I'm looking for some advice on computers and the internet, so if anyone can help I would appreciate it. 1. Anyone have any experience with Time Warner Cable internet? I am hopefully getting it installed today. I tried DSL but after 5 days they couldn't get a reliable signal and told me it would be at least another 10 days, so I cancelled and went with TWC. 2. How long can the cable between the Modem and my PC be? I would like to get a pretty long one (like 30-40 feet) in order to rearrange my apartment. I know the coax(wall to modem) can only be 5 feet, but I think the line from modem to pc (RJ11?) can be longer. 3. I had a friend that got some nasty viruses as soon as he hooked up his cable internet - tech support told him that is where they came from) I installed "Black Ice" last night to prevent unauthorized access - anyone know anything about firewall programs like Black ICe? Will it interfere with any online Applications (Yahoo Messenger, online gaming etc)or interfer with the sync with TWC? 4. What is the best option for email? In the past, each time I change intenet providers I have to go through the process of notifying everyone, and it doesn't always work. I have tried using a yahoo address and accessing via POP3 using Outlook, but it seems unreliable, ie. routinely getting "failure to connect". Does anyone know a really good free/cheap pop3 service that i could consider using permanently? 4. Finally, what is the best free ISP. (In case the cable is down, or I'm out of town). I have used Freelane by excite which worked fairly well, but I heard that the company that provided the sevice for excite went under. Thanks ------------------ Maybe all the rulers are wrong. Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
1. No problems. 2. The same distance as any office LAN. I just wired a computer 50' from my modem. However, that cable is quite expensive if you don't make it yourself (which is easy).
Well, I can't answer all of your questions, but here's some info: 3. Black Ice works really well. I've used it on a DSL line and had no problems in Windows. If you're on cable, definately get Black ice or some sort of security. 4. I have gone through so many damned email addresses!! Every time I had one that was good, the company was purchased or it died or something like that . . . geocities, xoom, etc. Finally, I've found one that seems to work better than all the rest -- <a href="http://www.postmark.net">Postmark</a>. It's got pop3 access, 5MB of space, fast web-interface, etc. and it hasn't been purchased, down or anything. ------------------ "Any answer that can't be questioned is no answer at all. It's gibberish. It's the jabbering of startled monkeys flinging dung at the moon" -- Scott Christensen -- www.ewav.com
It's not free, but I use Mailbank.com for email. It's $5 per year, so it's almost free (more if you want the website), and they had my last name as an email domain I could use (so I could have ryan@paige.net as my email). I've been with them for over three years. ------------------ Houston Sports Board The Anti-Bud Adams Page
That is not a true statement. Mine is much longer than that. Just wanted to correct you on that one. Surf ------------------
I don't know about TWC, but my cable modem company in Minnesota provides a dial-up access (56K) line as well in case the cable modem service is down. Free ISPs are falling by the wayside. ------------------
Jeff, Spec is about 100 meters before signal attenuation becomes too much. Plenty people have gone farther. You should have zero problem with 100'. You won't find a cable that long though in the store. You will have to make it. I have plenty of cable, and it really is easy to attach the ends. email me. same with you davo. email me here btw Jeff: are you running the cable outside?
hey: Yes, it will end up going from one building to another so it will go outside for a time. I've run telephone cable from there already so I could have an extention of my office line in the house. I assume that means insulated cable. ------------------ I am very very sleepy.
1) I've had TWC for about a year. It has been down 4 times during that span. 3 of those times were 1 day ordeals, but the 4th one lasted for 5 days before they realize it was a problem with the lines that was outside the house (They kept insisting that it was either my computer, modem, or the lines inside the house. ). The speed has been pretty good, but in the last couple of months, I've experienced "down" time. I would lose connection for no apparent reason and the only way to get it back is to reboot my system. (I did not installed any additional software prior to that initial occurence.) The problem I have with Warner Cable is their well established bad services. If DSL was available in my area, I would not even consider TWC. The bad services include repairmen not showing up for "appointed" time, no phone calls to tell you that they are not coming, "missing" service # (meaning the call that you made with them yesterday to set up an appointment does not exist in their log), not keeping the promise of refund for extensive down time (it's not the money, it's the principle). This applies to cable TV too. 4) Try mail.lycos.com, they offer 15MB of free email space. 5) There is also one called BlueLight, it's offered by KMart. I've never used it, but my friend has and he liked it better than NetZero. [This message has been edited by MoonBus (edited January 17, 2001).]
Jeff, you need cable with at least two twisted pair. The standard Cat 5 LAN cable comes with 4 twisted pair (of which you only use two). Technically speaking, you could create your data line out of two standard phone lines, but I have reels of Cat 5 for you to make it. Make me an Administrator for a day so I can delete Mr. Clutch ("I hate Mobley's guts"), and I'll make one for you. lol. just kidding. email me.
Davo, To answer your questions : 1) I'm a DSL guy. No experience with cable folks. 2) Coax for ethernet can be much longer than the 5 feet you state. If I recall correctly, coax/10Base2 cabling is good for up to about 180-200 meters (ever wonder what the 2 in 10Base2 meant?). I'm not sure what implications this would have for your modem however, so check with a cable modem service first. The twisted pair cabling you're talking about is just "Category 5"/10BaseT cabling for ethernet networks. It's good for about 100 meters without the use of a hub/repeater. 3) To prevent viruses get 2 good antivirus scanners (AVP, Symantec Norton Antivirus). Leave one of their TSR scanners running resident in memory to protect your PC while it's running. Then remember to update the thing weekly if not daily! To prevent unauthorized access to your PC, get a good software firewall (unless you want to spend the bucks for a hardware firewall). Technically speaking Black ICE Defender is not a true firewall. Get Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm. It's even priced great : it's free. BID is known to give several false alarms. The other problem is that it provides one way protection. It can protect you from things like port attacks and hack attempts from the outside. But what if something you brought home tries to communicate out from your PC? It doesn't stop that. At least it didn't used to; it may have changed its functionality since I last used it about 1 or 2 years ago. The fact that it calls itself a "firewall" and doesn't prevent outbound transmission of data has been a big bone of contention in the security community. 4) I never used a free POP3 service, so I can't help ya there. 4) 'cause you misnumbered I fear free ISP's so I can't help you there, either. ------------------ "I personally don't think Jordan would have enjoyed playing with himself." -- JeffB lets us all know that Popeye and Clutch aren't the only ones with inside sources... (also an example of a BBS "sound-bite") [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited January 17, 2001).]
DoD, isn't AVP now AVX? I've heard the new software isn't as good as the old one. Any comments? ------------------ "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Gandhi
Email: why not just get a free address from hotmail or yahoo? Web-based and it lets you check your pop accounts at the same time. Free ISP: I have Juno on my computer as a backup. It's pretty good - or should I say it was. From what I hear they've gone to a limited-access system where they disconnect users after they've been logged in for a little while, regardless of whether you are idle or not. But the connection speed is pretty good. Its one of those permanent ad-window services, also, and that can be annoying. I used to use a service called Freeatlast, which was great and didn't force a permanent ad window on you. Needless to say, it went out of business. ------------------ "Thirty-seven?" -Randall, Clerks www.clutchtown.com
Actually, no. There was a big split in the company that's confusing the hell out of people. AVP.com is no longer the old AVP. It's the new AVX. AVP the good anti-virus software is located at www.kaspersky.com. ------------------ "I personally don't think Jordan would have enjoyed playing with himself." -- JeffB lets us all know that Popeye and Clutch aren't the only ones with inside sources... (also an example of a BBS "sound-bite") [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited January 17, 2001).]
1. I personally don't have experience, but my work mate has TWC and connects at un-godly speeds. Usually the less folks in your neighborhood or on your street, the faster YOUR connection is. The cable line is a shared line and the more people on your street using it, the slower it will be. 4. Hotmail is good and it's compatible with Outlook Express, you can actually have your hotmail account download to OE just like a regular email add. Other free email providers, Yahoo and countless others, do a search for "free email" and see what comes up. 5. Free ISP's? the only one I know of is NETZERO, but of course, they have a docked ad with search and other features. good luck rH ------------------ The Psychedelic Groove House of Rockets Basketball Love! Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten. -Cree Indian Prophecy *** THIS SPACE FOR LEASE ***
heypartner: speaking of long cables, how long is the limitation on LAN lines? Is it 50', 100', more? I'm seriously thinking of running an additional DSL line out to my office but it would probably require at least 75 to 100' of cable. ------------------ I am very very sleepy.
