Category: Internet Tips

There are loads of Search Engine Optimization (search engine marketing) pointers from numerous sources throughout the internet. Many internet marketers will declare that their internet tips will assure you the “holy grail” of net advertising and marketing that’s the top spot on Google. Realistically, no person knows Google’s mystery algorithm, and those who “assure” a top spot on Google are selling you a rip-off. The mystery of search engine optimization is honestly beating the opposite guys. As the vintage saying goes… “You do not ought to run quicker than the undergo; you simply should run faster than the fellow after you.” This is the name of the game to that pinnacle spot ranking. You must have a higher SEO-optimized website than your competition.

We’ve put together a “Top 10” list of search engine optimization tips that we KNOW work with that in thoughts. We realize they work because we’ve attempted them ourselves, and we’ve seen they work for our clients who’ve tried them. Do these, and we guarantee your website will circulate the scores.

1. Content is King. Or, within John Reese’s words, “Content is higher than King, Content is Kong!” Think of your internet site as an internet actual estate. The more actual estate you have, the more important you are to the search engines. If you notice what number of pages and how much content material “The Biggies” (i.e., Amazon, eBay, Microsoft, Wikipedia, etc.) have, it’s wonderful. Their websites have many heaps (and possibly even thousands and thousands) of pages. So you want to generate clean new content material frequently. This is the MOST IMPORTANT element of search engine marketing.

2. Bold Your Keywords. Make some of your keywords Bold for your pages. You can use the <b> </b> tags around your keywords. This may be without problems over executed, but choose a pair of key phrases you are trying to optimize and cause them to be Bold. This will notify engines like Google that those phrases are vital to your web page and give you a couple of extra points for the one’s keywords. Just be careful not to overdo it.

3. Articles. Articles are a first-rate way to construct content on your site. What makes articles even more precious is that you can’t simply put them on your web page; you may publish them to article directories and post them on their sites with a link lower back for your website online. This will offer you exceptional backlinks on the way to closing for years! We are happy to help you with this. If you don’t need to try this yourself, visit our website.

4. Deep Links. Google is getting a lot smarter about hyperlinks. Sheer quantity will no longer assist you. Even link exchanges are starting to get discounted. However, fine links are nevertheless counted closely. It would help if you had hyperlinks entering as many pages inside your website online as possible. This tells search engines like Google and Yahoo that you have relevant content material throughout your website online and that you aren’t using link change. If all your inbound hyperlinks are on the same web page, the serps suppose you have a shallow site with the simplest web page relevant to the subject or keyword.

5. Image Links are a Problem. If you feel you must use photo hyperlinks, ensure you have textual content hyperlinks that seem to be first coded. The seek spiders will follow the first link they stumble upon, and all symptoms show they will now not follow a photograph hyperlink. Now, we should let you know that no one is aware of search spiders’ behaviors precisely, and the behaviors of seeking spiders are constantly changing. Our studies have proved that search spiders will now not follow extra hyperlinks to the identical page.

6. Have Multiple Domains. Have a separate area name for each topic/keyword if you could. Search engines think about a website’s URL while rating for key phrases. For example, if you create equal websites with approximately golf equipment, you will optimize the keyword: Nike Golf Balls. Which URL do you suspect Google will rank higher: GolfStuff.Com/merchandise/nikegolfballs.Html or NikeGolfBalls.Com? In this situation, NikeGolfBalls.Com would get priority.

7. Participate in Article Exchanges. Article exchanges are like hyperlink exchanges on steroids! Article exchanges are a perfect way to build exceptional content material on your website and get your content material out on different sites. An instance of a piece of writing change would be if you posted someone else’s article for your website with a link again to their website; in flip, they’ll submit one among your articles with a hyperlink again for your website. This is mainly powerful when you have a specialized product. Let’s use our Nike golf ball example. You put up a piece of writing from a site that gives guidelines and hints on enhancing your golf recreation and provides a hyperlink to their website. In flip, they post your article on Nike golfing balls with a link returned to your site. If done correctly, this is a win-win state of affairs. The different web page gets a number of your site visitors from folks interested in pointers and tricks, and you get a number of their site visitors from individuals who are curious about Nike golf balls.

8. Mix Up Your Inbound Links. You no longer need all of your inbound hyperlinks to look the same. If all your hyperlinks appear identical, they may be discounted through the serps because it looks like automation. It is quality to mix it up, mainly utilizing key phrases. Typically, site owners will use their page’s name because of the hyperlink text, which is OK, but not always. Use the call of the organization or key phrases. If you use the keywords, this will come up with greater points with search engines like Google and Yahoo regarding your page’s relevancy for that keyword.

9. Linkbait. In a way, the pleasant way to get incoming hyperlinks is through Linkbait. Linkbait has content material that others find valuable and links to it. This relates again to content and is, in a long way, a nice way to get high-quality herbal hyperlinks. If you write a killer article or weblog post, people will hyperlink to it without any extra effort, and the serps will choose up on this.

10. Include a Sitemap. This is one of the most effective recommendations that many site owners ignore. Keeping an updated sitemap makes your website online much less complicated for search engines like Google to index. Many SEO experts claim that a sitemap yields more factors from the search engines. Whether this is authentic or not, making your site extra beautiful to the quest robots and spiders is usually an amazing component. If you do not understand how to make a sitemap, you could carry out a Google look for XML-Sitemaps and locate one to generate one for free!

If you utilize these guidelines, you’ll be ahead % of internet marketers. As I mentioned before, the important thing about SEO is beating your competition. For a few niches, this can be pretty clean. For others, this may be very hard. If you feel like you want to assist in beating your opposition, we can generate an in-depth record for you that explains exactly what your web page needs so that it will be on top. This file is FREE with our carrier. We aim to make our customers’ websites the top websites on the internet. Sign up for our carrier and begin beating the competition nowadays! Using Ryan Wilson, Founder and CEO of Wilson Website Consultants Ryan Wilson.

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Hands down, electronic mail is the most broadly used and cherished computer software brought to life via the Internet. According to the ebook ‘Messaging Today’ (2000 Electronic Mailbox Report – Feb. 21, 2001), “Email is the most a hit communications generation because TV, and in a few years may even surpass that. There are presently more than 891 million email accounts in use Worldwide and 440 million within The U.S. By myself – with a median of more than four email accounts consistent with man or woman.”

While more than 200 million people use and revel in Email, a few thousand people are abusing the gadget, which is reducing its conversation potential for the rest of us.

SPAMMERS ARE THE ENEMY OF US ALL!

The most not unusual kinds of email abuse are as follows:

– Using electronic mail harvesters (software that gathers email addresses from the Internet to send junk mail messages).

Selling the addresses gathered from a real opt-in email listing to someone for whom the recipient did not personally provide touch permission.

– Buying Millions of CDs after requiring humans to choose an Email, in preference to deciding the Email.

– Providing takeaway addresses that don’t make paintings.

Generally, the persons using these unsolicited mail techniques are morons who are too lazy to learn how to increase a sincere online business or too impatient to build an enterprise so one can make final a lifetime. Let us now not overlook that “moron” is the keyword right here, seeing that a spammers enterprise will no longer generate enough profits to justify the price of doing enterprise the outlaw way.

LAZY LIVES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET!

Spammers spam because they’re too lazy to build an internet commercial enterprise the old-fashioned way — with honesty and integrity. As a result of the spammer’s obnoxious laziness, the general public has been confronted with the growing nuisance of loads of junk mail messages in their email boxes daily! I have filtered more than 100 portions in step with the day to my trash bin, and I acquire every other two hundred-plus messages in keeping with the day I have not set up filters for yet.

While I will admit that spammers are genuinely annoying, I ought to confess that the majority have created new problems for everybody! In the battle against unsolicited mail, electronic mail account holders continuously advocate that their ISPs ought to cope with the junk mail issue for them.

ISP’S RESPOND

By placing the obligation of controlling unsolicited mail on the shoulders of ISPs instead of hitting the delete key ourselves, we’ve opened an entirely new can of worms. In truth, ISPs can not do much to stem the tide of unsolicited mail. Yet, with so many irritated clients, ISPs felt strongly wanted to locate some form of strategy to the trouble.

ISPs had one in every one of the options:

– RBL (Real-time Blackhole List) http://mail-abuse.Org/rbl/

– Installing Email Filters

Neither is a great strategy for dealing with unsolicited mail. In reality, each is a terrible answer to spam!

HOW SPAM FILTERS WORK

To recognize the predicament created by using filters in the struggle against junk mail, we must first recognize how unsolicited mail filters work. It is important to remember that filters are virtual software packages.

The software isn’t intuitive!

While a few software programs might also seem intuitive, the phantasm exists because the programmer’s thoughts can foresee your dreams of using the software program.

Filtering software exists handiest as a set of regulations to decide the likelihood of a message being unsolicited mail. Here is a definition of a number of the primary policies that junk mail filtering software follows:

1. If the origination email server isn’t like the Email the server of the sender’s default email deals with, then it’s far more likely
junk mail.

2. If the Email is added to more than 25 human beings, it is probably junk mail.

3. If the email originates from a selected server, then it’s probably junk mail. (This is the handiest rule that the RBL follows.)

4. If the Email originates from a specific usa TLD (pinnacle-level area), it is probably spam.

5. If certain phrases seem in the Subject or Email Body, then it’s
miles probably spam. (This is where the real problems begin!)

THE PANDORA’S BOX OF THE SPAM WARS

ISPs who select the filter option will either install a clear-out on incoming electronic mail simplest, outgoing electronic mail most effective, or a mixture of both. The 5th fundamental rule within the spam filtering software that most ISPs use is that every ISP has a listing of “junk mail words” that the software scans for.

A few of the simpler, more obvious “unsolicited mail words” comply with:

– HGH

– DVD

– Casino

– Gambling

– Porn

– Million

– Billion

– Viagra

The first time I experienced unsightly filter trouble was with my first ezine. My ezine became a laptop support book, and upon introducing a chief virus, I attempted to ship instructions to my listing on how to become aware of the virus and repair its harm. Unfortunately, my list server had blocked all messages that mentioned the virus’s call. (Never mind that the real payload email in no way noted the virus’s given name!)

My second revel was trying to send an editorial to a pal because I felt the content was important for my buddy to have. After seven attempts, I finally realized what the blocked “unsolicited mail word” had become. If you could believe it, the blocked word was Amazon.com!!!

Within the last 30 days, my own ISP blocked my outgoing emails. The first was when I was introduced to a consumer to tell them that I had obtained their price. The problem with the Email was that it was changed to “Payment Received” (a not-unusual difficulty for spam messages)!!!

The 2d Email hinged on a piece of writing I tried to deliver for any other purchaser. The dreaded “unsolicited mail word” changed into “gold” !!! We needed to trade the object’s call to get the article beyond my personal ISP’s filters.

THE PROBLEM IN A NUTSHELL

Richard Lowe, the proprietor of http://www.Internet-Tips.Net, says, “The Internet is a conversation. It’s as easy as that.” The trouble with ISP filtering is that the ISP cannot recognize what we want to read and what we do now not want to read. A single ISP has customers who use the Internet for enterprise, fitness, the circle of relatives, studies, or any of a dozen special purposes. The man or woman who desires to use the Internet for the circle of relatives’ communications generally has no interest in commercial enterprise subjects. The net commercial enterprise person may also not have any hobbies in their family tree software or fitness products.

Yet, the ISP has no preference to block all styles of “spam words” for the total range of communication subjects. As a result, the family members won’t see the statistics concerning their family tree software program or other domestic life objects. The business person may not be capable of getting hold of facts crucial to their business’s operation.

THE SCOPE OF THIS PROBLEM

We, electronic mail junkies, tend to enroll in ezines overlaying a wide variety of private possibilities. Unfortunately, many ezines are being blocked using ISPs because ezines tend to meet at least two of the standards constructed into the most unsolicited mail filters (#1, #2, and occasionally #five).

Once more, the fifth basic rule is the damaging one. Spammers are using more common words in their mailings, which the ISPs are starting to block.

I can nearly guarantee that if your personal ISP changed to show off their spam filters for a month, you would get to peer for the first time a massive quantity of ezines that you subscribed to manner back while but have by no means visible before.

You’ll see a massive increase in unsolicited mail entering your electronic mail container. Still, you will also see all the mail you need to receive that you haven’t received.

WHERE SHOULD WE GO FROM HERE?

If we depend upon our ISPs to filter for us, we commit ourselves to receiving only the statistics that our ISP filters allow us to receive. It is as simple as that.

Like the information pundits on TV say about the struggle against terrorism, “We have a preference for freedom and security. The greater the one we have, the less of the alternative we will have.”

We have two alternatives:

1. We reverse the tide of ISP-controlled conversation and take responsibility for setting up our own filters to remove the rubbish in our inbox.

2. Or, we keep depending on our ISPs to filter out the spam by including new words to their “junk mail phrase” lists, removing all personal management from our private communications.

TURNING BACK THE TIDE WILL REQUIRE SOME CONCERTED EFFORTS

OurISPss were asked for so long to be our “Big Brother” to stem the tide of junk mail. ISPs have come to the point of
believing that we’re children who want to be protected from the “morons” who’re destroying these outstanding communications tools.

To lower this tide, we must be equipped and willing to be given the non-public responsibility of controlling our communications.

First, we must discover how to use the tools protected in our email software to install our filters. Once we have the fundamental knowledge of installing our electronic mail filters, we need to proceed to the next step.

In this step, we must contact our ISP and allow them to recognize that we must be answerable for ourselves. Our ISP should apprehend that we DO NOT need them to run spam filters on their email servers. We must claim that we do not want hem to babysit down our cications. We must emphasize that we want to determine what we need to examine and what we do not want to read! We should emphasize that we might instead use our delete keys rather than depend on their filters to no longer block any important communications.

You and I alone will not be capable of convincing our ISPs to ditch the policy of appearing as our “Online Big Brother.” But while enough folks have banded together and made our needs for open communications clear, ISPs ought to be aware and turn off their filters for fear of losing their patron base.

If we allow ISP-managed filters to keep growing unabated, they will eventually reduce the cost of Email as a communications tool. We ought to take a stand to reverse the focus of the War Against Spam! We should take a stand now to oppose the tide or danger of the very actual death of email communication and the Internet!

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A Wi-Fi router is one of the most important pieces of tech in any household. It is also one of India’s most neglected pieces of tech, considering the poor quality of modems that Internet Service Providers provide in India. The situation is abysmal. Even if you manage to get your Wi-Fi modem installed in a rather central position, multiple elements come into play. You will probably suffer from the dreaded “dead zones,” essentially internet-less voids, or at least you will face speed bumps.

For example, the Nextra fiber line in India comes with a rather abysmal Binatone router. The modem has inferior coverage to even the old Airtel Beetle modems. So, how do you fix something like this? Most ISPs will nudge consumers towards extenders, but then the extenders kill the burst speed. So, we tell you a few better ways to fix the Wi-Fi woes if you have them at your home.

1—The best way to fix the wifi issues is to get a new router. Preferably, you should opt for a new dual-band router that supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz and works on 802.11ac or 802.11n standards.

2—The wifi channel that your router is using must be appropriate. On Windows PCs, you can use a free tool called inSSIDer to find out what channel your router is on. On OS X, you can press and hold the “option” key and click on the wifi preferences menu to determine which channel your router is operating on. To change the settings, you’ll need to go through the router model, as this depends on the make and model of the router.

3- As we mentioned before, the modem or router is perhaps the most neglected tech piece in the household. You may not know it, but even your router keeps getting software updates, which happen manually in most cases. To update your router, you’ll need to enter its settings interface, which isn’t done often, and there will invariably be a firmware update while waiting for your Web Posting Mart.

4- Like the router, there could be a problem with the PC or Mac, or they may not be running the latest drivers. There are a few wifi issues on OS X El-Capitan that slow down the speed and reduce the range. To fix them, you need to delete your files from:

The five files in question are:

— com.apple.airport.preferences.list– com.apple.network.identification.list– com. apple. Wifi. Message-tracer.list– NetworkInterfaces.list– preferences.  list.

Before you delete these files, you should make a backup (in case something goes wrong). After they are gone, you will notice a marked improvement in wifi performance.]

5—One thing you can do with your wifi router is move it to a more central location in your house. If you have bitten the bullet and bought a separate router, maybe you can purchase a long Ethernet cat-5 cable, too, so that you can centrally place the router for improved coverage across your house.

6—Routers can be upgraded—at least their antennas can be. Routers with external antennas can be updated with high-gain antennas, and you can position them in the desired direction. High-gain antennas can cost anywhere between Rs 3,500 and 7,000. One can find them at places like Nehru Place or online marketplaces like Amazon or even AliExpress, which will ship from China.

7—Your wifi signal may be suffering from a lot of interference. Cordless phones, microwaves, Bluetooth, and other appliances can cause interference. You can either eliminate all the interfering elements or invest in a dual-band router like an Apple Airport Extreme or a NetGear N600, operating in a 5GHz band. This brand isn’t affected much by interference.

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8- You can extend the router’s range by using a trick called the WindSurfer tinfoil trick. You can peel an old Coke can open utilizing a can-opener. (Be careful. Don’t cut your hands). You’ll need to punch a hole in the base of the can so that the router’s antenna can pass through and the rest of the body can act as a rudder for the signal. The results wouldn’t be fantastic, but there will be a minor boost.

9- If you are on a different floor than your router, then it is best to stick to the 2.4GHz band, which is better at punching through walls. The 5GHz channels, as already mentioned, don’t suffer from interference, but they struggle with walls.

10- If you’re open to being adventurous, you may want to try out an open-source software tool called DD-WRT. It is known to unlock the router’s full potential, positively impacting the router’s performance.

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Sree Sreenivasan, the new Chief Digital Officer of New York City, is now in India for a lecture tour, speaking on social media. Mr. Sreenivasan announced his plans for a speaking tour and family vacation through Facebook when he was fired by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in June.

Not long after this announcement, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that Sree Sreenivasan would be the city’s new Chief.

As part of the scheduled tour, Mr. Sreenivasan, who is in Chennai, shared his experiences and concepts with J Sam Daniel Stalin of NDTV. “I found it very difficult; I had no choice. The last people I told were my children and my parents. I was using Facebook to get help, but so many people worldwide told me the benefits of seeing it,” NDTV quoted Sree Sreenivasan. Mr. Sreenivasan thinks that reducing the digital divide in India is a major challenge.

social media

“It’s all over the world. Economic, race, aptitude, attitude, and age contribute to this. It’s important to make these services available on platforms that poor people use; I’m excited to look at Twitter Sewa addressing railway complaints in India and Google’s WiFi at railway platforms. My job is to tell people why they should use these services,” the former Columbia Professor said.

As a social media expert, he believes Indian professionals are not adequately using LinkedIn.
“It’s the most underappreciated of all in the social network. The only Indian who has understood is Satya Nadella, who bought it for 26 billion dollars,” he says.

He also suggested a method to avoid device addiction: “At home, there are no phones at the dining table, so we are forced to talk to each other. Another game I learned on Wall Street is while going for dinner; everyone puts down their phones. We order expensive food, and whoever touches the phone first pays for everything.”

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Sreenivasan, a former journalism teacher and dean at Columbia University and one of the most renowned social media experts globally, is the first chief digital officer at Columbia University. He has also been a mayoral appointee on the Commission on Public Information and Communication since 2015.

Born in Japan as the son of former ambassador TP Sreenivasan, Sree Sreenivasan holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University.

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New Delhi: Bharat is getting online faster than India. By 2020, about 315 million Indians living in rural areas will be connected to the Internet, compared to around 120 million. That’s about 36% of the country’s total online population. By 2020, this share of rural India will jump to 48%, creating a huge opportunity for brands and marketers in places where establishing a physical presence is still a challenge, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled ‘The Rising Connected Consumer in Rural India.

At present, the study noted that rural Indians use the Internet mainly for social network websites (around 70% of the Internet users living in rural areas) such as Facebook and for emailing. About 15% of rural consumers use the Internet to research products, purchase a product, or register satisfaction or dissatisfaction after the purchase, compared with 30% of urban consumers. “The amount of online commerce in rural India is still small, but it is picking up. From 2015 to 2016, the penetration of online purchasing in these areas doubled from 4% to 8%,” noted the study. The key reasons are “convenience and discounts,” it added.

The BCG study said that rural consumers hesitate to buy online because of delivery and return issues and a widespread perception that e-commerce is neither safe nor reliable. “Almost 40% of rural consumers feel that their personal information is at risk, while 30% believe that products sold online are of poor quality, and 25% find e-commerce sites and apps hard to use,” it added.

BCG suggested that marketers should have a different digital strategy for rural markets. These include a simpler or different app designed for smaller screens, low-bandwidth telecom networks, and local language availability. Besides, marketers should make advertisements more relevant to this new set of target customers.

“Companies looking to tap the rural market should first evaluate which touchpoints in their targeted customers’ purchase journeys are most affected by digital and to what extent… The economics of the Internet allows marketers to re-evaluate the business case for reaching rural markets,” added the BCG study.

Marketers agree.

“The benefit of the Internet is that people are more aware of what is happening worldwide. With the digital revolution taking place in the country, it becomes easier for brands to reach consumers. We are hopeful that with rural Internet penetration, people will be more aware of brands and products, and it will greatly help the retailers,” said Sandeep Jain, executive director of Monte Carlo Fashions Ltd.

According to Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive of The Retailers Association of India (RAI), bandwidth is the biggest challenge. “I don’t think true inclusive growth can happen until we get the bandwidth sorted,” he said.

Vivek Gaur, CEO of online seller Yepme.com, agreed. “The infrastructure needs to come up as quickly as Internet penetration is coming up. For a brand like ours, a mass casual wear brand, it makes a lot of sense to have something driving traffic from the bottom of the pyramid. I think the government is investing a lot, and I sense that India will be more like China than the US in a couple of years, where people have much more access to the Internet,” he added.

In its study, BCG gave the example of China’s largest online seller, Alibaba’s model, which is tailored for rural areas. “In October 2014, Alibaba announced it invested $1.6 billion to set up 100,000 rural service centers all over China’s countryside. It has a presence in almost 16,000 villages so far. These e-commerce outposts are equipped with computers and free Internet service,” noted the study.

Alibaba-backed Paytm, an Indian online payment service provider and marketplace, declined to comment on how it is considering expanding its reach in rural markets.

The study offers insights into the user base expected to drive India’s next wave of Internet consumption. That is perhaps why search engine Google and popular social networking site Facebook invest top dollars in local content in India. At present, Google is working with the government to roll out its ambitious Internet balloon program, Project Loon. This program forms a large communication network using balloons in the earth’s stratosphere, specifically aimed at providing connectivity in rural areas.

The report is based on BCG’s Center for Customer Insight (CCI) surveys of approximately 4,000 rural consumers in 27 villages in 14 states in 2015 and 2016. It profiles five different segments of Internet users in rural India – mature, ambitious, late adopters, next-wave users, and ‘dark on the Internet.’ More than 60% of rural users have been online for less than two years, meaning most rural users are still digitally immature. Their usage patterns can be expected to evolve as they gain experience. It is a mistake to regard rural users as a single set.

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“Ambitious users play games, download media, and are especially active on social networks. The online activities of next-wave users are more limited: interacting on social networks and listening to music. Late adopters are mainly social networkers, while mature users seek out business and job information, read news, and play games,” stated the report.

Therefore, marketers must understand the differences between rural and urban consumers. Two-thirds of rural users use feature phones online, and only a quarter have smartphones. In contrast, almost two-thirds of urban users own smartphones. Because of differences in devices, network capabilities, and underlying consumer behavior, rural and urban internet users choose different apps and do other activities online.

For example, rural users are more likely to use the UC Web browser (popular in other emerging markets) because it employs technologies such as data compression, which helps load web content faster and reduce data consumption during browsing. They use apps like SongsPK, which downloads songs for free because streaming does not work well on 2G connections. Many rural residents use WhatsApp for messaging, which would probably be one of the first apps they tried. Alternatives such as Hi and Line are perceived as heavy data consumption apps; they are used more for video calls and exchanging files. Vernacular media consumption apps such as Daily Hunt (formerly NewsHunt) and Dainik Jagran are more popular than English-language media apps.

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With the proliferation of smart home devices, online gaming platforms, and streaming video services, maintaining a strong Internet connection at home is more important than ever. If you’re experiencing lag while playing League of Legends, or it takes forever to download music, there’s a good chance that the problem is on your end and not an Internet Service Provider (ISP) issue. Before you schedule a service call with your cable company, check out our tips for troubleshooting your Internet connection.

Can You Ping It?

Try performing a Ping test to see if you can connect to the outside world. There are several free Ping utilities available, but the easiest way to ping a website using Windows is to open a command prompt and type “ping,” followed by the site’s IP address you want to ping. You can type the full address if you don’t know the IP address. For example, to ping Google, type Ping google.com. This sends small data packets to the target site and measures how fast your connection is in milliseconds. If the test is successful, you’ll see timed results. If it continuously fails, try pinging several sites. Keep in mind that not all websites accept pings. If you still can’t get results, you might have a problem with your modem or router, or the problem might be on your service provider’s end.

Are You Getting Power?

If you can’t connect to the Internet, look at your router’s LED status indicators. The router is probably unplugged or powered down if there are no lights. Please disconnect the power cord and reconnect it after a minute or two. Make sure that the Power switch is in the On position. If the router still isn’t powering up, you may have a failed power adapter, a faulty power strip, or a fried router. If you have cable or DSL, check that your modem is getting power.

Reconnect

Check Your Status

If you have a modem and a router, ensure they function properly. Check your modem first to see if its power LED is lit. Also, check your Link or Online LED and any activity LEDs. If there is no power or LED activity, turn the modem and router off and wait several minutes before restarting. Wait until the modem comes back online before restarting the router. If your router’s power LED is lit, check the Internet or WAN indicator. On most routers, this should be green and may be flashing. If your router doesn’t have status indicators, look back to see if the Ethernet port lights are flashing. If there is no activity, turn the router off. Unplug and reconnect each cable, making sure each cable is seated correctly in the appropriate port. Wait a few minutes before rebooting the router.

Change The Channel

Routers can use one of 14 frequencies, or channels, to send and receive data over the widely used 2.4GHz band. Most of these channels overlap, but channels 1, 6, and 11 do not and are the most frequently used. If your Wi-Fi connection is spotty, you may be experiencing channel interference. Try changing your Wi-Fi channel using the router management console. If the channel is set to Auto, try setting it to another channel to see if this improves your connection.

Cable Connection Okay?

Before you think about resetting or replacing your router, inspect the connection in your home. This is usually located on the side of your house and may or may not be housed in an enclosure. Ensure that the main cable hasn’t been chewed up by a squirrel or knocked loose by debris from a storm. If a cable splitter is used, ensure each connection is tight and the connectors are properly crimped. If the splitter looks suspect (i.e., rusty or dirty), try replacing it.

Reset Button

Start Fresh

If rebooting your router doesn’t work, try resetting it to its factory defaults and performing a fresh install. For most routers, this is done by pressing a tiny reset button on the rear panel and holding it down for several seconds until the LED lights begin flashing. Once reset, reinstall the router using the accompanying disk or Web-based setup utility.

Firmware

Make Sure Your Firmware Is Current

Firmware is embedded software installed at the factory on a read-only memory (ROM) chip, which allows the router hardware to implement network and security protocols. Most vendors provide downloadable firmware updates that resolve performance issues, add new features, and increase throughput performance. Look for the firmware update tool in the System section of your router’s management console and follow the instructions carefully to ensure you install the correct firmware version. Do not download the firmware from a third-party site.

Adjust Antenna

Do You Need an Extender?

If you can wirelessly connect to the Internet in one room but not another, check your router’s Wi-Fi signal strength. Look at the network connection icon on your PC or mobile device to see how many bars are showing. If you only see one or two bars, your Wi-Fi signal may be too weak to maintain a strong Internet connection. Try connecting to another band if you have a dual-band router. Readjusting the router’s antennas or changing your router’s location (if possible) can also help improve range. If relocating the router is out of the question, a range extender may be required to boost the router’s Wi-Fi signal. We like the Tenda P1002P 2-Port Powerline Adapter Kit and the Amped Wireless Titan-EX High Power AC1900 Wi-Fi Range Extender (RE1900A).

Is Your PC/Phone/Tablet Configured Correctly?

If you can browse the Web with your laptop but can’t connect with your smartphone or another PC, check the problem device’s network settings. For smartphones, go to your Wi-Fi settings and make sure Wi-Fi is enabled and you are connected to the proper SSID using the correct security password. Make sure Airplane Mode is disabled and that your time and date are accurate. For Windows clients, ensure the Wi-Fi switch is turned on, and the device is not in Airplane Mode. Right-click on the network icon in your system tray and select Troubleshoot Problems to run the Windows Network Diagnostic routine. Very often, this will correct common issues by resetting the adapter. Also, check your network adapter settings to ensure that the adapter functions properly and uses the latest driver.

Make Sure Your PC Is Healthy

Check for spyware, viruses, and malware. These programs can be easily downloaded and installed without your knowledge while surfing the Web. They can run undetected and significantly impact your Web surfing speed and overall system performance. Plenty of free and subscription-based utilities are available that will detect and eradicate these programs and prevent them from being downloaded and installed in the first place.
Time to Upgrade Your Router?

Suppose you’re using an older 802.11b or 802.11g model. In that case, you may consider upgrading to a newer, more powerful router, especially if multiple client devices are vying for bandwidth. A dual-band router gives you two radio bands to choose from and allows you to dedicate a band to clients requiring much bandwidth, like streaming video devices and gaming consoles. Moreover, newer routers employ the latest technologies to deliver speedy throughput with enhanced Wi-Fi range. When ready to take the plunge, check out our list of the best wireless routers.

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Last Resort: Dial Up Your ISP

If you’ve tried everything and are still experiencing Internet connection woes, it’s time to call your service provider. It could be that the problem is on its end and may require a new connection at the pole coming into your house and new equipment, such as a cable modem or amplifier. If you’re experiencing slowdowns at certain times of the day (think after school hours), your ISP may be unable to handle the increased user load, so you may want to find a new service provider. Lucky for you, we’ve tested to find the fastest ISPs in the country.

For more tips on speeding up your surfing, check out Router Features You Should Be Using, Tricks to Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal, and How to Set Up and Configure Your Router.

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Whether searching for cool indoor activities, watching TV shows, streaming cricket matches, or catching up with friends and playing games, there’s plenty to keep you busy online. So, there’s no better time to refresh ourselves with basic tips to stay safe when exploring the Internet.

Be an upstander, not a bystander. Social media is a great way to communicate, but sometimes, individuals take advantage of the Internet’s anonymity to be hurtful towards others. The best rule of thumb to remember here is: if you wouldn’t say it offline, don’t say it online.

If you ever find yourself on the receiving end of a bully’s words, often the best response is no response. Internet trolls and bullies feed off your reaction, and not giving them one usually makes them give up. Most social apps also allow you to report abuse, so if you come across something that makes you uncomfortable, flag it.

And if you happen to witness someone being targeted, be an upstander, not a bystander. Take action by calling out the offender, reporting them, or just voicing your support to the victim.

web

Don’t forget: the Internet remembers.

There are many good reasons to watch what you say and share online. Not only could your words affect someone else, but the effect is also compounded as the Internet has a perfect memory. College is a time to have fun and make memories, but don’t care about your words. What you post online today could be around forever.

I grew up in much simpler times: when we did or said something silly, everybody laughed about it for a few days, and then it was forgotten. But consider how easy it is to find information online today. Or think about how you’ve probably shared things on old accounts that you no longer use or have completely forgotten about. These posts can be hard to erase, and many things are probably better left unsaid on the Internet.

So, it’s important to be cautious about what you share and take the time to review your privacy settings now and then. If you have a Google account, visit www.google.com/myaccount to manage what others can see about you and what account information can be found online.

Safe sites

The Internet has simplified many things today because they’re just a click or a tap away. New sites and services are created every day. While many of them are genuine, not all are entirely risk-free. What should you look out for?

First, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you come across a great deal, make a price comparison, research the seller, and read user reviews. Next, read the fine print before you click ‘buy.’ Ensure you know the seller or service provider’s terms and conditions. Finally, be careful when entering personal information onto a website. Is the site asking for more information than required to purchase a product or receive a service? Examples of sensitive information include your bank account information, security question answers, or passwords. Be suspicious of sites that request this type of data from you, as they could be attempting to phish valuable information.

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Keeping websafe is a shared responsibility, and we all have an important role to play. As educated and savvy netizens, you can help your family and friends stay safe online by educating and helping them remember these simple tips.

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Soon — or rather on September 5, to be precise — everyone in India with a phone that supports 4G technology will be eligible for the Jio Welcome Offer from Reliance. This means you will get a Jio SIM for free, along with the benefits that come with it. What are these benefits? The benefits are “unlimited” data, calls, and messages for almost three months. Although there is a fine print in all this — the unlimited data is 4GB per day, which is generous — it is safe to say that the offer is fairly amazing. And tempting. No wonder a lot of people are going to get the free SIM.

The problem is that the Jio SIM will not work on many phones that people have right now. And in many places where, it is supposed to work until you troubleshoot it. But before we come to that, don’t get the Jio SIM if:

— You have a feature phone.

— You have a phone that only supports 2G or 3G. Some high-end phones older than two years—Xiaomi Mi 4, for example—don’t support 4G.

— You have only one phone and are unwilling to change your phone number.

— You have a dual-SIM phone, but 4G is supported on only one SIM, and you are not willing to remove your existing SIM card.

Now that we have taken care of these basics let’s look into the problems you may face after putting the Jio SIM on your phone. The good bit about the Jio SIM is that it is a nano-SIM with micro and Full-size adapters inbuilt. So, see which size will fit your phone and then use the adapter accordingly. If you bought a phone this year, it will probably be nano or micro-sized.

The SIM is not recognized

— If this is your problem, ensure that you put the SIM in a 4G compatible slot. In many dual-SIM phones, only the primary slot — the number 1 slot is the full-speed, fully supported SIM slow. So, put the Jio SIM in that.

— Restart your phone.

— Take out the SIM and put it again.

— Even after all this, the SIM card doesn’t work; the Jio SIM probably won’t work with your phone.

SIM recognized, but no signal

— Ensure the SIM is in the primary SIM slot (slot 1) if your phone has dual-SIM functionality.

— Ensure that data is turned on for the SIM. On an Android phone, this can be accessed by tapping on the network sign in the notification shade. On the Mobile Data screen, ensure the data is turned on.

— Ensure that the network settings are all good and that you have opted for SIM 1 as your primary SIM for data.

— Ensure that the phone is set to work with LTE Network. You can do so by going to Settings > Mobile Networks > Preferred network type.
— If required, set the APN to Loop Internet. This is accessible only if Jio SIM is getting recognized on your phone. Go to Settings > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names to check this.

— Try manually choosing Jio as a network operator by going to Settings > Mobile Networks > Network Operators.

— If the Jio SIM still doesn’t work, your phone may have some software or hardware incompatibility.

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SIM is working, but no calls

Install the Jio Join app from the Google Play Store. This will most likely fix the issue. However, the app currently doesn’t seem to work on Android Nougat, in case you have that software on your phone.

Options in case Jio SIM doesn’t work on your phone: What are your options if the Jio SIM doesn’t work on your phone and you want to use the Jio network? Two options: get a new phone or get the JioFi, a Wi-Fi hotspot router. The JioFi is the cheapest option, although if your phone is too old, something like 3 to 4 years, and if you are considering replacing it, maybe you can go with a phone that supports 4G and will work with the Jio SIM.

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Since December last year, Google has been unleashing India’s initiatives to capture the next billion users from the developing world. From high-speed wifi at railway stations to content in local languages, the global tech giant has unveiled several plans to get Indians from all walks of life on its platform. “Over the next three years, we plan to help more than 300,000 villages across India go online,” Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, had said in December.

On September 28, at an auditorium packed with journalists and developers in New Delhi, Google went further with its talk.
The company, a unit of Alphabet Inc, launched five new initiatives that it hopes will help bring more users online in a country notorious for slow internet speed and unaffordable data.

One such service involves rolling out wifi hotspots at places such as malls, cafes, and universities, which many people frequent. Currently, Google provides wifi at 50 railway stations across India.
“We want to expand to new venues, like cafes and malls, to help more people get online, and we’re looking for strategic and forward-thinking partners to work with on this effort,” said Caesar Sengupta, vice-president of Next Billion Users at Google.

According to a company statement, it also launched a new YouTube mobile app “designed to be offline first and work even when there’s low or no connectivity.” Other products launched include a Hindi Google assistant inside the messaging app Allo and offline features for the Chrome web browser. Most of these focus on finding a way around India’s super slow internet—the worst among leading Asian countries.

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Despite its slow and expensive internet, India is a key market for companies like Google and Facebook.
Though internet usage is plateauing in the developed world, it grew 40% in 2015. India already has the world’s second-highest internet users, with massive scope for growth as penetration is still just around 15%.

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New Delhi: It is that time of the year when the three big e-marketplaces, Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal, offer discounts across the different categories of products. This is the best time to purchase a new phone or upgrade your home interiors, wardrobe, or kitchen.

You may get a flat discount on a product, but are you aware of the tips that will get you a maximum discount during the big online sale? Here you go:

1. Shopping on an app results in maximum benefit, as possibilities of money return, cashback, or extra discount are more while shopping on an app. So, keep the app of the big shopping sites downloaded or updated on your phone.

2. If you shop for more than Rs 15,00 on Amazon’s app and use the HDFC Banks debit or credit card, you would be eligible for a 15 percent discount on a product. The discount will only be 10 percent if you shop on the website.

online festive sale

3. Using an Amazon wallet will also give a benefit of Rs 150.

4. Shopping on the Snapdeal app through HDFC Bank’s card also offers a 15 percent discount; shopping through ICICI Bank’s card offers a 10 percent discount and a 5 percent discount if payment is made through net banking.

Those using net banking or SBI cards will benefit from Flipkart.

5. Some sites like Flipkart announce day-wise sales. For example, a Fashion, Home, TV, and appliances sale was offered on Day One, a mobile and accessories sale on Day Two, and an electronic sale on Day 3. Snapdeal or Amazon does not have a day-wise sale.

6. Keep a note of the date of sale. The five-day sale began on Amazon on October 1, but the five-day sale on Snapdeal and Flipkart began on October 2.

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7. The discounts on the sales keep changing throughout the day. The maximum discounts can be available at night, while the lowest discounts are offered during peak or daytime hours.

8. Some companies show an inflated retail price for comparison. It is best to compare the discounts offered on different shopping sites. Also, verify the MRP from the product’s parent site.

A user can keep the product in the shopping cart for 15 minutes; if a product is in short supply and your cart, decide whether you would like to buy it.

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