Mike, What is TeamViewer and how do I install and use it?

TeamViewer is one of many tools available that allows you access to your computer remotely through an Internet connection from anywhere in the world. Remote access is the commonly used phrase, but in reality you are not accessing your computer directly. These remote tools allow you and your computer to meet in "cyberspace" though a secured and encrypted third-party server via the Internet.

I have tested, evaluated, and used several of the most common tools out there such as LogMeIn, GoToMyPC, WebEx, GoToMeeting, and found TeamViewer not only easy to setup and use, but the price is just right. Unlike the most popular pay-for-use tools out there today, the folks at TeamViewer offer their product for residential use free of charge. But don't worry about TeamViewer; they make their big bucks from corporate licenses.

Downloading and Installing TeamViewer
Note: In order to operate TeamViewer, you will need to perform the following on both your home computer and the computer you intend to use remotely.

Open www.itcaz.com and click on TeamViewer Remote Access in the Free Download area. Follow instructions below or follow the on-screen prompts:

1. Select to Open and the install process will begin.
2. Click Next to continue…
3. Read through the EULA (End User License Agreement), and choose, “I accept the terms in the license Agreement” and click Next or Cancel if you’re not sure. I’ve read the EULA and it pertains mostly to the commercial use of this free product.
4. Select, Host mode installation in Choose Installation Type and click Next.
5. Set your private password here and click Next. Use a password with a combination of at least six letters and numbers and write this down for reference.
6. Click Next to continue.
7. Click Install…
8. And then Next to complete the process.
9. Click Finish.
   

Using TeamViewer
After the installation you'll see two new icons show up in your System Tray. One is the TeamViewer application and the other is your remote connection (DynGate). Roll your cursor over the TeamViewer icons and you’ll see two sets of numbers. They might look like this: 1282213, 192.168.1.100. The first set of numbers (before the comma) is your TeamViewer computer id number. The second set of numbers will be your local computer’s network address. Write your TeamViewer computer id number down and keep it with you.

To access your home computer remotely:

1. Ensure TeamViewer is running (you’ll see the two icons in your System Tray) on both your home and remote computer. Note: Make sure your home computer is not set to Hibernate as this may cause your computer to be inaccessible.
2. On your remote computer, right-click on the TeamViewer icon and select Request Connection.
3. On the left under Your Details is your local computer’s information. On the right under Partner Details is the computer id number of your home computer. Enter this now.
4. Select which connection mode you prefer to work in and click on Connect to Partner.
5. If all is successful, you will be asked for the password you provided to your home computer. Enter this now and click Login.

You should now see the desktop of your remote, home computer. Familiarize yourself with the various tools and commands at the top of the screen and simply disconnect when you’re through working.

ITC Computer Services of Arizona
Office/Fax: 602-375-7934
Mobile: 602-684-7501
Web Site: http://www.itcaz.com/
Email: mike@itcaz.com

Mike, What is DNS and what does it do?

The term, DNS (Domain Name Service) is nothing more than an extremely large Hosts file that resides at a specific Internet Address for a specific server and contains host translations. Let me explain...

The true network address for any web site is really a set of four, three-digit numbers separated by periods; leading zeros are truncated. In the case of www.yahoo.com, its main Internet Address is 209.131.36.158. But it’s impractical for users of the World Wide Web to remember all of the variations of Internet Addresses (gets really cumbersome), so these need to be translated into an alias (nick) name for ease of use.

To gain a visual on this, open your Internet Browser, enter http://209.131.36.158/ into your URL address bar, and press GO. If you did this right http://www.yahoo.com/ should show up.

So how does it know this?

The DNS provided to you by your ISP (Internet Service Provider) will translate 209.131.36.158 to http://www.yahoo.com/, 74.125.19.104 to http://www.google.com/, etc. And whenever you see a DNS error on a web page it usually means the translation does not exist (no such website) or the DNS address provided to you by your ISP is either down, missing, or is incorrect.

What do you do in these instances?

Call your ISP and explain the issue. Let them troubleshoot and investigate the problem. Chances are the solution is a simple fix.

ITC Computer Services of Arizona

Office/Fax: 602-375-7934

Mobile: 602-684-7501

Web Site: http://www.itcaz.com/

Email: mike@itcaz.com

Mike, How can I manage what programs are started when I boot my computer?

On Windows XP (and above) there is a command called MSCONFIG. MSCONFIG allows you to change all boot settings on your computer including Services and Start up programs. Be careful though, changing other boot settings can cause problems and may even prevent your computer from starting up.

• Go to Start and select Run.
• Enter msconfig in the address window that pops up and press OK.
• Click on the Start up tab.

The entries here are all programs that are set to start when you boot your computer. Now, each of these programs (while needed in some cases) merely work to drag down the performance of your computer so read through these carefully and choose wisely which ones you want to start and which ones you want to turn off. Note, turning these programs off does not remove them from your computer.

Each entry contains three bits of information:

• Item
• Command
• Location

To the left of these is a check-box. Checked items are turned on, unchecked items are turned off.

Usually the Start up Item is intuitive enough for you to get an idea of what the program is (such as Adobe, Microsoft Office, etc.). But if you need more information to identify the program, look at the Command column. To do this, locate the small, vertical lines between the columns, hold down your left mouse button and drag this to the right to increase the column width.

Which items should you leave turned on? A rule of thumb is to always allow programs related to Windows Updates, Firewalls, Virus and Spy ware protection to start up when your computer boots. Secondary, is to keep programs turned on that you'll need for productivity enhancement such as Scanners, Printers, Faxes, and such. All other programs can be turned off, but if you find you need them, go in and simply turn these back on.

When done click OK and then Restart.

When your computer reboots, a message window will pop up from your System Configuration Utility alerting you that settings have changed using your System Configuration Utility. Click on "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts" and then click OK.

ITC Computer Services of Arizona
Office/Fax: 602-375-7934
Mobile: 602-684-7501
Web Site: www.itcaz.com
Email: mike@itcaz.com

Mike, What is a "Hosts" file and what is it for?

Consider you move from 123 Main Street to 456 Elm Ave. To ensure you get your forwarding mail you notify the U.S. Post Office of your change of address. The Hosts file acts in a similar manner. It is a file found on every Windows operating system that checks incoming and outgoing traffic for forwarding addresses. The Hosts file contains two entries: A From entry and a To entry separated by a tab, so if traffic comes into 123 Main Street the Hosts file forwards it to 456 Elm Ave. But to better understand the Hosts file function you first need to understand that the World Wide Web is not based on www URL addresses as we’re all used to using.

Every web site in the world is identified by a unique set of four numbers containing three characters (zeros are truncated) separated by a period. These addresses are often referred to as IP Addresses, Internet Addresses, or Network Addresses. For instance, Yahoo’s Internet Address is 209.131.36.158. Try it out; type 209.131.36.158 into the URL address bar on your web browser. Yahoo.com opened didn’t it? Here’s another one, my Internet Address is 216.185.128.200. Now this doesn’t work with all addresses as many are hidden behind layers of security, but you get the idea.

If you never setup your Hosts file this is what you’d typically see if you viewed it:

# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

127.0.0.1 localhost

The entry for localhost is the computer you are on. The address 127.0.0.1 points to itself and we call this a “black hole” or a “loop back”. Anything referring to localhost or 127.0.0.1 is flushed from the computer. Knowing this, we can block (or filter) access to specific web sites, so let’s consider blocking www.myspace.com:

# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

127.0.0.1 localhost

127.0.0.1 www.myspace.com

127.0.0.1 myspace.com

The reason I have two entries here for myspace is to ensure the above formats are both blocked (www. is unnecessary to type in today as it is assumed).

Does this mean you or I have to enter every possible combination of every potentially unsafe web site? No, there are many ways of populating your Hosts file with templates already out on the web.

If you use SpyBot S&D you can download SpyBot’s Hosts file or you can search the web for any number of free Hosts file sources. But probably the most popular Hosts file source comes from www.mvps.org. You can download this using a zip/unzip program (such as WinZip) at http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.zip. If you don’t have a zip/unzip program you can open the MVPS Hosts file in plain text here: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt. For more information and instructions on how to download and install this file, go to: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm.

ITC Computer Services of Arizona
Office/Fax: 602-375-7934
Mobile: 602-684-7501
Web Site: www.itcaz.com
Email: mike@itcaz.com