What Is “Ping” and How Does It Affect the Internet?

If you’ve been browsing the Web long enough or love playing multiplayer games, you may have come across the term “ping.” You may know already that the lower the ping is, the better your connection is. But what is a “ping” really? What does it mean in the computing world, and why does it have such an odd name? Where Did the Name Come From? There are a few theories that “ping” is actually an acronym, and some say it stands for “Packet Internet or Inter-Network Groper.” But there’s nothing really substantial to say it stands for anything. What everyone does agree on is… Read more

The 5 Best Sites to Buy Cheap Downloadable PC Games

If you love cheap PC games, it’s always a good idea to make sure you buy from reputable, authorized sources. We’ve covered the reasons why you shouldn’t use grey market sites, but what about places that sell games for cheap and are also worthy of your time and money? Thankfully, there are legitimate sites out there where you can pick out games that are priced cheap. Here’s a selection of sites worth your time. Related: 6 of the Best Linux Distros for Gaming 1. Steam Steam, by itself, doesn’t deal in cheap games exclusively. It does, however, have sales very regularly. Not only that, but… Read more

4 of the Best Twitter Alternatives

Twitter remains the big dog of condensed public conversation. The all-powerful platform is the closest thing we have to a speakers’ square in the digital era, but many people are increasingly frustrated by it and looking for alternatives. On the one hand, you have people who believe it’s curtailing free speech by banning outspoken users, and on the other hand it’s a toxic cesspool where there isn’t enough control over what’s being said. So why not jump ship, abandon Twitter altogether and find a social platform that’s more aligned with you? There are some great alternatives out there now, and we’ve picked out the best of… Read more

What Is Localhost and How Is It Different from 127.0.0.1?

Even when every network device is disconnected, your computer can still communicate over a kind of network. Known as a “loopback,” a Unix machine can send and receive network communications from itself and to itself over a virtual network device. Your computer can send messages from itself to itself, permitting network-style communications without the need for a functioning network. What is 127.0.0.1? 127.0.0.1 is the most commonly-used loopback IP address. It’s part of the reserved block of more than sixteen million IP addresses that are used specifically for loopback functionality. A loopback allows your computer to communicate with itself while using networking connection protocols. … Read more

How to Bypass Paywalls of Leading News Websites

All leading news websites nowadays come with paywalls. If you read more than two to three articles, you will have to pay for a subscription. To many of us, it feels like a low number and a blatant disregard for open web principles as far as the website is concerned. Hence, we will discuss a few ways to get around paywall subscriptions. While we do not endorse misuse, these hacks can be used sparingly to access the content you need. Surely it does not make sense to subscribe to every news channel out there. It is really an individual decision on whether to continue reading… Read more