What Is An Ethernet Hub?

An Ethernet hub is a piece of hardware that connects multiple computers or devices in order to form a network. An Ethernet hub is outdated and has been replaced by a network switch. There are still some special cases where a hub is advantageous to a switch, although none of the reasons to use a hub instead of a switch pertain to a typical network.

An Ethernet hub usually uses the RJ-45 connector on an Ethernet CAT5 cable, although they can also use other legacy (old) connectors. You don’t need to worry about specifics because the typical network cable is a CAT5 with an RJ-45 connector. Simply plug one end of the Ethernet cable into the Ethernet port of your computer and the other end of the cable into the Ethernet port of the hub.

An Ethernet hub typically has 4 or 5 Ethernet ports. But you can find ones with 6, 8, or 16 Ethernet ports. You can also connect a hub to other hubs, routers, or switches.

A hub is a relatively simple device. A hub receives a signal from a computer on the network and re-broadcasts that signal to all other computers and components attached to the hub. Because all signals sent to the router are rebroadcast to all ports on the router you have the potential for a data collision. This is where a computer is trying to send an outgoing signal during an incoming signal.

All hubs can detect these collisions and they’ll broadcast a jam signal to all ports on the network. Because of these data collisions there are only a limited number of hubs that can be attached to one another. You can attach up to 4 hubs to each other for a network with a speed of 10 megabits a second, and only 2 hubs can be connected for a network with a speed of 100 megabits a second.

In addition to detecting collisions some hubs are able to troubleshoot network problems. These hubs can detect if a particular port has excessive collisions or jabbering. Advanced hubs are able to disconnect these bad ports from the rest of the hub.

Generally the speed of a network is limited by the slowest device in the network. For example if you have an old computer with a 10 megabit per second network adapter attached to a 10/100 megabit per second hub the entire network’s speed will be limited to 10 megabits per second. Dual speed hubs overcome this problem though.

Hubs have been replaced by switches. A switch is more efficient than a hub because it sends information solely to the computer it is intended for and not to every device connected to the switch.

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A Quick Description Of Packet Sniffers And How They Work

Packet sniffers also known as network analyzers or network monitors are used by network administrators to observe and investigate issues that arise with traffic on a network. People who want to steal another person’s confidential information can also use these types of programs maliciously. Using a strong encryption can protect data that is transmitted across networks.

As data is flowing through Internet portals, a legitimate sniffer program will monitor the data to make sure it is transferring efficiently. The program captures packets and analyzes them as they travel across the different networks. If it notices that data is starting to back up, it knows that it must make a decision to send either a command or warning or to reroute the traffic until the bottleneck breaks up.

When the product is being used legitimately, a network administrator can use it to help keep the network running smoothly by analyzing the packets as they get collected. They would be able to determine which packets had errors and use that data to help find the reason why the network is having problems. An administrator also needs to make sure people do not hack into their network. Understanding how hackers use sniffers to enter a network will help them understand how to keep them out.

Hackers are able to hack into sensitive data by using their sniffer program to enter the network and capture the data before it reaches its final destination. The way data is sent across the Internet makes it easy for them to get to the data. When it is sent, it is broken down into packets and passed through a number of network protocol rules before being reassembled and loaded to the intended address. If they can get their sniffer program onto the network they can determine the address it is going to, therefore making that address susceptible to being targeted.

When encryption is not used to protect logins and passwords, the network becomes an easy target for malicious activities. Encryption allows all packets to be unreadable to other addresses except the one that is to receive the data. Although, the packets could still be hacked into it would do them no good because they would not be able to decipher the data.

Keeping up with the latest products of packet sniffers will hopefully help network administrators stay one-step ahead of the hackers. There are many options available when using these programs so understanding all the options will help to determine if a rogue sniffer may have been loaded onto the network.

Packet sniffers help those with the responsibility of managing a computer network to stay informed of issues that can occur with network traffic. HTTP headers are just one way to identify the activities of hackers and spyware.

How To Start Your PC In Safe Mode With Networking For Virus Removal

Sometimes you will need to use safe mode because you have a virus on your computer that will not let you get on to the internet. Once you are in safemode you can try to get online. Some older computers that use a USB mouse, keyboard and wireless may not work in safe mode, in that case this will not help you.. if you discover this is a problem with your computer then simply restart it.

Sometimes your computer may basically be non responsive or will not get on the internet in regular/normal mode you can start it up in a special diagnostic mode “safemode” If your computer is wireless you need to connect it to a your network or modem using the Ethernet cable as most wireless connections will not work in safe mode.

1. First turn the computer off completely 2. Then look for the F8 key in the top row of your keyboard 3. Turn on the computer and immediately start tapping the F8 key you have to be FAST 4. When you see a screen that says something to the effect of advanced options you can stop clicking the F8 key 5. Using the arrow keys on your keyboard highlight safe mode with networking and press enter on your keyboard 6. The next screen may ask you to choose your operation system.. highlight your operating system and press enter on your keyboard 7. The next screen may show a bunch of “gibberish” ignore it, it should disappear in a minute .. You need to be patient. 8. You will eventually see a logon screen , select your username or owner.. do not choose administrator 9. You should see your desk top it should be a black background with the words safe mode in all 4 corners, the icons may be bigger, the screen size may be different as well and you will probably need to “scroll to see things…that’s ok, you will see a message box telling you windows is running in safe mode..click yes 10. Now try getting onto the internet with your usual web browser.

You will probably notice that the display is a bit different when you use safe mode. You will notice that the background will be black and the icon will probably be bigger. This is normal for safe mode. When you go back to normal mode it will show your regular background.

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Learn more about safemode. Stop by Rick Mitchell’s site where you can find out all about virus removal and get free antivirus too.