What Is The Difference Between CAT5 And CAT6 Ethernet Cables?

Today, there are two types of Ethernet cables that are being used to connect electronic devices worldwide. These cables are the CAT5 and CAT6 Ethernet cables. Although they are both twisted pair cable designed primarily for carrying signals, there are noticeable differences between the two.
 
Cat5
 
Cat5 is the much older variation of the Cat6 cable. This cable is connected by utilizing modular connectors and punch down blocks. Cat5 has the capability to support frequencies that can reach up to 100MHz and provide speeds that can reach 10 Mbps.
 
These are the most common networking cables used today. They can be utilized in token ring, ATM, 100BASE-TX, 10BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T networking. Additionally, these cables can carry signals such as video and telephony.
 
They rely on differential signaling and their twisted pair design for noise reduction. Unlike other Ethernet connections, this Ethernet cable consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire that are unshielded and terminated by RJ45 connectors.
 
However, much faster Ethernet connections only utilize two of the four pairs while the other two go unused. This is one of the main factors why people are saying that this Ethernet cable does not live up to its fullest capabilities. The Cat5e can run over 328 feet or 100 meters without the need for a switch that could extend the length of this cable.
 
Cat6
 
Cat6 is the most advanced Ethernet cable among the two. Similar to the Cat5, it consists of four pairs of twisted copper wire. However, it works much faster than the Cat5 and has the capability to support much higher frequencies. This is because it can provide speeds that can reach up to 10 Gbps and frequencies up to a maximum of 250 MHZ.
 
These cables can do this because they contain a unique structural feature that is called a longitudinal separator. This feature helps isolate each of the four pairs of twisted copper wire from each other. It also helps reduce crosstalk for much faster data transfer compared to the Cat5.
 
The Cat6 is backward compatible. It means that it can be used effectively with Cat5e and Cat5. Cat6 Ethernet cables have a unique advantage over Cat5 cables. They are more modern and much faster. However, they are not as widely used as the Cat5.
 
This is primarily due to the fact that they are more expensive than Cat5 cables, and the majority of people do not require or use 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Similar to Cat5, Cat6 cables can be run up to 328 feet or 100 meters without the need for a switch. However, cables that have the capability to support 10 Gbps can be run 180.45 feet or 55 meters.

Due to its superior immunity from a wide range of external noise and its improved transmission performance, Cat6 has fewer system operating errors than Cat5. This also leads to much less re-transmission of corrupt or lost information packets under a variety of conditions.  Now you can truly understand the differences between CAT5 and CAT6 ethernet cables and how they work.

About the Author

Michael Alvarez has been working in the electronics and technology field for over 20 years.  He enjoys sharing his knowledge and expertise of CAT5 and CAT6 ethernet cables with others; while continuing to grow his knowledge.

How to Secure Your WebCam Online from Hackers

With the modern technology these days, you can never be assured that going online is safe. The idea that someone else is watching you while using your webcam is creepy but it is a possibility that you should be aware of. While you may not be the victim of webcam hackers, it is safer to know what security measures to take in order to protect your privacy. Here are some of the basic steps that you can take in order to use your webcam safely with the ability to prevent hackers from penetrating through your privacy.With the modern technology these days, you can never be assured that going online is safe. The idea that someone else is watching you while using your webcam is creepy but it is a possibility that you should be aware of. While you may not be the victim of webcam hackers, it is safer to know what security measures to take in order to protect your privacy. Here are some of the basic steps that you can take in order to use your webcam safely with the ability to prevent hackers from penetrating through your privacy.With the modern technology these days, you can never be assured that going online is safe. The idea that someone else is watching you while using your webcam is creepy but it is a possibility that you should be aware of. While you may not be the victim of webcam hackers, it is safer to know what security measures to take in order to protect your privacy. Here are some of the basic steps that you can take in order to use your webcam safely with the ability to prevent hackers from penetrating through your privacy.

Make sure to monitor for firmware updates

Your webcam manufacturer’s technology might be just as vulnerable as you are from online hackers. The problem lies when your manufacturer is unable to protect their technology which in effect also compromises the security features of their webcams and the privacy of the consumers who are using them. However, understanding this threat makes webcam manufacturers more adept in updating their security firmware and they usually release updates for their consumers to use. Make sure to be aware of these updates and take the time to upgrade your firmware with the latest firmware release regularly. This will ensure that your webcam security is more updated and competent to repel the possibilities of modern bugs, viruses and malware that are preying on your webcam.

Invest on third party webcam protection services

The security features of your webcam may just not be enough. You can actually strengthen your webcam security features better by paying for third party webcam security software. A paid security software service is usually reliable and uses modern software technology that is usually not available in any regular webcam security feature that is provided by your webcam brand. They offer more powerful features for added protection to your webcam security. Because this will usually cost an additional fee, this is an option that you might consider if you are not satisfied with your regular webcam security features and it is something you may find worth investing in.

Scan for malware regularly

Hackers usually use malware as a means of penetrating your computer and to invade your privacy. Whether you are using a webcam or not, malware is one of the regular security risks when you are using the internet. One way of preventing your computer from being infected with a malware is to clean your computer from it using anti-malware software. While you can find free anti-malware software available online, you can opt to buy one for better and more reliable security features for your computer and webcam. Conducting a regular malware scan as part of your computer maintenance routine will truly help you prevent making your privacy vulnerable to the prying eyes of online hackers.

Turn on your computer firewall

A firewall provides your computer security against unauthorized access of hackers. It is a hardware or software program that prevents viruses, malware and hackers from penetrating through your computer once it is connected to the internet. Some hackers with advanced skills can possibly bypass your computer firewall. However, turning your firewall on will provide you adequate protection against many common security breaches on your webcam. When your firewall is on, it scrutinizes the traffic that is flowing on your computer to ensure that it is legitimate and without any traces of malicious programs.

Unplug or cover your webcam

Not everyone uses their webcam while their computer is connected on the internet. If your webcam is not permanently fixed on your computer, it is always best to remove it when not in use. This is a prudent step that you can take in securing your webcam. Unlike laptops that have built-in camera, Windows desktop computers usually have removable webcams while Mac desktop computers also have built in webcams. On Windows desktops, you can simply unplug it from the computer when not in use. Otherwise, when your webcam is permanently installed in your computer your other recourse is to cover the webcam with a tape.

Use your common sense

Most malware and viruses can access your computer and webcam when you download programs and applications that you are not certain can be trusted. Some online hackers try to access the online user’s webcams and computer by sending viruses through email links. Make sure not to click on any link included in emails sent from individuals you don’t know.

Evaluate the security issues on your webcam model

One of the prudent means by which you can ensure that your webcam is free from security breach from online hackers is to know the security issues of the webcam model that you are planning to buy. Prior to making a purchase, you are in the best position to make a research about the security issues that may be present with it. Do not buy webcam models with known security loopholes as this will only serve as a gateway for malware and viruses that can give access to online hackers to peep through your webcam activities.

About the Author

Irina Webandyou is a technologist and marketing writer. She loves doing guest posting service for many websites. She loves writing about seo and business things.

The Best Apps for Printing on Apple and Android Mobile OS

The wireless world has quickly taken over and with it and things like google docs, we’ve started to lose the means of even caring about printing. Many companies even run with only one or no printers, and not everyone has one since most of our communication is online as well. That doesn’t mean we are completely out of the printing era though, paper or hard documents are still frequently used by the government and plenty of people on average. But that’s okay, because although printers have stayed mostly the same in terms of hardware for years, the software side of printing has evolved to keep up with demand and the times.

These days you can get all manner of applications for your mobile smart devices that not only allow you to print from them through wireless or Bluetooth means, but also do things like printing from a cloud or drive, and even scan images with the camera of your device to then print or upload to your cloud. And this isn’t even factoring in all the controls of a printer you can command through these applications by simply connecting to one wirelessly. So with that said; when it comes to printing applications, which ones are going to draw the best bang for your time?

Brand Specific App

There is always at least one official application for each printer brand out there meant for any operating system you run and when it comes to connectivity, these ones are likely your best bet, especially if you are running a newer model of a printer. Of course on the other hand, there can be a lot of downsides to the brand specific types. Generally, they come with poor feature inclusions, with many of them not even letting you set the quality of the image or even if you want the image in black and white. That doesn’t mean they are all terrible though, most of them tend to focus on image printing, and at that they are good, but not much else.

The major exception happens to be Brother’s printer application, which not only provides scanning capability, but can be used without a computer needing to be turned on, which is why if you are using a brother printer this one is your best option and for android or apple.

If you run an Epson printer though, you can get a few different features than the brother, like color to monochrome, communication and connection with things like evernote and google docs, or even draw files like web pages and PDF’s from the wireless connection of your Epson printer. Not the greatest, but still a steady selection for a brand choice.

PrinterShare Mobile Print App

If you are looking at something that has a bit more to offer in the features department then your best option is probably PrinterShare, which you can find for both apple and android. This pretty little app gives you the options of printing just about anything on your mobile device, from web pages to documents or pictures and even contact lists. It can also manage to connect to most any printer that is wireless (but works better with certain ones). Overall this app manages to provide the best selection of details you may want to change when printing like size and orientation, while giving the most varied ways of being able to print things. Unfortunately you can’t scan stuff with it, but considering you can access any picture you take with your device and print that, what’s the difference?

Oh, and did I mention this app is free? Well free so long as you aren’t printing regularly, then you’ll have to offer up some money for unlimited printing, but if you are needing to print multiple files a day, then you should probably be using a computer and not solely your mobile device.

PrintJinni App

This particular app has some major ups and downs when it comes to the overall usability. This mobile print program can do almost anything, including the printing of emails, pictures, word documents, anything in clouds or through Google cloud print, any major applications like Evernote and even social media like Instagram, Twitter, or Photobucket and even view pdf or documents without printing them on your mobile device. The downside? There are a lot of printers that it doesn’t support, like Brother, and most of all after thirty days of using it you have to pay monthly or yearly subscriptions to continue using the application. That might be worth it, if you really need all the features the program can offer, but chances are you won’t actually use half them unless your mobile device has replaced your computer completely. Otherwise this one is for android or apple and is probably one of the better ones to run with so long as your printer supports it.

ePrint Free App

Finally we have the one application in this list that cannot print documents contained directly on the mobile device. It can do photos fine, and even documents that are in the cloud, just not on the device. The real unique quality of this app comes with the customization elements, including being able to print out calendars or cards with your photos being used. This is why this one at least gets a mention, plus it comes with a lot of the same features as some of the other apps like being able to connect to a wireless printer without going through a computer, and probably the widest array of options when printing (considering you can make calendars). And best of all, if you aren’t worried about just printing one thing at a time, one copy at a time, then you don’t have to pay anything for this app either. Just be careful with an ink-jet printer as many of them are not supported by this app.

Overall you can find quite the selection of printing options, all meant to be customizable to what you might be looking for in printing and this application area for printing is bound to continue evolving over time to fit with our standards. It will only be a matter of time before you can scan the image of an object with your mobile device and send that message back to a 3d printer to make a copy of that.

Brian Prowse is a writer and self-proclaimed tech geek. He writes for sites such as www.247inktoner.com. When he's not writing or playing around with the coolest gadgets on the market, Brian enjoys gaming on his xbox and graphic design.

How to Boost Your Everyday E-mail Experience

According to a report from the McKinsey Global Institute, workers spend approximately 28% of their workweeks (13 hours a week) managing e-mails. This is why the institute has deemed e-mail as the second most time consuming work-related activity. As an honest, productive employee, this number of hours can be shocking to you, especially since it reduces your overall efficiency. Luckily for you, you don’t have to feel guilty for long because technology is on your side.

There are numerous apps available to help you increase your e-mail efficiency and decrease the time you spend skimming through spam, phishing e-mails, and the actual mail you should read. To give you a nudge in the right direction, consider one of the following services.

Unroll.me

Unroll.me is a service that creates a daily summary of every subscription e-mail you signed up for. As a result, you end up with fewer social notifications, updates and other unimportant e-mails which take up a chunk of your time. Other features which make Unroll.me a service worth considering are:

• Preview Feature – You can preview your subscriptions before opening them, which further helps you save time.

• Categories – Unroll.me is a smart service that groups subscriptions into categories which you can easily browse through. It will also create a social category for all notifications from Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms.

• Folder Feature – If you’re a person who enjoys order and clarity, you can easily have your subscriptions delivered to your own Unroll.me folder.

• Unsubscribe Option – By clicking Unsubscribe, you can easily stop getting e-mail digests of your subscriptions.

Unroll.me is available for Yahoo Mail and Gmail only, but it is definitely worth subscribing to.

FanMix

FanMix is a free app that boosts your e-mail productivity by collecting all your social network notifications from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Disqus in one place. Through this service, you will be able to carry out the following:

• Keep Tabs on Mentions and Replies – You will easily be able to view your mentions or your friends’ replies to your conversations.

• Track Conversations – FanMix will have records of each conversation you have with your social contacts. So, you won’t have to spend much time skimming through your whole mail.

• Discover More About Your Contacts – The app can help you find out who you connect to the most and who has a large following, group of friends, or audience.

• Prioritize Your Social E-mails – If you receive too much mail from your social networking profiles, FanMix will help you view the conversations you deem important once you flag them.

With FanMix, you will be able to separate your social networking e-mails from your work-related messages. Therefore, you can always check the former whenever you’re free and off-duty.

SaneBox

SaneBox is a more professional service that filters out unimportant messages rather than spam. Basically, the app analyzes which contacts are most important to you through checking your e-mail history; therefore, you’ll view their e-mail first while non-urgent e-mails will go to the bottom of the list. Aside from its innovative algorithm, SaneBox is definitely worth a try because:

• It can run on multiple platforms, including AOL, Apple mail, Android, and Microsoft Exchange, without being downloaded or installed.

• You can easily unsubscribe from mailing lists with the SaneBlackHole feature.

• You will receive notifications of sent e-mails which haven’t been replied to. This way you can follow up on their recipients and finish your work on time.

• You can delay checking certain e-mails by placing them in SaneTomorrow, SaneNextWeek or Custom Defer folder to view them later.

SaneBox comes highly recommended by big names in the IT world, such as Robert Scoble and Brian Norgard. So, give in to the free trial, and if you like it, you can use it for as low as $2.04 a month.

The Email Game

Whereas the rest of the apps on this list are more professional in their approach, the Email Game makes going through e-mail effectively a fun process. The game is divided into two procedures:

1. Deciding What to Do with Each E-mail – The Email Game features a timer which you shouldn’t allow to get to zero or else you will lose points. With the time you have, you should decide whether to Reply, Reply All, Forward or Label for important messages or Boomerang (archive for this session and show in inbox later), Skip, Archive or Delete for non-urgent e-mails. Once you decide the fate of the e-mails you have, you can carry out the actions you planned.

2. Respond to E-mails – When you choose to respond to an e-mail, the timer will give you three minutes to respond. This will help you save time and cut down any slack.

The Email Game is compatible with Gmail and Google Apps, but fingers are crossed for it to work with other platforms as well.

These were just some of the e-mail productivity-boosting apps out there. You can check the web or keep posted for more similar services in the future. However, give these a whirl right away to stop wasting your time unnecessarily.

Author bio: Dmitri Blackthorn is a part-time technology blogger trying to inform her readers about online security threats and how to avoid online scams. Dmitri is a part of service Stop-DDoS.net.