The Best Single Purpose Websites That Do Exactly What They Say They Do
Kids have the most confusing names on websites these days. Facebook? Twitter? eBay? Sorry, but I love my black coffee and my websites speak for themselves. Here are some really useful websites that do exactly what they look like.
Blast From The Past is a weekly feature on Lifehacker in which we bring old but still relevant posts to life for your reading and hacking enjoyment. This week we’re taking a walk down memory lane through some of our favorite self-explanatory websites.
Down for everyone or just me (pictured above): If you get an error when visiting a certain site, it might not work or something might be wrong on your end. To find out what it is, go to Downforeveryoneorjustme.com and enter the website domain. It will tell you if it really isn’t working or if you need a little more troubleshooting. You can get there faster by typing isup.me.
Speedtest.net : If you’re wondering for any reason how fast your internet is, this is a site worth checking out. This will give you both download speed and download speed, so you can tell if you’re getting what you pay for ( or if you’re just getting faster speeds than your friends ). Just download it and click “Start Test” to get started.
How secure is my password? : Does what is written on the tin. Enter your password and it will tell you how long it takes to crack. If you find your password is weaker than you’d like, we’ve already shared some tips for creating secure passwords, including the most secure type of password you can create .
What’s my IP : Whether you are setting up a home media server with Subsonic or you just need to connect to your home computer over SSH , sometimes you need to know the IP address of a computer from outside your network and this site will tell you what it is. Just visit it from the computer you want and it will give you your IP address. Whatsmyip.org is the simplest iteration of this tool, although Whatismyip.com has some useful information about IP addresses if you’re new to the web, and IPChicken.com gives you a little more than just your IP, like your remote port and browser. Information. Not to mention the funny chicken picture.
Can You See Me : If you’re having trouble connecting to a specific program like email, instant messaging or BitTorrent, it could be because your firewall or ISP is blocking a specific port that the program needs. Canyouseeme.org will let you enter a port and check if it is open – if not, then that could be the source of your problems. If it is open, then it is something else.
Who.Is : This site uses the Whois command to look up the IP address, location, server type and other statistics of a specific domain. This is useful for learning more about your favorite sites, testing your own home web server, or trying to ping an external IP address when you have DNS problems.
Where is my cell phone? : We’ve all lost our cell phones in the cushions of the couch from time to time, and when you just can’t find them, “Where is my cell phone” can help you. Enter your number and it will ring your phone for you to find. This is really useful if you don’t have another phone in your house from which to call.
Is it old? : Have you ever discovered a website, page or funny YouTube video that all your friends just needed to watch? Have you ever made them all say “dude, that was 10 months ago”? Is It Old tells you how long the page is and how many times it has already been tweeted so you know if you are sharing old news or not. Just paste the URL and click the button and you’ll know if it’s worth sharing.
Free My PDF : Free My PDF will get rid of PDFs that have restrictions on printing, copying text, or password protected editing. It won’t crack PDF Password – that is, if it requires a password to view it, it won’t work, but if you have any other kinds of secure PDFs, just upload them to Free My PDF and it will be spit released a free version with which you can do whatever you want.
Of course, these aren’t the only great single-purpose sites on the web. Feeling angry ? Is it sad ? Are you delighted ? Or maybe you just feel like a jerk to your friends . Either you’re wonderingwhat to cook for dinner , or it’s Christmas time . Whatever your needs, there is probably a great, self-explanatory site to help you. If you have a favorite that we haven’t covered above, let us know in the comments!