OT - Why me?

[MoFunk]

So my friends wife calls today and asks if I can help her Dad with a computer issue he is having. So I say, sure. I give the man a call and he gives me this huge scenario on how he has DSL and wants to network his laptop and pc together to share files and internet. No problem I tell him. Then he drops the bomb. He has AOL DSL.......WTF???? So I have been searching on the net and am about 50% sure that this WILL NOT WORK! LOL. Anway if my production drops off and I have not posted in a few days, I probably jumped off a bridge or soemthing.

 

[FoBoT]

jump!
jump!

j/k good luck!


i am currently walking my brother in law through troubleshooting my mother in laws BellSouth DSL/router/home network that i setup last week

it is PPPoE and says "disconnected" in the router web status page

the little blinky lights all seem to be doing the right thing

he rebooted the router and cycled power to both the router and the dsl modem

none of that worked, so now i have him plugging the dsl modem directly into an XP box and installing the BellSouth software, so that he can call BellSouth and get thier help on the deal

 

[LastKnight]

unless they've made a change to the way it works in the last 9 months, it won't, don't bother trying. I've had several of my customers switch to either bellsouth or earthlink from aol for exactly that reason. That, and to get me to quit complaining about it.

by the way, their speed on their dsl sucks, too. This guy was downloading at about 256K, but when he moved to earthlink, was using the full pipe.

 

[Soggysocks]

If Imnot wrong....................

Have a freind that hooked up to an AOL acount.

He wanted me to install a wireless connection on the lappy, so he could be online when his wife was. It did work until they did an audit................:frown:

They shut his service off.....

But when he called they said that he had 10 computers connected.
After ensuring that he had only two, he was told he had to pay an extra $10 a month to have more than one Computer connected to the service.

So....he should be able to.

Beside....why would he want an A O Hell acount anyway?

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Soggysocks
If Imnot wrong....................

Have a freind that hooked up to an AOL acount.

He wanted me to install a wireless connection on the lappy, so he could be online when his wife was. It did work until they did an audit................:frown:

They shut his service off.....

But when he called they said that he had 10 computers connected.
After ensuring that he had only two, he was told he had to pay an extra $10 a month to have more than one Computer connected to the service.

So....he should be able to.

Beside....why would he want an A O Hell acount anyway?

Sounds like a hell I wouldn't want to go through. :disgust:

I helped a friend get his wireless router properly hooked up to his wireless internet (yes, they're both wireless, but the internet is 900MHz and the router is 802.11b, ergo, 2.4GHz). It's important to set it not to broadcast something (IIRC it was the SSID or whatever that means), and use WEP, so hackers can't get in (that may be why they said he had 10 computers on it, because others were leeching). Getting the router set up is the easy part (well, it was with his connection, which basically gets the WAN IP via DHCP and doesn't use PPPoE or any of that crap), but I was in a bind when I got to configuring his laptop. Come to find out, you set the wireless channel (the laptop was on 3 and the router on 6) from the freaking Device Manager, not from the network connection Properties. No wonder it couldn't find the freaking wireless network. (and it took me like 30 minutes of looking like a dumbass to figure that out)

 

[FoBoT]

what is the difference between having one PC connected and one router? a router is just a single connection to the external interface

what happens if you use your PC for a router? that is also just one PC attached to the ISP

 

[RaySun2Be]

 

[RaySun2Be]

It's important to set it not to broadcast something (IIRC it was the SSID or whatever that means), and use WEP, so hackers can't get in (that may be why they said he had 10 computers on it, because others were leeching).

Could be. And not broadcasting the SSID and turning WEP is only a part of securing the wireless network. And it won't keep real hackers out, but it will keep any inexperienced leechers out.

Make sure you use a STRONG password or phrase for the WEP. You know something like #a&$fAb@o instead of MYHOUSE or FRED.

AND Make sure you have a good firewall on EACH PC that has a wireless card installed. One that blocks incoming and outgoing unauthorized activity, especially any that also have a hardwired connection.

AND make sure you change the default password on the router to a strong password.

I wanted wireless until I found out just how insecure it really is, and how many programs (Windows and *nix) there are out there you can use to do the job, quick and simple.

It's a great convenience, and saves the hassle and expense of running cable, but the way most people set it up, it's like running a CAT5 cable outside the house with a sign that says "FREE ACCESS".

I'll shut up now.

Good luck with the AOL DSL. Haven't had the pleasure of working with it. Thank goodness.

 

[DanC]

pssst... tell 'ya a secret.

The main machine (that's registered for the account) - take the MAC address and insert that into the router. (assuming he's got one) A Linksys works nicely for this. Their "system" is unable to tell the difference. Drop in a nice 10/100 switch, and presto! - as many machines as you'd like - all under one MAC address.

This works for cable too.

 

[MoFunk]

DanC, I was actually going to give something like that a try. A little MAC spoofing I guess. Anyway, I assume then that the switch or hub is needed to keep the router "free" of connections?

 

[networkman]

Yep, DanC has it right yet again. And yeah, the Linksys routers are indeed good for this.

 

[RaySun2Be]

I use the exact same setup at home using a Linksys router/switch on my cable connection. Didn't have to spoof the MAC address, but I setup a home cabled/wireless network for an employee that we had to spoof the MAC address.

The only complaint I have had with the Linksys is they didn't do VPN connections very well. When we were testing some VPN scenarios, the Linksys wouldn't work, even though they supposedly supported them. Hopefully the newer ones fixed the problem.

 

[networkman]

You should check to see if the firmware on the Linksys is out of date; I did this recently and found a whole host of new options available that I didn't have before.

 

[RaySun2Be]

NWM, at the time we did that and it didn't help. We tried a number of Linksys routers.

Now, it's not my problem, as I don't work there anymore.

 

[JWMiddleton]

Originally posted by: RaySun2Be
I use the exact same setup at home using a Linksys router/switch on my cable connection. Didn't have to spoof the MAC address, but I setup a home cabled/wireless network for an employee that we had to spoof the MAC address.

The only complaint I have had with the Linksys is they didn't do VPN connections very well. When we were testing some VPN scenarios, the Linksys wouldn't work, even though they supposedly supported them. Hopefully the newer ones fixed the problem.

I have the same setup, but I do spoof the MAC of the first machine that was connected. If I didn't they would give me a new IP addy. I, I have no problem with the Nortel VPN client and my new Linksys Wireless Router/Swith at home using Comcast (was ATTBI). But, at my corporate apartment I'm using my old Linksys wired router/switch with Time Warner Cable (RR?) and my VPN doesn't work. I've asked if they suport VPN, but haven't received a response.

Dennis, with WEP and a "strong" phrase and passworded router I LOVE my wireless setup!

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: MoFunk
DanC, I was actually going to give something like that a try. A little MAC spoofing I guess. Anyway, I assume then that the switch or hub is needed to keep the router "free" of connections?

Had to do this with my brother's Verizon DSL. He was pulling his hair out until i used the "clone MAC address" feature of his router. Took me like 2 minutes and he was up. He's like, "what did you do?". I told him, "don't you worry about that". Okay, I did tell him the "secret".

Good Luck MoFunk and others!

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: RaySun2Be
I use the exact same setup at home using a Linksys router/switch on my cable connection. Didn't have to spoof the MAC address, but I setup a home cabled/wireless network for an employee that we had to spoof the MAC address.

The only complaint I have had with the Linksys is they didn't do VPN connections very well. When we were testing some VPN scenarios, the Linksys wouldn't work, even though they supposedly supported them. Hopefully the newer ones fixed the problem.

My SMC Barricade works fine with VPN into work. Of course I can't enable all of the advanced features. If I do it totally blocks everything after the initial outgoing connection. Calls to SMC resulted in them wanting me to send it back. I didn't feel like the hassle or paying for shipping so I just leave the advanced stuff off. I got WEP enabled and a strong password working so I'll just leave it there until something better comes out.