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General discussion

Networking PCs for family use - Help please? ...

by Mosonnow Apr 10, 2004 2:39AM PDT

I know many of you have this already. I do not have this yet and would appreciate your wisdom on non-technical issues.

I have "my" computer which has internet access and shared on a musical-chairs basis. I am happy with installed protection.

If I network the other computer to mine so they have internet access also - is my protection software effective, or do I need to install this again on secondary machine?

Children are responsible, so external threat is my concern. Or any other issues to consider?

Many thanks
Regards
Mo

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9 Posts
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Re:Networking PCs for family use - Help please? ...
by C1ay Apr 10, 2004 2:52AM PDT

What kind of interent access do you have? DSL? Broadband? Dial-up?

What version of Windows is on your PC?

What version of Windows is on the other PC?

Is it convenient to run a wire from one to the other or would a wireless link fit your need better?

Do you have a printer you would like the computers to share on the network?

What else do you plan to add to your system/network in the next year or so?

It's imporatnt to consider all of this to guide you in the best direction...

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Dear Clay, Looking at what you say....
by Mosonnow Apr 10, 2004 3:23AM PDT

Dial-up (for the forseeable future) as broadband isn't in my area despite living very close to the centre of London (don't ask me).

I have WinME - the other is 98. Wondered if to upgrade the other to ME (or buy whole new computer ready installed - re compatibility issues, though 98 is said to be less vulnerable). But not sure why you ask this question.

Wireless link - it is fairly new over here and have just spent some time working out which walls to go through to access phone outlet with wires! So many thanks for that one.

Printer - not to worry.

Other software - TV would be nice, but again, I'm not sure why this is important (sorry, does there ever come a time when one is not a newbie?).

Thanks for your help.

Regards
Mo

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Re:Dear Clay, Looking at what you say....
by C1ay Apr 10, 2004 4:53AM PDT
Dial-up (for the forseeable future) as broadband isn't in my area despite living very close to the centre of London (don't ask me).

This will probably require you to use a proxy server if you don't upgrade to a later version of Windows. When I had the same situation I used WinProxy.

I have WinME - the other is 98. Wondered if to upgrade the other to ME (or buy whole new computer ready installed - re compatibility issues, though 98 is said to be less vulnerable). But not sure why you ask this question.

WinMe actually has a feature called internet connection sharing built in but I don't know anyone that's gotten reliable use from it. Neither Me or 98 is optimally designed for networking, neither will function as a DHCP server or do Network Address Translation. This means you'll have to manually administer your network.

Wireless link - it is fairly new over here and have just spent some time working out which walls to go through to access phone outlet with wires! So many thanks for that one.

Most wireless network cards are made to talk to a central switch or router, not to each other. This means you would need to add a wirelss router/switch at a minimum and a layer of complexity in configuring the network.

Printer - not to worry.

Other software - TV would be nice, but again, I'm not sure why this is important (sorry, does there ever come a time when one is not a newbie?).

Not applicable.

The simplest solution you could get away with for now is a single network wire from one PC to the other, ignoring the logistics of routing the wire. Besids the wire you'll just need a networking card for each machine. With this method you could theoretically uses Me's built in connection sharing but WinProxy would probably be more reliable.

A wireless link will take a wireless network card for each PC and a wireless router/switch. You can use the router portion if you ever get braodband or DSL. Over here some popular brands are Linksys, DLink and Netgear to name a few. If you go this way make sure to get one that offers an encrypted link, that will be on the package.

Things would/will be much easier for you with an upgrade to a network operating system like WinXP or Windows 2000. Things like wireless networking become much more plug and play compared to older versions of Windows. IMO, Windows Me is probably the worst product that ever shipped from Redmond. It can be particularly picking with networking hardware. I've tried network cards with it that it refeused to recognize and replaced them with another card of the same brand and it reconized it right away. It's very unpredictable.

When you get some parts holler back and ask for help if you need it.

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Re:Networking PCs for family use - Help please? ...
by gearup Apr 10, 2004 3:09AM PDT

1. Use a router and use wire,if you dont want to share your connection with strangers.

2. Most routers have a hard wired firewall built in.

3. However it only blocks incoming junk so it is a good idea to have something like Zonealarm on every machine.

4.Since each computer receives its own email it should be protected by ant-virus software. A good free one is AVG frtom http://grisoft.com

5.Their are some who may disagree with number 1. But my son visits me every other week. His business laptop has a wireless Network Card. When he is in my house and turns on his laptop he connects to the internet. I have cable. His connection is not through me. Someone close by has a wireless network which they havent password protected...as if that would stop a malicious interloper!Also various devices like cordless telephones can interfere with wireless connections.

Good luck to you by the way.My home network of three puters is wired together via a router and works just fine!

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Re:Re:Networking PCs for family use - Help please? ...
by C1ay Apr 10, 2004 3:23AM PDT
1. Use a router and use wire,if you dont want to share your connection with strangers.

My own wireless connection uses 256 bit encryption across the link. Do you really believe I'm vulnerable?

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Re wireless - interesting point ...
by Mosonnow Apr 10, 2004 3:40AM PDT

We had a prog on the TV this week whereby a guy with a laptop was able to sit outside a building and hack / read into computers within the building. If I can find a link, I will post it. As the programme ran it, he was a reporter rather than a competent computer hacker.

Regards
Mo

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it's called warchalking, also has an interesting history
by jonah jones Apr 10, 2004 4:00AM PDT
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Re Encryption ...
by Mosonnow Apr 10, 2004 3:44AM PDT

I don't know about wireless encryption, but I have a software program (payware) by which one can encrypt sensitive files. Forgive that I don't know if the one is the same as the other (i.e. wireless vs. internal files), but might be worth finding out if you need to encrypt files internally as well as relying on "their" encryption.

Regards
Mo

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(NT) Many thanks, Regards Mo
by Mosonnow Apr 11, 2004 3:05AM PDT

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