Archive for March, 2008
Friday, March 14th, 2008
In due course, web conferencing has proved its worth over traditional audio or video conferencing. In those situations, where the basic meeting format is that of back and forth information flows, web conferencing is just second to face to face meeting.
However, security has always been a major concern with web conferencing. Mere SSL or AES encryption protocol cannot guarantee you complete access security though they are well known as industry standards. Corporate houses cannot ignore this viable communication media and at the same time cannot entirely depend on it for this very reason.
There are so many other problems in traditional web conferencing. The attendees who needed to deal with 3D CAD design, flash graphic design, and other similar collaborations of image based applications, had to fight hard to make the meeting effective up to the minimum level.
Another big problem with traditional web conferencing had been that the attendees had to download and install meeting client software. That is not all. The attendees needed to download Java, flash installations and others to support the client software. The whole process was tedious, time consuming and expensive (in some cases you need to pay monthly usage charges for your meeting client software).
Even after ignoring all these problems, you can not be sure that your meeting is held in a 100% secured atmosphere.
What next?
Here comes “on premise web conferencing appliances”, a secured and easy to use conferencing tool for corporate communication. Just install the appliance and you are ready to start the conference - round the clock.
With these appliances you do not need to pay any monthly fee or you do not need constant IT support. To add to this there is no way that a firewall, proxy server or anti virus can block it. And thus you get a hustle free and smooth conference.
This appliance is supported by all the platforms like Mac, UNIX, Linux or Windows. To add to this, you can attend the conference using your iPhone too - thus you can stay connected even while you are on the move.
The best thing about “on premise web conferencing appliances” is that you can use your firewall to protect access security of web conferencing attendees. Alongside, with some of these appliances, you get the facility to Remotely Access your computer.
To sum up, “on premise web conferencing appliance for web meeting” provides you a simple, easy to use, cost effective and secured conferencing tool for internal and external meetings.
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Friday, March 14th, 2008
Most webmasters started off using single domain hosting or shared web-hosting services. Shared web hosting means you share a server with dozens of other webmasters. Typically, shared web hosting plans allows you to have more than 1 domain per shared web hosting account with a predetermined hard disk space and bandwidth. The cost is usually pretty low. You only need to pay around 3-10 dollars per month.
Although it is cheap to host your website on single or shared web hosting accounts, there are many disadvantages you should be aware of.
By the nature of shared hosting, the server resources are shared among many websites, therefore it is very easy for resources such as CPU and memory to be used up quickly. Certain types of websites such as proxy sites are known to generate high CPU utilization, therefore if your website is on the same server, be advised there is a possibility of your website going down. Spam complaints against other sites on the same server will also affect your website. Any form of denial of service attack against someone else hosting can impact on the uptime of your website.
Also some web hosting companies over packed too many hosting accounts on one server causing the server to be slow and sluggish. The end result is your website is up but takes too long to load and display properly.
How can you do to avoid this issue?
Years ago, the only solution is to get a dedicated server. However, nowadays you can get a cheap virtual dedicated server for less than 30 dollars a month.
A cheap dedicated virtual server or VPS allows you to run your sites as if you own the server virtually. In reality, the dedicated server is spilt into multiple virtual dedicated servers. The main advantage is that each virtual dedicated server has control over it’s own resources such as CPU, RAM etc. So each virtual dedicated server is totally isolated from other virtual servers and will not be affected if other webmasters bring their servers down.
Some web-hosting providers also have unmetered bandwidth, which is a plus.
So Are There Any Disadvantages in having a virtual dedicated server?
There are not many major disadvantages except for cost. It will cost a little bit more on hosting. The other disadvantage is you need to be technically proficient in administering the server. However, some web-hosting providers also can provide managed virtual dedicated server. It means they will help you to manage the server. Examples are routine server maintenance, security patches etc.
With increased speed and reliability from using cheap virtual dedicated server, you will rest easy that your websites are always up while you are sleeping.
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Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Since firewalls are so commonly used it is worth exploring them in greater depth. Corporations often set up rules for managing their Web connections using firewalls. A firewall enables a company to designate how all end users can use their network and decide what information is passed through Web servers and other servers.
There are several methods a firewall uses to control traffic that comes into and goes out of the network. One way firewalls do this is through packet filtering. During this process a firewall analyzes small packets of information against pre-designated filters. All data is sent via small packets of information through filters. Safe information is passed through and unsafe information is generally removed.
Another way firewalls mitigate traffic is through proxy service. This means the firewall retrieved information from the Web and sends it to the requesting computer. Still another method of traffic control used by firewall is stateful inspection. This technique allows the firewall to compare certain parts of the data packet to information gathered from trusted sources. Information going to the firewall from the Internet is monitored to determine whether it contains key characteristics that suggest the information is safe rather than harmful. Information designated as safe passes through freely and other information is blocked.
The methods a company selects will depend on a number of factors including personal preferences. Regardless of the method a firewall uses however a company or network administrator can customize the firewall to filter information based on a pre-established set of criteria.
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Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Connect Your Entire LAN to the Internet with a Single IP Address Simply and Securely.
If you want to connect a local area network (LAN) in your office to the Internet today, you have a number of options to choose from. The simplest is to buy a small stand-alone router or gateway. These devices are inexpensive, reliable and mostly plug-and-play. If you know what you’re doing, you can configure a router and network in less than an hour. However, this might not be your best choice.
There are significant reasons why a router is not the best solution. How secure does your data need to be? Do you need (or would like) to know exactly how much Internet traffic each of your PCs consumes? Do you have priority traffic that must get through? Do you have employees that might be using the Internet for purposes other than work?
A simple hardware gateway will not satisfy these conditions. You could invest a small fortune for a sophisticated device that would satisfy some of these and still not have the optimum solution.
An alternative to expensive hardware is setting up a dedicated computer to control Internet access and connectivity. In this case, your choice is economically limited to one of two platforms: *nix or Windows. While *nix (Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, etc) is technically terrific for the task, it is not as cost effective in a typical company with a multitude of Windows PCs. A *nix system bears a very important drawback: you will either have to hire a system administrator to manage it, or be unable to fine-tune Internet access and constantly risk network failure.
Using a dedicated Windows PC to control how your LAN users access the Internet is the only remaining choice. While Windows itself provides a limited set of basic connectivity features, you will need to purchase and set up dedicated gateway server software to use advanced features. UserGate 4.1 by Entensys is a proxy server for Windows that is not only the simplest gateway server to configure and use, but also has all the advanced features your company may require.
There are two ways UserGate can share an Internet connection among your LAN users. One way is to configure it as a gateway, very similar to stand-alone hardware routers. UserGate supports NAT and port mapping in order to share a single IP address between multiple LAN users. Using NAT requires no additional configuration on client computers, and is the fastest way to set up Internet access.
If you want more advanced features such as caching your Internet connections, you can set up a User Gate Proxy Server. The proxy server automatically caches the web resources your LAN users access most often, saving significant Internet bandwidth and seriously increasing access speeds. There is no way for your LAN users to bypass UserGate to access the Internet, so you can create powerful rules to control user access to certain resources or protocols.
You can also set up content filtering to block unwanted Web sites, resources, or specific file extensions (such as MP3 music).
Your LAN is always protected from external attacks by UserGate’s built-in firewall. The built-in anti-virus quickly scans all Internet traffic to protect your network from spyware, viruses and malicious software.
If you have different kinds of traffic, such as VoIP, you can easily limit the maximum bandwidth for every user in order to ensure that time-sensitive clients get the necessary bandwidth. You can also limit the connection speed for any network user and can control the maximum load of your Internet connection.
UserGate keeps complete statistics on every LAN user, including the list of visited URLs and their online time.
Its built-in billing makes UserGate a perfect solution for splitting a single Internet connection between several users.
The latest version adds VPN support, providing the same connection sharing and statistics features for private and public networks. Support of VPN and transparent proxy makes UserGate a perfect solution for safe and secure Internet connection sharing.
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Sunday, March 9th, 2008
If you trawl through the AdSense message boards you can’t help but come across tales of woe from AdSense publishers that have had their account banned by Google.
Below is a list of ways people have been banned from AdSense and information on how to avoid it happening to you.
Don’t click on your own ads
The obvious one but still people do it. Google has the IP address of the computer/s that you’ve used to create and check your AdSense account. If it sees that this IP address clicks one of your ads you’re in trouble.
Don’t do it. It’s theft. Not from Google but from the AdWords advertisers.
If you want to go to a site advertised by one of your ads don’t click on it look at the URL of the advertising site at the bottom of the ad and type it into your browser.
If you click on one accidentally (which does happen) you’re probably be ok but it’s worth dropping a quick email to Google with an explanation and apology
Don’t log in to AdSense from a shared computer.
As I said above Google keeps a record of every machine IP address used to look at your account. If you check your stats on a machine then someone else clicks on your ads from the same machine Google sees this as click fraud. Worth bearing in mind when thinking of checking your stats from somewhere like an Internet Café.
Don’t log in to your AdSense account from work.
Apart from getting in trouble with the company that employs you there’s also a further real risk. Most companies use a proxy server to access the Internet. A proxy server with ONE IP ADDRESS. Therefore you checking your ads from work means this proxy IP address being recorded by Google as one that you use. Problem is if there are 1000 people in your company it is the same IP address for them too. Google can’t differentiate between you and the other 999 employees in your company. If one of these 999 clicks on one of your ads it’s ban time.
Don’t get into a ‘I’ll click your ads if you click mine’ agreement with another Webmaster.
As above Google will have your IP address and that of every AdSense publisher. If they see these IP addresses consistently clicking on each other ads it’s goodbye for both of you.
Don’t tell friends and family.
Telling friends and family about your money making websites can lead to problems. Even if you tell them not to click on your ads there’s always the chance that Auntie Maud will think it’s a good idea to make some extra money for her favourite nephew. 100 clicks later from the same visitor and your account is screaming ‘Click Fraud’.
Receiving clicks from illegal traffic
Check the AdSense TOS for sources of traffic that aren’t allowed by Google. These include methods like Traffic exchange, PTC advertising, Auto surf etc.
Do monitor your visitor and AdSense figures
Check your account at least once a day. If you see a massive spike coupled with a massive increase in Page CTR investigate using your visitor stats website. If you see it’s all come from the same IP address you could have been the victim of a malicious attack – inform Google via email and offer them access to your logs.
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Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Whenever a computer receives or transmits information, be it a home computer or a server, it does so through an open port that at some point connects to a router, which will then send the information over the internet. Depending on the type of data being processed, certain specific ports are used.
In proxy servers, there are several ports that are most commonly used. These protocols communicate with external devices, such as routers, by means of a protocol. Protocols are used in order to allow equipment to communicate with each other and establish how information is sent over the internet.
The most common protocol used by proxy ports is TCP – Transmission Control Protocol. TCP is an essential part of any TCP/IP network. While the IP – Internet Protocol – deals with the packets of data that is being transmitted, TCP is in charge of guaranteeing that these packets will be delivered and that they will arrive at their destination in the same order that they were sent through a specific port. Some ports use another type of protocol, which is UDP. Although UDP also establishes communication between ports, is does not guarantee it.
Other commonly used protocols are:
• HTTP – establishes the format in which web browsers and internet sites communicate with each other
• FTP – establishes formats for file transfers
• IMAP – determines communication between e-mail servers and their clients
• SSL Protocol – determines formats used for encrypted communication
The most commonly used proxy ports are:
TCP Port 80
Protocol / Name: WANRemote
Description: Standard web service port. When transferring sensitive data, port 443 is recommended as this is a vulnerable Trojan port. It should be tested to identify vulnerabilities if used, either through spyware removal programs or firewalls.
TCP Port 8000
Protocol / Name: iRDMI
Description: Not a Trojan port.
TCP Port 8080
Protocol / Name: http-alt
Description: An HTTP alternative port. It is a vulnerable Trojan port and should be tested to identify vulnerabilities if used, either through spyware removal programs or firewalls.
TCP Port 8081
Protocol / Name: blackice-logon
Description: Network Admin port for BlackIce’s intrusion detection program through its host-based firewall.
TCP Port 443
Protocol / Name: https
Description: A secure port which uses HTTP over SSL. Information sent through this port is encrypted via the SSL protocol.
TCP Port 444
Protocol / Name: snpp
Description: Uses Simple Network Paging Protocol for data transfers.
TCP Port 1080
Protocol / Name: socks
Description: A SOCKS port used for outbound TCP services, such as FTP and HTTP. As with port 80 and 8080, it is vulnerable to attacks. Attackers that connect to this port can bounce off to reach other internal hosts that are otherwise protected from direct attacks. Port scans should be made in order to listen for attempts of connection to this port.
TCP Port 2301
Protocol / Name: Cpq-wbem
Description: Compaq HTTP port.
TCP Port 3128
Protocol / Name: ReverseWWWTunnel
Description: Reverse WWW Tunnel Backdoor port.
TCP Port 3382
Protocol / Name: fujitsu-neat
Description: Fujitsu Net Enhanced Antitheft port.
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Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Setting up a shared internet connection
Abstract If you have one computer connected to the internet (from now on called the “server”), and another connected to that computer (from now on called the “client”) via a wireless connection you may wish to have the client access the internet through the server. The normal way of doing this is to use Windows built in ICS, however if you don’t wish to use this (eg it doesnt work or doesnt provide you with enough control over the connection) you may wish to manually set up a proxy server. This tutorial tells you how.
You will need..
One computer connected to the internet, with a Wireless card
One (or more) computers with wireless cards
FreeProxy (see below) installed on the server pc
Windows XPNote: You do not need a router for this configuration, meaning you can just get two ten pound wireless cards for this to work. The down side of not using a router is that the server pc has to be running whenever you want to access the internet through a client.
Also note that the following screenshots and instructions are for Windows XP SP2, though the instructions should be simliar for any version of Windows XP.
Implementation Firstly you need to make sure that the two computers have their wireless cards installed, and that they are connected to each other. When they are both connected there should have a small icon visible on the taskbar like so:
If they dont seem to be connected to each other then see the troubleshooting section below.
Setting up the server Instead of using Windows built in ICS, you can set up a proxy server manually on the server. To do this we’re going to use a proxy server called “FreeProxy” - you can download it for free here or here.
Install FreeProxy then choose “Free Proxy Control Centre” from the start menu. Once FreeProxy is running click the ports option, then fill in the protocol as “HTTP Proxy”, any name and the local binding as “Wireless” (you may wish to save setting the local binding until later to make sure the connection works). You should also select “Any Ip Address”
< src=”http://www.rustyspigot.com/img/windows/freeproxy.png”>
Now click “Done” then Start/Stop. Now press start for Console Mode to test whats happening, and Start under service mode so the service shold run automatically.
Assigning IPs Manually Whilst technically you dont have to manually assign IP addresses to get this to work , unless you set them for both computers the Wireless connection may be unreliable. To do so:
Open up “Network Connections” either from the start menu (As below) or from the control panel.
< src=”http://www.rustyspigot.com/img/windows/start_connections.png”>
Click internet TCP/IP then properties.
< src=”http://www.rustyspigot.com/img/windows/wireles_connection_properties.png”>
You can choose the IP you want, though the IP range 169.x.x.x is reserved for local networks, and the IPs should be unique. For example, choose 169.254.1.1 for the server and 169.254.1.2 for the client. If you are also using ICS (internet connection sharing) then you should select something in the range 192.168.x.x
Setting the proxy Now you need to tell Internet Explorer/Firefox to use the proxy server. Set the ip as the of the server pc, and the port as 8080 (unless you set it differently). To do this:
Under internet explorer
Press Tools,Internet Options, Connections,Lan Settings.
< src=”http://www.rustyspigot.com/img/windows/iexplore_settings.png”>
Under firerfox
Click Tools,Internet Options,Connection Settings, then select manual configuration and fill in the details (for HTTP proxy).< src=”http://www.rustyspigot.com/img/windows/firefox_settings.png”>
Troubleshooting
Checking the connection using ping
If you want, you can check that the connection between the two computers is now working using the ping command.
Open the command prompt by opening the start menu, clicking run, typing “command”, then clicking ok.
Now type “ping IP” -where IP is the ip of the other computer
If you get some kind of reply, then the connection works. If you get “Destination Host Unreachable” then the connection isnt working and you should see the troubleshooting section below.< src=”http://www.rustyspigot.com/img/windows/ping.png”>
Checking and repairing the connection Open up the wireless connection, either by double clicking the wireless icon on the bottom right of the taskbar, or by going to “Network Connections” (on the start menu/ under My Computer) then double clicking.
You should be presented with something like the image below:
< src=”http://www.rustyspigot.com/img/windows/wireless_status.png”>
If the amount of bytes received is zero then there is a problem. Try moving the two computers closer together, and make sure that you have manually set the ips (see above).
Click support, and the following should come up:
< src=”http://www.rustyspigot.com/img/windows/wireless_repair.png”>
The ip should be visisble, and there is a repair button. Clicking it can solve some problems.
Creating a wireless connection
If the above dont seem to work then the wireless connection may not be set up correctly. See step 4 on the tutorial here for more information. Essentially, you can either create a new connection through the built in windows software of the software that came with your wireless card. Create a wireless connection on one computer, and connect to it on the other. Try without using encryption to get the connection working, then go back and enable it once it is.
Firewalls
Firewalls can get in the way of proxy servers. If you are having trouble try turning them off whilst setting up the network, then re-enabling them once it is working.
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Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Firewalls are security programs for computers that work same as that of physical firewalls protecting them from external hazards things. If an organization is using a network based environment then there is more chance of getting harm then a stand alone computer. So it is strictly recommended that there should be some security measures that will allow only the permitted things to get in and push unwanted stuff outwards. Even if the home computers uses internet surfing then intruders can easily make home in your computer files. To avoid such harms and security problems, firewall concept is eve loved. This phenomenon works as just like of barrier to keep damaging forces away. Firewall works just near to the router program scanning out each packet coming to the destination whether it has to forward or not. Usually firewall programs are placed in the separate systems to avoid taking direct request at private network connections. A lot of firewall products are available in the market that are providing some interesting and useful features like
-Record keeping facility
-Generating reports on regular intervals
-Alarming facility on any attack
-GUI based system
Working of Firewall:
Firewall works on three principles which data is permitted to come in and which not. -Sorting out Packets
Data on the network is sent in the form packets from one computer to the other computer. So firewall is aiming at packets first, it starts filtering them and then send to the demanding computer and cast off all other packets.
-Proxy
Some proxy settings are done on the network computers by firewall programs. All the information coming from the internet resource is first checked by firewall then transmitted to the requested system.
-Assessment of Packets Content
Not whole of the content is checked by firewall programs but certain keywords are matched to the defined database information in the firewall. If keyword match found they packets are allowed inside the network otherwise they are discarded.
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Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Should you need to find an email address, the internet offers you the possibility to perform a free email address lookup through various websites providing a wide range of databases and worldwide information.
Unfortunately if you want to be successful in your email address search, you might need to probe into more sophisticated ways as free services on the internet seem to be obsolete.
You can use Big Foot, Switchboard or Google to do your email search but your chances are very limited. Few people now use their real names when creating an email account and you can certainly bet that if a person does not want to be found they are very likely not to use their real details.
In that case you have to start investigating how you can read that email address so that it delivers crucial information to you. Do you know what a header is? You can learn how to find a header easily and how to open it up. Then you can access the computer IP and find the location of the user.
Should you want to go into more detail you can use paid software that will perform the email address search for you. It is very cost effective and it enables you to access a large scope of names, worldwide public records as well as tricks to decipher users, whether they want to hide behind a proxy or change their IP location.
The IP gives you the location of the user. By changing it, people can hide their real location and conceal their online ID. When you perform an email address search, locating the IP accurately is the very first thing you should aim for to have successful results.
Learning the components of an email address, how to access and change them is a pre-requisite if you want to know what tactics are used by professionals to change their online ID.
Learning what a proxy is, how to use it, how to find the header in an email, how to send anonymous emails, how to find the ISP or IP of the user are also essential basics you need to master in your quest to become a professional email tracker.
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Sunday, March 9th, 2008
The birth of “Guerilla Video” sites, such as Peekvid.com, Alluc.org and Youtube.com have given users instant access to a plethora of free media files. Although streaming video technology offers instant access to video files, zero loading time is not always possible. There are many factors that attribute to your computer’s ability to start videos immediately. Other factors such as choppy PC video playback and slow video streaming also hinder your viewing experience. There are easy fixes to these problems. Sometimes choosing another site for the source of the video streaming or a lower quality version of the video can award you with instant play. These alternatives are not always available. However, there are a number of tweaks that help speed up your streaming video startup times, eliminate choppy PC video play and stop slow streaming video.
Before we start with the tweaks to speed up slow streaming video, lets get a basic understanding of streaming video technology in order to stop choppy video. Streaming video is a prerecorded video files that can be distributed as part of a live broadcast “feed.” The video signal is converted into a compressed digital signal and transmitted from a Web server. This server is able to be multicast the same file to multiple users at the same time. When you click on the on the video it is partially loaded before you can access it. This is known as “buffering”. This helps you to load and play the video instantaneously. Now lets take a look on how to cut down on buffering time, stop slow streaming video and eliminate choppy PC video playback .
Common Streaming Video Problems
Problem #1: Choppy PC Video Playback–Choppy video is usually a PC performance related issue. Here are a few things you can try to stop choppy playback and improve computer performance.
Solution A. Turn Off Hardware Acceleration—All media applications require different aspects of your computer’s hardware. Depending on the task, the requirements may change. Turning off hardware acceleration allows the application to set the requirements itself and not be forced to use one universal setting. Hardware acceleration has been to known to cause choppy PC playback, application crashes and slow streaming video problems.
You can eliminate the problem below:
1.Click on “Start”
2.Click “Control Panel”
3.Select the “Settings” tab and click on the “Advanced”.
4.Click on the “Troubleshoot” tab.
5.Disable the hardware acceleration completely by dragging the slider to the extreme left.
Solution B. Turn off Video Acceleration—The reason for this tweak is the similar to hardware acceleration. This act frees up resources in your media player and not your hardware. However you will need to decrease video acceleration in your chosen player. Some sites like Youtube.com don’t offer this option. However, Windows Media Player gives the ability to easily alter this problem, follow the steps below. Other players’ instructions will vary.
1. In Windows Media Player
2. Click the “Tools” menu tab
3. Click on “Options”
4. Select the “Performance” tab.
5. Move the Video Acceleration Slider to “None”
Solution C. Adjust your Windows Desktop Visual Effects—You computer will get a significance boost in speed. This tweak will also free up more resources for your media player and PC performance.
1.Click “Start”, and then click “Control Panel”.
2.Click “System” and Choose “Display”.
3.Find the “Advanced” tab and Click
4.Under “Performance”, Click “Settings”
5.Under “Visuals Effects”, you may choose from a list of options such as “Adjust for best performance” or custom. If you choose Adjust for best performance all the features will be unchecked.
For more performance tips check the “Ways to Speed Up Your PC” to free up more resources to stop PC choppy playback.
Problem #2: Slow and Constant Buffering—This problem can be attributed to two factors internet speed and your media player. You can tweak your PC setting in both areas to cut down on slow streaming video. Remember that each player has its own buffer settings. Below is an how to change buffer setting in Media Player.
Solution A. Adjust Buffer Settings– To change the default buffer settings in Windows Media Player, use the following steps:
1.Start Windows Media Player
2.Click the “View” men
3.Click “Options”
4.On the “Advanced” tab, click “Streaming Media”(Windows Media)
5.Click “Change” to alter the buffer settings.
Remember that the higher you set the buffer the more of the clip will be loaded. The waiting time before you can see or hear the file will be longer, but there should be fewer interruptions once the clip begins to play.
Solution B. Use a Video Specific Proxy—A proxy allows for popular files to be loaded onto its servers. This eliminates the need for your computer to load the files. For example if you use the proxy, YouTubeProxy.org, you will not have to wait for your computer to download popular YouTube.com content because it may be already loaded in the server. This is a great way to stop slow streaming video.
These are just a few tips to eliminate choppy PC video playback and slow streaming video. However, there are more advanced ways to stop this problem. Depending on the site, there may be independent software developed specifically to speed up slow streaming video. Also, remember the general maintenance is a good way to avoid choppy PC video playback.
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