If you have dial-up Internet, you have probably encountered a few errors when you try to connect to the Internet. Sometimes the errors have some unrecognizable jargon and deciphering what to do next is difficult. Here are a few things to try:
*Redial—for one reason or another, connection occasionally fail. The error message may or may not accurately reflect the true problem. Sometimes, all it needs is for you to try again. If you get the same message twice in a row, then you know the problem is legitimate and can’t be resolved as simply.
*Restart—sometimes your computer needs a refresher when it fails or malfunctions. Many times, especially with a simple problems, restarting your computer will resolve it. If you get a repeated error message, especially after you restart, you probably need to do a little technical support.

Here are the three of the most common dial-up errors you are most likely to encounter, and what probably needs to be done to resolve it.

*680—There is no dial tone. Several things can cause an error 680:
 1. You forgot to plug your phone cord from the jack to the back of the computer.
2.  There is something wrong with the phone line. Check on the home phone if you hear a dial tone.
3.  The phone cord your computer is using is damaged (sometimes if it’s too long, like over 25 feet, it can cause problems connecting).
4. The phone cord is plugged into the wrong port in the back of the computer.
5. Your modem is not functioning.
Try a few combinations, like different cords, jacks, ports, etc. This should eventually narrow down what is causing the problem.

*691--Invalid username and/or password. Several scenarios can cause this error:
1. The username and/or was typed incorrectly. Try clearing out both fields completely and retyping them in.
2.  The access number has an outage or malfunction. If you have more than one, try another. Or call your ISP to see if there is an issue on their end.
3. Your account has been terminated or suspended. Have you paid your ISP bill recently? If not, you might need to make a payment before you can connect again.

*678--Your modem cannot establish a connection/there is no answer. Here are the most common reasons for this error:
1. Your access number is not entered correctly. If you have invalid characters (like letters, dashes, spaces, or symbols), an unneeded (or missing) area code, extra or missing numbers, etc., you won’t connect.
2. Your access number is not working. Sometimes the access number is too far away, not working properly, etc. Try another access number if you can to see if you get the same error.
3. Your connection is corrupted. Delete and recreate (or reinstall) your dial-up connection and try again. 4. There is too much static on the phone line you are using. If there is too much line noise, like buzzing, humming, and static, your modem cannot communicate over your phone line. Call your phone company if you can hear static.

In any of these scenarios, there are some technical adjustments that can be made to improve the quality of your connection, so call your ISP for assistance if you cannot resolve the error on your own. Check out www.modemhelp.net for more information on tech supporting dial-up errors.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net. Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!

When you get a dial-up service, perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of a slower connection is that few antivirus programs are simple enough to download and update themselves on dial-up. But you still have to have an antivirus program! So what can you do?

Fortunately, there are several antivirus programs that appeal to dial-up users not only for their simplicity, but because they are free!  You don’t have to pay a cent to download and install these programs. They install updates of new malware threats, etc., and scan your computer for viruses, just like subscription antivirus programs. The most popular of these free programs is AVG Anti-virus, the Free Edition, and Avast Anti-virus.

So why are these programs free? Well, the free programs are very basic, and these companies do offer subscription versions of these programs (and recommend you to upgrade, of course!). Also, you will probably not get technical support (at least, not live) with these programs, nor will you often be able have a free installation CD to be shipped to you from the company.

These free programs aren’t as all-inclusive as an expensive subscription program that covers every imaginable aspect of Internet and computer protection. However, these large paid programs will not only take up a large amount of space on your hard drive, but they also might not download the installation files and updates it requires to work properly on your dial-up connection.

Many of these programs’ updates takes up to 6 or more hours on a dial-up connection. This is most likely never going to download at all, because most dial-up services drop your connection after 4 or more hours because of a maximum online time regulation. Even if your ISP had no such regulation, dial-up connection can drop a connection unexpectedly for other reasons, like problems with the modem or phone line. Of course, then you would have to restart your download, and the whole hassle would take days and you would not be sufficiently protected in those times.

Download.com has ratings, reviews, and descriptions of a plethora of free downloads where you can compare and install various free antivirus programs. You can run a search for “free anti-virus programs” to see all the available anti-virus programs. On the home page, if you scroll down to the heading “Most Popular Downloads”, you’ll see the two free anti-virus programs listed above.

If you do want to download AVG or Avast, you should probably just go straight to download.com, because the websites of these programs will actually redirect you to download.com anyway.

It is usually possible to download free antivirus programs with most dial-up connections. It is also possible that the initial download could take several hours or require several attempts. If you have too much trouble, you may need to quickly download the installation file to a flash drive at work, a restaurant, or the library using their broadband connection. Then you can take the file home and install it on your computer in a few minutes.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!

Perhaps the biggest challenge for dial-up users is downloading updates on Windows computers. When everything takes ten times longer, getting daily updates for your computer or antivirus program can be a cumbersome task.  If you want to surf quickly on the Internet or have a large download to do, the last thing you want to do is share that precious little bandwidth with your updates. However, failing to do these important updates can put your computer at risk because you didn’t download a security patch. It can also cause your computer to run slowly because it is missing an important fix or upgrade for the operating system. So even as frustrating as these may be, these downloads really are helpful and necessary.

Here are a few tips if you are struggling to keep up with antivirus updates and windows updates:

*Schedule your antivirus scans and updates. You can often adjust when your antivirus uses your system resources and bandwidth in effort to avoid doing so when you want to use the Internet. You should find these setting in the advanced options of your antivirus program. Refer to the manual, website, or tech support line if you need more help with this step.

*Don’t turn off updates. As tempting as it might be to just turn off updates so you don’t have to take the time to download them, this will only cause the necessary updates for your computer to pile up until you turn them on again. If you don’t regularly update your computer, catching up on updates could take days on a dial-up connection. In the meantime, your computer is at risk and may not be able to keep up with normal functions and web applications.

*Adjust your Windows updates settings. You can set up your Windows updates so that you will be prompted when an update is available. This way you can ensure that you choose when to download an update, instead of your computer taking over and running installation while you are using the computer for other things.  You will still easily see when a new update is available.

*Take turns. If you know that your antivirus has a new update ready, you can temporarily stop windows updates from downloading. Your antivirus should take first priority, because if your connection is interrupted, the download has to start over. If you download your antivirus updates as soon as you connect to the Internet, you are more likely to get it to download successfully the first time. You can then turn on, or start the download for your Windows updates afterward, because these downloads can be interrupted and will resume the next time you connect to the Internet.

*Update overnight. You can connect to the Internet just before you go to bed, then start your updates. This way, it doesn’t matter how long they take or how much bandwidth they take up because you aren’t sitting there waiting on them.

*Download at another location. If you have a laptop and travel with it occasionally, you could turn off automatic updates and then manually download them every time you are at a place with free wireless or another form of broadband. Then you can quickly update every few weeks in a few minutes instead of trying to do them at home.

If you ever want to check whether your computer has all the updates that are available for your computer, simply go to http://www.update.microsoft.com (make sure you are using Internet Explorer) and your computer will automatically be scanned for any possible updates. You can pick what updates you want by choosing a custom installation, or you can just download everything (which is recommended by Windows).

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!

The Internet provides a vast variety of entertainment. Its options are nearly endless and is expanding and improving daily. With the development of broadband services, the gaming and entertainment world online has revolutionized from its early beginnings only a short decade ago. Many people, unfortunately, do not have access to broadband and many real-time online games require higher speeds than dial-up can provide.

One type of popular online games today are role playing games, or RPG's. This means that each player is playing the part of a character in a virtual world. Many times, the game sequences in real time, and dozens or even hundreds of people can also play the same game from all over the world, and the events of the game are happening at the same time for everyone. Dial-up and other slow connections often cannot display passing events in real time because of latency, the delay experienced because of long loading times. RPG's can be played on dial-up if it is not in real time, or if the graphics are simple and easy enough for dial-up to load. An example of this is GuildWars.com.

There are many fun and engaging games that can be played on a dial-up connection, many of which are very popular for dial-up and broadband users alike. The key to finding a dial-up compatible game is to look for flash games. Flash games are games that are loaded by adobe flash player and are run from the website itself. This means that once the game is loaded, it runs completely without using your Internet connection. Usually, flash games do not require you to leave the webpage you are on when it loads. The means you can play the games offline! The following are some websites that offer free online flash games that work great with dial-up Internet connections:

* Addictinggames.com

* Flashgames247.com

* Games.Yahoo.com

* Miniclip.com

* Popcap.com

These are only a few of the hundreds of gaming websites. Other gaming websites can be found by searching for “flash games” or “free online games” on a search engine like google.

The games may take much longer to load on dial-up than they would on broadband connections, but once they do, you can play for hours without experiencing any problems because of having a slow connection. In fact, you can even disconnect from the Internet after the game has loaded, and continue playing the game from the cached webpage. This means that you don't have to tie up your phone line in order to play for extended periods of time.

Here are a few other tricks and tips:

• Save your favorite games to your bookmarks or favorites list so you can access them quickly.

• Load a new game on a separate window while you play another game. This way, you don't have to sit and wait for the new game to load. It can load in the background while you are playing on another window.

• There are hundreds of gaming websites, and some are better quality or load games more quickly than others. If you find a game you like, but the game window is very small or takes too long to load, run a search query for that game's name to find other websites that have that game. Chances are, you'll find a website that plays the game better than the other one.

• Minimize a game window rather than closing it. This way, if you have other work to do or need to leave the computer for some time, you can set your computer to “Stand by” and come back later. You can then open the window you have minimized and your game will still be there. You won't have to start over or wait for it to load again.

Don't let having dial-up get you down, there's still so much fun to be had!

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!

Every time your computer opens a webpage, it requests to retrieve pictures, images, and other data from a website to your computer. This process can take some time, especially on heavily loaded websites or if you're using a slow Internet connection like dial-up. To save time and be more efficient, your computer saves many of the files that download from each website to your harddrive. This makes several things possible:

* When you revisit a site you have already been to, your computer needs only to search for new information or changes to the website, and load all of the identical features (like images, logos, and layouts that don't change) from your computer.

* Sites you visit frequently will load because it does not need to re-download the entire site, every time you visit.

* When you click the “back”, “forward”, and “refresh” buttons on your browser toolbar, you can quickly reload pages you are currently visiting.

* Features like “History” used temporary Internet files to keep track of sites you visited recently, in case you want to go back to something you visited earlier that day or up to several weeks ago.

* You can view entire “stored” websites on your browser when you are not on the Internet. They may not have the most up-to-date information, but you will still be able to view information and use features that were loaded from a previous online visit.

* Some websites that have browser-based flash games can be played offline, because the temporary Internet files have saved this content to your computer. This means you can play some of your favorite games for hours without using online time on your Internet service.

Temporary Internet files are not always a good thing. It's nice to save the information from websites you visit frequently, but eventually, your computer will be full of saved files from hundreds of websites you only visited once and may not visit again. There is no need to keep this information.

Many times a technician will direct you to your Internet Options and have you delete all your temporary Internet files and cookies in order to free your browser of the clutter of all this unnecessary saved information from visited sites over time. This sometimes helps browsers run faster, and aviod error messages like “This page cannot be displayed”, etc.

This can be a quick fix that you can do if you are having problems with your browser. It may not solve your problem, but it never hurts to try—plus, cleaning out your browser is a good thing to do—especially if you do a lot of surfing.

• First, click Tools at the top of your browser.
• Then click “Internet Options” (or maybe “Options” if you are not using Internet Explorer)
• Then look for “Browsing History” or Temporary Internet Files”. Click the Delete or Delete Files button.
• If you click Delete, you will see a list of different types of stored information on your computer. You can select which you prefer to delete from here.

If you are using a browser other than Internet Explorer, the options will look slightly different. If you cannot find what you are looking for, you will find step by step instructions for most browsers on websites like wikihow.com/Clear-Your-Browser's-Cache. Also, there are many downloadable tools that clean your computer of Internet files and cookies regularly that are stored deep in your computer that will still remain behind after a manual delete described above. This is usually not necessary unless you need to make sure no one ever knows what websites you have visited.

Many browsers now offer the ability to surf the Internet without saving any information to your computer in the first place. Internet Explorer 8's “In-Private Browsing”, Firefox's “Private Browsing”, Chrome's “Incognito Mode”, are all the same concept—surf the Internet without leaving a trace on your computer. This is one of the best ways to surf privately and not allow anyone to retrieve the information later.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!

Opera is a proprietary software provider who has created a variety of tools for online users. The Internet browser is much like Internet Explorer, and serves the same purpose. But there are some significant differences that convinces a small number of Internet users to adopt this new browser in place of IE.

Opera has a great reputation for well-built products and their browser download is much smaller than Internet Explorer. Even on a dial-up connection, the Opera installation file can be downloaded in less than half an hour.

Opera beats Internet Explorer in a few areas where features are concerned:

* Visual tabs—you can drag the bottom of the row of tabs in your browsing window to change them to thumbnails of webpages. Also, when you hover over tabs with your mouse, a preview of the site appears under the tab.

* Tab bar placement. You can now move your row of tabs (or thumbnails of sites) the the left, right, or bottom of the browsing window.

* Speed dial—Opera was one of the first browsers to offer a page of thumbnails that function as a shortcuts to websites. You can now customize the number of thumbnails to 24 and change the background image on the page.

* Turbo mode—ideal for dial-up and low-speed wifi connections, this handy feature compresses images on the webpages for faster loading times! The turbo mode can be set to automatically turn on when the connection speed slows, or to stay on constantly.

* Mouse gestures—these shortcuts can be performed with your mouse to open links in new pages, go back, forward, or close windows with presets clicks and movements of your mouse.

* Image loading options—simply click a small button at the bottom of the window to switch from loading all images or only cached images to help with page loading. Or, if you prefer a more secure and even faster load time, images can be turned off completely. Also, right click on images that have been hidden or compressed, and you'll have the option of reloading that image normally.

You can find many other features that are similar to other browsers. Other simple preferences are available, like changing the colors and layout of your browser or adding your name and location information for fast form entry. The features page on the Opera website has more information.

Of course, Opera works toward speeding up page loading and protecting their users from dangerous websites and online threats. Opera has an advantage of not being very well known or used—unlike Internet Explorer. Virus and spamming attempts are often targeting the more well known browsers because more people are using them. You can download Opera or read more about their speed and security measures and techniques by going to Opera.com.

Opera may not be for everyone, but it is especially optimal for dial-up and other slow connection users who need a faster browser. It does look and work somewhat differently than Internet Explorer, so it's helpful to read up on how Opera's browser works and to check out all of the preferences as soon as you get it downloaded.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!

Dial-up modems are the core component to a dial-up connection. It is the device responsible for creating and maintaining a connection with your ISP and to translate analog information for your computer to display. If you have determined that your modem is causing disconnects or inability to connect, you will need to reinstall, repair, or replace it.

Three basic reasons that your modem would cause problems connecting are:

1. It is not installed correctly on the computer.

2. It needs updated driver software.

3. It is out of date, physically broken, or has corrupted software.

The solutions to these problems below should solve the problem and get you back online.

Reinstall your modem. Before you remove your modem, make sure you have the installation CD that came with your computer. If you don't, you might be able to reinstall without it. If your computer's operating system is XP or Vista, the plug and play feature should install the modem for you or guide you through each step. On older versions, you may need to consult a computer technician. Then follow these steps:

1. Open Control Panel, then (in classic view) “Phone and Modem Options”.

2. Click on the Modems tab, and click on the modem you wish to reinstall.

3. Click Remove. Click “Yes” or “Ok” to confirm the remove, then close all the windows.

4. Restart your computer. Windows should detect your modem and either install it on its own, or present a “Found New Hardware” wizard that guides you through installing the modem again.

There are a few problems that might occur when you reinstall the modem. You computer may not detect the modem again when you restart. This could mean the modem cannot be repaired by reinstalling or was never physically on the computer in the first place. Another problem could be that your computer tries to reinstall, but won't complete because it requires an installation CD. If this happens and you don't have the CD, you can sometimes find installation software online on the manufacturer's website. A computer technician can help you with this step, or may have other solutions.

Reinstalling does not guarantee to resolve your problem, even if it is successful. However, sometimes it works and it's a worth a try, especially if you couldn't connect to the Internet in the first place.

Update your modem drivers. If you have an older computer, you may need to update your modem software if you still can't connect to the Internet. To update your modem software, you need to know your modem type and manufacturer. Look for your modem name is listed in Phone and Modem Options, under the Modems tab. If you are using the modem that came with the computer, you could also check your computer's manual, or your modem's manual if you bought it separately.

You can browse online to find your modem manufacturer's website. Often there is a “downloads” heading, but you can also run a search on your modem's name. The download will have your modem's name and “driver” in the title. See a computer technician if you are unfamiliar with computer device downloads as this could be too complicated for beginner users to try alone.

Buy a new modem. Your modem may not be repairable if it can't be reinstalled, or if the driver software will not improve your situation. This is especially true for old computers. Buying a new modem may be the best option available. For one, new modems are more reliable, relatively inexpensive (often between $20-50), and have the latest, fastest compression technology.

If you need are not familiar with modems or computer repair, buying a new modem may be the most inexpensive option for you. Installing a new external modem is fairly easy, and paying a computer technician to fix your old modem could cost more than installing a new one yourself.

If you need are not familiar with modems or computer repair, buying a new modem may be the most inexpensive option for you. Installing a new external modem is fairly easy, and paying a computer technician to fix your old modem could cost more than installing a new one yourself.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles! 

So you need a dial-up modem. Don't let the task of finding and installing the right one overwhelm you. If you are looking for a way to save money, but not get stuck with something cheap, you don't want to hire a technician to install one for you. It might be easier, but it's not necessary. If you get the right modem, it's easy to install and won't cost a fortune. But first you need to understand some things about dial-up modems in general.

Never buy a used modem. For one thing, you won't know if its actually going to work, and it could be also missing the installation instructions and driver software CD you need. A new modem may be more expensive, but money you save getting a used modem is not worth the frustration it not installing correctly or wearing out much sooner than a new one.

Not all modems are the same. All Internet services require that you have a modem or some similar equipment, but there's a big difference between a broadband modem and a dial-up modem. Any broadband modem will not connect to dial-up—it would be like trying to fix a tractor with car parts! Most modems say “Dial-up” “Cable” or “DSL” in their name, however, if you aren't sure, check the description on the box before you put it in your cart, or ask an attendant or friend to help you find the right modem.

Check it's compatibility to your computer. What version of Windows is operating your computer? Or is it a Mac? Do you have a desktop or a laptop? Make sure the modem you have chosen will be able to install on your computer. External modems, the type of modem that plugs into the outside of your computer are usually compatible with almost all computer types.

Make installation simple. Keep in mind that external modems will be much easier to install than internal modems (which require you to unscrew the cover from your computer tower, etc.) Also, external modems can easily be moved if you want to use it on more than one computer. If you have a laptop, you basically have to install it externally. Even on a desktop, installing an internal modem takes much longer and involves the risk of damaging other computer parts in the process. With an external modem, all you have to do is plug in the modem into a USB port and run an installation CD.

Get the latest standard. This is another reason not to get a used modem. Modems are constantly being improved over the years with compression technology that can dramatically improve your connection speed. V.92 was introduced in 2004. It has the fastest upload speed yet (improved from 33K to 48K), an Internet Call-Waiting feature that allows you to put the Internet on hold to take calls while online, and improved connection speed (both while connecting and once connected).

Try looking online. If you need to get connected right away, you probably want to buy your modem locally. However, if you have access to the Internet elsewhere, it might be worthwhile to look online. You can find websites, like Newegg.com, that show the prices of several competitors, read about different types of modems, and have more modems brands to choose from. Many stores either don't offer or offer very few types of dial-up modems, because the demand for them has decreased. Don't forget to calculate shipping costs when you are looking for the best price, and make sure you understand the seller's return policy.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles! 

You may be in for a surprise if you're planning to sign up for dial-up Internet. Although dial-up modems were always installed on computers in the past, many computers are now being sold without them. In order to avoid having problems once you're paying for Internet services, you should check whether your computer has a dial-up modem installed. There are two areas to look for a dial-up modem.

First, look at the back of your system unit, or tower. There should be a port that looks just like the telephone jack in the back of a telephone and in the wall. You can use a regular phone cord to test whether the port is the right size (if it's too big, it's not the right port). You will find one of these three scenarios:

1. There is only one a port, but it is slightly larger than a regular phone port. This is the Ethernet port used for broadband connections, like cable and DSL. If this is the only port you have, you do not have a dial-up modem.

2. There is one telephone port (often along the bottom, but not always) and a telephone cord fits in it snugly. You have a dial-up modem! If you are planning to use a telephone on the same phone jack your computer is using, plug a splitter in the wall jack, then plug in two phone cords into the splitter for each device.

3. There is two ports side by side that fit the telephone cord. You found your dial-up modem! The reason you have two ports is because one is to plug a phone cord coming from the wall and the other is to connect a telephone to use when you are not online. The port marked “line” or showing a picture of a phone jack is for the cord coming from the jack in the wall. The port reading “phone” or showing a picture of a telephone is where you plug a phone cord leading to your telephone. *Note: You do not need to use the "phone" port. Also, keep in mind that if you accidentally plug the wall jack line into the "phone" port instead of the "line" port, you will not be able to connect!

If you do not have a modem, you need to buy one. If you do, the following steps will show you how to check if your modem software is installed properly. 

1. Open Control Panel, then make sure you are in classic view if you have XP or Vista.

2. Open your modem options. On older versions of Windows, you'll see “Modems”, and on 2000 or newer, you'll see “Phone and Modem Options”.

3. Click on the “Modems” tab (skip this step if you have an older computer).

4. Here is a box listing the modem(s) installed on your computer.

5. Beside the modem it lists where it is connected. It will either have “not present”, or “COM” and a number. (On older computers, click properties for the modem in question and look for “Port:” Your modem must be listed as attached to one of the COM ports, or you modem has been removed or corrupted. If this is the case, you must either reinstall, repair, or replace the modem.

If you have a modem both installed in the tower and listed as properly installed, you are ready to sign up for dial-up. Other minor issues could occur once you try to connect, however, you will be better prepared and less likely to have connection issues upon starting your new service.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles! 

Bits and bytes are measurements of data, but they differ in their size and what they measure. Understanding what these terms are will help you understand how your computer stores information and how your Internet connection speed effects you. One way to tell them apart is the case in which they are written. When abbreviating bits and bytes, a “b” (small case) is a bit, and “B” (upper case) is a byte, therefore, “kb” is kilobit and “KB” is kilobyte (note: the case of the letters before the b are insignificant).

A bit (b) is the smallest measurement of data that can be stored on computers or transferred by Internet services. Bits represent information with a binary coding system made up of only 1's and 0's (bi means two, i.e., two numbers). When bits are arranged and stored in sequences of 1's and 0's, they are translated by computer programming into words, pictures, and other data.

Usually, when you hear the term “bits”, they are measuring transfer rate, or how much information can be transferred in a certain amount of time. Internet connection speeds are measured this way, for example, “bps” is bits per second, the amount of bits that can be downloaded or transferred in a second. Since bits are so small, most connection speeds are measured in thousands of bits per second.

When measuring transfer rate for Internet connections, 1 kilobit (kb) = 1000 bits, 1 megabit (mb) = 1000 kilobits. Say you connect with dial-up at 34.4 kbps. That means 34.4 kilobits or 34400 bits can be downloaded per second to your computer. Say you connect with DSL at 6 “megs” aka mbps. You can download 6 megabits, or 6000 kilobits, or 6,000,000 bits per second.

A byte (B) is 8 bits strung together. Remember, bits store information based on a binary system and are arranged in sequences. These sequences are in sets of 8 and called bytes. It takes many bytes sequenced together to create documents, images, programs, and commands for your computer. When measuring sizes of files, programs, and capacities of drives, you use bytes. Like bits, byte are often noted in larger quantities, like kilobytes, megabytes (megs), and gigabytes (gigs).

Many people assume a kilobyte is 1000 bytes, etc., but this is not true. When describing capacity (size or storage size of computer elements), bytes are measured by the same binary system that code bits. Therefore, “kilo” = 1,024 (or, 2^10) instead of 1000. A kilobyte (KB) is 1,024 bytes, and a megabyte (MB) is 1,024 kilobytes. A gigabyte (GB) is 1,024 megabytes.

A Microsoft Word document is usually about 30 KB in size. An picture, like clip art is typically about 100 KB, and photos are often much larger. A CD typically has a 700 MB (or 716,800 KB) storage capacity. You can buy computers with a hard drive (main storage unit) capacity of 500 gig (or 524,288,000 KB).

Don't forget, 1 byte is 8 bits. An Internet connection (like transfer rates or download speeds) is measured in bits, and 1 kilobit is 1,000 bits. Storage capacity (like disk space and file sizes), it is measured in bytes, and 1 kilobyte is 1,024 bytes.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!