http://4byte4.com/faq.php

4byte4.com understands that you probably have questions about web design, Networking or computer security. That's what we are here for! Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions by our clients. We hope this will help you understand our world better, and give you the knowledge you need to make informed decisions regarding your needs.

Domain Names.

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Q. What is a domain name?

A. Simply put, it is your address on the World Wide Web. It is what you type into your web browser's address bar to get to a web site. Our domain name is 4byte4.com, or www.4byte4.com

Q. Should I get my own domain name?

A. That depends. Suprisingly enough we don't always recommend that. What are you going to do with it? Do you need brand recognition or an online identity? If you do, then registering a domain name can be a great place to start. Your company will look more professional with email coming from "you@yourcompany.com" than it would from "you56743@aol.com". However, if you just want a fun site to tell about your family or something for a special occasion that only a select few will know about, then free hosting may be the way to go.

Q. How do I register a domain name?

A. We use a company called DirectNic to register domain names. They are reliable and have the features we need to make sure your name is "pointed" where it should be. The cost of domain name registration is $30 for two years, and is generally included in your price quote. After the two years, you are responsible for renewing the domain. The domain is yours. You own it and it is in your company's name.

Web Sites & Design.

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Q. You created my web site, and told me the address, but when I type it into my search engine I can't find it...

A. A lot of people use the box on search engines the same as the address bar on their browser. They assume that just because a web site is up and running, it will be found by search engines. This is not the case. If you look at the example below, you will see a popular browser(internet explorer), with a popular search engine.(google)

If you look at this picture you will see at the top an "Address" bar. This bar is where you type the address of the web site you would like to visit if you know its exact address. (i.e. www.4byte4.com)

Below the word "Google" you will also find a box, this is Google's search box. It functions the same as any search engine box, AOL, MSN, etc. When you type words into this box, it looks for things on the web that it has previously indexed that match what you typed.

If your web site has been indexed by the search engine and you type www.yourdomain.com into the box, it may find your site. However, this is not the best way to go about it as it will not always work and will find varying results. If you want to go to a specific web site, you should always type it into the "Address" bar and not the search engine box. If you are looking for more info on getting into search engines check this link.

Q. I want people to be able to type something relating to my business into a search engine and see my site at the top, how do I do that?

A. This is the "holy grail" of the web! Everyone wants to be at the top of their chosen searches. (Of course!) To accomplish this it generally takes a combination of time, persistence, correct marketing and sometimes money. Alternatively, if you provide liberal amounts of the last element to the right search engines you can pretty much guarantee a spot at the top for yourself. 4byte4.com works with you from the start to make sure that you have the best shot at getting to the top of your chosen search phrases. However, this can take a month or longer and should be planned for accordingly. For example, if you type "computer repair vancouver wa" into google, or just about any other search engine, you will get us at or near the top. That is just one of the keyword phrases that 4byte4.com is optimized for.

Note: A lot of companies have built their online presence and careers around making people think that they can "rocket you to the top" of search engine results. Caveat Emptor(buyer beware) applies liberally here. Though there are some very reputable firms that produce good results out there, there are also a lot of companies that will just take your money and run.

Q. What are banner ads, pop ups, redirects, etc. and does my site have to have them to make money?

A. Certainly not. The age of the pop up is dead. (Some people just don't know it yet!) Most companies are realizing that they need to do the same kind of marketing for their online business that they would have to do if they were opening a coffee shop down the street. Namely,you need to get out there and market, pound the street, provide a good product (or good information) at a competitive price and people will use your site and come back again for more. However, if you fill your site with deceptive ads, flashing banners, pop-up windows and the like, you will receive as much business as you gave the last site that did that to you. (Translation: none!)

Q. I want to have lots of sound and flahing lights on my site, can you do that for me?

A. The short answer is Yes, we can do anything you want. The long answer is NO! We won't let you do that to yourself, or your business. When the internet first really became graphical, and interactive content became available with 56k, people went a little nuts with the flashing, musical sites. I still see sites out there that totally lose their point in the fact that everything floats, dances, flashes, or makes noise. I don't know anyone that likes "midi" files, (the annoying music you hear on most sites) and have yet to hear music on a web site that I liked, or that didn't interfere with the music I was playing at the time. With the exception of sites dedicated to playing music, or musicians sites, there should not be noise or music associated with web sites unless you know ahead of time that the site you are going to is going to require sound.

Networking

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Q. What's a network?

A. In simplest terms, A group of computers connected together with a Hub, or Router

Q. What's a Hub or Router, and do I need one?

A. First the short answer. A Router and Hub split a signal among several computers, and you only need one if you want to share two or more computers or your internet signal.

A hub is very simply a dumb splitter. it just takes the signal it gets and splits it 4, 8, or more ways. They work, and do their job without complaining. You do get some traffic jams sometimes though, and they are not the best answer to sharing computers. They are very cheap, however.

A router is the smart version of a hub, in that it not only splits the signal, but "routes" it to the right place. So instead of sending your request to print a document to every computer on your network, it sends it only to the computer that has the printer on it. You can also usually share your internet, and set up a firewall with a router, and you can't do that with a hub. Good "Home Use" routers cost $80-$150 street price. I would highly recommend an all in one router, such as the linksys unit that I use. I've never had to think about it, and it protects my network.

Q. Help, Wireless, Phone line, Cat5 Ethernet, I'm lost!

A. Many people these days are ending up with more than one computer, and are wanting to network the two together to share a printer, internet connection, or anything else. There are several ways to accomplish this, and we'll go over the most popular.

1. Good ol' fashioned ethernet.

This is the best and most foolproof way to network your computers. Dlink, Linksys, SMC, all make good cable or DSL routers that will share your highspeed connection, connect all your computers, and do it invisibly so you don't have to deal with it. The upside of this is that it is cheap, and fast. You can buy a Router, Network cards, and cables for less than $150 at most computer stores. You can also make your own cables for MUCH cheaper than you can buy them if you need long lengths, or wish to run them through the walls. That brings us to the down side. Every computer MUST be connected by a wire or ethernet (sometimes called a CAT5 cable) to the router and that is not a pleasant thought for some people.

2. Wireless?

Wireless runs much the same way as ethernet, just more expensive. The routers look roughly the same, and the setup is the same. Most wireless routers even have ports on the back for normal ethernet cables so you don't have to buy a wireless card for the computer closest to it. I use the Linksys version of this at home to share my cable modem with my computers upstairs. Very nice. The downside is the expense, and it's not 100% reliable because of various interference that can happen. A wireless network with two computers on it will cost you about $200-$250 and each additional computer will cost about $80-$120 depending on brands. I would only recommend this for people that either move their computers around alot, or just flat out don't want to hassle with wires. Even if money is no object, you will be happier with the Hard-wired network than with wireless. There is an exceptional overview of wireless routers here.

3. Phone line networking

This process turns your whole house into a network through the phone lines in your house. You buy a special router that uses phone lines, and connect it into one jack in your house. Every other jack in the house can now carry the signal. You still have to buy special cards for your computers. I honestly don't know that much about this particular style, and from what I've heard it's not a great solution. Use conventional means, and you'll be happier.

Security

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Q. What is a firewall? Do I need one?

A. A firewall is a term used to talk about protecting your computer from outside attacks, or snooping. What a firewall does is monitor everything that tries to come in and out of your computer and only allows the things you have authorized. (such as web sites, and email) A "good" firewall monitors both incoming and outgoing signals, so that if for some reason you get a "trojan" or "virus" then everyone is protected from YOU by your firewall also. Think of it as a doorman who knows everyone who lives in the building. You can't get in unless you are authorized, and even if you do get in secretly somehow, you can't get back out.

You only *really* need a firewall if you are directly connected to the internet through a Broadband Connection, like a cable modem or DSL. (high speed, always on, etc.) If you are dialing up with a modem, you get a new "address" everytime you dial up, so the likelyhood of someone finding you is slim to none, also, you have no bandwidth for them to be interested in. However, that being said, it can't hurt to have a firewall anyway, for trojans, and such.

Where can you get one? Well, firewalls come in two flavors. Hardware, and Software. An excellent software firewall that I run on all of my computers is Zonealarm, by Zonelabs. It can be downloaded here. You can get the free version or buy the Pro, I use the Free at home and have Pro on my servers. There are several vendors for hardware firewalls available, and some research needs to be done to find out your budget and needs, but a good start would be a search engine like Google

Trademarks & Copyrights

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Coming Soon...

Search Engines

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Q. What is a search engine?

A. A search engine is a web site that lists other websites. Simply put, if you want your site to be found on the internet, you'd better get into a search engine. Some of the various search engines out there are Google, Yahoo, Lycos, Overture, MSN, and Aol. The main engines are Google and Overture, as most of the other engines use their database to find sites anyway.

Q. How do I get listed?

A. To get listed is actually not as "mystical" as a lot of people would have you believe. It takes some knowledge, hard work, and persistence, but it can be done reasonably inexpensively. 4byte4. com offers a service with a money back guarantee for the listings that you are looking for. Send an email to info@4byte4.com for more information about how we can take your site to the top of the search engines without too much hassle. Most sites can be promoted for less than $500.00 which is a pretty small fee for advertising all over the world. Check out our Search engine listing page for more details

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