10 Free Web Services for Improving Connectivity and Enhancing Your 'Net Life Five Free Web Services to Improve Your Networked Life Joseph Moran
Several weeks ago we highlighted ten free and noteworthy networking utilities. Here we follow up with ten free Web-based sites/services (with a connectivity focus) that we think may come in handy.
1. Check Broadband Connection Speed
If your downloads feel a little pokey lately, it might be time to test your broadband connection speed to make sure you're getting the performance you're expecting (not to mention paying for).
There are places to do this all over the Web, but one of our favorites is speedtest.net. The site uses cool-looking graphics (you'll need the Flash Player plugin) and will automatically locate the closest test server to reliably report your connection's latency, download, and upload speeds.
2. Test VoIP Performance
If you're thinking of ditching your landline phone for a VoIP service, you'll want to make sure your broadband connection is up to the task. But raw download and upload performance isn't necessarily indicative of a connection's ability to reliably handle VoIP traffic.
The Broadband VoIP test at www.whichvoip.com/voip/speed_test/ppspeed.html simulates a VoIP call to measure Quality of Service (QoS) parameters like jitter and packet loss, and it will provide an estimated MOS (Mean Opinion Score) to tell you how good the quality of your voice calls is likely to be.
3. Confirm E-mail Addresses
If you send an e-mail to a non-existent address, you'll find out soon enough when the inevitable non-delivery receipt (NDR) arrives. If you'd rather know sooner than later if an e-mail address is valid or not (i.e. before you send the message), check out the address in advance at www.verify-email.org. The site will contact the domain's mail server and make sure that there's actually a mailbox for the address in question.
4. Quicker, Safer DNS
We've recommended OpenDNSbefore, but it's worth doing so again. Use OpenDNS's DNS server addresses in your router in lieu of the ones provided by your ISP and you'll get added protection against phishing sites and address typos (e.g. stay away from amazon.cm) and likely enjoy snappier Web browsing to boot.
Plus, if you're willing to register your IP address with OpenDNS (which is free), you can take advantage of the site's Web content filtering service. You can read more about OpenDNS in these articles from the archive:
Windows tracert command-line utility will show you the path a network packet takes on the way to its destination. The visual trace route tool at www.yougetsignal.com/tools/visual-tracert/ makes trace routes a bit more informative and interesting by plotting the hops via Google Maps so you can see the approximate physical location of each waypoint. (Note: the site uses itself as the starting point for trace routes, so if you want to start from your network instead, use the Proxy Trace rather than the Host Trace button.)
