connection

5G data use drains batteries quicker than 4G connections, according to new research. However, improved performance in newer processors could make up the difference. The figures come from Ookla, the company behind Speedtest, which measures broadband ... connections. Its worth nothing that the sample group in the study may not be representative of the overall 5G population, as those who use the Speedtest service are typically interested in the speed of their connections. Ookla spotted the difference when analyzing data originally collected to compare the performance of different Android processors ... (view more)

Nine in ten Americans are now online according to new figures. But it's the United Kingdom that is "most online" and least subject to Internet restrictions. The figures come from Proxyrack, a company with a clear interest in places where users may ... want to disguise their identity of location. It wanted to see if there was any connection between how widespread Internet use was and how freely people could use the Internet. (Source: proxyrack.com ) The usage figures came from Statista and shows 99,231 out of every 100,000 people in the UK had used the internet recently. That was followed by Japan ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Neil W. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your interesting article on whether a VPN is safe for online banking . However, one question I can't seem to find the answer to is: do I need VPN on a public network? Do I need a VPN on a ... private network? What about a VPN on a shared network? An example might include a student doing banking at a university shared network. What do you think? " My response: Short answer: A VPN, or virtual private network is useful in a few cases - for example: hiding your tracks online (to some extent, but with major limitations) or accessing geo- ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill K. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your excellent and concise explanations regarding VPNs (virtual private networks). I read with interest the latest article, ' Difference Between VPN Server and VPN (Service) ' and also ' ... Do I need a VPN? Are VPNs Safe for Online Banking? '. I was wondering if you could explain the difference between a VPN vs Proxy ? Which one is better? Can I use a Proxy with bit torrent or browsing the web anonymously? " My response: In this case, the term "proxy" refers to a "proxy server", which is a special use server online the Internet that is ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Emmy-Lou' writes: " Dear Dennis, I am having trouble accessing eBay. The error message I get is: 'This site can't be reached. The connection was reset.' Other times, it is 'This site can't be reached. eBay unexpectedly closed the ... connection'. On the page with the error message, it says to: 'Try: Checking the connection, checking the proxy and the firewall, and Running Windows Network Diagnostics'. The official error message is ERR_CONNECTION_RESET (but sometimes it is ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED ). Can you help? " My response: Troubleshooting this error message can be rather ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sal S. writes: " Dear Dennis, My company runs a network of computers. Some of the computers run Windows 10 with 64 GB of RAM and VMWare Workstation (which run virtual machines). I use Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) to manage these ... 'Windows 10 Servers' remotely. Recently I had to install Oracle VirtualBox on the main Windows 10 server, and now I cannot connect to it using RDP - I have to use TightVNC instead. When I try and connect using remote desktop (RDP), I get an error message: ' Your computer could not connect to another console session on the remote computer because you ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gord F. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a very vexing issue. For the last few weeks, Firefox randomly produces a ' This connection is untrusted ' message whenever I try to sign out of my Outlook email account (outlook.live.com), or ... when I visit other secure websites. It seems to work one minute, then it won't work the next. If I shut down and restart the computer the 'This connection is untrusted' error disappears, only to pop up again the next time I visit a secure website at some point in the day. When I see a 'This connection is untrusted' message, I've clicked the ' ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sam R. writes: " Dear Dennis, The other day I wanted to connect to my wife's PC using Remote Desktop, but the Remote Desktop settings are missing. I've right clicked 'This PC', then selected Properties, then clicked on the 'Remote ... Desktop' link, but all I see is an option for 'Remote assistance' - there is no option for 'Remote Desktop' as there is on my machine. She is running Windows 10 Home. What gives? " My response: Unfortunately, there is no way to manage the Remote Desktop service using Windows Home versions; you need the "Pro" version of Windows to be able to use ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Janie T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I wanted to know if I should use a VPN (virtual private network) to connect to my bank website. A service I came across called saferweb.com claims that they will encrypt my connection, but I don't ... know if they can be trusted or not. What do you think? PS: I love your daily infopackets letters - they are very informative. " My response: This is a good question. When visiting saferweb.com I noted the following statements on their site: "Safer Web gives you an extra layer of security against Internet hackers. By hiding your IP, we keep your ... (view more)

Dell has confirmed it shipped computers with a major built-in security flaw. The unintentional move could expose users to a significant risk of hackers accessing their personal data. The issue at hand deals with an exploit in the secure sockets ... layer (SSL). Specifically, Dell has inadvertently shipped PCs and laptops with both a trusted root certificate and key, when only the trusted certificate should have been allowed. The idea behind the mishap was to help identify Dell computers when they were connected to Dell's online support service. In this case, the computer's model number could be ... (view more)