PCTips Box

In Windows XP you can open the properties of a network connection with 2 clicks. In Windows Vista it takes 5 clicks to open the properties of a network connection.

I’m going to show you how to create a few types of shortcuts that’ll make opening the properties and managing a network connection much easier and faster. This can make alternating network properties of a connection from work and home much less painful.

Simple Network Connection Shortcut

This section shows you how to create a simple shortcut to a network connection’s properties. You can place the shortcut on your desktop or quick launch toolbar and when you open it the network connections properties opens up. (more…)

Let’s say you have a computer that’s connected to the internet via a broadband modem. This guide shows you how to share that computer’s internet connection (turning it into a router) with other computer(s) in your house without using a router or even a network switch in some cases.

Two Computers
If you want to share an internet connection with one additional computer on your network you’ll need an addition network (LAN) card installed on your computer if your broadband modem connects to your computer via a network (LAN) card.

If your broadband modem connects to your computer via a USB cable you probably won’t have to purchase an additional network card because one will be available. (more…)

When a web browser (IE 8 or Firefox for example) connects to a website it establishes connections. Each connection downloads one thing whether it is the html of the page, an image, or ad. Connections are used as a throttle that’s being held back to keep web servers and the internet from getting overloaded.

By default IE 8 only establishes two simultaneous connections at a time to download a web page. The two simultaneous connections limit is specified in the HTTP standard. The two connections limit can be changed on your computer through a registry edit.

Increasing the maximum allowed simultaneous connects from 2 to 16 can increase the speed of some web sites because the sites are downloaded in larger chunks at a time. Keep in mind that this won’t work on all web sites because the number of connections limit can be controlled by the web server. (more…)

This guide shows you how to increase Internet Explorer 7’s connection limit from 2 to 16 which increases the speed of many web pages.

What Are Connections?

When you connect to a website your computer establishes connections with the web server(s). One connection might be a graphics server, another connection may be an ad server and so on. Once the connection has received what it asked for it is disconnected and used for something else.

By default IE7 is set to only be able to open 2 or 4 connections at a time. If you have broadband and you use tabs in IE7 or you visit sites that use lots of connections this tweak will increase the speed of IE7 a little. (more…)

Adding a computer to your wireless network without using a network key is easy. However, you must know that doing so will allow anyone in your neighborhood to access your WiFi, which can make you vulnerable to hackers.

Step 1:
Log in to your hub computer as the administrator.

Step 2:
Open your Wireless Advisor. This is the program that you downloaded when you connected your hub computer to the wireless router.

Step 3:
In the Wireless Advisor window click on the “Actions” tab. (more…)