Every website, router, and computer has an IP address. It is how computers uniquely identify themselves on a network or on the Internet. Typically, in a home network, your router assigns one to your computer. How does it make sure the IP address on your home computer is not the same as one on the Internet? There actually is a list of numbers that is reserved for private use (home, office, corporate, etc.). They are never used for a public website. While the details of how IP numbers are used is intricate, the ranges of reserved numbers are straight forward:

• 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
• 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
• 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

Notice how the last section starts with 192.168.0.0 and that looks a lot like the 192.168.1.1 router address. It may sound strange, but the 192.168.0.0 is actually used to refer to a group of computers. It is OK if that seems odd or does not seem to make sense. The important thing to recognize is that 192.168.1.1 was chosen because it is a low number in this special range. Your computer’s IP number, given to it by the router, will be similar. It should be something like 192.168.1.x (x is a number between 2 & 255).

The nice thing about this convention is that you can memorize this number one for many routers. It may work for every router you ever own. It also should work with the routers of family and friends. This is useful for configuring routers and trouble shooting networks.

Using the number, 192.168.1.1, is actually an easy way to configure your router. For most modern home routers you can just type it into your browser. A configuration page should come up. What it will look like will change from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some may require a username and router password to see anything, others will at least tell you if you are connected to the Internet or not. If you cannot connect to a few different sites, you may be able to check here to see if your Internet connection is down. (Once I typed it in and nothing came up: someone unplugged the router.) Be sure to read your router’s manual before changing any settings. You probably need to log-in to do any real damage, though.

Important note: If your router does not require a password to edit core settings, you have a serious security problem. Please contact your Internet Service Provider for help and instructions on how address that issue. Ghacks has a guide to secure your wireless router that you should take into consideration. It is very easy for someone to change the settings on your router if there is no password protecting in.

Do all routers use this number to identify themselves? No. Some routers will default to a different number. There is no rule or law stating that it has to be 192.168.1.1; it is just a convention. If you look on the bottom of your router, or its manual, you will usually find out what that number is. Typically it is a 192.168.x.x number, but 172.x.x.x or 10.x.x.x are possibilities too. It would be very strange for it to be something else. The IP number on your computer should still be similar to the router’s number (the number before the first decimal point has to be the same). (Sometimes routers displays domain names instead, like speedport.ip which they resolve internally to the IP, meaning you can enter both the IP or domain name to load the router configuration)

Some other common numbers are 192.168.0.1 (ex. D-Link & Netgear) and 192.168.2.1 (according to 19216811.net). While 192.168.1.1 is often mentioned as a Linksys convention, it is used by other brands such as Speedtouch. If you are using a router from an Internet Service Provider, it may actually be made by Linksys. Cisco uses 192.168.1.1 for some of its routers (such as those for small business), but that is no surprise as they own Linksys. Here is a list of some more examples.

One of the easiest ways to find out the IP address of your router is to open a command prompt (by pressing Ctrl-R, typing cmd and then the enter key) and enter the command ipconfig in it. Locate the Default Gateway entry, which in most cases is your router’s IP address.

Features

Although not a HUGE list, the features of iptux are really impressive.

• Auto-detect other iptux users.
• Create shared resources (send files).
• Password protect resources.
• Change your online information.

What I like most about iptux’ shared resources is that you can password protect your shared resources. And you can easily add/remove files to the resource management. This way you can add files to your shared management that have a password, share them, remove them, and then add files that do not have a password. A nice feature would be to enable the ability to have both password protected and open files in the same manager. That’s not there yet, but would be very handy in a company environment.

Installation

The installation is simple. Just follow these (fairly standard) steps:

1. Open up your Add/Remove Software utility.
2. Search for “iptux” (no quotes).
3. Mark iptux for installation.
4. Click Apply to install.
5. Close your Add/Remove Software utility.

Usage

Figure 1

To start up iptux click Applications > Internet > iptux. This will fire up the main window (see Figure 1) where you will quickly see anyone who happens to be on line and also using iptux. As you can see iptux gives you the “Pals” name and ip address. An unconfigured “Pal” will only list their username. Naturally you can configure iptux to display any name you like. But first, let me show you how to send a message and set up resources.

Figure 2

To send a message double click on the Pal you want to communicate with to open up the chat window (see Figure 2). The actual chatting is fairly straightforward.  Type and click Send.

To create resources to share with users click Tools > Shared Managment. In this new window

Figure 3

(see Figure 3) you add files and/or folder to your shared resources. If you want to password protect your shared resources, click Set Password and enter your password.

To request shared resources from a Pal simply right-click the Pal in your main window and select Request Shared Resources. NOTE: When you accept a shared directory, you download the full directory. You can not traverse the directory and choose only particular files. So choose wisely when you share a directory.

Figure 4

When you request shared resources that are password protected, you will be prompted for the password even before you see the listing of files and folders. Once you reach the shared resources window (see Figure 4) you can select what you want to download and where you want to download it to.

Final thoughts

The iptux application is an ideal little tool for collaborating with fellow workers. It’s simple to use, allows you to create shared resources, and is very unobtrusive. Take advantage of this handy application to make your work life much easier.

LAN Speed Test is a portable software program to test the speed of a local area network. The program will display the name and IP address of the computer that is it running on. Tests are started with a click on the Start Test button. This will open a file browser to select a folder the data should be read from and written to. This should be on a different computer system so that the actual lan speed is tested.

The program will ask for a file size of the file that will be written and read in the second step of the lan speed test configuration. It will then write the file to the target location, clear the Windows file cache, read the file back, clear the cache a second time, delete the file and display the results of the speed test.

The results can be printed but not exported to a file. Lan Speed Test is available from the developer’s website. It is compatible with all Microsoft operating systems including Windows 7 (not sure about 64-bit though).

Lan Speed Test via Addictive Tips

First thing was to check the installed hardware in the Windows Control Panel. If you operate a different operating system you need to find and access the equivalent there. The LAN was not listed there anymore. That was bad. It could have been a driver problem so the next step was to check for hardware that was not installed yet. The LAN was not found there either.

Next step was to reboot the computer and check in the Bios. While doing that I verified that the LAN led was still on. The BIOS showed zero LAN configuration options. I knew that there were some before which gave me the confirmation that something was seriously wrong. Next step CMOS reset. This is done by setting a jumper on the motherboard. The LAN options did not show up then either. I could have tried installing a new BIOS but this sounded awfully risky with dead components on the motherboard.

You got two options basically at this point. The fast option is to add a new PCI LAN card and install it on the computer system. Good LAN cards should provide better performance than onboard LAN. That’s what I did. The other option is to contact the manufacturer of the motherboard and wait for an answer. Can take some days, usual result is a replacement or repair which can take weeks or even months. Not a good option if you need to be online most of the day.

To put everything in a list:

• Check if the operating system lists the onboard component.
• Check if it can be found by scanning for hardware.
• Check if the lights are on (if it has lights)
• Shutdown the computer and see if everything is connected properly
• Check the Bios for the onboard component
• Reset the Bios
• Replace the Nic or replace the motherboard or contact support.

Do you have any additional tips on how to cope with a dead onboard LAN?

AjooBlast is a freeware application for Microsoft Windows that works as a server and player at the same time. You would add your mp3 folders to the server and set a secure password for the server. The player would then be able to connect to the server over the internet or lan providing such a connection would exist. It is important to have the IP address of the server at hand because you will need it if you connect to the server over internet.

You need to be able to install the software on the other computers as well which is rather unfortunate because I’m not able to install software on my work pc. It offers a great feature nevertheless which makes it easy to share the music with your friends. They only need the software, your IP and password and are able to connect to your server and play the music.

I think it is really astonishing what some coders can do with some kilobytes. Great application. The software is missing a web client which would make it even greater

Lan over the Internet has many uses but it was especially designed for gamers in mind. Now you can play games in lan modus over the internet, no need to carry your computers to your friends anymore. Can’t join a lan party because you have work to do at home some of the time ? No problem, just fire up Hamachi and join the fun in your spare time. Hamachi works great with most games with no configuration whatsoever. Let us take a look at this in detail:

Hamachi adds a new network adapter at installation, if you are using firewalls you might have to adjust your firewall rules. (By default Hamachi uses the port 12975) You have to enter a nickname at first start and recieve a unique IP in the range of 5.x.x.x. Enter the preferences before you start a network, you have to adjust some settings in there. (click on the button configure hamachi and select preferences).

You should setup an master password for security reasons. You have the option to run Hamachi at windows startup which I do not recommend unless you and your friend(s) are always online and want to use the service. You should Block Vulnerable Microsoft Services in the Security tab and probably block new network members by default. (you might want to wait until all your friends are known in the network)

It is time to create your first virtual network, to do so click on Power on (if you have not done so already) and select Create or Join Networks. One person has to create the network while all others join the network. Choose create a network and give it a name and a password. Voila, your vpn is active and you see the name of it in the main window.

Once a friend connects to it you see the ip of that friend and the nickname beneath the channel name. The light should be green which indicates that everything is running fine. Right-Clicking a name allows you to ping his computer or chat with him. I recommend a voice application software like Skype or Teamspeak for troubleshooting purposes, you are probably going to use one of those anyway when playing games. You should be able to ping the other connections (right-click, select ping) which indicates that everything should be fine and ready to go.

You can also do other things with Hamachi, here is a personal selection:

• Run an Internet (LAN) Radio Station with Hamachi
• How to setup and connect a proxy over Hamachi
• User Management and Advanced Shares
• Yellow Status
• Configure Outpost Firewall, Zone Alarm, Sygate and Norton Internet Security 2005

Hamachi Troubleshooting Guide. (Taken from Hamachi forum):

• Ensure that everyone can ping everyone, use peer’s right-click menu for that. If ping times out, you will need to check personal firewall settings and make sure it is not blocking pings and game traffic on Hamachi connection. Guides for configuring some popular firewalls are available in HowTo section.
• Launch game and select LAN mode. Make someone host a game. With majority of games everyone else should see hosted game on the list and be able to join it right away.
• If the above does not work, try connecting to the hosting server by its 5.x.x.x IP
• If again it does not work and you are positive that personal firewall is configured correctly, then the game might not be coping well with the presence of two network connections (physical and Hamachi) or generally unhappy about 5.x.x.x addresses. Example of the game of the first kind is AOE series, of the second kind – CS