Internet | TECHRENA dot Net

Microsoft Download Manager [Downloads]

June 2, 2010 by bharath

Microsoft logo

There are enough number of download managers available already. But I have a reason to checkout this one, it is that this one is coming from Microsoft. Microsoft Download Manager does what it’s supposed to do: download files, managing multiple downloads etc.

This download manager has been specifically built to manage file downloads from Microsoft websites in a more reliable way.

You need to add the URL of the file to start the download:

Add a download in Microsoft Download Manager Microsoft Download manager completed download

Sometimes you may get errors like these while downloading files from non-Microsoft websites:

Microsoft Download Manager error

Overall, you may just use it if you are one of those who download a lot from Microsoft websites.Also note that download man

Download Microsoft Download Manager (MSDownloadManager.msi, 1.1 MB, direct link)

[How To] Make Gmail More Secure By Using HTTPS Instead Of HTTP

May 23, 2010 by dennis

“If you sign in to Gmail via a non-secure Internet connection, like a public wireless or non-encrypted network, your Google account may be more vulnerable to hijacking. Non-secure networks make it easier for someone to impersonate you and gain full access to your Google account, including any sensitive data it may contain like bank statements or online log-in credentials” – Google

In order to avoid such kind of security risks we should enable HTTPS(Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) which is a secure protocol that provides authenticated and encrypted communication and the interceptors will not be able to tap the information.

You might have seen HTTPS being used in the banking and payment websites. So by using HTTPS for your Gmail, you will be able to a secure you mailbox.

In order of enable HTTPS protocol follow the steps below:

1. Sign in to Gmail

3. Check If your Gmail is secure?

Check if you have a https://mail.google.com url. If not then follow the steps else not required as it is already enabled.

3. Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page.

4. Set Browser Connection to Always use https

5. Click Save Changes.

6. Log out and Login.

7. Now find a secure login

You can see https://mail.google.com in the url.

Now you Gmail is as safe as you internet banking site. But never forget to Logout your account if you are using a public computer.

Notes:

Using HTTPS may slow down a bit the speed of accessing your Gmail, so if you trust the security of your network, you can turn this feature off at any time
“Always use https” will prevent you from accessing Gmail via HTTP
Currently Gmail has enabled HTTPS by default. For the old users you can follow the method.

Check & Compare Your Video Streaming Speeds At YouTube Video Speed History

May 7, 2010 by bharath

youtube logo

Have you ever checked out this new YouTube Video Speed History Page? If you haven’t, go and check it now.It actually gives you some idea of the broadband speed (at what YouTube videos could load over a period of time) with comparison to your neighbours ISP speed.

By looking at the graphs, you can easily decide whether your ISP is justifying the charges you pay for them by providing the speed as promised.

Look at the following screenshots taken by me, I’m at least happy that my ISP is providing me a speed which is slightly greater than the average speed of my City (Hyderabad), and the country, even though we are far behind the global average speed Sad

Go to YouTube Video Speed History page and check your ISP’s performance now.

ScreenShots:

YouTube_Video_Speed_History

Pic-2

YouTube speed comparision chart

Also the sudden small dip in speeds around the end of April and beginning of May 2010 is possibly due to the SEA-ME-WE 4 Undersea Cable System Outage and the repair that was going on at that time.

Tikona Wi-Bro Dialer [Downloads]

May 1, 2010May 1, 2010 by bharath

Tikona logo

We have already posted a review about various tariff plans in Tikona wireless broadband.Tikona broadband tariff plans range from Rs.299 to Rs.4999.Tikona is still much like a start up, without much penetration into the broadband users, so we need to wait and see how much users base it can gather.But there are quite a number of folks out there , already using Tikona.

Tikona Wi-bro dailer

If you have already subscribed to Tikona Wi Bro broadband, you might be knowing that you need a dialer to connect to the Tikona wireless network which would have been already provided to you by the Tikona technicians.However, if you have formatted your computer where the dialer is installed without saving the backup file on any other media, you may want to download the Tikona Wi-Bro dialer software to install.So I’m sharing the Tikona wibro dialer file, which you can download from the link given below:

Download Tikona Wibro Dialer 1.4.9.7 (Size: 6.16 MB)

Password: techrena

SEA-ME-WE 4 Undersea Cable System Outage – Slower Internet Speeds In India

April 26, 2010April 26, 2010 by bharath

The internet users in India may have been already facing the slower internet speeds from couple of days, due to the undersea cable system repair.There’s been a disruption in the South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) undersea submarine cable system that connects South East Asia & Europe, the disruption was located near Italy and this is taking its toll the internet connectivity in south east Asia including India.This is not the first time that such a disruption is happening, in January 2008, almost 50% of entire India lost internet connectivity due to the undersea cable cut.

The SEA-ME-WE 4 project is a combined effort of a consortium of 16 international services, of which India’s biggies Bharti Airtel and Tata Communications are a part.

SEA_ME_WE_4

I’ve got a service message from my ISP regretting the slower internet speeds due to the undersea cable cut.

Due to undersea cable cut across Asia & Europe you may experience slow speeds & packet loss. Intl Service team is working on it,please bear with us-BeamTelecom

Well, the latest buzz is that the repair work will go on for four more days and the companies have been taking various efforts to minimise the impact on the users.

Resources: SEA-ME-WE-4 official site

Beam Telecom Broadband Speed Upgrade: A Report

March 23, 2010March 22, 2010 by dennis

beam cable logo

Reports are coming in from the Beam Telecom Broadband users in Hyderabad that their Broadband Speed has been upgraded with no extra cost. Users report that they are getting higher speed from last 10 days. This up gradation of speed came into light when one of the customers who wanted a new connection when contacted the Beam Cable agent, offered him with up to 768 kbps speed for Rs 600 (INR) per month whose official speed is 256 kbps.

Though the speed upgrade is not officially confirmed, the increase in speed is almost confirmed with all the users of Beam Cable Broadband known to us.

The speed upgrade is to be as follows:

Per Month Charge Rs (INR)	Official Speed	*Upgraded Speed (Unofficial)**
600	256kbps	768kbps
850	512kbps	1Mbps
1000	1Mbps	2Mbps

*this is a report from the users which is not officially confirmed

The above given packages speed are confirmed by the users, other packages speed could not be confirmed currently.

A User Survey by Techrena dot Net Reports:

Rs 600 Package user getting 75-85KB/s Download Speed

Rs 850 Package user getting 100-110KB/s Download Speed and so on

Well as other competitive ISPs like Airtel Broadband is also upgrading their speeds for free, Beam Telecom is also expected to do so. Another hi-speed Wireless Broadband Network is Tikona WI-BRO.

The official packages taken from the Beam Official Site is given below:

Details		Monthly	Half-Yearly		Annual Packages
Packages	Speed up to	Subscription	Subscription	Savings	Subscription	Savings	Free Vouchers
B-Max400	128kbps	400.00	2300.00	100.00	4500.00	300.00	4500.00
B-Max600	256kbps	600.00	3300.00	300.00	6000.00	1200.00	6000.00
B-Max850	512kbps	850.00	4675.00	425.00	8500.00	1700.00	8500.00
B-Max1000	768kbps	1000.00	5500.00	500.00	10000.00	2000.00	10000.00
B-Max1500	1Mbps	1500.00	8250.00	750.00	15000.00	3000.00	15000.00
B-Max2500	2Mbps	2500.00	13750.00	1250.00	25000.00	5000.00	15000.00
B-Max5000	4Mbps	5000.00	27500.00	2500.00	50000.00	10000.00	15000.00

As we can see that till date(22-03-2010) the package speeds are not yet updated. We are expecting an official announcement from the ISP soon.

If you want a new Beam Broadband connection you can call: 040 66 27 27 27 or visit: beamtele.com

Update @ 23/03/10 : It’s now official.We have heard the announcement from Beam Tele management about the free speed upgrade through SMS, where they claim that Beam Telecom is the fastest broadband in India !!

Airtel’s Free Speed Upgrade Dhamaka For Broadband Users

March 23, 2010March 22, 2010 by bharath

Airtel, one of the India’s top broadband ISP has taken revolutionary step to provide a minimum internet browsing speeds of 512 Kbps to all the broadband customers in India.

This could change the face of whole internet in India if other broadband service providers take this seriously and come up with similar steps to provide Hi Speed internet at affordable price.

In a press announcement released today by Airtel, the company announces that it will upgrade the speeds of all the existing customers to 512 Kbps by June 2010 notably at “no extra cost”.Also customers with 512 Kbps and 1 Mbps plans would get double speed upgrade to 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps respectively.

Bharti Airtel, one of Asia’s leading integrated telecom service providers, in an unprecedented move is upgrading speeds of all its existing customers (on 64, 128, 256 Kbps) to a minimum of 512 Kbps. Further, customers currently on 512 Kbps plans and 1mbps plans will have their speeds doubled to 1Mbps and 2Mbps respectively.

Airtel has also announced the launch of ‘Impatience Plans’ offering internet browsing speeds of 4 Mbps starting from as low as Rs. 899.

Airtel Impatience Plans Tariff (4 Mbps):

Plan Name	Impatience 899	Impatience 1099	Impatience 1399	Impatience 1799
Speed	4 Mbps	4 Mbps	4 Mbps	4 Mbps
Rental (Rs.)	899	1099	1399	1799
High Speed Download (in GB)	6	12	25	50
Option 1: Unlimited Data Transfer Plan	Post Hi Speed download continue browsing @ 256 Kbps
Option 2: Continuous High Speed Plan	Continue at 4 Mbps @ 10 paise/MB per additional MB (Post High Speed download)

Kudos to Airtel for this wonderful speed upgrade, we hope this could help in taking broadband in India to a next level.

If you don’t know yet, Airtel is also offering Unlimited mobile internet (GPRS) at Rs.98 apart from offering free unlimited national and local SMS.

Update: Well, we have yet another free broadband speed upgrade, this time from Hyderabad based Beam Telecom, read Beam Tele free speed upgrade report.

Airtel Offering Unlimited Mobile Internet (Via GPRS) With RC 98

July 3, 2010March 20, 2010 by bharath

It’s offers time for Airtel users in India.Few days back we have blogged about Airtel launching unlimited national & local SMS offer.Now Airtel is also offering unlimited internet via GPRS for its mobile users.

Launch of many of these unlimited plans can be attributed to the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010.Airtel thought this would be the big opportunity introduce some offers and get the attention of the users, for that matter targeting mainly youth section of the users.We need to recall that Airtel once used to offer unlimited (virtually) GPRS internet in the forms daily pack and monthly pack.And now as Aircel and Tata Docomo are offering similar plans which are attracting the younger generation, Airtel had no option left but to come out with such unlimited offers.

airtel unlimted internet gprs

We can see Airtel promoting unlimited SMS offer, Unlimited GPRS internet offer and reduced night calling rates offer through Sharman Joshi of “3 Idiots” Bollywood movie fame.

Unlimited Internet Plan Tariff:

Prepaid:

May vary depending on your circle.For most circles you have to do a recharge for MRP Rs. 98 /- (RC 98) in order to activate this offer which is valid for one month from the date of activation.You can also dail #567 from your Airtel mobile if you have balance more than Rs. 110+ and opt not to go for a separate recharge.

Postpaid:

Postpaid users can avail this offer for a monthly rental of Rs. 98.SMS “INTERNET” to 121 to activate this pack.

For more information, visit Airtel mobile internet offers page.

Note:

This unlimited plan is not truly ‘unlimited’, as it has a limit for data usage up to 2 GB, beyond this limit, the data usage will be charged 30paise/50KB.

The free usage includes data browsed only through Mobile Office (MO) settings.Be careful here, of you activate this pack but still use browsing using Airtel Live settings, you’ll be charged for that.

To get Mobile Office internet settings, SMS “MO” to 543210 (Toll Free)

You can use this pack even while roaming in India, however it doesn’t apply to international roaming.

Update: You may also want checkout Uninor’s unlimited mobile internet plan Rs.90

Tikona WI-BRO Broadband Plans And Tariffs

March 21, 2010March 20, 2010 by bharath

Tikona logo

Tikona Wireless Broadband Service (WI-BRO) :

Tikona, is the new entrant into the fastest growing broadband networks in India.But Tikona is completely different from other current broadband services because Tikona sets up access point through towers (for wireless access) on each and every apartment / building where it’s services are required.Thus all the users in that locality (with in the wireless access point accessible range) can enjoy Wireless Broadband with the help of a modem supplied and installed by Tikona digital networks team.This means that if you have a laptop and if your building is Tikona access point enabled, you can have the freedom of surfing the internet sitting any where in your house.

Tariffs:

Limited usage plans (All offer speeds at 2 Mbps):

These are circuit breaker plans (with bill limit)

Details	CB299	CB449	CB549	CB999	CB1249
Monthly Plan Charges (Rs.)	299	449	549	999	1249
Free Usage (MB)	1000	1500	2500	5000	7000
Charge beyond Free Usage (Rs./MB)	1	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8
Circuit Breaker Deposit – One time (Rs.)	300	500	500	1000	1500
Guaranteed Max Bill Amount (Rs.)	599	949	1049	1999	2749
MBs Consumed till Maximum Bill Amount	1300	2125	3125	6250	8875

Unlimited Plans:

Unlimited plans are the plans that most users look for in any broadband service.Tikona is offering unlimited plans starting from Rs. 499 /- (150 Kbps) the maximum speed under UL plans is 1000 Kbps which you get if you take UL 1249 plan.

Fun Unlimited Plans:

These are special plans that provide internet surfing at 2 Mbps for first 400 MB of usage in FUL 799 plan, 200 MB in FUL 599 and 100 MB in FUL499 plan respectively every month.

Details	FUL799	FUL599	FUL499
Monthly Plan Charges (Rs.)	799	599	499
Download Speed (Kbps)	600	300	150
Installation Charges (Rs.)	500	500	500

Other Unlimited Plans:

These UL plans offer varying speeds at day and night.Night surfing speed gets almost doubled in each of these plans.

Details	UL1249	UL899	UL649
Download Speed	600 Kbps	300 Kbps	150 kbps
Download Speed (22:00 – 10:00) hours	1000 Kbps	600 Kbps	300 kbps
Monthly Plan Charges (Rs./Month)	1249	899	649
Installation Charges (Rs.)	500	500	500

Premium UL plans:

Details	FMC2499*	UL4999	FMC1499*	UL2999
Download Speed	2Mbps	2Mbps	1Mbps	1Mbps
Monthly Plan Charges (Rs./Month)	2499	4999	1499	2999
Installation Charges (Rs.)	500	500	500	500

[*]FMC 1499 and FMC 2499 have usage limits of 15 GB and 50 GB per month respectively, while other plans have unlimited usage limit.

Note: Modem installation charges for all the above plans would be Rs. 500 /-

Toll Free Number : 1800 20 94276

via Tkiona

BSNL EVDO Card 3.1 Mbps Unlimited @ Rs 750 !! (Up To March 31)

March 10, 2010 by bharath

BSNL EVDO 3.1 Mbps Unlimited plan only @ 750 Rs, Hurry up (Till March 31, 2010 only):

BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.) has taken a very big step forward towards offering high speed internet at an affordable rate to the internet users in India.BSNL today has announced 3.1 Mbps unlimited plan under its EVDO card at rupees 999 INR 750 INR.

This comes as a real good news for all those who are eagerly waiting for such an unlimited plan at affordable price (Rs. 750).BSNL EVDO is the best option if you want to get high speed wireless broadband in India, though there are private firms operating in this arena, their services level do not match up to the state owned BSNL.But the twist here is that this is a promotional offer and valid for post-paid activations till March 31, 2010.Existing prepaid would get the unlimited data usage plan at Rs 650.

BSNL has also launched another plan but this time in Pre-paid, data usage priced at 5 Paise per 100 KB i.e Rs. 1 for 1 MB of usage.

BSNL EVDO Post-Paid TARIFF [As seen in BSNL website]

Sl.No	FMC* (in Rs.)	Monthly free usage (in GB)
1	199	0.5
2	299	1
3	449	2
4	649	5
5	999	Unlimited

[*] FMC – Fixed Monthly Charge

Summary (Rs 750 unlimited EVDO card plan)

Plan Type: Postpaid

Price : Rs. 750

Data usage : Unlimited

Pros:

Affordable (at Rs. 750)

Free all India roaming

Cons:

High price if the EVDO router (Rs. 21,000, no rental option)

Unlimited plan only in Postpaid connection

Being a promotional offer [It’ll be Rs. 999 again after March 31, 2010]

BSNL EVDO Ad:[Click to see larger size image]