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Q’N’A: Byteback
Umair Mohsin responds to your queries...
Protection measures
Q: Please suggest ways to create a free website?
Abu khan
A: You can find relevant information at
http://www.teach-nology.com / web_tools/web_site/ or
http://www.quackit.com /create-a-website/
Creating a network
Q: What is the procedure to create a network between two computers? How can I share internet with another computer, given that I have a PTCL internet connection and have installed WinXP on both computers?
Muhammad Adil Khan
A: Connecting two PCs directly to each other is a relatively simple and straightforward process.
The basic requirements are a network card installed on each computer and a crossover cable (usually a yellow Category 5 - CAT5 - cable).
For starters, both PCs must be installed with ethernet adapters (LAN Cards). Please ensure when you do install them, the device driver for the
NIC is loaded and Device Manager reports it as enabled and working.
Now follow these steps:
— Make sure both computers are turned off.
— Connect one end of the crossover cable to the network card in the first computer (it does not matter which end).
— Connect the other end of the crossover cable to the network card in the second computer.
— Turn both computers on (it does not matter which one you turn on first). Make sure the lights of the NICs are on.
— Sign-in to Windows on both computers, as you normally do.
— Open Windows Start menu.
— Open Control Panel.
— In Classic view: Open Network Conn- ctions.
— In Category view: Select Network and Internet Connections, and then Network Connections.
— Double-click on active LAN connection.
— Click Properties.
— In the General tab, highlight the Inter- net Protocol (TCP/IP) item, and click Properties. This opens the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window. You have to assign the
IP addresses here.
You will have to configure each adapter with a static IP address and a common subnet like giving name to each computer.· Give one PC the IP 192.168.0.1, and to the other PC the IP 192.168.0.2. The subnet mask for both PCs should be 255.255.255.0. You can leave the default gateway and the DNS boxes blank on both PCs.
— Once you have done this, go to command prompt on the PC you gave the IP 192.168.0.1 and in command prompt type: PING 192.168.0.2
Five replies ensure that the PCs are connected successfully. If you get a request timed out, try disabling any software firewalls you have on the
PCs since these can sometimes restrict communication.
File sharing
For the sake of example, let us create a new folder in drive D and name it ‘share’.
Right-click the folder and select Sharing and Security. The first time you set up sharing, WindowsXP displays a warning urging you to use the Network Setup Wizard for safety. Click where it is indicated either run the Wizard or do it yourself. I prefer the latter with ‘Just Enable File Sharing’.
Having successfully run the Wizard’s obstacle course, you may now specify a shared name like ‘Share,’ that users on the other networked computers will use for accessing this disk or folder.
By default, users on other computers have full access: they can read, write, and delete shared files. If you only want them to be able to read files, un-check ‘allow network users to change my files’.
A hand holding the folder appears, indicating the folder is now shared.
Internet sharing:
You can share internet through two different options on WinXP.
The most common is the ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) option on XP:
On the host computer (one that is connected to net) follow the following steps to share the internet connection: ·
— Log on to the host computer as Administrator or as Owner.
— Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
— Click Network and Internet Connec- tions.
— Click Network Connections.
— Right-click the connection that you use for connecting to the internet. For example, if you connect to the internets by using a modem, right-click the connection that you want under Dial-up.
— Click Properties.
— Click the Advanced tab.
— Under the internet connection sharing, select ‘Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection’ check box.
— If you are sharing a dial-up internet connection, select ‘Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the internet.’ Check box if you want to permit your computer to automatically connect to the internet.
— Click OK. You will receive the following message:
“When Internet Connection Sharing is enabled, your LAN adapter will be set to use IP address 192.168.0.1. Your computer may lose connectivity with other computers on your network.
If these other computers have static IP addresses, it is a good idea to set them to obtain their IP addresses automatically. Are you sure you want to enable Internet Connection Sharing?”
— Click Yes.
The internet connection is now shared with other computers on local area network
(LAN). The network adapter that is connected to the LAN is configured with a static IP address of 192.168.0.1 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0
To configure the client computer to use the shared internet connection, follow these steps:
— Click Start, and open Control Panel.
— Click Network and Internet Connections.
— Click Internet Options.
— In the Internet Properties dialogue box, click the Connections tab.
— Click the Setup. The New Connection Wizard will start.
— On the Welcome to the New Connection Wizard page, click Next.
— Click Connect to the Internet, and then click Next.
— Click Set up my connection manually, and then click Next.
— Click Connect using a broadband connection that is always on, and then click Next.
— On Completing the New Connection Wizard page, click Finish.
— Quit Control Panel.
Now, when you start Microsoft Internet Explorer, the client computer will try to connect with the internet by using the host computer’s shared internet connection
Use a proxy server.
The other, less common way is to use a Proxy Server. This is a software that lets multiple computers access the ‘Host’ computer (one connected to the net). For me, the best software to use is Proxy+ from
www.proxyplus.cz/
To use it, just install it on the computer that is connected to the internet, and in the browser of the other PC, for example the 192.168.0.2, go to the LAN options (in IE). Check ‘Use Proxy Server’ then type the IP Address of the host computer, in your case ‘192.168.0.1’ and Port: 4480. For more help, visit
www.proxyplus.cz/doc/en/proxyguide.htm
Latency Issues
Q: Whenever I connect to international servers to play Counter Strike (1.6), my latency gets too high (over 200) and normally the guys kick me out. I am using 256K of PTCL broadband internet connection. What is latency and how can I solve this problem?
2. We have three PCs at home, one of which is HP Core 2 Duo laptop with licensed Vista home premium and the second is a P IV desktop using XP (pirated) with Service Pack 2. I have connected both my desktop PCs and have not encountered any problem in sharing the broadband internet connection. But the case is not the same with laptop since I cannot share any file with it. Please suggest ways to establish a network among all three PCs without facing interference with the broadband internet settings. Their IP addresses are configured automatically and address type is assigned by DHCP.
Sohaib Ahmed
A: There is very little you can do to address latency issues on PTCL’s broadband. Not only is the 256 DSL connection shared (high-contention ratio), but also because even the PTCL’s speeds are not fast enough to support gaming internationally. Try pinging the PTCLs’ own DNS servers and you will get latency as high as 64ms and sometimes it may go up to 256ms and this will just connect to your own ISP.
The only way to solve this is to connect to a local CS server (and there are plenty). Start your own, or try to find an international CS server where the pings are faster. Alternatively, you can always switch to other cable or DSL operators who run their own CS servers. WorldCall and MaxCom are two DSL providers which we know have local CS servers.
If all three PCs can access the network, then this means it is only a problem of the firewall on the Vista. Please check if Norton is not installed by default. The new Norton 360 has an inbuilt firewall which gave me headaches until I removed the software completely. After this, file sharing worked perfectly. Vista also has a feature of Public Folders and thus, will not easily let you create and share new folders on the root of the drive. Please ensure that you have Public Folders turned on. To ensure this, go into Network and Connection Centre, find your network and check the Sharing and Discovery settings.
If all the three systems are being assigned IP addresses by a central router, then this means the settings are perfect for all three of them.
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