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What to Avoid When Designing Web Sites
2008-04-02 15:00:00
I enjoy using Entrecard on a daily basis. It allows me to find new blogs that I would have never have visited without going through Entrecard. At the same time I also find blogs that I would never visit again, not because of the content, but because of how they are designed.In this post I will list several points that I consider to be a bad for Web sites and blogs, and items that should be avoided if you want to keep your visitors coming back for more.What You Should Avoid When Managing a Web SiteI have written many posts regarding designing a good Web site, at least in my opinion. These are outlined in Blog Design ing Tips for New Bloggers and Web Site Design Tips.Now let's look at some bad points that you should avoid when designing Web sites.Creating a complex design.Avoid adding too many links, objects, and ads to the sidebars and focus more on providing an easy to find and read navigational links. Your visitors won't stay around hunting for a specific link. Keep the navigatio...
More About: Designing , Blogging , Web Sites , Sites

Review: BloggerNoob
2008-04-02 15:00:00
It seems most people that start a Web site or blog attempt to make money in some form from their endeavour. I for one have a few money making items on Technically Easy, so I fall into that category.There are many new blogs that have started up with the main focus being making money online. This week's review focuses on one of those blogs. This week I review a relatively new-comer to the "make money online" arena called BloggerNoob.Web Site: BloggerNoobDescription: How a bloggernoob tries to make money online with his blog.Design The design of BloggerNoob features the content on the left and two sidebars on the right. The sidebars, as you can probably guess, hare filled with ads above the fold, and then the navigational links following the ads. I'm not a big fan of this style, since I feel that the author attempts to push the ads on each visitor that arrives to the blog. This is one of pitfalls for visiting a "make money online" blog.There is, however, a menu bar at the top o...
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Review: Life is Colourful
2008-03-31 15:00:00
One of the most popular niche many people choose when creating a blog is the "money making" niche. I am not a fan of this niche, in fact I think it is too saturated with blogs.The blog this week, title Life is Colourful, is a blog that is partially in the "money making" niche. There is more to this blog, which is a good thing, as they author also ventures into the world of the Internet and SEO to provide even more tips to help you get started in blogging.Web Site: Life is Colourful - Making 2 cents per minuteDescription: It's all about Blogging, Internet, SEO, Technology, Review s and Life.Design On of the weakest points of Life is Colourful is the design. While one of the main topics discussed is how to make money online, the blog isn't overwhelmed by ads. The design of the blog contains three sidebars, which is a little unusual. There is a left sidebar, and two right sidebars. The content is between the left and right sidebars.Since there are three sidebars, each column is ...

Taking a Week Off
2008-03-24 15:36:00
I have been infected with a nasty cold, which has impaired my ability to read and write. I will be taking this week off of blogging to recover, but I will be back next week starting on Monday with a new review followed by some tech tips and advice.
More About: Week , Taking

Grouping Posts by Categories in Blogger
2008-03-21 14:00:00
I recently had questions regarding adding categories to a Blogger blog. Although it doesn't appear like Blogger supports categories, it in fact does and they can be added easily. In one of my recent posts titled Blog Designing Tips for New Bloggers, made mention of categories and that all new blogs should include a listing of them in their sidebar.In this post I will explain what categories are, and how to incorporate them into your Blogger blog.About Categories Each post on a blog is usually about a specific topic, and a blog may have several topics overall. When you create many posts about a topic it would be nice to allow the visitor to view all posts that are related to that topic. This is where categories come into play.A category is simply a tag, or label for a post. When you add a post to a category you simply begin to organize your blog in a meaningful manner. You then list you categories on your blog and when a visitor clicks the category link, a new page displaying all pos...
More About: Blogging , Posts

Blog Designing Tips for New Bloggers
2008-03-19 14:00:00
I have been busy writing free blog reviews each week for those that have requested a review. When I review a blog one of the criteria I use to rate a blog is how well the blog is designed. There are many different designs that you can use for a blog, but I think for many new bloggers what to include in the design can seem confusing.I have decided to compile a list of the items I look for in a blog. Others will have their opinion, but here are mine.The Layout of a Blog Before I talk about the elements, or widgets, to include it is important to have a well defined layout. The layout sets the tone on how your blog will look and feel to a visitor.There are a few layout standards that you can see throughout the many blogs online. Some blogs incorporate one navigational sidebar and the content, while others include two sidebars. Some layouts place the sidebar on the left side of the page, while others place it on the right side. For those with two sidebars, you may see them split on the le...
More About: Designing , Tips , Blogging , Bloggers

Review: Blog with Ric
2008-03-17 14:00:00
When creating a blog there are two things that separate a good blog from a great blog: a focus and a good design. A blog needs to be focused on a specific subject, unless it is a personal diary, and it also needs to have an easy to follow navigational design.For this week's review I will look at a blog that contains a long description, but short posts, and all the elements of a good design. The author has chosen to talk about many subjects, but can they all be tied together under a single focus? Let's have a look at Blog with Ric.Web Site: Blog with RicDescription: This blog is intended to share my experiences with just about anything. Postings can be about blogger hacks and tools, design and templates, programming and web development, earning online, my investments, savings tips, useful links, personal rants and other topics that catches my mind's fancy.Design I feel the design of a blog can help determine if a visitor stays and reads the posts you have written, or simply c...
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Running Old DOS Programs in Windows XP or Vista
2008-03-14 14:00:00
The first PC my family ever had had an 8088 4.77MHz processor, 640KB of RAM, 20MB hard drive and a CGA (4colors) graphics adapter. This was back in the early to mid-80s, but I remember how much fun I had playing many games on that system. Back then, of course, all games and applications ran in DOS, the operating system at the time.I still enjoy some of the old games, however, computers have change much since that time and many of those DOS games are either difficult to get working in Windows , or don't run at all. In this post I will introduce you to a free application that you can download that allows you to still run those old DOS applications in Windows XP or Vista .Introducing DOSBoxAnyone who has tried to run old DOS programs in Windows XP or Vista knows how frustrating it can be to get them to work properly. About a year ago I became frustrated with not being able to play some of my old DOS games, so I decided to search the Internet for a solution. I came across DOSBox.DOSBox e...
More About: Running , Programs , Windows Xp

What is a UPS?
2008-03-12 14:00:00
I have discussed topics such as backing up your data and securing your computer to protect your personal information on your computer. The one topic I have not discussed is protecting your actual computer hardware. This is just as important as backing up your data as leaving your physical computer unprotected can cause you to not only lose data, but also replace your system.In this post I will talk about an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), what it is and how it can protect your computer from harm.Overview of UPSThe term UPS is an acronym for Uninterruptible Power Supply. This is simply a stand-alone device containing a battery that can be used to supply power to your computer in case of a power outage. When a loss or decrease in power from your utility power source, the UPS device will detect this and continue to power your computer using the battery.The UPS connects directly into the electrical outlet, and then the computers, or other electronic equipment, plug into the UPS. The...
More About: Hardware

Review: iMod - Thought Promotion
2008-03-10 14:00:00
There are many types of blogs on the Internet, but the two most common, at least from what I have noticed, are blogs that provide money making tips and personal blogs. The money making type blogs usually provide the same posts as other blogs, and don't really have much of anything new to say. The personal blogs, on the other hand, contain posts on anything and everything in the life of the author. This can lead to some very entertaining posts.This week's review is a personal blog from an individual in South Africa, and like most personal blogs this one tends to lost its focus at times.Web Site: iMod - Thought Promotion Description: The ramblings of a 25 year old, eMarketing developer, cigarette smoking guy who is a complete Internet junkie.Design The design of iMod is very simple with the content on the left and two navigation sidebars on the right. The top of the two sidebars consists of RSS subscription, an about the author box, sponsors and ads and boxes of links such as po...
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Connecting and Older Printer to USB in Windows XP
2008-03-07 15:00:00
I recently published a post titled What is USB? where I briefly mentioned the problem of new computers only have USB ports. For many this may not seem like a problem, but for those that have devices that don't use USB, this can be a problem.For those with older printers that connect only to the parallel port, and you would still like to use that printer, I will provide instructions on how you can connect that old printer to the USB port in this post.Parallel to USBConnecting an older parallel printer to a USB is fairly easy to do, in fact it is very similar to connecting a printer to the parallel port. Before we begin you will need to purchase a parallel-to-USB cable to replace your old cable. This cable will connect the printer to the computer. You can usually find this type of cable at any computer store.Once you have the cable, follow these instructions to setup the printer:Connect the larger parallel connector of the cable into the printer, and the USB connector into a USB port...
More About: Hardware , Windows , Printer , Windows Xp

When to Use GIF and JPEG Format
2008-03-05 15:00:00
I have written several posts on image formats, their advantages and disadvantages. The one thing I haven't really discussed is when to use a particular format over another. Depending on that type of image you have will determine which format you should choose. Most people may just choose JPEG, however, there are many times GIF may be more suitable.I will explain when to use either GIF or JPEG with images using examples and comparisons between the two formats. Hopefully this post will help you make a more educated decision.Differences Between GIF and JPEGNote:There are other image formats that a popular such as TIFF and PNG, but for the purpose of this post I will stay with GIF and JPEG.Both GIF and JPEG have advantages and disadvantages that help dictate how the format is used. Both are compressed and are support by all Web browsers. I will provide a quick comparison between the two formats below.ValueGIFJPEGNumber of Colours Supported25616.7 millionCompression TypeLossless - No da...
More About: Technology , Format , Jpeg

Resizing Digital Photos for E-mail in Windows XP
2008-02-29 15:00:00
Once in a while I will get several digital photos as attachments in an e-mail, and the photos haven't been resized. This is a problem as photos from a digital camera are usually 2MB and larger, which is quite big to send in an e-mail. Add to the fact that there are usually several photos being sent in an e-mail, and you can see that it can take some time to download the entire e-mail.In this post I will show you a quick method of resizing your photos right in Windows XP that will make them ready for e-mailing or uploading to the Web.The Image Resizer PowertoyBefore we begin, you will need to download the Image Resizer Powertoy from the Microsoft Web site. These steps only need to be done once.Download Image Resizer Powertoy from the Microsoft Web site. The link is listed on the right.Install the Image Resize by following the prompts.Resizing the Photos Use the following steps to be able to easily resize photos in Windows XP:Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the directory contain...
More About: Mail , E-Mail , Digital

What is USB?
2008-02-27 15:00:00
Last year, someone I know updated his desktop PC. Once we begin to connect all the peripherals such as the keyboard and mouse we noticed something was missing: the serial ports. The only ports included in the desktop were USB ports.In this post I will provide a brief overview of USB, provide a brief history and discuss what exactly a USB port is used for.Brief HistorySince the inception of the personal computer up until a few years ago, external devices usually connected to a PC through one of two ports: parallel and serial ports. Such things as printers and scanners would connect to the parallel port of a computer that allowed for faster data transfers than the serial ports. Keyboards and mice connected to the serial ports.As new devices came about, and the amount of data that needed to be transferred it was obvious that the parallel and serial ports would quickly become insufficient. In 1995 a specification for a new serial bus was introduced called USB.USB is an acronym for Unive...
More About: Hardware , Technology

123 CCTV Security Camera Surveillance Equipment
2008-02-26 15:00:00
When talking technology, one aspect that is usually overlooked is that of site security. Not only is it important to monitor your computers using firewalls and anti-virus, but it is also important to provide security for the entire site.123 CCTV Security Camera Surveillance Equipment is a company that specializes in site security and has served both home users and the Pentagon over the years. They offer security equipment that ranges from hidden cameras, to internal and external surveillance cameras.About 123 CCTVThe company is located in two offices in the United States: Littleton, Colorado and Morro Bay, California. According to BBB Online, it has been in business since October 1999 and currently has been a BBB Accredited business since April 2000. This means 123 CCTV meets the BBB Accreditation standards.123 CCTV Security Camera Surveillance Equipment currently offers various packages for site owners, from hidden, to internal and external surveillance equipment. Each type of came...

Review: Water Garden Guide
2008-02-25 15:00:00
Up until this point in my review writing campaign the Web sites that I have reviews have been various types of blogs. For this week's review I have the opportunity to review a non-blog Web site, which is a nice change.The focus of this week's Web site is on water garden's, what they are, how to create them, and other important information. After visiting this site I can easily tell this is on well planned, thought out and maintained Web site.Web Site: Water Garden Guide Description: Advice for home owners wanting to create a water garden in their own backyard.Design The design of Water Garden Guide is very simple. There is a navigational bar on the left and the content on the right. The width of page is small enough where a visitor with an 800x600 resolution could easily be able to read the pages without scrolling to the left or right.The left navigational menu is created suing images with a rollover effect. The dark background chosen for the buttons and the white lettering ...
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Tips on Taking Photographs with a Digital Camera
2008-02-22 15:00:00
I'm not a professional photographer, but I do enjoy taking pictures. I try to take the best pictures I possibly can, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I bought my first digital camera in 2002, and since that time I have been learning some tricks and tips that I can use to take better photographs.In this post I will provide some tips that have helped me through the last few years, and hopefully they will help you.Camera SettingsMost people that take pictures usually keep the camera on full Auto, meaning they just take the photo, download and print it. I don't mind the Auto setting, but I prefer to make a few camera settings.Digital cameras usually have a white balance setting. Change this setting to match the lighting conditions:For sunny and cloudy days I change this setting to "Cloudy". Some DSLRs also have a "Shade" setting that you can also use.For indoor shots with regular incandescent lights, choose the "Tungsten" setting if are not using the flash.If you are ...
More About: Digital Camera , Tips , Photographs

What is ATA?
2008-02-20 15:00:00
I recently had to install a new hard drive in a computer that was about 2 years old. Before purchasing the new hard drive I needed to determine the interface the hard drive uses. There are currently two interfaces in existence today: PATA (IDE or EIDE) and SATA.For newer computers, you will probably find SATA, while in my particular instance it was PATA. In this post I discuss both PATA and SATA by provided a brief background, the different ATA specifications and how devices are connected to each interface.History of ATA?ATA, like many computer terms, is an acronym for Advanced Technology Attachment and is the standard interface for storage devices such as hard drives and CD-ROMs in a computer. Other terms such as IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) and EIDE (Enhanced IDE) have been used interchangeably with ATA.In 1986, Western Digital developed an early specification known as IDE because of the drive controller on the drive itself instead of on the motherboard. Later EIDE was devel...

Review: Workout Mommy
2008-02-18 15:00:00
There are many blogs and Web sites online that are devoted to exercising and health, and many of them indicate that it can take up to an hour each day to exercise. For many mothers, it is hard to find time to exercise when taking care of a child.This week's review is a blog called Workout Mommy that is about exercising, and is especially geared towards mothers. The information provided can be used by anyone having trouble finding time to exercise.Web Site: Workout MommyDescription: A blog about health and fitness for momsDesign The design of Workout Mommy consists of two navigation sidebars on either side of the page and the content in the center. There is a large header at the top of the page with a tag line *Be Fit. Be Healthy. Be Happy) and title of the blog (It's Time To: Workout Mommy).The weakest part of the whole design of Workout Mommy is the layout of the navigational bars. I liked how the author has included many navigation links such as categories, recent posts, an...
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What is RAID?
2008-02-15 15:00:00
Recently I noticed a 1TB (terabyte) external hard drive on sale, and thought it would be great for storing my digital photos and digital videos. A terabyte is 1000 gigabytes so it is quite large, at least by today's standards. When I looked closely at the box for the hard drive I noticed that it mentioned RAID 0. I have been noticing desktop hard drives taking advantage of RAID, which was traditionally reserved for servers.In this post I will provide a brief overview of RAID, how it started and the various levels of RAID.Brief History of RAIDRAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, and was designed to improve the fault tolerance and performance of computer storage. In 1987 the University of California at Berkeley developed RAID so that a group of smaller, and less expensive hard drives could be connected using special hardware and software so they appear as one large drive. Increases in fault tolerance and performance could be realized when using multiple drives...
More About: Hardware , Raid

What is a Digital Raw File?
2008-02-13 15:00:00
I have written several posts regarding digital Raw files produced by digital cameras. There is also much discussion online as to whether one should save photos in JPEG or Raw files. As with any file format, Raw files have both advantages and disadvantages.In this post I will look at what exactly a digital Raw file is, what is needed produce a digital photo from a Raw file, and finally the advantages and disadvantages.A Raw fileIn my post titled How Digital Cameras Work I explain how a digital camera captures a scene and processes the information to produce a photo. Also in that post I talk about the camera's sensor and how a colour filter is used to add the colours to the photos. Understanding camera sensors will help to understand a Raw file since this type of digital format is simply the sensor data saved to a file.Although there are a few different colour filter arrangements available in digital cameras, a Raw file is simply a grayscale representation of the photo because it rec...
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Review: 1 Million Love Messages
2008-02-11 15:00:00
When I started providing free reviews I decided to use a simple system to determine which Web site or blog I review: first come first serve. There were exceptions in the past where I didn't feel that the Web site was appropriate for this blog. Since I passed on a few sites today's review comes at a most opportune time.The blog I will be reviewing today is called 1 million Love Messages , and with Valentine's Day right around the corner, it appears that the timing couldn't be any better.Web Site: 1 Million Love MessagesDescription: 1 Blog, 1 Million Love Messages From All Around The WorldYour name and e-mail address.Design The design of 1 Million Love Messages consists of the standard content on the left and double sidebars on the right. Even though is the same as thousands of other blogs, the author has added a few more navigational elements to the design. At the top is of each page is a menu bar that contains such common items as the Home and About links. At the top of the ...
More About: Review , Ages

48bit Image Colour Issues When Saved as JPEG
2008-02-08 15:00:00
When I edit images in Photoshop that are either created in Photoshop, or from a scanner, I usually deal with 48bit images. I like the extra overhead for editing that 48bit images provide. The one problem that I encountered recently was saving the file to a JPEG to be displayed on a Web site. The problem was the colours of the image were off and the image looked dull and had a lack of contrast.After reviewing my workflow when saving a 48bit to a JPEG to display on the Web I quickly realized my mistake. I explain my mistake in this post and how I corrected it.Colour ProfilesAlthough I work mainly work in Photoshop for all my image editing, this section can be used by almost all image editing. This section wil discuss colour profiles.Devices, such as scanners, printers, and monitors, have a colour profile associated with them. A colour profile is a file that is stored on your computer and contains all the colour information for a device. These profiles ensure that the colours in your i...
More About: Issues , Scanning , Image , Jpeg

Great Web Sites for New Bloggers
2008-02-06 15:00:00
When I created Technically Easy I was new to blogging and had no idea what was involved in generating traffic. As I did my research I came across some Web sites that many bloggers use on a regular basis.In this post I provide a few of the free Web sites that you should join to help you manage your blog and generate traffic.The Web Sites FeedBurner - Every blog generates an RSS (or atom) feed that is sent to their subscribers to keep them up to date. A feed is simply an XML text document that is read by applications called readers to display the latest posts to a blog's subscribers. FeedBurner takes this one step further and allows you to customize the look of your feed, such as adding a logo and advertising. I highly recommend that you sign up with FeedBurner and start using it as soon as possible.Technorati - Technorati is a popular site that helps rank thousands of blogs based on how much authority a blog has. Each time a blog links to yours, you gain some authority. The more auth...
More About: Blogging , Great , Bloggers

Review: Hin's Tech Corner
2008-02-04 15:00:00
As anyone who has read the previous reviews can tell, there are many types of blogs that have been created. Many blogs are photography blogs that display many photographs taken by the author.In this review, I take a look at such a blog called Hin's Tech Corner . Like many of the other photography blogs, this blog as plus and minuses that are apparent in many of this blog type.Web Site: Hin's Tech CornerDescription: Hin's Tech Corner about digital photography, internet, software, blog, advertising and journey into dSLR with Casio ex-z750, Fuji F30 and Pentax K100DDesign The design of Hin's Tech Corner is simple. The content is on the left and the navigational sidebar is on the right.The content consists mainly of photographs, and a few paragraphs of text. The text chosen is an easy to read font and a good size. This is a plus as many blogs like to choose a smaller font size. Many of the words in the content are double-underlined meaning they are advertising links. Some people...
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How to Reset the D-Link DI-524 Wireless Router
2008-02-01 15:00:00
Some time ago I wrote a post titled Securing D-Link DI-524 Wireless Router . In that post I outlined the steps needed to secure that particular wireless router.More recently I wrote another post title How to Reset the Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router and decided to write a similar post on reseting the DI-524 router.Note:Reseting the router to the factory defaults will delete any changes you have made to the router, including any security settings. This should be used as a last resort.Reset ButtonThe steps involved in reseting the router is simply pressing a button located on the router. The image below (courtesy of D-Link) shows where the button is located.To reset your router, use the following steps:Press the reset button for 10 seconds. You can use a small object, such as a paper clip to hold down the button.Do not power off the unit while the router is being reset.The unit should now reboot, and once the WLAN light stops blinking the router should be reset.Open up your Web browser ...
More About: Security , Networking

Organizing Digital Archives
2008-01-30 15:00:00
A few months back I wrote a post call Data Archiving Method where I talked about which media I chose to backup my scanned photo and negative archives. I also mentioned the labeling method I chose to keep track of each photo. I haven't wrote much about archive since then so I decided to provide more information for those that are archiving.In this post I will elaborate on the organizing and photo properties that I have chosen for the archives.Archive File PropertiesThere is always talk on forums and Web sites on what resolution to scan originals (both photos and negatives) in order to archive them in a digital format. There really doesn't seem to be one preferred method to choose, so I came up with my own that I will use. It may not be the best method, or the one you prefer, but it works for me.Photographs (Colour/Black and White)Scanning Resolution: 600 dpiColour: 48 bitFile format: TIFFFile name:pcnnnnnn.tif (colour)pbnnnnnn.tif (black and white)A few notes about the above specif...
More About: Digital , Archives , Organ , Hive

Review: My Consoling Asylum
2008-01-28 15:00:00
I have visited many blogs since I started Technically Easy, and have come across blogs of different genres. I have read travel, technical, photography and money-making blogs. The one type of blog that I do enjoy reading are the personal blogs, where individuals just talk about their life.This week I look at a personal blog. The one thing about these types of blogs is that it allows the author to pretty much talk about anything they are interested in for that particular day.Web Site: My Consoling Asylum Description: The home of the half-sane, half-unwell. It's where mundane everydayness rests. It's just about everything...Design The design of the blog uses the new standard of blog layout. The content is on the left, two sidebars on the right and a large footer that contains more information and links. I have always been used to the navigation on the left, but since I have started blogging I now don't mind it on the right.The one thing that stands out about the navigational sid...
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Windows XP Performance Myths
2008-01-25 15:00:00
I recently wrote two posts on how to speed up Windows XP. The first post discussed some easy changes you can make to XP as well as a few maintenance tasks you can perform. The second post was a bit more advanced and discussed a few of the Windows services that you can safely stop.Although, both posts weren't really in-depth, they did provide some quick changes that should help you get more performance from your system. As I wrote the posts, I also thought about tweaks that are discussed online (ones that I used to use), but have since been proven false. In this post I will outline some of the popular "tweaks", that really don't do anything.The Myths I have been learning how to get more performance out of Windows XP for many years. I always like to tweak my operating system, especially since I have an older machine. There have been many tweaks that I have performed on my machine, but it wasn't until recently that I realize many of them really don't do anything, or obsolete.Here ...
More About: Performance , Windows Xp

How to Reset the Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router
2008-01-23 15:00:00
Once of the most popular pages on Technically Easy is the post titled Securing Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router . In that post I ouline the steps needed to secure that particular wireless router.The one problem I didn't mention is how to reset the router back to the factory defaults. You may need to do this if you forget your router's password or made a mistake and you can't connect to the router. In this post I'll outline two methods you can follow to reset your Linksys WRT54G wirless router.Note:Reset ing the router to the factory defaults will delete any changes you have made to the router, including any security settings. This should be used as a last resort.Reset ButtonThe first method involves simply pressing a button located on the back of the router. The image below (courtesy of Linksys) shows where the button is located.To reset your router, use the following steps:Press the reset button for 30 seconds.The settings should now be returned to the factory default settings, mea...
More About: Networking