I am networking two computers usung a crossover cable.If i use the NETBEUI protocol I can network and share files.If I use the tcp/ip protocol I can not network.I have tried assigning ip addresses to the machines(192.168.0.1,192.168.0.2)both with the same subnet(255.255.255.0)When I ping I get response from the host but cannot see the other.I have tried many configurations with out any success.I need to use tcp/ip to be able to use Wingate to share the dialup between the computers.Any help will be appreciated.
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Need help with tcp/ip
- Thread starter mrfixall
- Start date
A crossover cable is not the way computers are networked correctly.
HOME NETWORKING / INTERNET CONNECTION SHARING
With computers getting cheaper and cheaper these days, it is not
uncommon for a household to have more than one PC. If that describes
you, then you have probably found yourself in the situation where you
wished you could access the other PC to retrieve a file, use the printer
attached to the other PC, play multi-player computer games, or most
importantly share your broadband Internet access such as cable or DSL
modem with the other PC.
To accomplish this all you need is a home network where you connect two
or more PCs. There are several ways of doing this with the main
difference being cost, security, and reliability. Let's first look at
the different scenarios.
Your current setup
Most likely, your current configuration looks like this:
Your cable/DSL modem plugs straight into the computer. The computer is
exposed to the public Internet (indicated by the color red). There is no
connection for more than one computer. You only have one IP address from
your ISP.
Option #1: Multiple IP addresses
An easy way of getting the second PC online is to install a network card
in it, buy a hub, plug both PCs and the cable/DSL modem into the hub,
call your ISP and get a second IP address and configure the second PC
accordingly.
It is what your ISP most likely will try to talk you into doing.
Advantages:
- the two PCs are independent from each other
- relatively easy setup
Disadvantages:
- Both PCs are exposed to public Internet
- Enabling file sharing adds security risk
- Higher monthly ISP cost for additional IP addresses
Option #2: Internet Connection Sharing via Software
In this scenario, you install a second network card in the computer that
is connected to the Internet, install a network card in the second PC,
connect them via a CAT5 cable. You configure the connection between PC 1
and PC 2 as a private network, then install and configure Internet
Connection Sharing software (ICS) on PC 1, lastly configure PC 2 to
access the Internet via PC 1.
Probably the cheapest solutions of them all, but also the least
reliable one.
Advantages:
- cheap, only requires 2 network cards and Cat5 cable
- ICS software is available for free with newer versions of Windows or
online as freeware
- No additional ISP cost
Disadvantages:
- One PC is exposed to public Internet
- Can be difficult to configure
- If PC 1 is shut down or broken, PC 2 cannot get online
- Can be unreliable
- Limited number of PCs
Option #3: Using a hardware router/gateway/firewall device
In this scenario, you install a hardware router/gateway/firewall
device, connect the public side to your cable/DSL modem, connect the
private side to a hub, connect all PCs to the hub, configure all PCs for
your private network.
While the costliest solution, by far the safest, most reliable, and most
scalable one. Highly recommended.
Advantages:
- All PCs are protected by firewall (indicated by the color green)
- File sharing between PCs is safe
- No additional ISP cost
- Connect many PCs to home network without additional cost
- Easy PC configuration due to DHCP server in gateway device
- Optional additional functionality with gateway-integrated wireless
access point, print server, DMZ, content filtering, and more
Disadvantages:
- Can cost several hundred dollars depending on gateway device and
features
- Somewhat of a learning curve
As you have probably figured out by now, option #3 is the most
desirable solution because it gives you a protected private network, it
is a very stable solution, it is easily and extremely expandable, and it
gives you the most features.
Note: This article assumes that your cable/DSL modem uses an Ethernet
connection, NOT a USB connection because it will eliminate options #1
and #3. If your ISP gives you a choice, insist on getting the modem with
an Ethernet connection.
Note: There are other options available such as turning an old 486 or
Pentium system into a gateway using a Linux-based configuration like
Smoothwall - or Coyote Linux -
but this requires advanced
knowledge and is outside the scope of this article, which is aimed at
the typical Windows running home user.
For the rest of this article, we will focus on setting up your home
network as described in option #3.
What you need
Gateway device - There are a number of different devices available from
several companies. Check out the following web sites for some popular
possibilities:
D-Link - Netgear - Linksys - SMC -
Gateways have a number of basic features in common, such as NAT
(network address translation, translates your public IP to the private
IP addresses on your network), built-in DHCP server (automatically hands
out network configuration information to each PC), PPPoE (required by
some ISP to log on, usually for DSL), and stateful packet inspection
(inspects each network packet). Stay away from any gateway without one
of these features.
More advanced gateways offer additional integrated features, such
as
- wireless access point (allows wireless roaming from computers with a
wireless network card)
- print server (share a printer with all machines on the network)
- VPN (connect to your company network via VPN)
- multi-port switch (saves you the purchase of a hub provided the number
of PCs is equal or less the number of ports)
- DMZ (make one PC available to the Internet but still protect it
through the firewall
- Content filtering (monitor and regulate Internet content)
Before making your purchase think about which features you need and
which you don't care about. Compare models by features, check out
reviews online, and finally compare prices online to find the best deal
for you.
Note: The web sites listed above carry affordable products for the home
user. If you're looking for something more advanced and are willing to
spend the money, then visit Symantec -
SonicWALL -
Cisco - or Sun -
Hub/Switch - Unless your gateway already comes with an integrated hub or
switch, you'll need to purchase a hub or switch. If you're planning to
set up a small home network with just a few PCs, a hub will work fine.
The main things to look at when purchasing is to make sure you get a
dual-speed hub or switch, meaning it supports both 10MB and 100MB
network speed, as well as ensuring you get enough ports. Always get a
few more ports than you think you need for possible future expansion.
Check out the following web sites for some popular possibilities:
D-Link - Netgear - Linksys - SMC -
Network Cards - Each PC on your network needs a network card. For under
USD20 you can buy a decent 10/100MB PCI network card. Check out the
following web sites for some popular possibilities:
D-Link - Netgear - Linksys - SMC -
Follow the instructions that came with the card to install it.
Tip: Instead of using the driver that came in the box, go to the
manufacturer's web site and download the latest driver.
Cat5 cable - You'll need several pieces of Cat5 cable. The example
pictured above requires 5 cables: One from each of the three PCs to the
hub, one from the hub to the gateway, one from the gateway to the cable
modem. The cable most commonly used for networking is referred to as Cat
5 cable. Every decent computer store will sell you as much Cat 5 cable
as you need by the foot. The cable should have a RJ-45 connector on each
end, which looks like a phone jack just a little wider. Be sure to get
plenty of cable, it is very easy to underestimate the length you need.
Alternatively, you can make your own Cat5 cable by following our
tutorial:
Hardware Installation
This is the desired network configuration:
Once you have all the pieces, start the physical setup part. Install a
network card in each PC following the included instructions. Make sure
that each card shows up properly in the device manager without any
conflicts.
Use appropriate lengths of Cat5 cable to connect each PC to the hub or
switch. When running the cable, be careful and place it where nobody can
trip over it. Make sure it doesn't have any sharp bends or kinks, which
could cause breakage. If you have to run cable through walls, avoid
serious injury inflicted by your spouse or landlord - please do not
break 5 inch holes at eye-height in the middle of the wall.
Use Cat5 to connect the uplink port of your hub or switch to the LAN
port of your gateway device. Pay attention to the link light on the
hub/switch. If it doesn't light up, use the button to switch the uplink
port or use a crossover-type cable instead as explained in the Cat5
tutorial.
Lastly, connect the WAN port of the gateway to your cable/DSL modem.
That should be all the physical work involved. Now you need to
configure each PC.
Gateway Configuration
Please take the time to read the manual for your gateway carefully so
you learn to configure it properly. Don't be overwhelmed at the
beginning, it's not as bad as it may seem. The main thing to understand
is that the gateway has two sides: The WAN side (Wide Area Network)
connects to your cable/DSL modem and therefore to the Internet via your
ISP. The LAN side (Local Area Network) connects to your private network
via the hub or switch. The main task of the gateway is to route the
proper traffic from PCs on the LAN to the Internet and back, but drop
any unauthorized traffic.
You first configure the public / WAN side of the gateway by entering the
IP information your ISP gave you. This usually includes an IP address,
subnet mask, DNS server(s), gateway IP, and possibly host name.
Alternatively, if your ISP uses PPPoE, you simply enable PPPoE in your
gateway, enter the user name and password your ISP gave you, and it will
pick up these settings automatically.
To configure the private / LAN side of the gateway, you should enable
DHCP. This feature automatically serves each PC on your LAN the
information it needs to configure itself to participate on the network.
Read the instructions carefully so you understand better how it works,
and you'll get the hang of it quickly.
Software Configuration
The last step is to configure each PC to see and be seen on the
network. Go to the Control Panel and open the Network Connections
dialog, then right-click on the Local Area Connection and select
Properties (Windows 9x/ME users: Start / Settings / Control Panel
/ Network).
Verify that you have these components installed. Use the Install
/ Uninstall buttons to add missing or remove superfluous components
(Windows 9x/ME users: Add / Remove buttons).
On a small home network, it can be helpful to install the NetBEUI
protocol. In Windows 9x, ME, and 2000 you can install it as
follows:
Click the Add button, select Protocol, click Add, select
Microsoft, highlight NetBEUI and click OK until you're back to
the Network Properties dialog box. Don't close this box until
after the very last step.
In Windows XP, installing NetBEUI is a little bit more difficult.
Insert your XP CD, then use Windows Explorer to browse to the
directory X:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NET\NETBEUI where X is the drive letter for
your CD-ROM drive. Open the file NetBEUI.txt in Notepad and follow the
instructions to add NetBEUI support.
While you're here, make sure that the TCP/IP protocol is configured
properly. There are two ways to do so: You can manually configure each
PC by entering an IP address, gateway, DNS, etc. which gets really old
really quickly. Since your gateway device has a DHCP server which hands
out all this information automatically to each PC, you can configure
TCP/IP to use DHCP instead.
Highlight the TCP/IP entry and click Properties. If you see multiple
TCP/IP entries, be sure to select the one for the network card, not the
one for your Dial-up adapter. Go to the General tab, and select Obtain
an IP address automatically. Now you can close the TCP/IP and Local Area
Connection Properties window since that's all we have to do here.
Now you need to configure the computer name and workgroup. Open Windows
Explorer, right-click on My Computer, select Properties, select the
Computer Name tab, then click the Change button. Enter a unique name for
each PC, the choice of name is up to you. Name them after the 3 stooges,
the seven dwarfs, your favorite baseball players, whatever. Then enter a
workgroup name. This one needs to be the same on each PC. If you can't
think of one, use the word Network, or Workgroup, or Home.
Windows 9x/ME users: Start / Settings / Control Panel / Network /
Identification
In order to see other PCs on the network and access the drives on the
other PCs, you first need to enable File Sharing, which is simple. In
Windows Explorer, right-click on the drive or folder you want to share
on the network, select Sharing, and specify how you want to share the
resource.
To share printers, you need to enable sharing as well. Go to the
Control Panel and open the Printers and Faxes dialog, then right-
click the printer you want to share, and select Sharing, and
specify how you want to share the printer (Windows 9x/ME users:
Start / Settings / Printers).
After configuring each PC and performing the necessary reboot, you
should reboot each PC again after each one has been configured. Then
launch the Windows Explorer on each PC and check out the Network
Neighborhood icon at the bottom. If everything went right, you should
now see underneath Network Neighborhood an icon for the Entire Network
and then the name of each PC on your network. If you open the Entire
Network, you should see the name of your workgroup which contains again
all PCs on the network.
That's it. You're done. Now you can share files and printers over your
new home network, and surf the web from each PC on your local network.
Testing the firewall
You can now test your firewall to make sure your private network is
protected from unauthorized outside access by using an online firewall
test such as Steve Gibson's Shield's Up! - Sygate Online
Services - or Remote Security tester -
Ideally, all tests should report
that your gateway is in stealth mode, meaning to the outside world there
is no visible host.
Outbound Traffic
The gateway firewall will protect you from unauthorized access from the
outside world, meaning it will stop anybody trying to gain unauthorized
access to your home network from the outside. However, it will not
prevent unauthorized traffic to the Internet, meaning it will not stop a
trojan or spyware on your PC from making an outbound connection.
To protect yourself from such unwanted network traffic, you should
install a software firewall that monitors outbound traffic. The best
ones in this category are also free for personal / home use. Check out
Zone Alarm - and Kerio -
You can test your software firewall against such "leakage" by running a
leak test such as Steve Gibson's LeakTest -
or YALTA -
Additional Bonus Features
As mentioned before, depending on what gateway you ended up purchasing
you might have some bonus features.
DMZ - Short for DeMilitarized Zone. It allows you to place a PC on the
public Internet, but still protect it and control access to it through
the firewall. This can be handy if you want to run any type of server,
e.g. game server, FTP server, or web server (check with your ISP whether
this is permitted).
Print server - Instead of sharing your printer from the PC it is
connected to, which requires that PC to be always on, you connect
the printer to the gateway to share it on your LAN.
Wireless access - If your gateway comes with a built-in wireless
access point (WAP), you can equip a PC or a laptop with a wireless
network card and roam around the house without a Cat5 cable.
Content filtering - Content filtering allows you to monitor and
control what Internet content can be accessed from your LAN, enabling
you to blacklist certain keywords and/or websites.
VPN - Virtual Private Networking allows you to establish a secure
encrypted tunnel over the Internet to another network, e.g. your
company's LAN, enabling you to access company resources remotely
from home. Check with the company network administrator for details on
setting up a VPN connection.
Conclusion
A secure home network with Internet Connection Sharing is not that
difficult to set up. The benefits of greatly improved security, savings
by sharing your Internet connection, and convenience of accessing
resources across the LAN make it more than worth the effort and the
relatively modest investment. Last but not least, you are bound to learn
a bit about networking and security in the process.
Emachines, Celeron 600, 256 Mb RAM, 10 Gb HDD, ADSL.
HOME NETWORKING / INTERNET CONNECTION SHARING
With computers getting cheaper and cheaper these days, it is not
uncommon for a household to have more than one PC. If that describes
you, then you have probably found yourself in the situation where you
wished you could access the other PC to retrieve a file, use the printer
attached to the other PC, play multi-player computer games, or most
importantly share your broadband Internet access such as cable or DSL
modem with the other PC.
To accomplish this all you need is a home network where you connect two
or more PCs. There are several ways of doing this with the main
difference being cost, security, and reliability. Let's first look at
the different scenarios.
Your current setup
Most likely, your current configuration looks like this:
Your cable/DSL modem plugs straight into the computer. The computer is
exposed to the public Internet (indicated by the color red). There is no
connection for more than one computer. You only have one IP address from
your ISP.
Option #1: Multiple IP addresses
An easy way of getting the second PC online is to install a network card
in it, buy a hub, plug both PCs and the cable/DSL modem into the hub,
call your ISP and get a second IP address and configure the second PC
accordingly.
It is what your ISP most likely will try to talk you into doing.
Advantages:
- the two PCs are independent from each other
- relatively easy setup
Disadvantages:
- Both PCs are exposed to public Internet
- Enabling file sharing adds security risk
- Higher monthly ISP cost for additional IP addresses
Option #2: Internet Connection Sharing via Software
In this scenario, you install a second network card in the computer that
is connected to the Internet, install a network card in the second PC,
connect them via a CAT5 cable. You configure the connection between PC 1
and PC 2 as a private network, then install and configure Internet
Connection Sharing software (ICS) on PC 1, lastly configure PC 2 to
access the Internet via PC 1.
Probably the cheapest solutions of them all, but also the least
reliable one.
Advantages:
- cheap, only requires 2 network cards and Cat5 cable
- ICS software is available for free with newer versions of Windows or
online as freeware
- No additional ISP cost
Disadvantages:
- One PC is exposed to public Internet
- Can be difficult to configure
- If PC 1 is shut down or broken, PC 2 cannot get online
- Can be unreliable
- Limited number of PCs
Option #3: Using a hardware router/gateway/firewall device
In this scenario, you install a hardware router/gateway/firewall
device, connect the public side to your cable/DSL modem, connect the
private side to a hub, connect all PCs to the hub, configure all PCs for
your private network.
While the costliest solution, by far the safest, most reliable, and most
scalable one. Highly recommended.
Advantages:
- All PCs are protected by firewall (indicated by the color green)
- File sharing between PCs is safe
- No additional ISP cost
- Connect many PCs to home network without additional cost
- Easy PC configuration due to DHCP server in gateway device
- Optional additional functionality with gateway-integrated wireless
access point, print server, DMZ, content filtering, and more
Disadvantages:
- Can cost several hundred dollars depending on gateway device and
features
- Somewhat of a learning curve
As you have probably figured out by now, option #3 is the most
desirable solution because it gives you a protected private network, it
is a very stable solution, it is easily and extremely expandable, and it
gives you the most features.
Note: This article assumes that your cable/DSL modem uses an Ethernet
connection, NOT a USB connection because it will eliminate options #1
and #3. If your ISP gives you a choice, insist on getting the modem with
an Ethernet connection.
Note: There are other options available such as turning an old 486 or
Pentium system into a gateway using a Linux-based configuration like
Smoothwall - or Coyote Linux -
but this requires advanced
knowledge and is outside the scope of this article, which is aimed at
the typical Windows running home user.
For the rest of this article, we will focus on setting up your home
network as described in option #3.
What you need
Gateway device - There are a number of different devices available from
several companies. Check out the following web sites for some popular
possibilities:
D-Link - Netgear - Linksys - SMC -
Gateways have a number of basic features in common, such as NAT
(network address translation, translates your public IP to the private
IP addresses on your network), built-in DHCP server (automatically hands
out network configuration information to each PC), PPPoE (required by
some ISP to log on, usually for DSL), and stateful packet inspection
(inspects each network packet). Stay away from any gateway without one
of these features.
More advanced gateways offer additional integrated features, such
as
- wireless access point (allows wireless roaming from computers with a
wireless network card)
- print server (share a printer with all machines on the network)
- VPN (connect to your company network via VPN)
- multi-port switch (saves you the purchase of a hub provided the number
of PCs is equal or less the number of ports)
- DMZ (make one PC available to the Internet but still protect it
through the firewall
- Content filtering (monitor and regulate Internet content)
Before making your purchase think about which features you need and
which you don't care about. Compare models by features, check out
reviews online, and finally compare prices online to find the best deal
for you.
Note: The web sites listed above carry affordable products for the home
user. If you're looking for something more advanced and are willing to
spend the money, then visit Symantec -
SonicWALL -
Cisco - or Sun -
Hub/Switch - Unless your gateway already comes with an integrated hub or
switch, you'll need to purchase a hub or switch. If you're planning to
set up a small home network with just a few PCs, a hub will work fine.
The main things to look at when purchasing is to make sure you get a
dual-speed hub or switch, meaning it supports both 10MB and 100MB
network speed, as well as ensuring you get enough ports. Always get a
few more ports than you think you need for possible future expansion.
Check out the following web sites for some popular possibilities:
D-Link - Netgear - Linksys - SMC -
Network Cards - Each PC on your network needs a network card. For under
USD20 you can buy a decent 10/100MB PCI network card. Check out the
following web sites for some popular possibilities:
D-Link - Netgear - Linksys - SMC -
Follow the instructions that came with the card to install it.
Tip: Instead of using the driver that came in the box, go to the
manufacturer's web site and download the latest driver.
Cat5 cable - You'll need several pieces of Cat5 cable. The example
pictured above requires 5 cables: One from each of the three PCs to the
hub, one from the hub to the gateway, one from the gateway to the cable
modem. The cable most commonly used for networking is referred to as Cat
5 cable. Every decent computer store will sell you as much Cat 5 cable
as you need by the foot. The cable should have a RJ-45 connector on each
end, which looks like a phone jack just a little wider. Be sure to get
plenty of cable, it is very easy to underestimate the length you need.
Alternatively, you can make your own Cat5 cable by following our
tutorial:
Hardware Installation
This is the desired network configuration:
Once you have all the pieces, start the physical setup part. Install a
network card in each PC following the included instructions. Make sure
that each card shows up properly in the device manager without any
conflicts.
Use appropriate lengths of Cat5 cable to connect each PC to the hub or
switch. When running the cable, be careful and place it where nobody can
trip over it. Make sure it doesn't have any sharp bends or kinks, which
could cause breakage. If you have to run cable through walls, avoid
serious injury inflicted by your spouse or landlord - please do not
break 5 inch holes at eye-height in the middle of the wall.
Use Cat5 to connect the uplink port of your hub or switch to the LAN
port of your gateway device. Pay attention to the link light on the
hub/switch. If it doesn't light up, use the button to switch the uplink
port or use a crossover-type cable instead as explained in the Cat5
tutorial.
Lastly, connect the WAN port of the gateway to your cable/DSL modem.
That should be all the physical work involved. Now you need to
configure each PC.
Gateway Configuration
Please take the time to read the manual for your gateway carefully so
you learn to configure it properly. Don't be overwhelmed at the
beginning, it's not as bad as it may seem. The main thing to understand
is that the gateway has two sides: The WAN side (Wide Area Network)
connects to your cable/DSL modem and therefore to the Internet via your
ISP. The LAN side (Local Area Network) connects to your private network
via the hub or switch. The main task of the gateway is to route the
proper traffic from PCs on the LAN to the Internet and back, but drop
any unauthorized traffic.
You first configure the public / WAN side of the gateway by entering the
IP information your ISP gave you. This usually includes an IP address,
subnet mask, DNS server(s), gateway IP, and possibly host name.
Alternatively, if your ISP uses PPPoE, you simply enable PPPoE in your
gateway, enter the user name and password your ISP gave you, and it will
pick up these settings automatically.
To configure the private / LAN side of the gateway, you should enable
DHCP. This feature automatically serves each PC on your LAN the
information it needs to configure itself to participate on the network.
Read the instructions carefully so you understand better how it works,
and you'll get the hang of it quickly.
Software Configuration
The last step is to configure each PC to see and be seen on the
network. Go to the Control Panel and open the Network Connections
dialog, then right-click on the Local Area Connection and select
Properties (Windows 9x/ME users: Start / Settings / Control Panel
/ Network).
Verify that you have these components installed. Use the Install
/ Uninstall buttons to add missing or remove superfluous components
(Windows 9x/ME users: Add / Remove buttons).
On a small home network, it can be helpful to install the NetBEUI
protocol. In Windows 9x, ME, and 2000 you can install it as
follows:
Click the Add button, select Protocol, click Add, select
Microsoft, highlight NetBEUI and click OK until you're back to
the Network Properties dialog box. Don't close this box until
after the very last step.
In Windows XP, installing NetBEUI is a little bit more difficult.
Insert your XP CD, then use Windows Explorer to browse to the
directory X:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NET\NETBEUI where X is the drive letter for
your CD-ROM drive. Open the file NetBEUI.txt in Notepad and follow the
instructions to add NetBEUI support.
While you're here, make sure that the TCP/IP protocol is configured
properly. There are two ways to do so: You can manually configure each
PC by entering an IP address, gateway, DNS, etc. which gets really old
really quickly. Since your gateway device has a DHCP server which hands
out all this information automatically to each PC, you can configure
TCP/IP to use DHCP instead.
Highlight the TCP/IP entry and click Properties. If you see multiple
TCP/IP entries, be sure to select the one for the network card, not the
one for your Dial-up adapter. Go to the General tab, and select Obtain
an IP address automatically. Now you can close the TCP/IP and Local Area
Connection Properties window since that's all we have to do here.
Now you need to configure the computer name and workgroup. Open Windows
Explorer, right-click on My Computer, select Properties, select the
Computer Name tab, then click the Change button. Enter a unique name for
each PC, the choice of name is up to you. Name them after the 3 stooges,
the seven dwarfs, your favorite baseball players, whatever. Then enter a
workgroup name. This one needs to be the same on each PC. If you can't
think of one, use the word Network, or Workgroup, or Home.
Windows 9x/ME users: Start / Settings / Control Panel / Network /
Identification
In order to see other PCs on the network and access the drives on the
other PCs, you first need to enable File Sharing, which is simple. In
Windows Explorer, right-click on the drive or folder you want to share
on the network, select Sharing, and specify how you want to share the
resource.
To share printers, you need to enable sharing as well. Go to the
Control Panel and open the Printers and Faxes dialog, then right-
click the printer you want to share, and select Sharing, and
specify how you want to share the printer (Windows 9x/ME users:
Start / Settings / Printers).
After configuring each PC and performing the necessary reboot, you
should reboot each PC again after each one has been configured. Then
launch the Windows Explorer on each PC and check out the Network
Neighborhood icon at the bottom. If everything went right, you should
now see underneath Network Neighborhood an icon for the Entire Network
and then the name of each PC on your network. If you open the Entire
Network, you should see the name of your workgroup which contains again
all PCs on the network.
That's it. You're done. Now you can share files and printers over your
new home network, and surf the web from each PC on your local network.
Testing the firewall
You can now test your firewall to make sure your private network is
protected from unauthorized outside access by using an online firewall
test such as Steve Gibson's Shield's Up! - Sygate Online
Services - or Remote Security tester -
Ideally, all tests should report
that your gateway is in stealth mode, meaning to the outside world there
is no visible host.
Outbound Traffic
The gateway firewall will protect you from unauthorized access from the
outside world, meaning it will stop anybody trying to gain unauthorized
access to your home network from the outside. However, it will not
prevent unauthorized traffic to the Internet, meaning it will not stop a
trojan or spyware on your PC from making an outbound connection.
To protect yourself from such unwanted network traffic, you should
install a software firewall that monitors outbound traffic. The best
ones in this category are also free for personal / home use. Check out
Zone Alarm - and Kerio -
You can test your software firewall against such "leakage" by running a
leak test such as Steve Gibson's LeakTest -
or YALTA -
Additional Bonus Features
As mentioned before, depending on what gateway you ended up purchasing
you might have some bonus features.
DMZ - Short for DeMilitarized Zone. It allows you to place a PC on the
public Internet, but still protect it and control access to it through
the firewall. This can be handy if you want to run any type of server,
e.g. game server, FTP server, or web server (check with your ISP whether
this is permitted).
Print server - Instead of sharing your printer from the PC it is
connected to, which requires that PC to be always on, you connect
the printer to the gateway to share it on your LAN.
Wireless access - If your gateway comes with a built-in wireless
access point (WAP), you can equip a PC or a laptop with a wireless
network card and roam around the house without a Cat5 cable.
Content filtering - Content filtering allows you to monitor and
control what Internet content can be accessed from your LAN, enabling
you to blacklist certain keywords and/or websites.
VPN - Virtual Private Networking allows you to establish a secure
encrypted tunnel over the Internet to another network, e.g. your
company's LAN, enabling you to access company resources remotely
from home. Check with the company network administrator for details on
setting up a VPN connection.
Conclusion
A secure home network with Internet Connection Sharing is not that
difficult to set up. The benefits of greatly improved security, savings
by sharing your Internet connection, and convenience of accessing
resources across the LAN make it more than worth the effort and the
relatively modest investment. Last but not least, you are bound to learn
a bit about networking and security in the process.
Emachines, Celeron 600, 256 Mb RAM, 10 Gb HDD, ADSL.
It should work OK. The usual IP addresses for home networks are 192.168.1.***, not 192.168.0.***. The subnet mask is correct, 255.255.255.0 You must have the same workgroup name for both systems and each system must be given a unique computer name. You must have file and printer sharing enabled and you must have at least one folder on each system shared. This final step is often overlooked. All things are possible except skiing through a revolving door.
It is indeed the 0 that is causing your problemsbetween the 2 machines.
you cannot have a zero there, due to thefact that at the end of the day it comes down to one's and zero's and you cannot have a line of zero's at t he end. Also when you think it should be working and you still cannot see both the machines in network neighbourhood, wait, this list is maintained by the master browser ( the best machine as decided between them ) and takes a little time to update (can be up to 15 odd mins.)
I am not entirely sure as to how this will affect connection sharing, maybe reading the essay above will help, but you should certainly be able to get the two machines talking over tcp/ip
Paul
you cannot have a zero there, due to thefact that at the end of the day it comes down to one's and zero's and you cannot have a line of zero's at t he end. Also when you think it should be working and you still cannot see both the machines in network neighbourhood, wait, this list is maintained by the master browser ( the best machine as decided between them ) and takes a little time to update (can be up to 15 odd mins.)
I am not entirely sure as to how this will affect connection sharing, maybe reading the essay above will help, but you should certainly be able to get the two machines talking over tcp/ip
Paul
Add netbui protocol, even though you won't be using it. Should resolve the not being seen problem.
Crossover is OK. Ping proves it. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
Crossover is OK. Ping proves it. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
- Thread starter
- #6
Ed Fair,You are saying what I have been doing.Yes ,when NETBEUI is used I can network and share files,BUT and I repeat BUT,I can not ping the other machine.When pinging the machine I am on Iget returns in 128ms.When pinging the other machine I get timed out,no connection,still being able to share files between them.I have tried ICS from windows but could not browse the internet.I am using a dial-up.I also didn't mention that I am running win98se.
On each machine run winipcfg just to verify that you are addressed like you think.
I suggested the netbui thinking you could ping, but rereading the original I see that you can't. Netbui helps machines identify each other if the network is good, and in those cases when there isn't any activity for tcpip to get identified.
Would probably try locking both cards into low speed to be on the safe side. And would look to see if there are link lites on the cards. And would check to see if there are any diagnostics available for the cards. Most manufacturers have basic diagnostics that will run under dos.
And I have seen cases where two machines with different cards just wouldn't talk with tcpip.
Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
I suggested the netbui thinking you could ping, but rereading the original I see that you can't. Netbui helps machines identify each other if the network is good, and in those cases when there isn't any activity for tcpip to get identified.
Would probably try locking both cards into low speed to be on the safe side. And would look to see if there are link lites on the cards. And would check to see if there are any diagnostics available for the cards. Most manufacturers have basic diagnostics that will run under dos.
And I have seen cases where two machines with different cards just wouldn't talk with tcpip.
Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
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