From: "Antti Kurenniemi" 

"Ellen K."  wrote in message
news:0uk5p25d2f5vm1d8mcl16u93jpa5saactg{at}4ax.com...
> Greetings,
>
> Finally fed up with dialup.  (This is called being a "late
adopter"...)
>
> Currently I have a regular NetGear 4-port dual-speed hub connecting the
> desktops.  Have been too lazy to connect the work laptop to it thus far,
> partly because actually there's no room to work on it in my "office"
> room anyway -- I use that one on the dining table and just transfer
> files with my flash drive when necessary.
>
> Now for the stupid questions:
>
> 1.  AT&T has four speed ranges at different prices.  What speed do I
> really need just to be able to interact without delay on brokerage and
> shopping sites?  I don't download music or movies and I don't do online
> gaming.

I've got the slowest possible, 512k down and I think 256k up, and I'm fine.
I'd start with whatever is the cheapest option, because usually you can
upgrade the connection with just a phone call - no configuration changes or
anything - should you later feel like it.


> 2.  Local paper had an article about ZoneAlarm Secure Wireless Router
> Z100G, says it "defends against standard attacks and updates
> automatically to handle new ones".   Does this mean that if I have this,
> I don't have to fool around with firewalls, antivirus etc on my
> machines?
>
> 3.  AT&T also offer a "Wireless Gateway" which they describe as a
> "business-class firewall".  They are giving a rebate which
would reduce
> the price to $30 (from $79.99), vs $150 for the ZA one according to the
> newspaper article.  Are they really both the same?  Or is the price
> differential attributable to the implied security software included with
> the ZA one?

Don't know about any of these, but as far as I know they're all more or
less the same thing, with a few added bells and whistles. I use very basic
routers for both my home and office; like Geo said, just about anything
that does NAT is a-ok. These are also quite easy to replace later if need
be, if you have a basic ADSL connection.


> 3.  Obviously I can put my company laptop on a wireless router, I know
> it does wireless... but what about my desktops?  Do I have to add
> something besides the regular NIC?   And/or is it POSSIBLE to add such a
> something?

You can get a router that has wireless AND regular ethernet connections.
It's really common, I've got my home setup exactly like that. This is the
model I have:
http://www.zyxel.com/web/product_family_detail.php?PC1indexflag=20040812093058&
CategoryGroupNo=AC5783AE-9475-41AD-BDA5-0997187F44AA
(watch for URL wrapping - it's Zyxel Prestige 660HW if the link doesn't
work). I've had it for, oh, maybe 2 or 3 years no, and not a single hiccup.
Cost maybe 59 Euros when new. It has 4 ethernet ports and wireless. I've
got my desktop + 1 printer in the ethernet ports, and mine and my wife's
laptops use the wireless when needed. It just works


> 4.  Assuming the answer to #1 is "yes" and it's possible to
include the
> desktops, how do I go about setting up a wireless network once I have
> the device?

The wireless router usually has a web setup wizard. First thing you do is
plug one of your computers to it, using an ethernet cable. Normally there's
a DHCP server running in the router, so you'll get a network between the
router and your computer (don't need the ADSL part at all at this point).
You can then check with ipconfig what the gateway address is - most likely
it will be 192.168.1.1. Type that in to your browser's address, and you're
in the router's setup.

In the setup there's typically a pretty straight-forward way to assign a
security key. The idea is to enter an encryption key to the router, which
you will then also enter into your computer which uses the wireless
connection. That's pretty much all there is to it, especially if you're
using Windows XP.


> 5.  Alternatively, what do you guys suggest?  Should I forget about
> going wireless and just worry about going broadband?   Or???

Go for it. If you get a router with both wireless & "wired"
ports, it doesn't matter if for some reason you can't get the wireless
running right away; you'll still be able to use the broadband with cables.
It's so much nicer than dial-up.


Antti Kurenniemi

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