Ask Leo! #350 - How NAT works, volts & amps & chargers (oh my!), TCP/IP settings in Win 7 and more... - Confident Computing

The Ask Leo! Newsletter

*** New Articles

Can I use a charger that provides the same voltage but a different amperage?

I'd like to know if it is okay to use a different power charger for my netbook. Originally, the charger specs are 19v and 1.58A. This charger is not available anymore and I can only find a 19v and 2.15A. Can I use this as a replacement?

Yes.

With a couple of caveats, of course.

Getting the right power supply - if it's not made specifically for your particular model of computer - involves matching voltage, amperage, and polarity.

And each have different constraints.

Continue reading: Can I use a charger that provides the same voltage but a different amperage?
http://ask-leo.com/C5276

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Where are TCP/IP settings in Windows 7?

In Win7, where can you find the TCP/IP settings to set a static IP address?

The settings to control the TCP/IP protocol are fairly well buried in Windows - particularly so in Windows 7.

In this video segment from an Ask Leo! webinar, I'll show you exactly where to find them.

Continue reading: Where are TCP/IP settings in Windows 7?
http://ask-leo.com/C5271

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How does NAT work?

Regarding your article What's the difference between a hub, a switch, and a router? your description of routers raised a question. When using NAT, how does the router know which local IP address should receive an incoming packet? Using your example network, suppose computer "A" sends out a packet to someone on the internet. But what if at the SAME time, computer "B" sends out a packet to the SAME someone? Now, each local IP address (from computers "A" and "B") both get translated to the same internet IP address (72.134.xx on your diagram) and then sent out to the same someone on the internet. That person then sends back responses for both computer "A" and computer "B" on the same internet IP address. The router receives these response packets, but how does the router know which packet goes to which computer? Both came in from the same place with the same destination internet IP address.

It turns out that NAT, or Network Address Translation, is actually a very simple concept; one that we rely on every day to share a single internet connection across multiple computers as well as to keep those computers safe from internet threats.

Simple in concept, maybe, but difficult - complex even - to explain.

But, I'll give it a shot.

Continue reading: How does NAT work?
http://ask-leo.com/C5270

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Answercast #13 - Website popups and spammy comments, keyloggers, multiple searches, static IP's and more...

Continue reading: Answercast #13 - Website popups and spammy comments, keyloggers, multiple searches, static IP's and more...
http://ask-leo.com/C5264

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*** Last Issue's Articles

*** Word o' the Week

nat

NAT stands for Network Address Translation. This is a technique that lets multiple machines on one side of your router share a single internet connection and internet IP address. The router does this by handing out local IP addresses to each machine on your local network and translating between those addresses and the "real" internet IP address when the local computers access the internet.

Word o' the Week features a computer term or acronym taken from the Ask Leo! Glossary. If there's a word you're not sure of and would like to see defined, click here to let me know.

*** Leo Recommends

AutoHotkey - Mouse and Keyboard Remapping, Macros and Hotkeys

Have I got a recommendation for you. The only caveat is that it's a tad geeky to set up, but it's incredibly powerful. I run it on both my Windows XP desktop and Vista laptop.

AutoHotkey is a free, small program that remains running in your notification area. It intercepts keystrokes (and mouse activity, if you like), and allows you to configure anything from simple remapping of one key to another, to simple text insertion, as you've described, to complex actions that are nearly little programs in and of themselves.

One thing that's easy to overlook is that AutoHotkey works at the keyboard level and is not tied to any application. So anything you use it for is available at any time, regardless of what program you happen to be using.

My needs are fairly simple, so let me show you some of the things that I have AutoHotkey configured to do.

Continue reading: AutoHotkey - Mouse and Keyboard Remapping, Macros and Hotkeys
http://ask-leo.com/C3668

Each week I recommend a specific product or resource that I've found valuable and that I think you may as well. What does my recommendation mean?

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