Seeking FReeper Tech Advice (Vanity)

5//5/02 | Mr_Magoo

[Mr_Magoo]

I am starting the process of converting my Internet connection from dial up to cable modem. At the same time I am going to Network 2 computers to the connection.

I can get a $10/month discount by using my own cable modem. So I want to go that route. Also I want it to have a good firewall. What brand and model cable modem will work best? Also, is there any other equipment I should get?

I have 3 weeks to purchase everything and set up the network.

I already have 10/100 NIC cards for both computers, and enough Cat5 cable to wire a city block.

[Mr_Magoo]

I did the math and a cable Internet connection is actually less than a dialup when you look at the total cost of the dedicated phone line and the ISP fee.

If I don't respond for a while it is because I am posting this and then going outside to roto-till the back yard. I will check back here later this afternoon.

[Clara Lou]

Firewall: ZoneAlarm. It's free, works great, blocks incoming and outgoing, can't say enough good about it.

[Mr_Magoo]

I currently use Zone Alarm. The only gripe I have with it is that I also use McAffee virus protection and McAffee don't like Zone Alarm. I need to start the computer 2x or 3x to get them to play nice with each other.

[tomkat]

i've had real good luck with Linksys stuff.
good price points, reliable, easy setup.
spend $100 for the router/switch - hardware NAT (firewall) is built-in.

[xrp]

I second the Linksys motion. I work in Internet security and the Linksys is what I use and also what I recommend to all my friends, techie and non-techie alike. It's fast and simple to set up, yet you have several advanced options available through it, such as DHCP, port forwarding, filtering, DMZing, etc.

[aviator]

The cat 5 cable from the modem goes to a router. A cable from the router goes to a 4 or 8 port ethernet hub. All of your computers/printers are also connected to your ethernet hub. Voila.

[HairOfTheDog]

I expect you will love cable. I do. I used Zone Alarm for awhile without trouble. When I updated to Windows XP I started using XP's firewall and PC-cillan for mail/site checking. I get free rental on the RCA box AT&T provides, so I didn't buy one.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Another Linksys bump. I work in the industry, have Linksys at home and have had zero problems. If you have a laptop, (or plan to get one at some point) a Linksys router/wireless acess-point is something to consider as well.

[angkor]

If you want an internal local area network (like for a second computer), go with a hardware-based firewall like the Linksys or SMC Barricade. Both with give you 4 or 8 Ethernet ports, and the WAN connection for your cable modem.

Personally, I don't like the idea of script kiddies and hackers knocking on the back of my Ethernet card, protected only by a piece of software (like ZoneAlarm or Tiny).

I run the Linksys firewall, several computers attached to it, and Norton Personal Firewall on my main machine. Norton PF blocks cookies, JavaScript, and ActiveX while you're browsing. The Linksys gets everything else.

BTW, once you go on cable or DSL, hackers will be trying to scan/hack your system all day long, every day of the week. Using the above for more than 1 1/2 years, I've never had a problem.

[angkor]

I second the Linksys motion.

Sure, I own the Linksys myself, and it's generally quite good.

However myself and several other techie friends have had sometimes persistent problems running stuff like SSH, VNC, and the occasional VPN.

We all concur that the Linksys has some sort of undetermined buffering problem. One of my pals went to the SMC Barricade and suddenly everything worked.

[Balding_Eagle]

I rent my cable modem from Adelphia ($5/month).

From there the signal goes to a just recently purchased Linksys BEFW11S4 switch which provides a hardware Firewall.

The switch has 4 ports for hardwired computers (I use 3 of the 4), and also has wireless access for our notebook. The notebook has the Linksys WPC11 ver3.0 card.

A few years ago I hardwired our house with about 500-600 feet of cat 5. With the wireless switch all that work is no longer necessary.

[tomkat]

re linksys

when's the last time y'all did a firmware update ?

[upchuck]

It would appear that you haven't done this before. I haven't either. But I can suggest you do this in stages. Get the cable modem/firewall installed and settled down. Get some experience with it. Then start the networking project. Or, alternatively, you could do the network first and then do the cable modem/firewall.

[upchuck]

I currently use Zone Alarm. The only gripe I have with it is that I also use McAffee virus protection and McAffee don't like Zone Alarm. I need to start the computer 2x or 3x to get them to play nice with each other.

Consider Norton's Anti-Virus. I use this and Zone Alarm (Win 98) and they play nice together. If you decide to do this, don't bother with Norton's 'suite' products. Get just the antivirus.

Oh, and keep you virus definitions up to date. I do mine once a week.

[quesera]

i've had real good luck with Linksys stuff. good price points, reliable, easy setup. spend $100 for the router/switch - hardware NAT (firewall) is built-in.

I've used the Linksys BEFSR41 router for years with great success, and their routers are even better now with better security built in. Good choice on going to cable modem, You'll be amazed at the speed. A lot of transfers that used to take hours using an analog modem will now take minutes or even seconds i/o hours.

I've found that WinNT, 2000, and XP are even faster with a cable modem for the simple reason that they have better networking built in. Welcome to the world of broadband and good luck with your setup.

[NerdDad]

I do a similar thing at my house. I put a Netgear Firewall/Router FR314 between the modem and my PCs. A simple router using NAT will block all but the most determined hack attempts. The FR314 uses packet inspection also, adding more protection. Netgear also sells a filtering package for their FR series for $50 per year. I didn't buy it because I could not get it to be as granular as I wanted. I added Symantec's Norton Internet Security for additional firewall and virus protection.

All this is low-end on the cost scale but works fine for my peer to peer network. You can spend less (slightly) or lots more. Wish I could afford a SonicWall myself. I can tell you that--in addition to some very good virus protection--you definitely want some kind of protection from hacks. My FR314 sends me a daily log of sweeps, scans and attacks. That log contains 30-200 hack attempts daily.

I really wish I was smart enough and had time enough to write hack and virus programs. I would use that knowledge for something worthwhile and be a very rich fat man.

[angkor]

RE: firmware, I just upgraded. I read the release notes and saw many of the VPN issues have been addressed. Do you know if this buffering problem was ever solved?

[tomkat]

believe that's what was causing a bit of a problem when
i installed this new one-holer (BEFSR11) down here in TX.

loaded the firmware update and it worked like a charm.

[NerdDad]

Permission to revise and extend. Not sure how your cable company does it but cableone only allows 3 devices. Get your network installed and stable. Then hook up the modem. It will only see the network router/firewall. I did mine wrong. I had run one box on the modem for a while before adding the router. The router was counted as my second device.

Get a modem that has a standby button. When noone will need Internet access, put the modem on standby. Hackers hammer cable modems non-stop. They can't get to you if they can't get to the modem.

[Kaslin]

I currently use Zone Alarm. The only gripe I have with it is that I also use McAffee virus protection and McAffee don't like Zone Alarm. I need to start the computer 2x or 3x to get them to play nice with each other.

I have Norton Anti Virus and it works great with Zone Alarm, also it is much easier to use the McAffee. At least for me