DIAL-UP CONNECTION-SHARING ANNOYANCES

DIAL-UP CONNECTION DOESN'T REMEMBER LOGIN INFORMATION

The Annoyance:

Dialing out to my ISP has been very easy. I set up the connection on my Windows Me computer, and now everything happens automaticallyeven my password is filled in for me. However, I set up a second user on the same computer, and when she launched the dial-up connection, she had to fill in the login name and the password manually.

The Fix:

In all Windows versions except XP, the dial-up settings are saved in the user profile of the person who configured the connection. (See "Windows XP Dial-Up Connections Are for All Users".) Windows uses a feature called "caching information" to fill in the login name and password automatically. When another user attempts to use the connection, the "cache" is empty, so the information has to be entered manually. That new information is then stored in the user's profile, so dialing out becomes an automated process in the future for each person.

Windows XP Dial-Up Connections Are for All Users

The Windows XP New Connection Wizard asks whether you want to make the dial-up connection available to all users of the computer, instead of only to the logged-on user creating the connection. This is a much more efficient way to manage dial-up connections on a computer used by more than one person. Just one of a zillion reasons to update to Windows XP.

DIAL-UP CONNECTION DOESN'T OPEN AUTOMATICALLY

The Annoyance:

I work at the Windows XP computer that has the modem for our shared connection. Every time a user wants to dial out, I have to open the connection and connect to the ISP. If I'm not at the computer, users have to come to the computer and make the connection. This is a really annoying way to share an Internet connection.

The Fix:

This is a maddening way to share an Internet connection, so you should fix it. You can configure the connection to open and dial out automatically whenever any user wants to connect to the Internet. Right-click the icon for your dial-up connection and choose Properties. Click the Advanced tab and check the "Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet" box (see Figure 6-1). Hereafter, the connection will open automatically and connect to your ISP whenever a network user opens Internet-based software (such as a browser, an IM window, or an email application).

JARGON EXPLAINED

Computer professionals have developed a lot of jargon for the components involved when a network shares an Internet connection via a telephone modem. Take a minute to go over some of this jargon before you continue reading this chapter.

• ICS stands for Internet Connection Sharing. This is a shared connection model in which one computer has a modem (either telephone, DSL, or cable) and shares that modem with the other computers on the network. (The other connection model is a router, in which each computer independently connects to the Internet. Routers are available only with DSL and cable modems.)

• SP stands for Internet Service Provider, which is the company that provides your Internet access. When you dial out to the Internet, you're really dialing into a computer maintained by that company. The computer has modems that answer your modem's call.

• The software configuration for connecting to your ISP is known as your connection. When you set up a connection, Windows creates an icon. In Windows 98SE, the icon is in the Dial-Up Networking folder in your My Computer folder. In later versions of Windows, the icon is in the Control Panel.

• Login data for a connection is the login name and password your ISP assigned you to access its servers. This is unrelated to the login data required to log on to your computer.

• Host is the computer that holds the modem.

• Client is a computer that accesses the modem over the network.

WINDOWS XP FIREWALL AND DIAL-UP CONNECTIONS

The Annoyance:

My Windows XP computer has the modem for our shared Internet connection. I have two icons for connections in the Control Panel: one for my ISP and one for our home network. I'm confused about using the built-in firewall. Do I need to enable it on both connections?

The Fix:

It's confusing until you get a good mental picture of what the firewall does and where it does it. A firewall is a barrier that protects your computer from unauthorized access from the Internet. This means the firewall has to be erected around the point of entry between your computer and the Internet. In your case, the point of entry is your dial-up connection (or modem), so you need only enable the firewall on that connection.

Figure 6-1. Automate the dial-up process for all network users.

If you have a network, the Windows XP firewall prevents network communications (unless you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2), so you must disable the firewall on the LAN connection. Figure 6-2 shows the Properties dialog boxes for a computer with a network connection and a dial-up connection. Notice that the firewall is disabled for the former and enabled for the latter.

Figure 6-2. Protect the modem (the point of entry to the Internet) with a firewall, and turn off the firewall on the network connection.

Windows XP SP2 Firewall Is Better for Networks

If you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can configure the firewall. One important configuration option is the ability to let network traffic through the firewall. Before SP2, the built-in firewall stopped network traffic, and it couldn't be used in a network environment. Instead, you had to install a software firewall, such as Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm or Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall.

DIAL-UP CONNECTION FIREWALL PROTECTS THE ENTIRE NETWORK

The Annoyance:

The computer that holds the modem is protected with a firewall. I was told I also have to install a firewall on every computer on the network. Is this true?

The Fix:

Nope, you've protected the point of entry between your network and the Internet and you don't need to bother with firewalls on the other network nodes. A firewall blocks traffic coming from the Internet, and the modem is the only device connected directly to the Internet. Because the firewall protects the gateway to the Internet, all the computers behind the firewall are protected.

PUT A DIAL-UP CONNECTION ICON ON THE TASK BAR

The Annoyance:

I use the computer that has the modem, which automatically dials out to make a connection whenever a network user opens a browser or email program. How can I configure the dial-up connection to put an icon on my task bar, so I know when a user connects to the Internet?

The Fix:

The steps required to put a dial-up connection icon on the task bar vary, depending on the version of Windows your computer is running:

• In Windows XP and 2000, right-click the icon for your dial-up connection. Click the General tab and check the "Show icon in notification area when connected" box.

• In Windows 98SE and Me, open the Dial-Up Networking folder in My Computer. Select Connections Settings, click the General tab, and check the "Show an icon on taskbar after connected box.

CLOSE THE CONNECTION FROM CLIENT COMPUTERS

The Annoyance:

We have a network of two Windows XP computers. When I use the computer that has the modem, I'm asked if I want to disconnect after I close the Internet (browser or email) software. When I use the other computer on the network, the connection opens automatically and dials out as soon as I open Internet-based software. When I close the software, I'm never asked if I want to disconnect. Instead, I have to yell "you can close it down" to the person working at the other Windows XP computer, which is annoying.

The Fix:

You can configure the Windows XP connection to communicate with client computers and close the connection after you close the Internet-based software. On the host computer, right-click the connection's icon in the Control Panel and choose Properties. In the Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab and check the "Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection" box (see Figure 6-3).

Figure 6-3. Let client computers disconnect the modem.

However, the client computer won't prompt the user to close the connection in the same way as the host computer. Instead, this configuration option merely empowers the user to disconnect the connection in either of the following ways:

• Right-click the icon for the connection in the Control Panel and choose Disconnect.

• Right-click the icon on the task bar (if one exists) and choose Disconnect.

To enable Windows 98SE and Me ICS client computers to control the connection in this manner, you must use the Windows XP Network Setup Wizard floppy disk to configure these computers for ICS. (During the configuration of the connection in Windows XP, you're offered the opportunity to create a disk for client computers instead of performing the setup manually.)

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Warning: Letting a user disconnect an Internet connection when she has finished an Internet task isn't necessarily a great idea. Other network users might be cruising the Net and they could get rather annoyed at this action.

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CONNECTION TERMINATES UNEXPECTEDLY

The Annoyance:

Sometimes our modem connection shuts itself off. Nobody on the network claims responsibility; in fact, all users deny doing anything to disconnect.

The Fix:

Your connection didn't shut itself off; your ISP terminated it. Most ISPs have an "idle time" counter which tracks the time that the connection is not actively used-nobody is collecting email, and nobody is using a browser to travel to web sites. After a certain amount of idle time, the modem on the ISP's server automatically hangs up. This makes the modem line available for other customers.

ICS WORKS FOR BROADBAND MODEMS, TOO

You can use Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) if you have a cable or DSL modem, just the way you use it to share a telephone modem. However, instead of a dial-up connection configured with your ISP's settings, you have a second network adapter in the host computer. One network adapter connects to the modem and is configured with the ISP's settings. Most connections to DSL/cable modems are Ethernet cable. The second network adapter connects to your local network and uses the topology you selected for your network (Ethernet, phoneline, powerline, or wireless).

ICS is not the preferred method for sharing an Internet connection across the network, and most people who opt for ICS merely want to avoid spending money on a router. However, like all computer equipment, routers are less expensive now than they were just a year ago, and if you're still using ICS you should think about installing a router. The router provides a more reliable, faster Internet experience and, unlike your computer, it rarely "hangs," freezes, or requires rebooting. As long as the router is available, every computer can get to the Internet.

TERMINATE AN IDLE CONNECTION

The Annoyance:

Our family uses my Windows XP computer as the ICS host. I don't spend a lot of time on the computer, but I keep it on so that other people on the network can get to the Internet. The connection is configured to autodial whenever a network user opens a browser or email software. However, nobody bothers to disconnect and we get charged for extra hours.

The Fix:

If your ISP isn't automatically disconnecting you after a certain period of idle time, you can perform that function locally. The configuration settings are in your Windows XP Internet Options dialog box, which you can reach in either of the following ways:

• Double-click the Internet Options applet in the Control Panel.

• If you use Internet Explorer, select Tools Internet Options from the menu bar.

In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Connections tab. Your dial-up connection should be listed, along with the settings you configured for dialing the connection (see Figure 6-4).

Figure 6-4. Your dial-up connection and its settings are displayed in the Internet Options dialog box.

Click the Settings button to open the Settings dialog box for the connection, and then click the Advanced button. Check the "Disconnect if idle for X minutes" box, and specify the number of minutes you want to allow before automatically disconnecting (see Figure 6-5).

Figure 6-5. Set your own specification for disconnecting when nobody's using the Internet.

The Advanced Dial-Up dialog box also offers a "Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed" box. Which closes all Internet-based windows (browsers, IM, chat windows, email software, etc.), the connection automatically disconnects. If you select this option, some user will probably open an Internet-based window as soon as you disconnect and the modem will dial out again.

NETWORK TCP/IP SETTINGS CHANGED AFTER ENABLING ICS

The Annoyance:

After I set up ICS on my computer (which has the modem), I noticed the TCP/IP configuration on my Local Area Connection changed. I originally configured it to obtain an IP address automatically, but now it has a static IP address.

STARTUP ORDER MATTERS WITH ICS

When you use ICS, you assign the role of DHCP server to the host computer. When that computer boots, it has an IP address because the network adapter is configured for the static IP address 192.168.0.1. However, when the other computers on the network boot, they have to look for a DHCP server because their TCP/IP configuration setting is set to "Obtain an IP address automatically."

When you start your computers, make sure the ICS host (the DHCP server) boots first. Once you see that the computer has begun booting the Windows operating system, turn on the other computers. This way, the host computer is available to fulfill requests from the client computers for IP addresses. The host computer only needs to have Windows up and running to fulfill these requests; it doesn't matter whether you log on. The client computers look for the DHCP server early in the Windows startup process, before you see a user logon dialog box.

If a client computer can't find a DHCP server, eventually it assigns itself a private IP address, but this lengthens the startup and user logon process. The private IP address allows network communications, but won't let the computer access the Internet. (See Chapter 2 for information about private IP addresses.)

The client computer continues to search for a DHCP server. When it finds one, it replaces the private IP address with the IP address assigned by the DHCP server. The periodic search for a DHCP server slows the computer's response time, so any work you're doing on the computer moves at a slower-than-normal pace.

The Fix:

The ICS host becomes the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server, which means it provides IP addresses to the client computers. DHCP servers must have fixed IP addresses. When you shared your dial-up connection, ICS automatically provided a fixed IP address to the network adapter that connects the computer to the network. That IP address is 192.168.0.1, and the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. The other computers on the network must be set to obtain an IP address automatically, and it's the host computer that automatically provides those IP addresses. (See Chapter 2 for more information about DHCP.)

In fact, ICS makes another change to your computer. Because your computer is now a DHCP server, it must maintain a file that maps the names of the computers on your network with the IP addresses assigned to those computers. This file is called a hosts file, and it's stored in the C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc folder. Don't mess with it.