen. If you don't have a floppy drive then I'm afraid you might as well stop reading now.
The Startup Key is created when you enable the Startup Key process as described later in this article. One thing you must keep in mind, and is of the utmost importance, you should make at least one copy of this floppy, test it to insure that it works, and put it in a safe place. If you lose this Key you will not be able to log into you Operating System. You may even want to make a third copy to keep off-site. If you do lose your Startup key then your only option is to use a Restore Disk (If you have one) to restore your registry to a state it was prior to the enabling of Startup Key.
OK, if this sounds like a security measure you would like to put into action then follow the directions below. Again, please make at least one copy of this disk so you don't lock yourself out of your system and send me a bunch of hate e-mail. Well, with that said twice I guess it's show time. The directions below will help you get things set up, and below that I have attached a link out to Microsoft's information on this so you can look it over.
CONFIGURING STARTUP KEY:
* Go to Start/Run and in the blank field type "syskey" press enter, or OK.
* You should see a small window titled "Securing the Windows XP Account Database". From this Window select the "Update" button to move to the next window.
* The "Startup Key" is the next window. You'll see a couple of options there, but the one we are looking for says "Startup Key on floppy disk", along with some warning about how your system is going to startup now.
* After selecting this click OK, and a pop-up will alert you that the key has been changed. Another message follows asking you to insert a disk in drive A: (Floppy drive).
* Insert the floppy, click OK, and one more window will come up telling you that the Key has been changed and you need to have this floppy disk in order to log into Windows. That's exactly what we want.
When you're all done go ahead and eject the floppy (you might want to slide the little lock up on the floppy to insure you don't format it on accident), and restart the PC. Windows will appear to come up normally, but after it loads the kernel the "Windows XP Startup Key Disk" window pops-up. Grab your Startup Key floppy put it in the floppy drive, and select OK. You'll see Windows load up and bring you to your user logon screen.
I told you this is a cool trick and really helps lock down you PC. I hope you get some use out of this, but please be careful.

Wireless Security

Wireless Security

The ability to share an Internet connection is great and the ability to do this wirelessly is even better. Wireless networks are easy to install, you don't have to run cables, and you can roam around a location within the WLAN (wireless local area network), or physical range of wireless connectivity . These features are what makes wireless networks so popular with both end users, and hackers.
The one problem with wireless networks is the vulnerability of your network. A typical hardwired network has physical security due to limited access to the actual network and one opening to the internet (Gateway) has a firewall or two in place (or it had better). This can stop most unauthorized access to your network. The difficulty in setting up wired networks has discouraged a lot of people from installing networks in the first place.
Then a long came the wireless which, as I stated earlier in the article, made the home networking game more appealing and not as intimidating. Having a wireless network means that the physical security that is inevitable in a wired network is simply not there. Anyone in the range of your wireless network can see your network, and if not secured properly, can gain access. If your wireless access point isn't the router on your network then outsiders can slip in behind your firewall. This used to happen at my college, there was an apartment complex behind a portion of the school, and the other techs would piggyback on some guy's network. He had an unsecured wireless network, no one did anything bad to him, they just used him for Internet access but he never knew.
There are some practices you can perform to insure that no one is using your connection or trying to get on your personal network. First and foremost you need to get WEP (Wired Equivalent Protection) in place, which is an encryption that stops unauthorized users from accessing your network. There are at least two encryption types in 802.11b (128bit, and 64bit) and should probably be changed every other week or so. WEP encryption used to be completely the user's responsibility, but now I'm seeing hardware out of the box with at least one encryption key configured, forcing the user to configure his PCs in order to connect.
Using WEP is essential to wireless security, but don't rely on it alone, there are other security measures you can put in place as well. With some wireless units you can set a MAC address filters, witch can really beef up your security. A MAC address is an identification number the manufacturer stamps on a network device, and is (or should be) completely unique. If this security is in place then even if someone knows the WEP Key they still cannot get into the network because your wireless access device will deny it.
There are two other things you might want to do to tighten up your network: The first thing you should do is go through and change all of the default security settings, and passwords. The reason I said this is most Routers and access points usually have a lot of these configuration fields (i.e. username and password or the SSID ) filled out with generic values for ease of setup. The bad thing about this is that people can use these settings against you to gain access into your network. Secondly, with a lot of routers your SSID is set to broadcast by default, this means that it's broadcasting your network's name to the physical reaches of your network. Not good, even if your neighbors don't have the security rights to access your network they will constantly see it every time they boot up one of their wireless PC's.

Virus, Trojan, Worm Infection and Remedy

Virus, Trojan, Worm
Basically, they all fall under the generally category of "viruses". However, there are a few distinctions.
Virus - Technically, a virus infects another file (attaches or inserts itself into it). They usually infect program files or MS Office documents. From there, it can replicate, do damage, etc. Unlike a worm, these do not function as a stand alone (except possibly to infect a given file).
Worm - This is almost identical to a "true virus", except that it lives on its own and generally doesn't infect other files (although it can replace them). Usually, these copy themselves using e-mail, networks, disks, etc. Again, these are very close to a true virus, and can do the same kind of damage.
Trojan Horse - This type of program doesn't copy itself but does do damage to your computer. These types of programs rely on people to pass them around and to run them. They do not e-mail themselves. The idea is to make the program look like it's something harmless, like a screen saver or joke, so it gets sent around.


Web Bugs


Have you ever heard the term Web Bug? How about Web Beacon or Clear GIF? Well, don't feel left out if you haven't, it's not everyday terminology. The terms I mentioned are different names for the same thing. For the sake of remaining simple I'll stick with one name Web Bug. So what are Web Bugs and what to they do? They are small (1 by 1 pixel), usually transparent gifs hidden on websites or e-mails within other images like banner adds. Web bugs come from a different site than the one you are viewing but are most often affiliated with the site being viewed.
They are a lot like cookies in that they allow sites to recognize you and track where you've been. Web Bugs have a couple of major differences however. Web bugs share your information with any site that you may visit with the same type of web bug imbedded on it. The personal information bugs are sharing can be harmless information or very personal information, it depends on what information you have put on one of these sites. If you have given one of these sites information like your email address, then every other site you visit with the same bug will have your email address and can now send you spam. By sharing this personal information between sites these entities using bugs can get your email address and send out more spam and web bugs right to your front door. If you visit a site that recognizes you from a Web Bug then that server can not only track you but also send images and blocks of text to you. Web Bugs are also harder to detect than cookies because they are hidden, extremely small, and invisible.
These Web Bugs can also be placed in e-mails, a favorite trick of spammers is to hide a Web Bug in a random email. Opening or even previewing this e-mail can initiate the Web Bug process, which tells spammers that this is a valid e-mail address when someone views it. This validates your address, essentially making you part of their list of e-mails to spam. Most of the more recognized e-mail clients are affected by this such as Outlook Express, Gecko for Linux, Netscape, AOL, and more.
So, how do you stop or prevent these web Bugs from tracking you? As far as e-mail, make sure you don't open or even preview e-mails from unknown sources. Another thing you can do to prevent the Web bugs from biting is to block images in your e-mail all together, this will stop the GIFs from getting through your defenses. Win XP Service Pack 2 turns this setting ON by default in Outlook Express, and other e-mail clients have similar options (i.e. MSN/Hotmail and AOL).
You can also configure tougher cookie settings in your browser, but keep in mind all of these settings will affect the way you surf the web and view your e-mail. You can get advertising blocking software, but these programs have a hard time distinguishing between images that show information and images that are crawling' with Bugs. You can also go through the HTML code and look for the img tag that relates to a cookie (sounds like fun).
So are these bugs really something to get all worked up about? Well if you really don't like the thought of constantly being tracked and evaluated. If you don't like spam or pop-ups then this could be something you might want to at least regulate. You can figure out exactly what a web bug is doing by viewing the privacy policy which should be located on the website of the owner of the bug. If you don't find the privacy policy, you can always send the company e-mail and ask for what purposes do they have web bugs on their site.

What is a Trojan horse?
In it the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their enemies, the Trojans, supposedly as a peace offering. But after the horse is inside the city walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their soldiers to enter and capture Troy.
Similarly, what is known as a Trojan horse is a destructive program disguised as a simple application or useful program. The program contains additional hidden code which allows the unauthorized collection, exploitation, falsification, or destruction of data. Though lumped in with viruses, it doesn't propagate itself like a virus does.
One of the worst kinds of Trojans is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead puts them on your computer. Another common type will open a security hole for a hacker to get into your system and do all kinds of nasty stuff
You can prevent getting a Trojan Horse by having up-to-date anti-virus software, not opening unsolicited attachments, and scanning freeware and shareware you download before you unzip.
What kind of attachments can contain viruses
A:
Basically, anything that is executable (able to run). You're generally safe with picture files, text files, and the like. However, it still pays to scan first.
Here is a very short list of the most common to watch out for:

exe
zip
scr
vbs
bat
com
pif
asp
doc
xls
Those are the most common; don't misinterpret this to mean that if you get one of these files it's automatically a virus. A ".zip" file may be nothing more than a set of compressed files your friend sent you to look at. A "doc" or "xls" file may simply be an MS Office file. It's just that these type of files could also be viruses.
A couple other virus tricks you need to be aware of. First, MS Office files can contain what are called "Macro Viruses". Without getting into too much detail, these files can run a "macro" (a macro is a mini-program run from within another program) that can be as destructive as any "regular" virus. So, my advice on MS Office attachments is not to open them unless you are expecting them. If they just show up, verify with the sender first.
The other trick you need to look out for is an extra extension added to an attached file. For example, you may have something like "mypicture.jpg.vbs". In fact, if you don't have your computer set to view file extensions, it may just look like "mypicture.jpg" and omit that last "vbs" part.
This may appear to be a jpg picture file, but it's actually a Visual Basic Script file. If executed, it will happily infect your computer with a virus.
So, be careful out there.

Scan Individual Files for Viruses
We often recommend that when you download files you should scan for viruses. The same is true for attachments sent via email (although, if you have decent antivirus software this should be taken care of).
But do you need to scan your whole computer? No, you can scan just one file with most AV software (Norton, McAfee, AVG).
Just right click the setup file and you should see "Scan with whatever AntiVirus" or just "Scan for Viruses".
Your AV software will come up, scan the file, and let you know of any infections.
Some newer AV also lets you scan zipped folders before unzipping.
Knowing that it's safe, you can then proceed with installation of the program or opening the file.

Safe Online Shopping

Safe Online Shopping
How can you tell if an online company is legit when you're thinking of buying something? Well, there are some key things to look out for:
If you get an unsolicited email about a product from a company you don't know, then DEFINITELY do your homework before you buy. Check out their reputation, or see if the same product is available from an online business you trust.

Since web addresses can change, look on the site for an address and phone number. Know where to complain or contact if you are dissatisfied or have a question. You might also want to review the Privacy Policy to make sure they won't sell your information to marketers.
Read the refund and return policy (if the website does not have one). Can the item be returned? What if it is opened? Is there a restocking fee? What about damaged merchandise.
If the site displays the BBB Online Reliability logo, click it and read the popup (hold your Ctrl key if you have a pop-up stopper) to make sure the company is currently participating.
Keep a record of your online purchase. Print out the page with the seller's name, address, and phone number. Print out the page about the item you ordered. Print any email confirmation messages you get and any follow-up messages about problems in shipping.

Run Away Icons

It's actually a virus, the "magistr" one to be exact. If you've been infected with it for more than two months, it will cause the jumpy icon. In addition, it causes massive system instability, can mess up your BIOS, and delete all kinds of files. It will even take some text files and fill them with as many dirty words as it can (rated G newsletter or I'd tell you what word in particular :-)
Needless to say, this one is nasty and can really cause some damage. In fact, if it messes up your computer's BIOS, it can potentially render your computer useless. It's extremely well written and very robust for a virus. In other words - you don't want it playing around on your machine - ever.



Although it comes via e-mail, the subject line varies, as does the attachment. There's no way to even guess what to look out for. This is another one that distributes itself by sending to the people in your address book, so remember - just because you get an attachment from a friend doesn't automatically mean it's safe! If your friend is infected, he won't even know he sent it to you!

Disposable Email id

Disposable Email id
This will help user in many ways, they don’t have to worry about annoying newsletter from those websites and forums which are no more then trash and ,which help you in registering into various websites in a go.

10 minute mail is one of such service which allows you to get a free email id for 10 minutes!
And in case you need to extend more 10 minute you can also do that.
you can avail this service by just going to this site
10minutemail








Looking for a temporary disposable email address service that is free and that works well? Disposable email addresses are quite useful for many things, such as posting on an auction site or simply for signing up for one of those forced “free” accounts so that you can download a piece of software you were looking for.
If you end up giving your real email address, you never know how many people they will sell it too and eventually you’ll be bombarded with tons of useless offers, deals, etc. Several months ago, I wrote an article on a service called Numbr, which is a free way to get disposable telephone numbers.
MintEmail is the way to go if you’re looking for a free way to get disposable email addresses! So next time you need to post a question to a forum, etc and you want to hide your real email address to prevent spam, make sure you check this site out.

This site may seem like your normal disposable email service, but upon closer inspection you’ll find that it’s way better than most temporary email services. Why? Well let’s go through some of the nice features:


Automatic Temporary Email Generation
The coolest thing about the site is that when you visit it, you automatically get a custom temporary email address! Instantly! It’s shown at the upper right hand corner of the screen. Also, the email address is automatically placed into your clipboard, so you can simply press CTRL + P and paste it anywhere! No need to highlight and press CTRL + C.
Continuous Mail Check
The other really cool thing is that the web page continuously checks for new emails and updates the page automatically when a new email arrives. There is no need to go to another page, click “Check mail” or anything like that. Just send an email and watch it appear on the screen! Also, the title for the page is updated to “New Email” so that you will know when a new email arrives even if you are on another tab in Firefox or IE.

Automatic Email Verification
Another nice feature of this site is that it will automatically verify emails for your from most websites out there. For example, if you wanted to create an account on YouTube, you would type in all of the info and provide you email address. You would then get an email whereby you would have to click on a link to verify your account. Using MintEmail, all of the links inside each email will be clicked automatically so that if there is any verification link, it will be clicked.
Longer Duration Temporary Email Addresses
If you need to have your temporary email address for longer than four hours, you can actually create a MintEmail address that will last all the way up to 3 months! So if you’re hosting an auction or something that will last 6 days on eBay, go ahead and set the duration for one week. Just put in your real email address and all emails will be forwarded there.
Finally, you can always close the browser and still check your emails by simply opening the browser window and heading to http://mintemail.com/username.
MintEmail works wonderfully as a disposable email service and makes it very easy to manage at the same time.

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Disposable Email Address

The solution to this is using a disposable email address for the random Web sites that ask for an email address. Pepbot is a disposable email service that takes the idea one step further by clicking those verification links for you.

No signup is required to use Pepbot. Instead, any time you are prompted to enter an email address on a Web site, enter it as a random word @pepbot.com, like NahNahNah@pepbot.com or Me@pepbot.com.

If you need to check the email sent from the Website, simply navigate to Pepbot.com and enter the random email address you used on the Web site. There is no password—the address’ received email is completely public. Obviously, you should make sure no personal data is transmitted in this method.

Pepbot then displays the last 10 messages sent to the email address indicated. Only 10 are received by any one address at a time. The emails self-destruct in 2 hours.

To have Pepbot automatically click verification links for you, simply end your random email address with –a. So, use an address like NahNahNah-a@pepbot.com or Me-a@pepbot.com and forget about verification links all together.

Pepbot is a definitely worth remembering if you are tired of receiving mountains of newsletters and spam. One drawback is the addresses cannot receive attachments, so if whatever the Web site is sending was to arrive as an attachment, it would not be salvageable. But, considering the overall value of Pepbot, this seems like a small problem, if even a problem at all.

Introduction To Windows Networking

Introduction To Windows Networking
What is Windows Networking?
The term networking covers a broad range of the topics and technologies. A computer network is segmented into different parts to share the data and resourced between the different computers of a network. Microsoft has released the operating systems that have the networking capabilities so Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista all are the network operating systems. All these operating systems have built inn capabilities of files and printer sharing, security, network administrative control, protocols support such as TCP/IP, NetBIOS, IPX/SPX and network hardware support.
Naming Computers
All computers in a Windows based network requires a unique name for their identification i.e. the name of the computer A cannot be assigned to the computer B and so on. Assign a meaningful computer name to all the computers and the name should be easy to remember. All the names should be configured properly and ensure that the name is not longer than the 15 characters and they contain no spaces in them. Also try to avoid the special names while naming the computers such as / \ *,:,. To assign a computer name in Windows XP and Windows 2000 do the following things.
1. Right click on the My Computer.
2. Click Properties
3. Click on Computer name.
4. Assign a unique and meaningful computer name.

Naming Workgroup and Domains
A Windows based computer network can be a workgroup (Peer to Peer) or domain (client/server). You can make your computer a part of the workgroup or a domain. If you have centralized server then your computer will be part of the domain and if you have no server then all computers will be having peer to peer networking. In both cases, while joining your computer to a domain or a workgroup always assign unique, sequenced, memorable and meaningful names to the computers. Do not use duplicate names and the special characters such as / \ *,:,,. In order to join a computer to a domain or workgroup in Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional do the following.
1. Right Click on My Computer
2. Click Properties
3. Click on Computer Name
4. In Workgroup or domain, enter the name of the workgroup or domain.
If everything is correct such as unique computer name, unique IP address, correct workgroup or domain name then you computer will be the part of the workgroup or domain in the few seconds and you will be see a welcome to domain or workgroup message and will be prompted to restart the computer name.
Files Sharing
Being on network computer files and printer sharing is a must. To enable the files and folder sharing in Windows XP Professional 2000 and Windows 2000 do the following.
1. Right Click on the folder name you want to share.
2. Click on the properties.
3. Click Sharing.
4. Click on Share this computer on the network.
5. Assign a shared computer name.
You can set the sharing rights for the users and also control the shared folder access by allowing and denying permissions to specific users or groups. If you want to share the individual files, you can put the files in the same shared folder. All the files and folders in the parent shared folder will be automatically shared.
Network Configurations Overview
A computer network can be configured and installed in different ways depending upon the requirements. If you are responsible for managing your computer network, securing and ensuring the uptime then you need a precise solution for your devices configurations. A network can also be configured, managed and administered through the third party software such as DeviceExpert that can be used to manage the switches, routers, firewall and computers in your network. Each device in a network such as computer, printer, scanner, switch and router is known as a node.

If you manage a big network then it is very important to store the configurations of each node so that you can view, store and use the same configurations any time. In Windows XP Professional, you can store and maintain multiple configurations for your home and office networks. Different vendors provide different network configurators and management software. These software allow the network administrators to save and view the network settings.
Some of the best network configurator programs are D-Link Network Configurator, PE Network Configurator, Rapid Network Configurator and DeviceExpert. In this article we will learn that how to configure the multiple services such as DHCP, DNS and devices as routers and LAN card in an Ethernet network. The following information is mandatory for configuring a computer network.
• Host Name of computers
• IP Addresses of the computers.
• Subnet Mask
• Default gateway address
• IP Address of the router
• Domain Name
• DNS Address
• DHCP Address
• Troubleshooting home network is a most important task of every home computer user and every person who manages the home network must learn the basic home network troubleshooting tips. Following are the some of the most important home networking errors and their solutions. Troubleshooting File and Printer Sharing
• In a home computer network you can share files and resources such as printers, scanner, hard disks, CD-ROM and internet etc.
•
•
• To see the shared folders of another computer in the network type the shared name of the network computer in this format \\sharedcomputername and press enter. A window will appear that will display the icons for the shared folders of another computer.
• Following are the some of the basic methods that solve the file and printer sharing problem.
• 1. Name each network computer correctly.
2. Set workgroup or domain name correctly in each computer.
3. Install TCP/IP on each computer.
4. Configure IP addressing and subnet masking on each computer correctly.
5. Make sure that the shares are correctly configured on the network.
6. Temporarily disable firewalls.
7. Make sure that the Files and Printer Sharing for Microsoft is installed on each computer.
•
• Repairing Network Connections
• Troubleshooting network sometimes can be a difficult task if you don’t have the ideas about the solutions of the problems. To avoid any major problem and long downtime the network administrators should be well aware of all the major networking errors and their solutions. Microsoft Windows XP Professional has a repair tool and many of the basic problems can be solved by this tool.
• Double click the network connection icon in the lower right corner of the screen and then click repair. This tool will repair the basic connectivity problems.

• Computer can’t get connected with the Internet
• If any of the network computers can’t get connected with the internet, try to solve the problem with the basic steps.
• 1. Check the IP address of the computer. It should have the same class IP address as subnet mask as the other computer in your home network.
2. Network cable should be properly connected at both ends i.e. one end with the Hub/Switch and one end with the LAN card of the PC.
3. Scan the system for the viruses, spyware and other malicious code that may be halting the browsing on that computer.
4. Gateway computer and proxy server should not be blocking the computer for browsing.
5. Check the browser settings and it should be the same and the rest of the computers in the network.
• Network Application don’t work
• Sometimes certain network applications such as peer to peer file sharing, network games, databases and antivirus programs can’t get connected with the server even the network connectivity is okay. The specific knowledge about each application can be the best solution for resolving the issues.
• Network is too slow
• Sometimes network response time is very slow due to different reasons and this problem can be solved by the following methods.
• 1. First of all check that the computer should have the valid DNS address and you can also add the domain controller’s IP address as secondary DNS server.
2. Make sure that you have installed service pack 1, which has fixed a bug for slow network response.
3. If your system hangs about 2-3 times at startup, this is due to a background service named “Background Intelligent Transfer' service”. By disabling this service you can solve this problem. Go to Start > Run > MsConfig > Services > “Background Intelligent Transfer' service” disable it.
4. Disable/Enable the local network connection and if still slow network connection then restart the system.
5. Create a drive Map and use it for network browsing. Click on any folder then go to Tools > and click Map network drive > assign a drive letter and a folder name that you want to connect too.
• Network Connection is insecure
• The real threats to the home networks are viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, data piracy and the hacker’s attacks. Install and configure an up-to-dated antivirus program such as Norton Anti Virus, Trend Micro, McAfee or Panda Antivirus. Install and configure firewall software so that no unauthorized user can access your home network. Scan your emails and do not download any software from unauthorized source.
• Troubleshooting Tools
• Here is a list of some of the basic troubleshooting tools that comes with the Windows based operating systems.
• 1. Ping
2. IPconfig
3. Tracert
4. Hostname
5. Route
6. Net
7. ARP
•
•
•


Configuring LAN Card
In Windows XP Professional, you can configure your system’s LAN card by the following method.
Click Start > Control Panel > Double Click Network Connections > Right Click Local Area Connection.
In General click TCP/IP and click properties.




In the properties tab you can set the TCP/IP settings such as IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and DNS etc.
You can repeat the above methods with all the LAN cards of your network.
Configuring Printer
A network printer can be installed, configured, shared and managed through the control panel of Windows XP Professional and other versions of the Windows.
Click Start > Control Panel > Double click Printer and Faxes
Right click your default printer and click properties.
Here you can share your printer, set the ports and printing priorities.
Configuring DHCP
DCHP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and is used for assigning the IP addresses to the client computers dynamically. DHCP is installed in the Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2003 Server operating systems. A DCHP is a dedicated server which assigns the IP address, subnet mask, gateway address, DNS, DHCP and router addresses to all the client computers.
After the DHCP is installed in the Windows 2003 Server, you need to configure it before you use it.
In the Administrative tools of Windows 2000/2003 Server click DHCP.
• On the left side of your DHCP panel, you will see your server name with server’s IP address.
• Right click the name and click new scope. A wizard will start click next and define your scope name and description.
• In the IP addresses range, define the IP addresses pool and subnet mask and click next. In the “Add Exclusion page” define the IP addresses, which you don’t want to assign to any computer after this click next.
• On the next windows set the lease duration for these IP addresses and click next. On the next windows check “Yes I want to configure these options now”.
After you have configured the scope, right click to activate it. You can also set the router, DHCP, DNS, Wins server addresses.
Configuring DNS
DNS stands for Domain Name Server and is used for mapping the host name with the IP address. DNS is automatically installed while promoting the server as a domain controller. DNS can also be configured to a separate machine. After the DNS is installed, you need to configure it.
• In the Administrative tools of the Windows 2000/2003 click DNS.
• Right click on the root and select configure server and click next.
• If there are no root servers in the list select the current server, which shows the message “This is the first DNS server on the network” and click next.
• Add a forward look up zone and click next. This zone will be used for mapping and storing the host name to the IP addresses.
• Select the zone type as standard primary and click next.
• Enter the name of the zone and click next.
• Select new file and click next. Here you can import an already existing .dns file.
• Add a reverse look up zone and click next. Reverse look up zone is used to find the host name from an IP address.
• Select the zone type and standard primary and click next.
• Enter first two (in case of 255.255.0.0) and first three (in case of 255.255.255.0) parts of your subnet mask.
• Select new file and click next.
• A summary will display click finish to complete the configuration.
The final stage is to configure the zones to be dynamic update enabled, it makes the host computers to add the records in the DNS server.
Configuring Router
A router is used to connect several logically and physically different networks with each other. When a router is used for the first time it needs to be configured manually by the network administrators.
• Start your browser and type the IP address of your router.
• Router configuration page will be opened.
• Enter your user and default password of the router.
• You can configure firewall options, dynamic routing, static routing, DDNS, forwarding and filtering options.

Network Cable Errors in Windows
If your computer network cable is not working properly, you will see a repeated message or pop up “network cable is unplugged” on your desktop and the blinking status lights of the network will also stop blinking. There can be many causes of this problem and you can fix this error with these simple tips. If you have another Ethernet adapter installed but not using it, then disable it by right clicking on the monitor icons on the right side of the desktop and select the disable option. Check both ends of the cables and ensure that the RJ 45 connectors are properly inserted in the LAN card and in the Hub/Switch. Update the drive of the LAN card from the vendor’s website and if the problem still exist then replace the cable with new one. If the problem is still not resolved then replace the LAN card with a new one and try to use a new hub or switch and put cable’s one end into it. By these simple steps, you will be able to trace out and troubleshoot the problem.
Introduction to Windows Firewall
Windows firewall is a protective layer or boundary that monitors the in and out traffic from your network and internet. The firewall is a protective and defensive boundary against the intruders and unauthorized persons. You can enable the firewall in XP Professional with these simple steps.
1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel
2. Windows Firewall > Double click.
Network Troubleshooting Tips
If you find a communication failure error in the TCP/IP network then try to find and troubleshoot the errors with the following methods.
1. Make sure you can ping the other computer by name.
2. Make sure you can pint the other computer by IP address.
3. Make sure you have assigned unique IP address and computer name to all the computers in the network.
4. Make sure you have assigned the correct gateway, subnet mask, DNS and DHCP addresses.
5. For troubleshooting purpose try to uninstall any firewall software and see if the problem is resolved.
Windows Network Security
Security a computer network should be the top priority of the network administrators, system managers and security specialists. You can secure your computer network by doing these things such as installing the updated operating system, up-to-date antivirus program, event log monitoring, encryption, group policy management, patch management, security scanners, auditing, firewall security, web application security, web content filtering and controlling the access to only the authorized users.
How to Setup Workgroup and Computer Name in Windows XP
Computer name is the unique identifier of the computer in the network. If you want to setup the computer name and the workgroup in the Windows XP then follow these steps.
1. My Computer>Right Click>click on Properties>
2. Assign unique computer name.
3. Assign the same workgroup name as of the other computers.
4. You will be prompted to restart the computer.
How to secure your computer network
Securing a computer networking is the vital part of the administration of the network. There are different security threats of a computer network such as hacking, viruses, unauthorized user access, spywares, adware, Trojan horses and other malicious codes. If you are managing your computer network, it’s your responsibility to secure your network from all above mentioned aspects. Always install up to dated antivirus program such as Norton Antivirus, Trend Micro Antivirus, McAfee or Panda Antivirus. Enable firewall router or firewall software on your network to control the unauthorized access so that no intruder or hacker can access your network.

Filter the internet and monitor all the activities of the users on the internet. Block the risky websites and web applications. Install a network monitoring software and monitor the activities of users. Regularly update your software applications on the server and the client computers.

How to Share Printer and Folders in Windows XP
If you have two or more computers then a computer network will be formed and there will be necessity to share the files and printers. For sharing the folders, you need to right click the folder > Sharing and Security > Share this folder on the network > give the shared name for this folder. You can set further rights and permissions on this folder for different users.

Sharing a printer is the same as sharing a folder on the network. Click start > Control Panel > Printer and Faxes > Right click on the printer name > Properties > sharing > Share this folder (set the shared name for the printer. This same shared name of the printer will be accesses from the other computers on the network to access and share the printer such as \\computename\printername
Setting up Print Server in Windows 2000 ?
What is a Printer?
Printer is a device that prints text, graphics and images on the paper. With regards to quality, graphics, speed there are different types of a printer. The most common types of the printer are Dot matrix, InkJet and Laser printer. In the following sections of this article we will discuss all the common types of printer.
Common Types of Printer
Dye Fusion Thermal
Thermal Dye sublimation or thermal dye transfer is a process that is used by the color printers. A color wax film is moved throughout the page and pigments are heated and deposited on the page.
Inkjet
Inkjet printers use spray and print them on the paper. They produce high quality prints and have better image quality and they are faster as compared to the DOT Matrix printers. Due to low cost, high quality and ease of use, they are most commonly used printers.

Laser Jet
Laser printers use xerographic printing process, which is a same technique as used by the photocopier machine. In the laser printer, the roller is charged with the electricity and the laser light is used to remove that charge from the roller. Laser printer is very fast and they produce high quality and text, graphics and images.
Dot Matrix
In the Dot Matrix, pins are used to strike the ribbon and dots, characters and images are produced when pin strikes the ribbon. The columns of 8, 9 and 24 pins are used in the Dot matrix. Dot matrix printers have horizontally moving head and pins in the vertical position. Dot matrix printers are mostly cheap and they are used for low to medium quality of printing.

LCD/LED
This is a type of printers that uses the liquid and light emitting diodes LED to produce the produce the images on the roller.
Camera Copy
Camera copy printers produce high quality full color output and the laser light is used to write on the film inside the camera. This type of printing process is expensive.
Line Printer
Line printers have horizontal drum that stretch the paper. The drum is made up of 132 thin cylinders and each have a complete set of characters.
Daisy Wheel
Daisy wheel printers work like the typewriters.
What is a Print Server
A print server is a computer or device that is being connected with one more print devices or printers. Print server holds an operating system such as Windows 2000, Windows 2003 and the client computers send print requests to the print server. The print server serves these requests on the first come first serve basis but there are features in the printing software with which the print jobs can be prioritized i.e. you can give preferences to some printing requests. Client computers connect with the print server by using the Microsoft Network Printing Protocol. Dedicated print servers support a large number of the protocols such as TCP/IP, NetBEUI, IPX/SPX, LPD/LPR and NetBIOS.
How to Setup Print Server in Windows 2000/2003
Installation
1. Install the operating system such as Windows 2000 or Windows 2003.
2. Attach printer device with the computer. Normally operating system will automatically detect the printer and if not then you have to manually install the driver of the printer by inserting the CD-ROM. If you don’t have the drivers in the CD then you can download from the vendor’s website or from driverguide.com. You just need to know the model of your printer such as Hewlett Packard LaserJet 2600n, Canon PIXMA™ iP90 InkJet, Lexmark C534N, Canon PIXMA™ MP530 All-In-One Inkjet etc.
3. Install and configure the printer driver in the following steps.
4. Click on Start > Settings > Control Panel > Printer and Faxes.
5. Click on the File Menu > Add printer > Next > Local Printer attached to this computer.
6. Check Automatically Detect and Install My Plug and Play Printer.
7. Click Next.
8. Wizard will automatically detect any attached printer and install the driver for it. If the system doesn’t find the driver then you will be prompted to provide the driver of the printer.
9. After successfully installing the printer driver, you will see a new printer name in the Printer and Faxes inside the control panel.
Server Configurations
1. Right click on the printer name > Properties > Sharing > Share this printer.
2. Provide a shared name for your network printer.
3. This name will be used by all the client computers on the network who want to access this printer.
4. You can also set the color management, priorities, printing preferences, font and other things in the properties tab of the printer.
Client Computer Configuration
If you want to setup the printer at the client computer then you can do this by the following command.
\\computername\printername (printer name is the shared name of the printer)
Second option is the same as you installed the print device on the server i.e. Start > Settings > Control Panel > Printers and Faxes > File Menu > Add Printer.
In this tutorial you have learnt that what is a printer, basic types of the printers and how to setup print server in Windows 2000/2003.
How to troubleshoot computer network using Ping command
The PING command is the basic network troubleshooting command. Ping shows the status of the other computer whether it is on the network or not. Let’s say you have three computers in your computer network computer A (IP Address, 10.10.10.1), computer B (IP address 10.10.10.2) and computer C (IP address 10.10.10.3). You are on computer A and you want to check the connectivity of the computer B then you will need to go the Start > Run > type CMD > DOS screen will appear. Now type there ping 10.10.10.2 if you get the reply this means the computer B is connected on the network and if you get the timed out message then there is some problem in the connectivity. This can be due to different reasons like check both the ends of the network cables in the computer and in the Router/Switch, check if the green LED light is blinking in the network card of the computer also check if any software application blocking the network communication such as firewall or antivirus etc.
How to setup Xbox Network Connections
Following is the simple configuration methods of Xbox network connectivity.
1. Go to the settings of Xbox Dashboard and then network settings. You will see IP address, DNS and some other settings.
2. Click IP settings. You can select to obtain the IP address and other settings automatically from the DHCP server or router.
3. Go to the previous menu and set obtain the DNS settings from the Router or DHCP server automatically.
How to Setup Roaming Profile in Windows 2000/2003
Roaming profiles are saved on the network server. If you want your users to access their own roaming profiles then you need to open Active directory users and computers, right click on the user, then properties and then profile tab. In the profile tab type the UNC path of the user you made on the server like this \\servername\profiles\%username%. Profiles folder should be in the root of the C Drive. Make sure you have created the profiles folder on the C drive and shared it with the same name as the name of the folder. Next time when the user will log on from the client computer, his/her local profile will be saved in the folder same as the user name and this folder will be created in the profiles folder.
How to Install IIS in Windows XP
Windows XP Professional edition has the built-in IIS. Internet information server is used to host the website on your own computer and these sites can be accesses from all over the world. IIS has great administrative features but it supports only 10 concurrent connections of the clients at a time.
1. Click start>settings>control panel>Add remove program
2. Click Add remove windows components.
3. Click on Internet information services > Details.
4. In the IIS check the boxes SMTP and World Wide Web and you can also check FTP if you want to setup it.
5. In Windows components selection, make sure that you have selected IIS and you may need to insert the CD of Windows XP Professional during the installation.
How to Setup Roaming Profiles in Windows 2000
The TCP/IP component in the Windows operating systems is considered a core component so it cannot be easily uninstalled. Using the following commands with the certain switch you can however achieve the same results and by uninstalling and reinstalling the TCP/IP components.
netsh int ip reset
Logfile is the name of the file that is used to records the actions by the netsh command.
netsh int ip reset iplog.txt is used to create the iplog.txt in the current directory.
Caution: Be very careful while using these commands because they can directly damage your system.
How to Hide a shared folder in Windows XP
If you want to hide a shared folder from the network users, right click the folder and click sharing and security and give a shared name of a folder plus $ sign e.g. ebooks$. In this way network users will not be able to see the shared folder on the network. For you to see the hidden shared folder, map the drive and type in the path including the $ sign in the folder box.
How to Clean the Start Menu
The start menu of the Windows XP is populated with the number of shortcuts and newly installed programs. If you want to remove any of the programs from the start menu just right click on that program and click “Remove from this list”. The program will be removed from the start menu. Additionally, there are certain programs at the right side such as My documents, Run, Search etc and if you want to customize this list then right click on the empty place > Properties > Start Menu > Customize.
You will see a number of options there such as Large Icons, Small Icons and number of programs in the list. In the advance tab you will see the three options such as 1. display as a link, 2. display as a menu and 3. Don’t list this item and you can choose these options for the control panel, my documents, my music and my computer etc.
How to Distribute a Custom Desktop Theme to Users
Here you will learn that how to distribute a customized desktop theme to the other users in the network.
You can send the customized them by email or by placing at the user’s desktop computer through the My Network Places. Users on the other computer will do the following steps to get the customized theme.
1. Right click on the desktop and click properties.
2. Open the theme tab and browse it.
3. Find the folder that has the theme file and double click it.
4. Click ok to load the new theme and close all the windows.

After letting you wait for a while Windows XP load the customized theme and apply all the new settings to your desktop.
How to Create a Hardware Profile
Hardware profiles are used in multiple environments such as LAN, mobile and standalone. You can create hardware profiles in Windows XP Professional by doing the following steps.
1. Click start > Settings > Control Panel > double click system
2. Click hardware and the hardware profile. You can select eight docked or undocked profile.
3. Click copy type the profile name such as mobile and click Ok
4. Click mobile > Properties > and check this is a portable computer
5. Provides a description of the profile.

Create a Shortcut to Network Location
You can create a shortcut to the new network place by the following steps.
1. Start > Control Panel > Network and Internet connection.
2. Click "add a network place."
3. Choose another network location and click next.
4. In the internet or network address box type the name of the network that you want to use.
5. You can type the network address by this format \\Servername\Sharename
6. Type the FTP address by this format ftp://ftp.domain.com
7. Click next > Finish
How to Troubleshoot LAN
Troubleshooting the local area network means identifying and removing the network problems for getting the optimized performance. In order to troubleshoot the problem in the LAN, it is important to monitor the LAN to identify the problems. LAN monitoring can be accomplished with the network management computer or general network sniffers. Protocol Analyzer provides various LAN troubleshooting solutions over the TCP/IP networks.
LAN/TCP/IP troubleshooting can often be tricky and the troubleshooting scenarios includes finding duplicate IP addresses on the network computers, misconfigured network applications, non-optimized network devices, low service performance, cabling problems, faulty LAN cards and network switches, viruses and spyware attacks, misconfigured firewall, security issues, DNS/DHCP problems, proxy server’s settings and overloading of the network servers with the number of software applications.
The problems in the Local Area Network can be aroused by a number of reasons as mention above. Being a LAN/Network administrator it’s your responsibility that you are well aware of your LAN infrastructure, network hardware, software, user access rights and preferences and the major configurations of the network. The best practice is to make inventory of all the resources of your LAN such as number of workstations, software installed and network hardware.

Following section provides the useful tips in diagnosing and troubleshooting the most common problems in your LAN. Whenever you face connectivity issues, security issues and performance issues the following tips are helpful in diagnosing troubleshooting the problems.
Connectivity Issues
• First thing to check it to make sure that you have the same class IP address and the associated subnet mask in all the computers in your LAN.
• Make sure that you have provided the accurate gateway address on all the computers.
• Ensure that all the network cables are tightly plugged at both ends i.e. one end in the Hub/Switch and one in the LAN card.
• Make sure that the lights on the Hub/Switch and LAN card are ON and working.
• If you are behind a proxy server and facing internet connectivity issues, make sure that you have provided the accurate proxy server’s settings at the client computers.

• Check your firewall settings and make sure that the firewall is not blocking the incoming and outgoing traffic.
• Use the PING command at the common prompt to verify the connectivity with the other computer.
Example
At command prompt
Ping 100.100.100.1 and press enter (100.100.100.1 is the IP address of the other computer)
• If the connectivity issue is with the particular computer, reinstall the driver of the NIC adapter and if the problem is still there then change the NIC adapter and reconfigure it.
• If the connectivity problem still not resolved then check the network cable from computer to HUB/Switch
Security Issues
Security issues are more likely to occur in the LAN if no proper security mechanism, policies, antivirus programs and security methods have been implemented.
• Install up-to-dated antivirus and anti spyware program and regularly scan your network server all the computers in the network.
• In the proxy server block notorious applications that cause security issues in the network and define specific internet access rules for the users.
• Use strong passwords, encryption methods and limit the access to the network resources.
• Enable logging on all the network computers and server machine.
• Implement security policies.
• Update your operating system and install latest services packs and security patches.
• Clean computer’s registry with the excellent Windows registry cleaner software. An optimized an error free registry is required for the smooth functioning of the computer.
• Implement firewall on the gateway computer and it will save your computer from the unauthorized internal and external access.
The above tips will definitely help you out in resolving the security related issues in your LAN.
Performance Issues
The performance issues in the network occurs with the heavily installed applications, Windows registry errors, antivirus and anti spyware free systems, low or faulty hardware, low physical memory, unnecessary network shortcuts, simultaneous access to the server for the same resources and in the unmanaged network environment.
• Dividing the network in the subnets is helpful in load balancing and improving the performance.
• Remove unnecessary network shortcuts and it will increase the network browsing speed.
• Clear cookies, browser’s history and other temporary files.
• Increase the physical memory (RAM)
• Uninstall any unnecessary software applications from computers.
• Separately configure the proxy server, File server, Print server and Gateway computer to put the minimum load on each server.
• Install the LAN cards that support 10/100 Mbps speed and use Switch instead of Hub in the LAN.
hopefully the above mentioned tips are helpful in resolving the most common connectivity, security and performance related issues in
Connect to Printer by using Web Browser
By typing the URL of the remote printer in the address bar, you can connect to the remote printer as it were attached with your own computer.
To view the list of the printers in your print server type the following.
http://printservername/printers
In the web browser a page will open that will list the properties of the printer. To connect to the printer click connect under printer action. An icon of the printer and faxes folder will be added in your printer and faxes folder in your computer. You can perform the administrative tasks to theprinter as it were attached to your computer.


Encrypt a folder in Windows XP
You can encrypt a folder in Windows XP so that it cannot be read by others. Please note that the encryption is only applicable in the NTFS file system. You can encrypt a folder by doing the following steps.
1. Right click on the folder, which you want to encrypt and click properties.
2. On the general tab click Advance.
3. On the compress and encrypt attributes press the Encrypt contents to secure data.
4. Click ok.
5. If you want to encrypt only the folder click “Apply changes to this folder only” and then ok.
6. If you want to encrypt the all the contents of the folder and the parent folder then click Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files.
Now every file or folder that will be created in the encrypted folder will automatically be encrypted. The users of the network can view the items of the encrypted folder but they cannot copy or open the contents of the encrypted folder.

How to Speed up the Computer
1. Windows Defragmenter utility: You can use this utility by using this path Start > Programs > Accessories > System tools > Disk defragmenter. This is built-in utility in Windows operating systems and this will automatically analyze the empty disk space on the hard disk and defragment and all scattered files.
2. Shutdown Unnecessary programs: By using this path Start > Run > Msconfig > Startup, you can close all unwanted programs at the Windows startup and this will automatically increase the windows loading time and speed of the computer will also be increased.
3. Increase RAM: By increasing the RAM in your system you can get exceptional fast speed of your computer.
4. Disk Cleanup: By using the disk clean up utility Start > Programs > Accessories > System tools > Disk clean up utility, you can delete unwanted programs and files from your computer and this will be helpful in increasing the speed.
5. Empty Recycle Bin: When you delete a file or a folder form your computer it first goes to the recycle bin and it covers the disk area of your C drive. It is imperative, to delete all the files and folders from the recycle bin and you will get the space of C drive for reusability.
6. Delete Temporary Files: Delete the temporary files and cookies from your computer to get the better speed. You can do this like Internet explorer > Tools > Internet options > Generals > Settings > View files > here you can delete all the temporary internet files.



How to Troubleshoot the Computer?
Here you will learn the basic troubleshooting methods of your computer.
1. Trial and error: When you find a faulty component in your computer, first of you check it with the other computers so that you can make sure whether the fault is in the component or not.
2. Check cables: In case of any device failure, check all the cables of your computer such as data cables, power cable, internal circuitry cables etc and make sure that all the cables are plugged in and working fine.
3. Hardware settings: Check the hardware settings in the CMOS and in the device manager of the system and make all the device drivers and up to date and all the cards are plugged in properly.
4. Notice changes: When you notice a software or hardware error in your computer, determine what was changed before the problem occurred.
5. Event viewer: Use the event viewer utility by going to Start > Control panel > Administrative tools > Event viewer. In the event viewer you will find the error or warning messages associated with any faulty hardware or software.
6. Make notes: Troubleshooting is big learning option and we can learn a lot when we face any kind of troubleshooting in our computer. Make notes including the error messages and their solutions, so that you have a record that how a certain problem occurred and how did you solve it.

Data Recovery Tips
Accidental loss or deletion of the critical data of your organization can cause big problems for you and for your company. If you are a system administrator or a hardware technician and responsible for your company’s data, it is your duty to equip yourself with the great system restore and data recovery utilities and if you are empty handed and you encounter such problems, there can be big financial loss for your company in case of completely removal of data and wastage of precious time. Following are the few tips for recovering the lost data.
1. Use some good data recovery utilities such as File recovery, Recovery My Files, R-tt and a free utility Handy Recovery.
2. If you are responsible for the data and system administrations, use backup tapes drives and regularly take backups of your server’s data.
3. Use UPS and diesel generators if power failure occurs regularly in your area because sudden shutdown can crash your server and other systems.
4. Make a clean humid and dust free environment for your server room.
Diagnostics with Beep Codes
Following are the beep messages associated with the IBP bios.
1 short beep specifies a normal post
2 short beeps tells about POST errors that can be find on screen.
Continuous beeps indicates power supply and other cards errors.
One long and short beep indicates system board problems
3 long beeps defines keyboard errors
No system beep tells about power supply errors.

Windows 2000 Server Installation Overview
In this section you will learn the basicss of windows 2000 server installation, how to install window, active directory, domain controllers, system configurations. Being a network administrator or Microsoft Windows 2000 Server support professional, one of your job description tasks is Windows Server Installation.
Step #1: Planning for your installation
When you run the Windows 2000 Server setup program you must know that how to install the Windows 2000 server. Thorough planning can make you avoid potential problems during the installation process. So, it’s necessary to do some paper work and make a good plan before installing the Windows 2000 server operating system. You must know the needs of your office network, server hardware and software to be installed on your server.
Without a proper plan Potential problems can occur in the future and work can become more hectic.
There are some important points, which you should take into account before starting the installation process.
1. Check System requirement
2. Check hardware and software compatibility
3. Check the disk partitioning options
4. Select the file systems according to your needs.
5. Decide workgroup or domain installation
6. Complete a pre installation checklist.
Once you are making sure about these things you can start the installation process.

Step #2: Starting the installation process
You can install Windows 2000 Server in different ways, all the methods are valid and which method you choose is depends on your needs and limitations. Manual installation process can be divided into different ways as followings.
• Boot from CD- This is a fresh installation and no existing partition is required.
• Boot from the 4 setup disks and then insert the CD, in this way also not existing partition is required.
• Boot from an MS-DOS startup floppy disk, go to the command prompt, create a 4GB FAT32 partition with FDISK command, reboot the computer, format the C partition, you have created and then go to the CD drive, go to the i386 folder and run the Winnt.exe command.
• In the other methods, run an already installed operating system such as Windows NT 4.0 Server and from within the NT 4.0 go to the i386 folder in the Windows 2000 Server installation CD and run the WINNT32.exe command. This will upgrade the Windows NT Server 4.0 to the Windows 2000 Server.
• Alternatively, if you want to upgrade from Windows 98 into Windows 2000 Professional you can follow the same steps as I have described in the above installation method. But you cannot upgrade Windows 98 into Windows 2000 server.
Additionally, there are other automated installation methods, such as uninstallation method by using an unattended file, using Sysprep, using RIS or running the uninstallation method by the CD itself.
It doesn’t matter that which installation method you use to install Windows 2000 Server or Professional. All methods look alike and the main function is the same.
Step #3: Text based portion of the setup
The setup process starts loading a blue-looking text screen. In this way you will be asked to accept the license agreement EULA and choose a partition on which you want to install Windows 2000 and you will be also asked to format the partition if the partition is new FAT, FAT32 or NTFS. The setup process begins loading a blue-looking text screen (not GUI).
1. Select to boot the computer from CD.
2. At this stage you can press F6 if you need to install the additional SCSI adapters or other storage devices. If you choose it then you will be asked to provide the floppy disk for the drivers.
3. Setup will get all the required drivers and files.
4. Now select to setup Windows 2000. At this point, if you want to fix some problems in the previously installed operating systems then you will have to press R. If not, then just press enter to continue with the fresh installation.
5. If you haven’t made any partition then you will get a warning message to create a partition and delete the old partitions. You can specify the partition size here. If you want to continue then press C.
6. Accept the license agreement and press F8.
• Select or create the partition on which you will install W2K.
• If you hard disk is already partitioned but don’t have enough disk space for the installation, you can create an additional partition from the unpartitioned space. If the hard disk is already partitioned, but has enough unpartitioned disk space, you can create an additional partition in the unpartitioned space. If the hard disk already has a existing partition, you can delete it to create more unpartitioned space for the new partition. By deleting the old partition you will delete all data on that partition.
If you select a new partition during Setup, create and size only the partition on which you will install Windows 2000. After installation, use Disk Management to partition the remaining space on the hard disk.
7. Select the file system like FAT32, NTFS for the installation partition. After you create the partition, select a file system. After selecting the file system, it will ask you to format the disk. Windows 2000 supports FAT, FAT32 and NTFS file system. You can get access to the local data on your hard disk, if it is formatted with the NTFS and if your operating system is Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 and Windows NT. If you plan to get data on your local hard disk’s drive where Windows 95 or Windows 98 is installed then you will have to use FAT or FAT32 file systems.
8. Setup will then begin copying files after formatting the disk, from the installation point (CD, local i386 or a network share).
9. After copying files step is completed the computer will be restarted in the graphical mode.
Step #4: Graphical user interface (GUI) based setup portion
After the first reboot and copying the necessary installation files the setup comes in the graphical mode.
Next it will load the device drivers based on the hardware it finds in your computer.
At this point, you can change the regional settings if you want.
1. Install the Hebrew language support at this point.
2. Here type your name and organization name.
3. Next type product key.
4. Enter the appropriate license types and the number of the purchased licenses.
5. Here you type the computer name and the password of the local administrator account. The local administrator account is based in the SAM of the computer and is used for the locally administrative tasks
4. Next choose which network or other components to be installed on the system.
5. Next select the date, time and zone settings.
6. Setup now will install the networking components.
Press Next to accept the typical settings option if you have one of the following situations:
• You have DHCP on your network.
• Your computer running Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).
• You are in a workgroup environment and do not plan to have any other servers or Active Directory at all, and all other workgroup members are configured in the same manner.
Otherwise select Custom Settings and press Next to customize your network settings.
7. You should highlight the TCP/IP section and press Properties.
In the following general tab enter the necessary information. You should specify the IP address, and if you don't know what the Subnet Mask entry should be - you can simply place your mouse pointer over the empty area in the Subnet Mask box and click it. The operating system will automatically detect the settings.
If you are a stand alone computer or you don’t have the sufficient rights, leave the default entry selected and press next.
8. In the next stage setup process will finish copying files and configuring the setup.
9. Next the setup process finishes and displays the finish window.
10. Next Windows 2000 reboots and you after reboot you get the CTRL-ALT-DEL window.
11. Congratulations. You are done. Windows 2000 has been installed on you computer.


How to Setup Computer Network
There are multiple options available to connect to or more computers to make a computer network. Networking is essential for sharing data and resources like printer, scanner, hard disk, CD/ROM and internet connection. After establishing the wired or wireless connections you need to check that the connectivity and the configurations of the computers are okay. Be default, Windows XP Professional computer provides a “Network Setup” utilitity
By and through this utility you can configure your whole network. You can select this utility in the Programs > Accessories > Communications > Network setup wizard.
You can share the internet connection, share the printer, share the firewall, share files and folders, create a bridge between two networks, manual server setup and create setup disk. To setup a network where in your home or office you need to know the following details.
• How many computers do you want to connect with each other?
• What type of operating systems you are running on your computer.
• Whether networked computers will be located in one room or hall or inside a building.
• What are your security requirements?
• What’s your main purpose of networking the computers?
• What type of internet connection will be used?


After knowing your requirements you can configure your network either through the setup wizard in the Windows XP or manually. You can setup the computers in the workgroup or domain.
In the Workgroup, there is no centralized management and least security while in the domain there is domain controller (centralized server) that controls the whole domain and provides services like user authentication, data sharing, resources sharing and internet connectivity to the client computers.


Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Professional
• First of all, you need to install and configure the LAN card in every computer.
• Open network connection folder > network tasks > click setup a small office or home network.
• Click Start > Programs > Accessories > Communications > Network setup wizard.
• During the wizard, you need to select your LAN card, domain/workgroup name and other settings.
• After you successfully run the setup wizard, you will ask to create a network setup disk.
• You have to run the setup wizard on all the computers to make them connected with each other.
Setup utility safes your time and administrative efforts to configure a home or small office network. To check the connectivity between the computers, you can use the following diagnosing and administrative utilities which are installed by default with the TCP/IP protocols in the Windows based operating systems.
PING: Ping is a first troubleshooting command in the IP based networks. With this utility you can check the connectivity between two computers.
IPconfig: IPconfig is used to check the configurations of a computer such as IP address, subnet mask, DNS, gateway and DHCP addresses etc.
Tracert: Tracert is a TCP/IP utility that is used to find and record the routes between your computer and the specified destination.
Hostname: To check the name of your computer.

How to Troubleshoot LAN
Troubleshooting the local area network means identifying and removing the network problems for getting the optimized performance. In order to troubleshoot the problem in the LAN, it is important to monitor the LAN to identify the problems. LAN monitoring can be accomplished with the network management computer or general network sniffers. Protocol Analyzer provides various LAN troubleshooting solutions over the TCP/IP networks.
LAN/TCP/IP troubleshooting can often be tricky and the troubleshooting scenarios includes finding duplicate IP addresses on the network computers, misconfigured network applications, non-optimized network devices, low service performance, cabling problems, faulty LAN cards and network switches, viruses and spyware attacks, misconfigured firewall, security issues, DNS/DHCP problems, proxy server’s settings and overloading of the network servers with the number of software applications.
The problems in the Local Area Network can be aroused by a number of reasons as mention above. Being a LAN/Network administrator it’s your responsibility that you are well aware of your LAN infrastructure, network hardware, software, user access rights and preferences and the major configurations of the network. The best practice is to make inventory of all the resources of your LAN such as number of workstations, software installed and network hardware.

Following section provides the useful tips in diagnosing and troubleshooting the most common problems in your LAN. Whenever you face connectivity issues, security issues and performance issues the following tips are helpful in diagnosing troubleshooting the problems.
Connectivity Issues
• First thing to check it to make sure that you have the same class IP address and the associated subnet mask in all the computers in your LAN.
• Make sure that you have provided the accurate gateway address on all the computers.
• Ensure that all the network cables are tightly plugged at both ends i.e. one end in the Hub/Switch and one in the LAN card.
• Make sure that the lights on the Hub/Switch and LAN card are ON and working.
• If you are behind a proxy server and facing internet connectivity issues, make sure that you have provided the accurate proxy server’s settings at the client computers.

• Check your firewall settings and make sure that the firewall is not blocking the incoming and outgoing traffic.
• Use the PING command at the common prompt to verify the connectivity with the other computer.
Example
At command prompt
Ping 100.100.100.1 and press enter (100.100.100.1 is the IP address of the other computer)
• If the connectivity issue is with the particular computer, reinstall the driver of the NIC adapter and if the problem is still there then change the NIC adapter and reconfigure it.
• If the connectivity problem still not resolved then check the network cable from computer to HUB/Switch
Security Issues
Security issues are more likely to occur in the LAN if no proper security mechanism, policies, antivirus programs and security methods have been implemented.
• Install up-to-dated antivirus and anti spyware program and regularly scan your network server all the computers in the network.
• In the proxy server block notorious applications that cause security issues in the network and define specific internet access rules for the users.
• Use strong passwords, encryption methods and limit the access to the network resources.
• Enable logging on all the network computers and server machine.
• Implement security policies.
• Update your operating system and install latest services packs and security patches.
• Clean computer’s registry with the excellent Windows registry cleaner software. An optimized an error free registry is required for the smooth functioning of the computer.
• Implement firewall on the gateway computer and it will save your computer from the unauthorized internal and external access.
The above tips will definitely help you out in resolving the security related issues in your LAN.
Performance Issues
The performance issues in the network occurs with the heavily installed applications, Windows registry errors, antivirus and anti spyware free systems, low or faulty hardware, low physical memory, unnecessary network shortcuts, simultaneous access to the server for the same resources and in the unmanaged network environment.
• Dividing the network in the subnets is helpful in load balancing and improving the performance.
• Remove unnecessary network shortcuts and it will increase the network browsing speed.
• Clear cookies, browser’s history and other temporary files.
• Increase the physical memory (RAM)
• Uninstall any unnecessary software applications from computers.
• Separately configure the proxy server, File server, Print server and Gateway computer to put the minimum load on each server.
• Install the LAN cards that support 10/100 Mbps speed and use Switch instead of Hub in the LAN.
opefully the above mentioned tips are helpful in resolving the most common connectivity, security and performance related issues in

Network troubleshooting means recognizing, diagnosing and isolating the problems in a computer network. It’s the primary responsibility of the network administrators to maintain the computer network, fault management, network security, monitoring, resources allocation and maintaining the performance. There are a number of free built-in utilities in the Windows based operating systems and these utilities are used to diagnose and fix the problem such as “PING”, which is a built-in utility in the TCP/IP protocols stacks. The other useful utilities are HOSTNAME, IPCONFIG, NBTSTAT, NSLOOKUP, TRACERT and NETSTAT.
Sometimes the problems in a network are complicated and can’t easily be diagnosed. So in this situation there must be a good troubleshooting and diagnostic tool to solve the problem. Following list provides some of the best LAN/WAN troubleshooting and diagnostic tools.

LAN Troubleshooting Software
Network Analyzer
This tool is provided for free by the Agilent Technologies. The standard edition of this software provides the full analysis of the IP and IPX traffic on the number of Window based platforms with standard LAN cards.

Network Troubleshooting Analyzer 6.3
It is an advanced packet analysis and sniffing tool with the protocol decodes capabilities for TCP/IP, SMTP, HTTP, TELNET and FT. It captures and analyzes all the traffic transport over the Ethernet and WLAN networks. This software also includes the real time packet capturing, reconstructing TCP/IP sessions, capture POP3 and SMTP emails, trace TCP/IP connection states, monitor bandwidth usage and supports multiple monitors, Telnet servers and wireless infrastructure.
GFI LAN Guard/Network Security Scanner
GFI LAN Guard is an award winning tool that provides multiple solutions to troubleshot, scan detect and handle the security vulnerabilities in your computer network. The three basic features of this software are the vulnerability management, patch management and detecting the security vulnerabilities. GFI LAN Guard helps the IT administrators to secure their networks more efficiently.
Network Packet Analyzer
Network Packet Analyzer is an advanced network monitoring, analyzing, management and reporting tool for the Windows based network. It analyzes and monitors the traffic over the Ethernet and WLAN. Its advanced application analysis modules allow you to log the communication applications such http traffic, instant messages, emails and DNS queries.



Easy Network Service Monitor
This software is developed by Javvin Company and the main features of this software are the application monitoring, fault management, network management, network performance monitoring and reporting.
Adventnet Simulation Toolkit
Adventnet Simulation toolkit includes agent simulator and network simulator for testing and managing the network applications. This tool enables simulations of TFTP, FTP, SNMP and IOS devices.
Netstat Agent
Netstat Agent is a powerful tool that is used for monitoring the internet connections. It displays and monitors all the TCP and UDP connections and it also displays the country information of the remote IP, and open computer ports. Netstat is a set of commands like ping, ipconfig, route, tracert, arp and netstat.
Active Network Monitor
Active Network Monitor is used to monitor the performance of the computer in a network. It can be installed and run under Windows XP, 2000 Professional, NT and Windows ME computers. This tool also provides the feature of storing and comparing the data.
Cisco CDP Monitor
Cisco CDP monitor is an efficient computer network troubleshooting, monitoring and diagnostic tool and is very useful for the network administrators.
Network Troubleshooting Software
There can be different sorts of problems that can arose due to network malfunction in various hardware and software components of a network. Networks can be of different types. From home to corporate Networks, each network type has its own errors and remedies. A simple Network troubleshooting starts from pinging your nearest IP address in your subnet. You should try to ping local host from command prompt. The address for local host is 127.0.0.1 and then tries to ping your own IP Address. If both loopback adapter and Network interface return true (send replies) then assume your own physical pc is ok.

To check the connectivity of other computer(s), try to ping them and find out about their connectivity. There can be many methods and software techniques to resolve network issues.
You can check your network card’s hardware status to find out its connectivity. There are certain permissions checking techniques that can be used for network diagnostics. “Netsh” command in windows offers many measures to locate problems in Networks.
To resolve connectivity issues, you must check the gateway and DNS settings. In advanced settings, you can also set the WINS server, which stands for Windows Internet Naming Server.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a valuable tool for Network Diagnostics through SNMP Strings. It can not only check the status of each node.
You can not only check status of each connected node but can set certain triggers and alarms against specific actions or lost connectivity in the network.
Besides SNMP, in a Domain Environment, you can use windows OS own commands to check for Network errors. First you must install afminpak.msi on Start>run and then use its commands liker “dcdiag” or “netdiag” to chweck for connectivity and validity of service operations.
Active Directory Administrative Management (ADAM) can also be used to detect and diagnose the problems ion Active Directory Structure.
In case of a broadband connection, you must first verify the settings provided by Service Provider and check them against your own settings. Then verify the physical connectivity between both ends.
Most of the times, the errors are in drop line also known as local loop. Sometimes there are hardware errors in Modem or Router which must be addressed by a physical replacement of equipment.
All the Network Management Software can detect errors in Network and help to locate the faulty node in Network which will in turn facilitate greatly in Network troubleshooting.

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