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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
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G
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Comcast won't give a credit unless you can prove the system was totally down for 24 hours. If it worked for 20 seconds they say it wasn't down all day. In the 6 or 7 years I had it I am not sure I ever got a rebate and the system went down a couple times a month. After the 3 hurricanes they typically were down for a week or two and they came out with some other excuse why I still had to pay. I finally cancelled the service and got DSL


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 349
Member
Quote
With WiFi make sure you turn the encryption and make a strong password. I would still put my LAN connected machines behind a firewall.

In addition to the above great advice I would also recommend:

1. If it's not too late, keep your DSL Router and your Access Point (AP) in separate boxes, connected by ethernet.

2. Please change the default name and password of both your Router and your WIFI (AP). Most of the WIFI's around my house are named "Linksys" and, since I know the default Linksys password, I can log into their Routers and make any changes I wish (if I wanted to).

3. Pick a non-standard IP numbering for your LAN. Something other than 192.168.xxx.xxx.

4. Set your AP to connect to only MAC addresses that correspond to LAN devices (computers, etc.) that are yours.

5. Set up static IP addresses in all your LAN devices, and set your Router to NOT hand our dynamic IP addresses upon request.

These steps will help keep hackers out of your network. I never worried about this stuff until I got WIFI for my wife's laptop, but these are just good security practices.

Radar


There are 10 types of people. Those who know binary, and those who don't.
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 745
E
Member
Radar:

If you disable DHCP, then how do you address visitors who just want to use their laptop? Do you even worry about that? I only ask because my LAN is mostly wired, but I have a wireless IP phone from my office so I installed a wireless AP to support it. Most visitors end up staying for a weekend, so the wireless AP is serving multiple purposes.

If I disable DHCP, then wouldn't this flexibility be lost?


---Ed---

"But the guy at Home Depot said it would work."
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 349
Member
Yes Ed, you're correct - you will loose a lot of flexibility. Personally I don't worry about it, but if I did then I might do one of 2 things:

1. Enable DHCP and relax my security for the affected period (weekend), or

2. Go to the trouble of getting my visitor's MAC address and assigning them a hard IP address and so on.

One thing to remember is that if you enable DHCP and allow visitors in, so to speak, you are also allowing passers by in as well. So where one draws the line should be considered with care.

Best regards,
Radar


There are 10 types of people. Those who know binary, and those who don't.
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
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Hi Paul,
I recently (out of frustration) upgraded my connection speed from 256kbps to 1.5mbps.
The difference is glaring, all the constant line disconnections (drop-outs) and waiting time have mysteriously vanished, which sort of makes me wonder, Why?

I mean, sure the thing is faster, but it is still travelling down the same wires and connections that it was with the slower connection speed.

One other thing I can't get my head around, it costs me NZ$5/month less to have a faster connection!!??
This broadband industry is a funny thing.

Last edited by Trumpy; 06/11/08 08:18 PM. Reason: Typo
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 745
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Mike, if you are moving faster through the network, so is everyone else. The service providers would prefer that you move out of the fast lane with your slow-moving vehicle. Maybe that is how your ISP sees it. I suppose that silly comparison might be the reason.

Not sure about why this costs LESS, but then again, you are on the bottom side of the world. Maybe the way water drains in the opposite direction has something to do with it! Perhaps you pay less for more while we pay more for less? There's no doubt that anything that is better costs much more around these parts.

I'd like to see you figure out a way to get power under the same "higher rate" for a lower cost. Now that would be a concept.

In sincerity, I suppose that it is just more a matter of the fact that your speed being increased results in less management on the ISP's part.


---Ed---

"But the guy at Home Depot said it would work."
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 404
Member
Did you get a new router or modem with the faster service?

As far as the pricing goes, perhaps you were "grandfathered" in with an old pricing plan. I doubt they'll do anything to give you faster service or charge less just out of the goodness of their hearts.

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