In my last post, I gave a very basic overview of DNS, a system that’s in use on the Internet and matches up computer names with their numerical addresses. DNS relies on the use of servers outside of your local network, and as such, problems with DNS have the instant (and often complete) ability to shut down your Internet access. DNS problems can be big news, especially during severe “outages.” I suggest strongly that you consider configuring your computer to seek out backup DNS services to help keep you connected. This week, I’ll talk about another protocol that has the potential to create a slow computer: IPv6.

What Is IPv6?

If you haven’t heard of IPv6, you’re not alone, but you’ll be hearing a lot more about the new Internet addressing scheme as time goes on. Under the current addressing scheme, known as IPv4, computers have a numerical address in the form of XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX. Each “XXX” is a number between 0 and 255. The first, first and second, or first, second and third number groups are used to represent the network the computer sits on, and the remaining numbers are used to identify the computer itself.

This addressing scheme has worked for a long time, but the explosion of computers and networked devices – including mobile devices that can join and leave networks easily – has created more demand for network addresses than are actually available under the addressing system. To accommodate the growing number of network devices, the powers that be developed a new addressing system called IPv6. The IPv6 addressing system has many more numbers available – 340 undecillion to be exact – addresses which means it will be around for a long time, but switching over to the new system will not be easy. And yes, in case you’re wondering, “undecillion” is a word. It means 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Many computers and other devices don’t understand IPv6 or simply don’t use it yet. IPv6 was announced in 1998, so it’s been around for quite awhile. Network device manufacturers have, for the most part, incorporated IPv6 support into routers and other lower-level network devices, to help ensure that the routing infrastructure can manage IPv6. ISPs are now beginning to request and distribute IPv6 assignments.

Only a very small percentage of computers on the Internet use IPv6, but that will change soon enough. What happens in the mean time, however is that network operations (like DNS lookups) will actually slow down until the issue is addressed at the OS level. That may be a bummer for you in the short run, but eventually the new addressing scheme will not only make Internet operations faster, but will also allow many more computers and network devices to join the Internet.

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If you’re vexed by a slow computer, especially when browsing the Web, you should know that it’s not always the computer’s fault. Sometimes, your browsing experience can be derailed by other things that have nothing to do with your computer. Worse, they’re usually things you don’t have a lot of control over!

One Thing That Can Hang Up Your Computer

Networked computing is relatively new (at least in the Grand Scheme Of Things). The type of networking we use today (as in Internet networking) was developed about 50 years ago. (Really!) Since that time, advances and changes have been made, but the underlying technologies, network designs, and network protocols are positively ancient by today’s technology standards. Their saving grace, of course, is that they work.

When the forerunner of the Internet was originally developed, it was envisioned as a communications network that could withstand a devastating attack. The network was to be distributed, meaning that if one data pathway was down, others that were still up could shoulder the extra load.

At the time of the network’s original designs, computers had addresses made of numbers, not names. As time went on, the numbering system became more complicated until it reached a point where people couldn’t remember the addresses of the computers they wanted to contact. To fix this, a new system was developed that allowed people to assign names to computers, but computers still needed numerical addresses. Part of the new system requires a translation between the computer’s name and its numerical address. The system, called the Domain Name System (DNS), relies on computers that have information about how to find any computer on the Internet.

Occasionally, a major problem develops with the domain name server you (or your Internet provider) use. One way to ensure that you can still get to where you’re going is to configure your computer with an alternate DNS server, in case your primary DNS loses its marbles! Some companies – like Google – offer public DNS servers that will look up addresses for the computers (like Web servers) you want to visit on the Internet.

Google’s DNS server – 8.8.8.8 – is available for anyone to use. You can make this server your Primary DNS server or use it as a backup for your ISP’s DNS server. You can easily program your network configuration to include a backup DNS server. You may not often find a use for a backup DNS server, but having a working DNS server could mean the difference between surfing the Internet and curling up with a good book!

In my next post, I’ll take a look at some other network protocols that can slow down your surfing experience.

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The Gartner Group has indicated that it expects enterprise IT sales to slow in 2012, compared to sales of IT products and services in 2011 and in earlier years. Gartner bases its prediction on the assumption that the economy is either entering or has already entered a recession. IT purchasing will slow as a result to about 4 percent, down from about 6 percent this year. Does that really mean slow computers? Not directly, but typically it means that businesses will be hanging on to their IT resources longer than they would otherwise.

Slow Growth Means Tough Decisions

Slow growth in IT also means fewer new hires and longer upgrade cycles for software and services. With elongated product replacement cycles, computers that are currently in service have an increased likelihood of losing performance over time. That will translate into slower computers. It also means that fewer new desktops – the ones that typically use the faster, more efficient processors – will be deployed in 2012.

If businesses are slow to purchase new computers and IT services, what are consumers going to be doing? Consumer spending on computers will remain comparatively healthy, according to Gartner. To date, PC shipments have not met initial expectations, but the industry analysts don’t expect sales to remain perpetually slow. Computer sales in 2012 are expected to increase slightly, as consumers move to take advantage of newer PC technologies, thinner and smaller devices, mobile devices, longer battery life and touch screen technologies.

Overall, Gartner expects PC shipments to increase by nearly 11 percent by the end of 2012, although it acknowledges that the first part of 2012 will be slow. Computer shipments will be affected by the outcome of the debt crisis in Europe. If European countries cannot find an equitable resolution to their spending woes, this forecast may turn out to be exceptionally optimistic.

In the mean time, if your own personal economy doesn’t permit the purchase of a brand new computer, consider ways in which you can get the most mileage out of the computer you have. That would include ensuring that your computer stays as responsive as possible.

One of my recommendations is SpeedUpMyPC 2011. This program will help keep your operating system in good working order by helping to clear out performance clogs before they can impact your computing experience. In addition to removing performance obstacles, SpeedUpMyPC 2011 can help you optimize your computer performance to meet your specific computing needs.

SpeedUpMyPC 2011 has been downloaded more than a million times and is hard at work making sure that your computer has what it needs to perform at its best.

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Last week I talked about the importance of basic maintenance on a computer. This element can never be understated, and computers that don’t receive regular basic maintenance suffer for it. Unfortunately, computers are just like every other system. When they’re maintained, they can generate a lot of useful work and trouble-free computing. When they’re not maintained, the result is a slow computer and a lot of aggravation on the part of the user.

Basic Maintenance Only Goes So Far

Basic maintenance only goes so far when it comes to speeding up a slow computer. Don’t get me wrong – basic maintenance is absolutely necessary. In a way, it’s very much like housekeeping – when it is done, it’s never noticed but left undone, it’s very apparent. You can’t get by (and expect a good computing experience) if you’re not prepared to do this basic maintenance.

But there’s a step that goes beyond basic maintenance, and that’s optimization. With basic maintenance, you’re doing the housekeeping. You’re doing the minimum you need to do to keep your computer functioning at an appropriate level. With optimization, you’re fine-tuning the computer’s performance to suit your needs. Optimization is more like decorating. It’s something you don’t do until after the housekeeping is done, but it makes the space uniquely yours.

Optimization is a key component of computer performance. When your computer is optimized, everything works together carefully and in a coordinated way. You eliminate wasted effort when you optimize your computer performance. Your computer isn’t wasting time on unnecessary registry entries, running unneeded programs, or storing unused data. When your computer is optimized, you’re also making the most out of your network and Internet connections, so using these resources is a pleasure and not a chore.

Ideally, your toolkit contains the tools you need to perform both basic maintenance on your computer and optimize it as well. You can collect a number of different tools, and Microsoft has some built in tools that will help you perform basic maintenance, but generally, they don’t contribute much to optimization beyond what maintenance has to offer.

SpeedUpMyPC 2011 is a toolkit that offers both basic maintenance functions and optimization tools that work together to ensure that your computer gets both its regular maintenance needs and its optimization needs met. This approach means that you always employ the strategy you need to make your computer run as optimally as possible, based on your unique needs.

Download your copy of SpeedUpMyPC 2011 today and see what this toolkit can do.

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Speeding up a slow computer is a process, not a single activity. If you develop a program of regular maintenance, you can help ensure that your computer never experiences a noticeable performance drop. Using a combination of the built-in tools and the tools available in SpeedUpMyPC 2011, you can help keep your computer running well, and keep its performance optimized all the time.

Basic Maintenance Goes A Long Way

One of the best things you can do for your computer is to defragment the hard disk regularly. If you use your computer frequently, and transfer files around a lot, defragmenting your hard disk should be a high priority. By defragmenting your hard disk regularly, you ensure that your files aren’t scattered around your hard disk, which would require additional time for the computer to piece your file back together. Defragmenting your hard disk is really optimizing its performance. By optimizing its performance regularly, you can help ensure that your computer operates at the fastest possible speeds.

If you’re a heavy computer user, consider defragmenting your hard disk monthly. This operation can take awhile, so try to set this up to run overnight if possible. If you’re not a heavy computer user, consider defragmenting your hard disk at least once per quarter.

Run the disk utility regularly, regardless of how much or little you use the computer. The Disk Utility, which is built into the operating system, will check the integrity of the hard disk, locate bad disk sectors and in some cases, will recover information that has been stored there. The disk utility should also be run after a system crash to clear out the debris and locate sectors that may have gone bad during the crash, or caused the crash in the first place. Run your disk utility monthly and following each crash.

For performance optimization, run SpeedUpMyPC 2011 regularly. SpeedUpMyPC 2011 will help you address performance issues that can slow down your computer. SpeedUpMyPC 2011 works to find applications that may be reducing your computer’s performance, as well as settings that could be slowing your computer down. In addition, SpeedUpMyPC 2011 keeps track of what’s in the registry, and removes entries that are no longer needed. This is desirable because unnecessary registry entries can slow the computer down. SpeedUpMyPC 2011 can also optimize your Internet connection, a primary source of degraded performance.

SpeedUpMyPC 2011 has been downloaded and installed more than a million times by users all over the world who are interested in speeding up the performance of their computers without spending a fortune, and without needing the assistance of a professional PC technician.

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