BT.hub??

[spock]

I am thinking about getting the BT. hub/phone,I run two pc's,and at the moment I hook them up via a Lan,I am thinking that maybe a wireless conection would/should be better?because the way things are I can not get both to go on line,my pc is the gateway,but the only way I can get the other pc to go on line is to turn off my firewall,and that's not going to be such a good thing to do,as only last week I had one hell'of'a virus/trojen thing.
So now I have got the pc clear,I have now put on a bit more protection,(bulldog)hopefully this will be better than just the very basic protection.
So,will I be better of with a wireless conection?ie. so I don't have to turn off protection to get both pc's on line,each pc now has it's own internet security .
So how good/bad is the BT.hub, or is there some thing better I should look at??
Thanks for reading,and for any help/idea.

 

[Fanum]

Erm....

Back to basics.....
A firewall is for protection against intrusion, not against viruses/trojans etc- I'm afraid....and a wired LAN is intrinsically more secure than a wifi network (as long as it has appropriate protection)

The reason you couldn't connect without turning off your firewall would have been because of the setup of the system, the way the OSs talk to eachother and/or drivers and installed protocols- what OSs were you using on each machine for example?

A wifi network is more convenient for sure, but only if you need it...if you have two static machines and an existing Lan with no need for extending the network (no wifi devices, wifi enabled phones that can use voip services to cut bills and no laptop that you want to use on the bog etc) then buying anything else is pointless- a little persistance and help setting up your wired network might give you a more secure system than buying off the shelf kit.

I'm pretty sure that if you wanted, we could help you get your existing wired system all set up, sharing and talking to t'interweb properly.....we'd need to know what OS's (I have a nasty feeling you may be using W2k on one?) and hardware you have and we could assist.....the fact that you can connect if you turn your firewall off indicates a very simple problem that probably just needs a simple entry in your firewall's setup.

Having said all that, one thing that a BT hub would give you (other than the initial setup cost of wifi dongles/cards) would be being able to run the existing second machine without having to have the first powered up, which you would if we were able to get your current kit setup.

 

[SOAA]

How is your 'gateway' PC currently connecting to the internet? Is it via a USB modem?

 

[spock]

Fanum,thanks for the reply,

The reason you couldn't connect without turning off your firewall would have been because of the setup of the system, the way the OSs talk to eachother and/or drivers and installed protocols- what OSs were you using on each machine for example?

Both pc's are windows xp.
SOAA,

SOAA How is your 'gateway' PC currently connecting to the internet? Is it via a USB modem?

I have an external gizmo,speedtouch usb adsl,and conection is through orange.
Thanks for your addvice, and I am open to any more,wether I shall be able to understand it is another thing,but I will give it a go.

 

[cookie]

Erm....


The reason you couldn't connect without turning off your firewall would have been because of the setup of the system, the way the OSs talk to eachother and/or drivers and installed protocols- what OSs were you using on each machine for example?

i would have thought it was because the firewall has not been told to allow communication between the two machines


anyway....

what you need is either a wireless or a multi port, wired router that acts as the gateway for your LAN. that way, either machine would operate independently, + they would both be behind a NAT hardware firewall.

if you don't need wireless, it so happens i find myself somewhat overstocked with speedtouch 510v4, 4 port, ethernet routers. they are no longer worth the trouble of ebaying, so i could give you one for nowt

edit: in fact i have at least another one kicking around here, getting in the way, so if anyone else wants one.....