Becoming a technology professional can be an exciting career. However, it is an ever changing field and there maybe times when an issue may arise that you are unfamiliar with and do  not know how to proceed. There are tons of great tools online and resources for those technicians who might hit a snag while they are on the job and resolve the issue quickly and easily. These are just a few of my favorite resource websites I refer to when I have an issue.

Tom’s Hardware GuideAmazing free hardware guide and other hardware resources. Tom’s Hardware also has news and message boards to discuss any and all hardware you can imagine.

AnandtechAnother great hardware site with guides, articles, news and reviews. Also has a very active forum for discussion.

PortableApps  Portable versions of  many of your favorite free applications to put on a flash drive and carry everywhere with all your personal settings.

AlternativeTo – Search applications for alternatives, both free and paid on any platform.

Speedtest.netEssential website for testing internet speed, also has a great mobile app!

IPTools offers a wide variety of online networking tools. With this site you can look up IP address information, check spam databases, run pings, run traceroutes, lookup WHOIS information and much more.

Free Password GeneratorFree web tool to generate secure passwords.

You Get Signal– Checks for open ports on both current IP address and can even be used on remote IP addresses. This is very helpful when setting up port forwarding or when setting up security with a firewall.

Default Router Passwords DatabaseDatabase of  default router passwords, very helpful when resetting or setting up a router.

W3schoolsGreat resource to start learning how to code HTML, CSS, PHP and many other programming languages absolutely free with interactive tutorials.

What’s My IPAs its name suggests, this site shows one’s  public IP address.  This is very helpful in troubleshooting some network issues or when trying to remotely access a machine.

Retrevo– Retrivo has just about every user manual in PDF format which is a great help when troubleshooting issues.

Ninite– Allows users to pick their favorite free and/or open source Windows programs and download a single installer. Perfect for setting up new computers and reformatting old machines alike.

Google– When in doubt, a specific Google search for the issue can resolve issues easily. Using Boolean search techniques are also very helpful in narrowing the search results.

MikeMike Gdovin has been blogging about technology since 2006 on his blog, Gdovin.net. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Media from Kutztown University with a minor in Journalism, Public Relations and Business. In addition to blogging about technology, Mike is a video producer, technology consultant and social media expert.

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