Here are some technical blurbs that I have written.
In most cases I was trying to explain a complex computer problem to some one who
had limited computer knowledge, so I came up with simple ways to explain the
problem or issue. I hope you enjoy them.
How
a Router works
I thought of a good way to explain how a router or gateway works. You
can think of it like a post office. Data on the internet is sent in
something called packets. You can think of a packet like it is a letter
or box. Say you write a letter to me then you put it in an envelope and
address it to me and give it to the mailman. The mailman does not know
what is inside the envelope and he does not care. His job is to get the
letter to me, and he uses the address you wrote on the envelope to do
that. Now what happens if I am in another city? Well your mailman takes
it to his post office and then that post office sends it to another post
office until it gets to the post office that my mailman works at. Then
he takes it and gives it to me. Now let’s say you want to send me
something too big for your mailman like a computer. Then you take the
computer apart and send the pieces along with instructions on how to put
it together. The mailman still has no idea what is in the boxes he just
looks at the address and gets them to me. The internet works much that
same way. The web page you see on your screen is broken up into data
packets and each packet is then addressed to you. The routers on the
internet are like the post offices they just keep passing it on till it
gets to a post office that can deliver them to you. The packets like
things in the mail can carry a lot of things, like part of an email,
part of a web page, part of a file that you are downloading… etc.
For those who are interested in seeing what route something takes on
the internet there is a utility program that shows the route. Called
trace route. To use trace route in windows just click on start then
run and put in “tracert yahoo.com”. You can trace any valid domain
on the Internet. You should note that internet security programs such
as firewalls sometimes interfere with trace route operations. While
most things will take the same route all the time, you should know
that depending on Internet conditions and or configurations the route
may change.
What
is a firewall
You can think of a firewall as a bouncer at a privet club.
The club is your PC and the people going in and out is the information
flowing on the Internet. The bouncer checks everyone’s ID and makes sure
they are members and allowed in or out of the club. If he finds someone
with a phony ID or is not a member he throws him or her out. You can think
of a hacker as someone in line with a phony ID that wants in to your PC
and the bouncer (firewall) catches him and refuses to allow him into your
club (PC).
