Can I buy a device to allow a phone call to come in whil I am on the computer?

[joanil]

I have a 56k modem with a dial up isp. Running win2k on the pc. My isp service is very good and is inexpensive and I wish to keep it. However, I really need to have my phone calls come in whie I am on the computer/online. Is there a device I can get to do this? Where from and how $ would the device cost. I would like dsl or cable hookup but there is no way I can afford it at this time. I do not download large files or important stuff so it is ok with me if the pc stops when a phone call comes in, and then can be reconnected to my isp manually if need be after the phone call is finished and the phone is hung up. Can anyone help?

[Judith Anne]

Yes, you can get a line-splitter. Radio Shack has them, so does Walmart. Emerson makes a line of them. They're around $50.00 or so.

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[alnick]

Go to Buzme.com. It's free. There may be some kind of small charge involved. I downloaded it and got started on it but decided to just go with cable so I never really gave it a good try.

[Clinging Bitterly]

My sister uses a gizmo that works with call waiting - it'll generate a carrier tone and keep your computer "online" while you answer the other call. I don't use anything like that - I think call waiting is just an annoyance. Any call that is important will try later until they get through. Probaly 80% of the calls we get are unwanted as it is - people looking for someone we never heard of, or wanting us to get our chimney cleaned or our septic pumped (we have niether). The best one was a collect call from someone I never heard of from a jail in the SF Bay area. Figured it would be fun to take it, and I got my money's worth. The guy was really mad because he blew his phone call on a wrong number, and that was somehow my fault (show me a crackhead and I'll show you an idiot).

Dave in Eugene

[Clinging Bitterly]

Buzzme was, at a time, free, and my wife used it on her computer when she played Rabbitjack Bingo durn near 24-7.
She wanted me to run it on my computer too but I figured if it was free there was probably something not good about it. I discovered spyware early on and don't mess with those free internet gimmicks unless I can spoof them. I use MSN (but without the crappy MSN software), and it's fun watching their system ping my IP (looking for what?) and being locked out by the firewall. The girls downloaded Kazaa (or whatever it's called) and their computer is a doorstop now.

[EuroFrog]

You know, I used to think call waiting was really awesome, right along with caller id. Then I moved to Germany where I have neither. It bugs the crap out of me when I call my mother-in-law and she gets another call, knows its her sister down the road, and still clicks over to tell her she is talking to me and will call her back. When we go stateside next year, no bells and whistles for me, just a phone line please.

[EuroFrog]

If you could give me the basics on firewall protection I would greatly appreciate it. I dont think the foil hat on my monitor is working......

[AngrySpud]

Try CallWave.com -- it's about 4 bucks a month. If someone calls in while you're online, they can record a message which plays immediately over your computer speaker. To return the call, of course you have to go off line.

[potlatch]

Yes, I bought a device called "Netsense" Internet line Sharing. Cost $70.00. You hook it up between your phone and computer and turn it on when you're online.

[Clinging Bitterly]

>> firewall protection

Basically, a firewall keeps people from connecting to your computer via the internet and doing bad things to it. Don't know what OS you use, but if it's WIN XP it already has one built in (but might need to be enabled).

Zonelabs publishes a free version of their software firewall that works very well. You can get it here:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp
They will be plugging the pay version of the program on that site, but the free one works fine in conjuction with current anti-virus technology to keep away the common forms of intrusions, virii, and malware.

But first, go here:
http://grc.com/
This site has a lot of info about internet security, and it has an application it runs that will test your computer for vulnerabilities, and explains more about firewalls and why you need one than I could here. After reading the info on the intro page, find the link to "Shields Up" and it will take you to the tests.

[upchuck]

Greatest gadget around if you have call waiting: Catch-A-Call^ is super. I've got one and it works great.