Everyone wants to protect their computer against harmful malware. There are a number of antiviruses and malware-fighting software available online. Zonealarm is one such software that provides its users with guaranteed protection against malicious bugs.

Though there are numerous antivirus available online, choosing one that offers you the protection that you need is an important decision that requires some consideration. The following are a few tips you must take into account before deciding on antivirus software.

1. Device Compatibility

First things first; you need to check that the antivirus you are aiming to purchase or download is compatible with your device’s hardware and software requirements.

2. Features

Next, you need to check the features antivirus offers. For example, does it offer firewall services to block hackers from making hacking attempts? Does it offer anti-phishing services to help prevent loss of confidential data at the hands of fake websites? Does it offer malware-fighting services, anti-spam, parental controls or anti-ransomware, etc?

3. Customer Support

The third tip is to look for a software provider that will help you even after you have made the purchase. While you are downloading and installing the software on the device, you might face technical or software related issues that the company’s customer service must be able to help you out with either via phone call or online.

4. The Functionality of Antivirus

Be sure that that antivirus you purchase does not end up slowing down your device or affecting its functionality. Therefore, before making a final decision, check for the memory space it requires and its file size.

5. Ease of Use

You need to make sure that the antivirus you are about to purchase is user-friendly and easy to use. If it is too technical, you might face a hard time downloading, installing, and navigating your way around it. Worse, you might need a technical support member by your side to help you for the tiniest of issues you might face in the long run. Therefore, go for software that can be easily operated by the end-user.

6. Price

One of the most important things to check in software is how is it priced. If you cannot afford high priced antivirus software, then look for the one that falls within your range and budget. There are free versions of antivirus software available online as well. You might try one of them.

7. Online Reviews

Last but not the least, before making a final decision, read reviews online, or ask around to get some advice. This will help you in arriving at a cost-efficient and productivity-enhancing decision while saving you from low-quality antivirus software.

Conclusion

Purchasing antivirus from a trusted vendor is very important. This is because not only the vendor will offer you support in case anything goes wrong but will also take the responsibility of making sure your device’s protection needs are met.

As we all know, smartphones have developed and improved rapidly over the years and the days of using your phone to just ring someone are long gone.

It’s now a multi-functioning device, which allows you to do so many things. From taking advantage of the latest no deposit casino bonus offers to have a spin on the roulette wheel or booking an appointment at a local restaurant, there’s plenty you can do at the click of just a few buttons.

As the uses for our phones grow, you need to be in a position to understand the ways to get the most out of your device, and here we identify six things that can help.

Maximize battery life

With our reliance on phones increasing, the battery life doesn’t seem to last as long.

However, you can combat that in a few ways. Firstly, going on low power mode will help and you can also identify which apps are draining the battery and you can limit your time on them or delete them if they aren’t necessary.

Add a microphone

Many use their phone to capture all sorts of moments in their life, whether they are out partying or for a family snap.

Whilst most phones are great for that, taking videos can be tougher as you need the sound to be perfect as well. You can improve that by adding a microphone, which will give you a more professional look and improve the quality of the videos you take.

Backup your photos

Following on from that, with the phone becoming the main camera for many people, it’s important that you back up the photos you take, which can be done from your device.

There are several different ways to do just that, meaning that you won’t lose out on the special pictures you have taken that will bring back so many memories.

Screencasting

Another way you can get the most out of your phone is by screencasting. This will allow you to transmit what’s on your device on to a TV, providing it is compatible with the phone.

You may not find a use for it all the time but we all watch different things on our phone and this will enable you to watch on a much bigger screen and it’s pretty easy to do once you know-how.

Use the do not disturb feature

A phone is also a critical tool for any businessmen and women out there, with its importance in marketing increasing. As well as that, you can be in contact, either on the phone or by text, to colleagues and clients all day.

So, for some, your phone can be constantly going off and making noises. However, using the Do Not Disturb option, you will ensure you get peace and quiet, whether you just want to clear your head from work thoughts for a few hours or you don’t want to be interrupted during an important meeting.

Manage your time on your phone

Finally, some will want to manage the tasks they do and even the amount of time they spend on a phone.

That can be a real problem for some people, who are constantly looking at their small screens all day. If you feel that it’s a problem for you, there are different things to do. Firstly, you can get updates on how long you spend on the phone, whilst you can also ensure specific apps aren’t available until certain times, which should help prevent you from getting distracted during the day.

Overall, smartphones now have a prominent role in our lives but some still may not understand the different ways your device can help you or the ways you can manage what you do but these little things can be useful to make things better.

Imagine you are in the middle of binge-watching your favorite Netflix show or trying to send an important work email when your Wi-Fi network suddenly starts buffering, leaving you to pull your hair out in frustration. There is a multitude of causes behind signal degradation, but one way to avoid any hiccups during network consumption is to have a heat map of your Wi-Fi network handy at all times. A heatmap is simply a graphical representation that showcases the wireless signal coverage in and around your house, office building, or any other locations.

How does a WiFi heat map work?

The most prominent reasons for having a heat map include locating dead Wi-Fi zones, adjusting Access Points, troubleshooting sluggish speeds, eliminating the guesswork out of your infrastructure, and capacity planning for your Wi-Fi signal evaluation process.

By using typical color schemes of red, yellow, and green, a heat map conveys the signal peaks and lagging points in your network. The initial point of network triage and troubleshooting always involves studying a heatmap to diagnose the weakest links in your network. Once the problem areas are diagnosed, it becomes easier to get to the root of the problem.

NetSpot, a leading network wireless assessment tool, offers a detailed WiFi heat map software for your entire network spectrum.

How to create a WiFi heat map

Heatmap is an actual map of your house or building with an overlay of Wi-Fi spots that have either weak or strong signals. Creating a heatmap is not only beneficial but quite easy. Before you start the actual heat map creation, it is important to have the following:

A WiFi heat map software: A heat map software is used for collecting data and creating a heat map for your Wi-Fi network. Luckily, there is a variety of heat map software options available these days, depending on your requirements.

A WiFi-enabled device: Any laptop, smartphone, or tablet that has Wi-Fi access.

A sketch or blueprint of your network: A hand-drawn sketch with reference points. A professional blueprint of your home or office that can be uploaded to the heat map software.

Now that you are ready to impart on your heat map creation journey, consider NetSpot as it is one of the best apps for creating a heat map. It not only provides an easy-to-use app with an intuitive user interface but is also compatible with most operating systems and devices.

After downloading a heatmap software app like the one offered by NetSpot, heat maps can be created easily in two different ways depending on whether you are doing an active or a passive survey of your Wi-Fi signal strength.

Active Survey:

While doing an active survey, all you need is a heat map software that is installed on a device that is connected to your Wi-Fi network. You then walk around your network vicinity – your house, rooms, office building, or any location for which you want the heat map to be created. As you move around from one spot to another, you keep clicking on the software to notate where you are and the software, in turn, keeps recording the signal strength of each area. Once you have covered enough ground, the software renders a heat map for you.

Passive Survey:

If you would rather do a passive survey instead of walking around – in case of larger areas – then the software takes into account the floor plan of your network. You fill in all the data like drawing the walls, the construction material being used, etc. These answers give the software a clue at signal attenuation. You also have to specify the type and locations of the Access points in your network so the software can understand the antenna pattern. After all this information is provided to the software, it assesses the signal propagation and comes up with a heat map. Keep in mind though, that this is only a predictive heat-map and not as efficient as an active heat map. Once you click the stop button, complete visualization of your heat map will be displayed.

In the case of using NetSpot, the process is pretty straightforward. After starting the survey, just upload or sketch your floor plan and set reference points by clicking two spots on the map and recording the distance between them. Once you walk around and tap at the reference point of your standing, the software will take the measurements and a green signal will appear. You can then walk over to the next area and repeat the process until the entire network is covered and a heat map visualization is provided by the software.

How to interpret a WiFi heat map

Now that you have the visual heat map of your coverage, it is time to read and interpret the results. Luckily, most heat mapping software is quite intuitive and comes with easy to follow instructions on how to both set up and interpret the results of your heat map. NetSpot also provides an online guide on how to set up and interpret your heat map results.

Most heat mapping software use a color-coding scheme to interpret the Wi-Fi signal strength. In the case of NetSpot, the dark red color indicates the peak of a signal strength whereas blue is an indicator of weak signals.

When interpreting a heat map, it is important to also look at the following thresholds:

Signal level: Check the heat map to see what the expected RSSI (Received Signal Strength Intensity) of an area is. An acceptable RSSI is -75dBm, while a good one is considered to be at -65dBm. If the heat map shows any areas with RSSI below these points, then consider distributing and re-arranging your APs.

Number of APs: This parameter shows the total number of APs available in each zone that falls under the acceptable RSSI range. To attain a good Wi-Fi signal at least two available APs should be present within the area of concern with an acceptable RSSI range.

Access Point coverage: This option visually shows the signal areas covered by each AP and if any of the APs are underutilized. Once the underutilized APs are recognized, they can be re-arranged to achieve the maximum return on signal strength.

Channel coverage: Studying your heat map to understand the channel coverage is important when trying to avoid interferences. Those zones that are in near proximity of other channels are bound to face signal interference causing your Wi-Fi network to degrade. The wider the channel width used in networks, the higher the amount of separation required between channels. As an example, a network with a 20Mhz channel width will require at least five channels to operate without any interference.

Signal-to-interference ratio: To avoid signal degradation, APs have to be placed with ample separation between channels. This reduces communication overlap and interference. Most heat map results will show the areas with the highest and lowest levels of AP interferences by way of color-coding or graphing.

Sometimes, creating multiple maps also helps as you can compare the before and after scenarios once Wi-Fi signal improvements are made. They also help you pinpoint how certain conditions change consistently due to external factors.

Conclusion

An optimized network is crucial for the success of any business. To meet the ever-growing data consumption needs, it is imperative to have a strong Wi-Fi signal at all times. A Wi-Fi heat map can truly give your network an edge by tweaking the problem areas and accelerating your signal strength.

The Introduction

Metal cutting is common enough in welding-related jobs, whether it’s in the fabrication shop or a job site. And, there are other metal-cutting techniques as well such as plasma arc cutting or laser cutting.

However, oxy-fuel cutting seems to be the popular choice due to its portability benefits. Nonetheless, it is viable to consider other options too.

And, to pick the best solution for your metal-cutting needs, you must consider several factors to decide the right choice for you.

Factor To Be Considered

Metals Being Used

Oxy-fuel cut is economical for cutting mild or low-alloy steel. Also, when it comes to flame cutting heavy metal thicknesses up to 900 mm, oxy-fuel cutting is simply exceptional.

On the other hand, cast iron, aluminum, and even stainless steel are not cut using oxy-fuel cutting.

Availability Of Electric Power

Plasma arc cutting is not exactly known for its portability. And, it needs to be worked with electricity, hence, if you need flame-cutting to be done on some remote location, then oxy-fuel cutting is for you.

Safety Precautions

Oxy-fuel requires the use of certain explosive fuel gases namely, acetylene, propane, propylene, and natural gas. There are certain places where such fuel gases can prove highly dangerous.

Therefore, it is a must to evaluate the restrictions that a job-site project may have before choosing the kind of flame-cutting you may want to have for the job.

Speed and Precision Cutting

Plasma arc cutting is well-known in the field for cutting stacked metals. Also, faster speeds are possible with plasma arc when thinner metals are used.

It also has a reputation for minimal or no metal distortion with thinner metals.

Minimal Cleanup

With oxy-fuel cutting, a fuel flame preheats the metal to its ignition temperature, then a high powered oxygen jet is directed at the metal which creates a chemical reaction.

This reaction causes slag. A high powered oxygen jet removes the slag from the kerf.

Naturally, this process is far more pronounced in oxy-fuel cutting than in plasma arc cutting.

Minimum Time Required

Oxy-fuel cutting requires the metal to be preheated to the ignition temperature before the metal can be cut.

This entire process is not necessary for plasma arc cutting. Hence, plasma arc cutting is thought to be a more time-efficient process.

It goes without saying that both these techniques have pros and cons. It may even be said that if the job is extensive enough, it would be advised to have both, oxyfuel and plasma arc as part of your arsenal.

The Conclusion

The fundamental things to consider for either oxyfuel cutting or plasma arc cutting are the thickness of metal that will be cut, and what needs to be cut on a day-to-day basis.

If a thicker metal is to be cut frequently, just go for oxy-fuel cutting. On the other hand, if precision cutting of stainless steel is to be done, choose plasma arc cutting.

Hopefully, the article will provide some insight as to the flame cutting techniques that suits your needs.