What is Internet Service Provider

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the company you pay a fee to for access to the internet. No matter the kind of internet access (cable, DSL, dial-up), an ISP provides you or your business a piece of a larger pipe to the internet.

All internet connected devices run each request through their ISP in order to access servers to download web pages and files, and those servers themselves can only provide you those files through their own ISP.

Examples of some ISPs include AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Cox, NetZero, among many, many others. They may be wired directly to a home or business or beamed wirelessly via satellite or other technology.

What Does an ISP Do?

We all have some sort of device in our home or business that connects us to the internet. It's through that device that your phone, laptop, desktop computer, and other internet capable devices reach the rest of the world - and it's all done through various ISPs.

Let's look at an example of where the Internet Service Provider falls in the chain of events that lets you download files and open web pages from the internet...

Say you're using a laptop at home to access this page on About.com. Your web browser first uses the DNS servers that are setup on your device to translate the "About.com" domain name to the proper IP address that it's associated with (which is the address that About.com is setup to use with its own ISP).

The IP address you want to access is then sent from your router to your ISP, which forwards the request to the ISP that About.com uses.

At this point, About.com's is able to send this http://pcsupport.about.com/od/termsi/g/isp.htm file (the HTM file that is this page) back to your own ISP, which forwards the data to your home router and back to your laptop.

All of this is done rather quickly - usually in seconds, which is actually pretty remarkable. None of it would be possible unless both your home network and About.com'swork have a valid public IP address, which is assigned by an ISP.

The same concept applies to sending and downloading other files like videos, images, documents, etc. - anything that you download online is only able to be transferred through an ISP.

Is The ISP Experiencing Network Issues or Am I?

It's rather pointless to go through all the troubleshooting steps to repair your own network if your ISP is the one that has the problem... but how do you know if it's your network or the Internet Service Provider that is to blame?

The easiest thing to do if you can't open a website is to try a different one. If other websites work just fine then it's obviously neither your computer nor your ISP that's having issues - it's either the web server that's dishing out the website or the ISP that the website is using to deliver the website. There's nothing you can do but wait for them to resolve it.

If none of the websites you try are working then the first thing you should do is open the website on a different computer or device in your network, because the issue clearly isn't that all of those ISPs and web servers are to blame.

So if your desktop isn't displaying Google's website, try it on your laptop or phone (but make sure you're connected to Wifi). If you can't replicate the problem on those devices then the issue must lie with the desktop.

If just the desktop is responsible for being unable to load any of the websites, then try restarting the computer. If that doesn't fix it, you might need to change the DNS server settings.

However, if none of your devices can open the website then you should restart your router or modem. This normally fixes those types of network-wide problems. If the problem persists, contact your ISP for further information.

It's possible they're undergoing problems themselves or they've disconnected your internet access for another reason.

Tip: If the ISP for your home network is down for whatever reason, you could always disconnect the Wifi on your phone to start using your cell phone carrier's data plan. This just switches your phone from using one ISP to using another, which is one way to get internet access if your home ISP is down.

How to Hide Internet Traffic From an ISP

Since an Internet Service Provider provides the path for all your internet traffic, it's possible they could monitor or log your internet activity. If this is a concern for you, one popular way to avoid having this done is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Basically, a VPN provides an encrypted tunnel from your device, through your ISP, to a different ISP, which effectively hides all your traffic from your direct ISP and instead lets the VPN service you use see all your traffic (which they normally don't monitor or log).

You can read more about VPNs in the "Hiding Your Public IP Address" section here.

More Information on ISPs

An internet speed test can show you the speed you're currently getting from your ISP. If this speed is different than what you're paying for, you might contact your ISP and show them your results.

Who is my ISP? is a website that displays the Internet Service Provider you're using.

Most ISPs give out always-changing, dynamic IP addresses to customers, but businesses that serve websites usually subscribe with a static IP address, which doesn't change.

Some specific types of ISPs include hosting ISPs, like ones that just host email or online storage and free or nonprofit ISPs (sometimes called free-nets), which provide internet access for free but usually with advertisements.

Cover Buku

Larangan Memutuskan Hubungan Silaturrahmi

Dalam pergaulan kita seharian, kita tidak akan terlepas daripada melakukan perbuatan-perbuatan yang boleh mengguris atau menghiris hati dan perasaan orang lain sama ada secara sedar ataupun tidak. Perkara ini boleh terjadi kepada sesiapa sahaja baik hubungan antara ibu bapa dan anak, hubungan antara adik beradik, sahabat handai, kawan sepejabat, jiran tetangga dan masyarakat.

Lazimnya perkara ini berlaku adalah berpunca daripada berlakunya sesuatu pertengkaran atau pergeseran, sifat sombong, merasakan dirinya sahaja yang betul, berselisih pendapat tentang hal-hal yang remeh, tidak menghormati dan menghargai perasaan orang lain dan sebagainya.  Sekiranya perkara ini tidak ditangani dengan baik, maka akan berlakulah keretakkan dan kerosakkan hubungan silaturrahmi sesama kita di mana ianya amat dibenci sama sekali oleh Islam.

Saudara,

Islam amat melarang keras umatnya memutuskan hubungan silaturrahmi. Rasulullah s.a.w sendiri telah memberi amaran kepada manusia tentang sifat-sifat tercela ini. Ia sebagaimana sabdanya yang bermaksud:

Jangan saling membenci, jangan berhasad dengki, jangan membelakangi kepentingan saudara-saudara kamu, dan jangan memutuskan silaturrahmi, tetapi jadilah hamba Allah yang bersaudara. Tidak halal bagi seseorang Muslim memulaukan saudaranya lebih daripada tiga hari.

(Muttafaqun ‘alaih)

Lihatlah bagaimana sejarah Rasulullah s.a.w dan para sahabat suatu ketika dahulu. Mereka telah menunujukkan contoh yang terbaik dalam sejarah umat manusia di mana mereka dapat disatukan atas dasar akidah walaupun datang daripada pelbagai suku kaum dan latar belakang yang berbeza. Subhanallah, begitu hebatnya hubungan silatirrahmi yang dibina antara mereka.

Oleh itu, marilah bersama kita menjaga hubungan silaturrahmi sesama kita dengan baik, elakkan daripada permusuhan dan persengketaan, contohilah Rasul s.a.w dan sahabat di dalam menjalinkan hubungan silaturrahmi sesama mereka. Mudah-mudahan kita menjadi insan yang disayangi oleh Allah SWT disebabkan menjaga hubungan silaturrahmi yang mulia ini, InsyaAllah

Hikmah Bersabar Sebagai Mukmin

Pengertian Sabar

Sabar secara bahasa atau etimologis berasal dari Bahasa Arab, yaitu shabr yang berarti menahan diri, mengendalikan diri. Sedangkan secara istilah atau terminologis sabar ialah sikap menahan atau mengendalikan diri terhadap suatu kejadian tanpa dikuasai oleh hawa nafsu sebagai wujud beriman kepada Allah Swt.

Sabar merupakan sikap yang terpuji karena berkaitan dengan keimanan seseorang, terutama dalam menjalankan perintah agama Islam. Sabar juga termasuk perisai atau penolong seorang mukmin karena tidak setiap orang mampu berbuat sabar terhadap suatu cobaan atau ujian tertentu.

Banyak pemikiran bahwa sabar hanya cukup berdiam saja atau pasrah terhadap suatu hal dengan anggapan Allah akan memberikan yang terbaik.  Tidak cukup dengan itu, apabila seseorang bersabar secara mental, namun dalam hatinya ada keinginan untuk membalas suatu perbuatan yang dilarang maka bukan termasuk dalam kategori sabar. Tetapi lebih kepada perasaan dendam.

Sebagaimana telah diberitahukan dalam firman Allah surat Al-Baqarah ayat 153 yang artinya: ”Wahai orang-orang nan beriman! Mohonlah pertolongan (kepada Allah) dengan sabar dan shalat. Sungguh, Allah beserta orang-orang nan sabar”.

Dari ayat tersebut, dapat diambil pelajaran bahwa Allah akan menolong hamba-Nya nan mau bersabar dan shalat, dan menjalankan perintah-perintah Allah. 

Kesabaran ialah sifat nan harus dipupuk secara terus menerus dan harus mengalami berbagai ujian serta cobaan. Tujuannya, agar sifat sabar memperoleh keutamaannya. Karena, sabar itu sendiri memerlukan sikap ikhlas atau rida terhadap ketentuan Allah.

Dengan dibarengi sikap ikhlas dan rida, maka kesabaran akan banyak mendatangkan berbagai hikmah nan agung. Hikmah-hikmah itu dapat dirasakan secara konkret di global ini, ada juga nan baru dirasakan di akhirat kelak.

Hikmah Sabar

1. Hikmah sabar bagi pribadi

Dalam berinteraksi dengan sesama, kita dihadapkan dengan banyak sekali karakter orang nan berbeda-beda. Di antara mereka, tentunya ada nan memiliki karakter keras, temperamental, pemarah, dan lain-lain.

Dalam berteman dengan orang-orang nan memiliki karakter seperti itu, ajaran Islam memerintahkan buat berlaku sabar. Karena dengan kesabaran itulah, kita dapat menghindari adanya percekcokan, perkelahian, dan kemungkaran-kemungkaran lainnya nan dapat terjadi.

Banyak kejadian kerusuhan, tawuran pelajar, perang antarwarga nan dipicu oleh masalah sepele. Misalnya saja sebab tak terima, tak dapat bersabar, ketika diejek temannya atau hal lainnya.

Dengan sifat sabar nan dimiliki, maka teman kita atau orang-orang di sekitar kita akan senang. Akhirnya, kita dapat berteman secara luas tanpa harus takut dimusuhi orang lain.

2. Hikmah Sabar dalam Keluarga

Sebuah keluarga nan serasi atau keluarga sakinah tentu saja merupakan dambaan setiap pasangan suami-istri. Keluarga nan sakinah juga harus dibangun dengan penuh kesabaran. Tanpa kesabaran, rasanya mustahil sebuah keluarga sakinah dapat terwujud.

Di masyarakat kita dapat dijumpai sangat banyak keluarga nan hancur, sebab kedua pasangan suami-istri tak mampu bersabar. Misalnya saja tak mampu bersabar dengan kehidupan perekonomiannya atau tak mampu bersabar dengan kondisi fisik pasangannya.

Bahkan sampai pernah ada kasus, sebab tak bersabar dengan kondisi ekonomi keluarganya, sang ibu tega membunuh anak-anaknya dengan racun, lantas si ibu sendiri melakukan bunuh diri.

Sebuah keluarga nan dipenuhi kesabaran, akan menciptakan rasa penuh afeksi di antara anggota keluarganya. Dan, dengan adanya afeksi inilah, maka keluarga sakinah akan dapat terbangun dengan baik. Itulah salah satu hikmah kesabaran.

3. Hikmah Sabar bagi Masyarakat

Di zaman sekarang ini, banyak sekali tantangan, ujian dan cobaanya. Hal itu menuntut seorang muslim buat selalu monoton bersabar. Bersabar di sini, bukan berarti hanya diam melihat fenomena di masyarakat. Namun sabar ialah bergerak. Bergerak dalam rangka amar makruf nahi munkar.

Sebagaimana perintah Allah dalam Alqur’an surat al-‘Asr ayat 1-3: “Demi masa. Sungguh, manusia dalam kerugian. Kecuali orang-orang nan beriman dan mengerjakan kebajikan serta saling menasihati buat kebenaran dan saling menasihati buat kesabaran”.

Dari ayat tersebut, dapat diambil pemahaman bahwa suatu masyakat akan mengalami kerusakan, apabila masyarakatnya tak saling menasihati buat penegakan anggaran di masyarakat.

Dari keterangan tersebut, maka salah satu hikmah kesabaran nan besar khasiatnya ialah dapat mewujudkan kehidupan nan tenteram di tengah-tengah masyarakat.

Hikmah Sabar dalam Islam

Agama Islam nan diturunkan oleh Allah melalui rasul-Nya, Muhammad Saw., memuat banyak ajaran nan sangat agung. Sabar termasuk ajaran Islam nan harus dimiliki oleh setiap mukmin.

Setelah diterangkan hikmah-hikmah sabar bagi sesama manusia, kemudian hikmah lainnya ialah dalam rangka kita menjalankan perintah agama. Hikmah-himah itu antara lain sebagai berikut.

1. Hikmah Sabar Terhadap Ujian atau Cobaan

Dalam menghadapi cobaan atau ujian dari Allah, kita diperintahkan buat bersabar dan rida. Dengan bekal keridaan itu, maka kita dapat mengharapkan pertolongan dari Allah.

Dengan bersabar, kita juga akan mendapat balasan pahala dari Allah. Dan, ujian Allah kepada hamba-Nya, niscaya akan membawa kebaikan apabila mampu diterima dengan kesabaran.

Kesabaran dalam menghadapi cobaan, juga dapat menunjukkan kadar keimanan seseorang. Dengan keimanannya, maka Allah akan menurunkan pertolongannya buat membantu menyelesaikan musibah atau cobaan nan sedang dihadapi.

Hal ini sinkron janji Allah nan tercantum dalam Alqur’an: ”Wahai orang-orang nan beriman! Mohonlah pertolongan Allah dengan sabar dan sholat. Sungguh Allah beserta orang-orang nan sabar” (Al-Baqarah ayat 153).

Sungguh besar hikmahnya apa nan implisit dalam ayat tersebut. Salah satu hikmah nan dapat diambil ialah Allah akan menolong dan akan mengabulkan do’a hamba-Nya nan mampu bersabar. Di saat mendapat ujian atau cobaan, Allah akan menolong apabila kita memohon dengan rida dan sabar.

2. Hikmah Sabar dalam Bertakwa kepada Allah

Takwa kepada Allah ialah menjalankan perintah dan menjauhi segala embargo Allah. Taat terhadap perintah Allah juga harus dilakukan dengan kesabaran. Demikian juga dalam ketaatan menjauhi embargo Allah, juga harus dengan kesabaran.

Untuk menggambarkan hal itu, seperti difirmankan oleh Allah dalam surat as-Shad ayat 44: “Kami dapati dia (Ayyub) seorang nan sabar. Dialah sebaik-baik hamba. Sungguh, dia sangat taat (kepada Allah)”.

Dari ayat tersebut, dapat diambil pelajaran bahwa sabar merupakan karakter para nabi. Para nabi ialah hamba-hamba Allah nan agung, para pakar surga. Jadi, sifat sabar termasuk sifatnya para pakar surga.

Sungguh besar keutamaan atau hikmah sabar dalam Islam sebab sifat sabar merupakan sifatnya pakar surga. Dan, sinkron janji-Nya, Allah akan selalu bersama-sama orang nan sabar.

Windows 10 S

    

You want a new PC or laptop and by now you've probably made up your mind as to whether it should be a Windows, Mac (or even Linux) device. Go for Windows and your choice is more complicated as there's Windows 10 S, Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro.

Let's narrow things down a bit and remove Windows 10 S from the equation. This is a new version of the OS that is aimed at students and teachers, though you may find it on some 'regular' laptops, such as the Surface Laptop from Microsoft.

The key difference between 10 S and regular Windows 10 is that you are limited to installing apps from the built-in Windows Store. Everything else is exactly the same. If you need to install third-party apps on your laptop you will have to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, which is offered as a free upgrade on the Surface Laptop until 31 December 2017.

At least in this respect, choosing between Windows 10 S and Pro shouldn't be too difficult - if you need anything you're missing you can simply upgrade. But an advantage of sticking to 10 S will be its improved security, since apps are only downloaded from the curated Windows Store, and then run in a safe container on the laptop. 

So that's Windows 10 S taken care of.

What are the main differences between Windows 10 Home and Pro?

There are many things both Windows 10 and Windows 10 Pro can do, but just a few features that are supported only by Pro. To simplify things we've listed only the Windows 10 Pro features that aren't also in Windows 10 Home in the table below. 

	Windows 10 Home	Windows 10 Pro
Create and join a domain (work network)	No	Yes
BitLocker	No	Yes
Group policy management	No	Yes
Remote Desktop	No	Yes
Hyper-V	No	Yes
Assigned Access	No	Yes
Enterprise Mode Internet Explorer	No	Yes
Windows Store for Business	No	Yes
Trusted Boot	No	Yes
Windows Update for Business	No	Yes
Max supported RAM	128GB	2TB

If most of these features are meaningless to you, that's no surprise: most people don't need the extra features in Windows 10 Pro. It's really designed for businesses.

Price

Price is one of the other main differences, although you can now buy both versions cheaper than the official Microsoft prices - £119.99/$119.99 for Home, and £219.99/$199.99 for Pro.

At the time of writing you can buy Windows 10 Home from Amazon for £89/$89, while Windows 10 Pro isn't much more expensive: it costs £95/$110 from Amazon.

Just watch out for very cheap offers as you may be emailed merely an activation key which may or may not work. It's best to stick to the official retail versions - there are no upgrade versions as with previous versions of Windows.

Windows 10 Pro features explained

So what are those extra features in Windows 10 Pro and - more importantly - do you need them if you're considering upgrading or installing Windows on a PC or laptop that will be used at home?

BitLocker

BitLocker is encryption software which allows security conscious users to fully secure their drives from potential hackers. In Windows 10 Pro Microsoft has made some fine adjustments to the service. 

‘With BitLocker,’ explained Joe Belfiore, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Operating Systems Group, ‘the end user  faces an all or nothing decision for the entire drive to be encrypted, and it doesn’t provide for very much flexibility in the way files move around. We’re solving those problems.’ 

The new iteration of BitLocker allows users to encrypt individual files and keep them alongside unencrypted ones.  Plus they can now be used in the same way on USB sticks, improving the way in which files can be shared between those with the proper clearance to read them.

Remote Desktop Connection

Both Windows 10 Home and Pro can start Remote Desktop Connection sessions, but only PCs running Windows 10 Pro can be remotely controlled. Windows 10 Home machines can only be assisted remotely, and this is mainly for an expert to show a home user how to change settings, for example.

Windows Update for Business

In Windows 10 Pro you get the option to defer updates, but this option doesn't really exist in Home. Microsoft forces patches and updates to Home machines automatically. You can stop them for a few hours, but that's it, even in the latest Creators Update.

The ability to defer is designed to prevent buggy updates from affecting business PCs, and updates can be put off for several months.

Hyper-V

Virtualisation is another benefit of Windows 10 Pro, although few will want to use it. It's like having a built-in VirtualBox, although you'll still have to install Hyper-V on Windows 10 Pro manually. You'll also need to have a CPU which supports virtualisation.

Windows 10 Pro for Workstations

It's worth noting that Microsoft has announced this new version of Pro which is made specifically for more powerful PCs. It will arrive with the Fall Creators Update.

Built for 'high-end' machines, the firm promises 'unique support for server grade PC hardware and is designed to meet demanding needs of mission critical and compute intensive workloads'.

Features include a resilient file system, persistent memory, faster file sharing and expanded hardware support.

Domain and other business features

Group Policy Management and access to the Windows 10 Business Store are other features reserved for WIndows 10 Pro. Microsoft also lists the ability to join Azure Active Directory, with a single sign-on to cloud hosted apps.

Only Windows 10 Pro support joining (or creating) a domain, which allows PCs to be added to a corporate network. With Windows 10 Home, you can't do this and you're pushed to use a Microsoft account rather than a local user account. This means any laptop or PC you want to use at work and access files on servers will almost certainly need to be running Windows 10 Pro.

Assigned Access lets a sysadmin restrict a Windows tablet to run only a certain app (a very specific benefit which will apply to only a few).

Powered By

Some features were removed compared to previous versions of Windows. We've outlined the worst Windows 10 sacrifices in our separate guide. 

Which features do they have in common?

All versions of Windows 10 come with Cortana, Microsoft’s virtual assistant, that can make calendar entries, take dictation, open applications and local files, search the web, and give directions, all from voice commands on your PC.

Cortana is now available for Android and iPhones, alongside the full integration it enjoys on Windows Phone. You can read here how to use Cortana in Windows 10.

The Microsoft Edge browser is also available on both versions. This break from Internet Explorer is an interesting one, and Edge certainly has enough features to make it a worthy adversary to Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, although it still falls behind on add-ons.

It offers a stripped-down Reading Mode to declutter articles online, an Instapaper/Pocket style Reading List for saving articles you don’t have time to read there and then, plus the ability to annotate and share web pages. For more information check out our how to use Edge browser in Windows 10 guide.

As Windows continues its voyage into a touch-compatible future, Microsoft has made some significant adjustments to the user interface on both Home and Pro. Gone is the overbearing and oft confusing Windows 8 touch-first layout, replaced instead with a modern take on the Windows 7 desktop.

This doesn’t mean touch has been left behind; instead Windows can now detect the type of hardware you are using and offer the appropriate interface. This feature is called Continuum and should make the new Windows far more attractive to the majority of users, most of whom don’t own a touchscreen laptop or Windows tablet.

A welcome addition to Windows 10 is a fully integrated version of Virtual Desktops. This feature has been around in past iterations of Windows, but always required additional software to get it going. Now you'll be able to create different workspaces on your PC very easily thanks to a new Task View option. You can also drag and drop open applications onto different desktops, making the whole process smooth, fast, and simple. To learn more about this helpful feature read our guide to using virtual desktops in Windows 10.  

The other main upgrade to Windows that can be found of both Home and Pro is universal apps. This idea is a simple one, in which any universal app you buy from the Windows Store will work on any of your devices, be they PC, tablet, phone, or even the Xbox One.  

Conclusion

Windows 10 Home will suffice for the vast majority of users who just want to browse the web, do a little work, and manage their media files. The benefits of the Pro version focus on security and compatibility, but of course the value of these features will come down to whether you actually intend to use them or not, and most home users won't.