Q I am getting timed out of my Hotmail account after several minutes and have to re-sign in – and often times lose the message I was sending. My computer has also “kicked me out” of my internet connection, and it’s taken sometimes 30 minutes or longer to get the connection restored. I was told it was my router, which is a Netgear WGR614 (54 Mbps, 2.4 GHz 802.11, which means absolutely nothing to me). Any ideas? I’m taking an online class so if I lose my connection during a test, I get an automatic F!

A Yes indeed, your router does sound like the culprit. This being said, there may be other issues contributing to the frustrating connection/disconnection behavior, as well. These issues may stem from your NIC or Network Interface Card and/or your computer’s motherboard. Without a proper and thorough diagnosis, I can only provide you with this cursory overview of the potential causes.

The way to test this issue is to bypass the router and connect an ethernet cable directly to your modem from your computer’s ethernet connection. This will bypass the router, allow you to evaluate your internet connection and provide you with the information you are looking for.

Q I’ve been given a router and need to know what the username and password is. How do I do this?

A You’ll need to reset the router. Use the end of a paperclip and insert it into the recessed hole on the back of the router labeled ‘Reset.’ Hold for 30 seconds, then release. This resets the router to the original factory default settings. The following website provides an extensive list of router manufacturers and their factory default username and passwords

http://www.governmentsecurity.org/articles/DefaultLoginsandPasswordsforNetworkedDevices.php

Simply find your router from the list and enter the settings.