Networking Info

[guamboy]

😕After reading various articles on networking, I still have questions;
1. If using a routing hub, am I still using my PCI modem cards?
2. If using the Home Network Kits, are these used instead of modem cards?
3. I'm planning to connect two home pc's, one with xp the other with 98SE, the main purpose is to share the printer, scanner, and the internet. (DSL/Cable is not available in my area). Should I have to worry about security(hackers)?

 

[Tallgeese]

guam:

Sounds like you will be sharing a dial-up Internet connection. In that case, you have a couple of options:
* Designate 1 machine to act as the router. Setup ICS or a proxy program to share the Internet to the second machine
* Using an external modem, the SMC Barricade SOHO router can support dial-up connections. With the included print server, it might make a nice standalone box.

Not all SOHO routers support dial-up, as most don't have serial ports like SMC's does.
Unless you have an external modem siting around tho, the second option could get somewhat pricey.

To directly answer your questions:
* Usually not, although the first option above would still use one of your internal modems
* When you network machines together, they use those cards to communicate. If you are sharing an Internet connection, then the machines use their NIC rather than a modem for Internet communications
* Security/hackers worries should concern EVERYBODY who connects to the Internet, or any other network. Only you can decide how far you want to do to guard against it, since NOTHING is 100% as far as security on the Internet goes. A SOHO firewall device, coupled with antivirus software (ONLY IF IT IS KEPT CURRENT) loaded on each machine will do a lot to tighten things up. Personal firewalls, like ZoneAlarm, are also excellent choices, although it is much less transparent than a hardware device (mainly because it's more secure).