Like all operating systems, Windows comes with a built-in software firewall. Unlike the firewall on your router, this firewall only protects a single system. It's important for techs – and the users they support – to understand how to...

Setting up a hardware firewall is an obvious first step to making sure your network is protected. Even the most basic router has several different types of firewall settings – without proper configuration, you will either leave your...

All routers share some basic configuration steps every tech must know. From router passwords to LAN IDs, this is the place to learn about these settings. This clip is from the chapter "Local Area Networking" of the series "CompTIA A+...

The CompTIA A+ exams challenge test takers to perform many configurations of a typical home router. But what does a router do for a SOHO network? This clip is from the chapter "Local Area Networking" of the series "CompTIA A+...

Microsoft developed the concept of Workgroups for small networks to work with their naming system. Workgroups are simple and provide no security, but they're a part of every small Windows network. This clip is from the chapter "Local...

Individual hosts use IP addresses, but humans are terrible at memorizing long strings of numbers. To make our lives easier, most TCP/IP networks (and certainly the Internet) use the Domain Name System (DNS) to apply more human-friendly...

When two computers begin the process of sharing data, they create what we call a connection (or session). A good tech knows how to use common utilities to observe these connections and diagnose issues. This clip is from the chapter...

Manually entering IP addresses into all our devices is an administrative nightmare. To avoid this mess, smart techs use the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to automatically provide IP addresses to individual hosts. This clip...

You'd be hard-pressed to find a home or small office router that isn't using Network Address Translation (NAT). NAT provides some amazing benefits but also has some serious limitations. This clip is from the chapter "Local Area...

The designers of IP addresses reserved many IP addresses for special uses. From loopback to private IP addresses, a good tech understands these special addresses as well as when and how to use them. This clip is from the chapter "Local...

IP addressing was designed from the ground up for flexibility in supporting LANs and WANs of any size. The first step towards understanding this flexibility is to understand Network IDs and how they interact with a subnet mask to get...

In this video, we will use the example of a help system to understand the CoR pattern. It will also give you an overview of the example. This clip is from the chapter "Chain of Responsibility" of the series "Behavioral Design Patterns in...

TCP is the most popular IP protocol, but it isn't the only one. User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) both serve important purposes and features that techs need to understand. This clip is from the...

Misinformation. A recent and major problem facing us all, and one that is pervasive in many realms including medicine and healthcare, which are, of course, favorite realms around here. But is all this stuff recent? Is misinformation a...

In the first part of this three-episode series we touched on the fact that misinformation has been around for a long time, and that it may seem like a recent problem because the internet has forever changed the way we share information....

This video explains the photo-based widget. This clip is from the chapter "Photo-Based Widget" of the series "Mastering WidgetKit in SwiftUI 4, iOS 16 with Dynamic Island".This section explains the photo-based widget.

In this episode, Mike explores the crazy acronym soup around networking, explaining the differences among terms such as LAN, WAN, MAN, PAN, and HAM. (Just kidding on the last term!) This helps minimize confusion in later networking...

This video demonstrates code enhancements. Here, you will be using the logging module using PowerShell. This clip is from the chapter "Report Consolidation and Code Enhancement" of the series "PowerShell for Automating...

This video is a guide to the lab setup where you will understand the architecture of the simple application. This clip is from the chapter "Lab Setup" of the series "PowerShell for Automating Administration".This section focuses on the...

This video will help you develop a super powerful PowerShell script that takes care of end-to-end software installation for us. Here, you will successfully download and install the WinRAR and Notepad++ applications. This clip is from the...

The CompTIA A+ defines a very specific workflow process to troubleshoot any problem on a system. These steps will help you mentally break down the steps to diagnose and repair a computer problem. This clip is from the chapter "Book...

The CompTIA A+ exams have many network troubleshooting scenario questions. The Great Mikestrami gives you a few rules to help you get through these questions. In addition, a few basic tools and preparation makes troubleshooting most...

Mike explores some of the latest and greatest networking technologies with the Internet of Things (IoT). He describes the three common wireless technologies used to connect to IoT devices, 802.11, Zigbee, and Z-wave. Mike finishes with a...

In this episode, Mike shows how Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) work and why people use VPN connections. He discusses the types of protocols and clients that make this work today and walks through a generic VPN setup. This clip is from...