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Geek Culture / Im Free At Last!

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SageTech
19
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Joined: 3rd Dec 2004
Location: Orlando, Florida
Posted: 27th May 2006 19:43
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Free from the slow speeds of dialup that is! That’s right, after years of having to put up with the unbearable speed of dialup, my stubborn parent finally caved, and this Wednesday we will be getting it installed. I do have a few questions for those that already have it though.

First of all, were getting the package which says well be surfing at speeds of up to 7mbs, however, as much as I’ve researched, that speed is never reached, is this true?

Also, the modem will be installed in my room, but we need to network so everyone else can get high speed, however, I’m on a limited budget so I’m not sure what would be best for me. My sister has a laptop with a wireless card built in, and ill be right next to the modem, but my dad hasn’t got a thing. Any suggestions on what would be a good buy would be appreciated.

And Lastly, do I have to worry about security much more now? And if so what do you recommend for protecting myself? Thanks in advance,

Jase

Formerly SageTech
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Milkman
18
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Joined: 30th Nov 2005
Location: United States
Posted: 27th May 2006 19:57
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I have 6Mb cable, which technically should allow me to download at speeds of 768KB/s, and indeed I do get those speeds sometimes, when downloading from a fast server. Remember that 7Mb/s means 7 megabits per second, not 7 megabytes per second. 1 byte is equal to 8 bits.

I would recommend getting a wireless router for the networking, which allows for both wireless and wired internet access. You could used wired access, your sister wireless, and you might be able to install a wireless pci card into your dad's machine.

As for security, I would say no. Who would really want to hack you? Your only security issues are still spyware, viruses, ect.


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Dazzag
22
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Joined: 26th Aug 2002
Location: Cyprus
Posted: 27th May 2006 20:02
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I'm on 10mb cable, and get around 1.2megabytes a second, depending on the server obviously.

Yeah, get a wireless router with a built in hardware firewall, and chuck on some encryption for protection (at least WEP) against neighbours. Overall I would go with the "Who would want to hack you" idea. With the millions of people online now, then the chances of you personally being hacked is pretty remote. Sure you may get hit by the odd hacker search (hits thousands of PCs in a sweep), but unless you are storing something completely obvious in a really obvious place then I wouldn't worry about it. Plus the banks seem pretty good these days on sorting out problems.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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SageTech
19
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Joined: 3rd Dec 2004
Location: Orlando, Florida
Posted: 27th May 2006 21:19
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Thanks for the tip, and I just learned something about megabits, seems I got the whole system wrong! On a side note, Ill have to use the highspeed internet with my backup comp for a while, but the only hope for my real computer is warranty. My problem is I lost the papers
Does Bestbuy keep records of thats stuff?(The computer was purchased a ways back, but its been in for repair two times)

Formerly SageTech
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Nicholas Thompson
20
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Joined: 6th Sep 2004
Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 27th May 2006 21:27
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@Sazzag - whats the NTL 10mb Cable like? We're on the 2Mb service and its pretty good, but I've heard the 10mb one is really unreliable...

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Robin
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Joined: 22nd Feb 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 27th May 2006 22:07
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I have 10MB ntl... had 2 meg a while back but upgraded. Late last year it kept on playing up - just stopped working randommly or slowed right down at times. Had to keep on reseting the router. Lately it's been going fine though - and downloads normally at between 1-2 Megs/second.


Also check out: http://www.robinsgames.com
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Dazzag
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Joined: 26th Aug 2002
Location: Cyprus
Posted: 27th May 2006 22:14
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Damn. Rather amusingly while replying to Sicholas my connection completely froze. Rarely did that on the 2mb connection. Still could be a fluke though. Can always go back if this becomes regular though.

Hmmm. What did I say in the last message? Oh yeah, apparently there will be a free upgrade to 4mb in June (as well as unlimited 10mb and rumoured upload to 1mb for 10mb download - and possibly 20mb for 10mb although only saw that at one site). But there is a discount currently for 10mb. Just phone up (don't use online) and ask to get 10mb. They should let you have it for £22.50 a month (cheaper than 2mb) for 3 months, and you can revert at any time.

Interestingly when it froze up for a few minutes I could get to some sites very slowly, and I tried downloading something and it was still pretty quick (almost 1mb a sec).

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Dazzag
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Posted: 27th May 2006 22:17
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Um. It did it again. Once again while posting here. Hmmm. Robin, once you reset the router how long was it ok for?

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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SirFire
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Joined: 4th Apr 2005
Location: North America
Posted: 27th May 2006 22:19 Edited at: 27th May 2006 22:20
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Something the ISP never tells you (in print that is large enough to read) is the upload speed, most people assume when getting a 6mb service that it is up/down speed, but sadly it is not. My up speed is capped at 60kbs. For the average websurfer/downloader, that's not a problem, but if you ever want to have any kind of server, you're going to have to upgrade your service to a "business" plan to get the upstream speed uncapped.

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Dazzag
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Posted: 27th May 2006 22:29
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Yeah, I read somewhere that one european country has upload matching download. Pretty much expected there. Nice. Think my 2mb connection was 200kb upload, and my current 10mb download is 512kb upload I believe (although it should go upto 1mb upload soon apparently).

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Lukas W
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Location: Sweden
Posted: 27th May 2006 22:35
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at work we have a 200mbit connection (serving around 400 stationary computers and more to come when the students will start to use their own laptops).

last friday i was alone and i tested the connection, the average out of 4 tests was 14'365 kbps

my forum - where everyone is an admin
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David iz cool
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Joined: 21st Sep 2005
Location: somewhere lol :P
Posted: 27th May 2006 23:08
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i have dsl,but i might be switching to cable soon,because im constantly getting disconnected all the time! which is really starting to piss me off!

but i guess it might depend on where u live.
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Dazzag
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Posted: 27th May 2006 23:16
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Hmmm. Interesting. I found some websites that reckoned the standard firmware for my LinkSys router was pretty rubbish. Found a decent homebrew one and everything seems mighty speedy all of a second. Not just downloads but with browsing too. They reckon it is based on the standard firmware (actually looks pretty much the same) but improved for gamers in mind. One thing it says it does is increase wireless performance. Good so far though (am still here).

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Dazzag
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Posted: 28th May 2006 00:12
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Bloody hell. Since I updated the firmware to that homebrew effort everything has been totally amazing. Really fast downloading and browsing with multiple computers going at it and using wireless connections (3 wireless, 3 wired). Just wait until my router blows up I guess And DB hasn't been this fast and consistant in ages (was blaming DB considering forum has had its moments in the past). Come to think of it, might have been a little less than great since I last upgraded the firmware... hmmm.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Nicholas Thompson
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Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 28th May 2006 01:15
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What linksys you got? I have a linksys 54G (WRT54G??? I THINK)...

Thats fantastic news about the upgrade. Its actually my parents connection - if they can get it for £22.50 a month for 3 months and then revert back, I might try to get them to do that

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Dazzag
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Posted: 28th May 2006 01:32
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Yeah, think thats my one. It's great now. Am now surfing in bed and all is good. Think the firmware was called HyperWRT. Apparently there are versions based on even newer versions of the firmware, but don't think I'll touch it now. One of it's features is called Power Boost. Dunno what it does, but everything is a hell of a lot better now. Plus the 10mb of course

If they deny the 10mb discount then say you know people who got it (today). Failing that, your 2mb should double to 4mb within the next month.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Nicholas Thompson
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Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 28th May 2006 02:58
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Dazzag - may I recommend this:
http://www.thibor.co.uk/

I just installed it on mine - its basically a developed version of the one you used. Its fantastic!! You can even SSH into the router!!!

There is this site too: http://www.sveasoft.com/ but they charge for the firmware.

It looks like you can set Cron jobs too on the router....

I might have a play tomorrow as I have a linux server here too... if only I could get the router to mount a network share... Althought not sure what that'd achieve apart from giving it access to more then 4Mb of storage...

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Dazzag
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Posted: 28th May 2006 15:17
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Yeah, I saw Thibor after I installed. But everything works brilliantly at the minute and I don't need the extra stuff really. Ssh onto the router? Hows that work then? Can you actually access parts of the router storage or something? If it's anything like ssh at work (Unix IBM and DG Aviion boxes) then I assume you can ssp stuff to and fro.

Cron jobs on the router? Really? What exactly can be setup? Only thing I've setup them for is MIS type extracts to run every evening (good for assigning extra memory on our systems), but dunno what I would use it for on a home router.

Hmmm. Linux server. Not a bad idea. If my ISP allowed it I always wanted to have a storage base at home. Currently have about 1.5Tb I believe, so would be nice to setup online. Plus I have about 4 PCs hanging about not doing much (and nice new 10mb connection).

Surely you mean 4Gb BTW?

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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indi
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Location: Earth, Brisbane, Australia
Posted: 28th May 2006 15:32
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visit www.speedguide.net and get the tcp optimiser.
your machine will still be using 56k settings.
you will thank me when your downloads improve ten fold.

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself 
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Dazzag
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Posted: 28th May 2006 15:48
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I'm getting 1.2 megabytes a sec at the minute. Think I'll be fine

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Megaton Cat
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Location: Toronto, Canada
Posted: 28th May 2006 15:50
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Man I am a total internet newbletzor. I'm using a wireless card to get internet from the hub downstairs. Someone mentioned I should change ports or something along those lines to get faster speeds. What is this all about?!

Google failed me!


It's like a Megaton Cat radar, 24 hours a day.
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Dazzag
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Posted: 28th May 2006 16:18 Edited at: 28th May 2006 16:20
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Sure they didn't mean change channels? My previous setup clashed with other wireless devices (video sender for example) and sometimes changing it's channel (should be an option in the router setup) can help. Didn't really help with speed though, more like didn't lose the connection all the time. Indi's half a decade sponsored Speedguide works pretty well with slower systems (I seem to recall a few years ago using it).

As to changing ports, they may have meant BitTorrents and the like. Essentially if your router doesn't fully open the port for the BitTorrent client then things won't download as fast.

Apart from that look for router firmware upgrades like mentioned above. This speed boost stuff has really made my internet connection fantastic now.

Quote: "Man I am a total internet newbletzor"
I've got a degree in Computer Science and worked as a computer analyst/ programmer for over a decade, and most of this router stuff is like "Erm, ok, but WTF?". Nice simple programs that don't need you to hack into firmware please. Must be getting old... Probably why I like Skype (because it just seems to work unlike a lot of other progs).

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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indi
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Posted: 28th May 2006 16:21
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lol speedguide is king for 56kers entering broadband. clients go nuts when i show them how much faster the machine can be, then they dissapoint me with really bad videos of kids running into signs or silly flash aniamtions.

got squid happening on your network dazzy or some ms variant?

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself 
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Dazzag
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Posted: 28th May 2006 16:26
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Quote: "got squid happening on your network dazzy or some ms variant?
"
Keh? See, I'm a complete numpty these days. Too long with annoying Unix boxes that live miles away.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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indi
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Posted: 28th May 2006 16:28
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basically a dns and proxy on your network.
allowing even greater speeds off your network for cached sites and media.

if you have more then one computer and need to DL things twice it will save you the bandwidth. knowing you, you probably have unlimited.

anyway i have about 5 machines in my office so i save 5 times the bandwidth.

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself 
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Dazzag
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Posted: 28th May 2006 16:42
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Quote: "basically a dns and proxy on your network."
Ah, right. Used to have a dns server running a while back. Not anymore though.

Not really bothered about saving bandwidth these days. 2mb was fine and I quite often re-download large patches (100s of megs normally) on each machine because I can't be bothered basically Especially now. Just click run instead of save these days. Love bandwidth... must have more... hopefully that 20mb upgrade that is rumoured in June will go ahead.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Nicholas Thompson
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Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 28th May 2006 20:45
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I meant 4Mb - the router has 4Mb of NVRAM and thats where everything gets installed.

Indi - is that cache easy to setup? I have 4 PC's and a laptop here at home sharing the 2Mb connection. Would be nice to not waste the connection on downloading the google homepage 200 times a day

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SageTech
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Location: Orlando, Florida
Posted: 28th May 2006 23:17
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Just got back from best buy with a great deal! It was amazing too, help exactly when I needed it, and they didnt even talk about extended warranty on checkout (plus they have my computer on file, so im set with getting it fixed!). I Purchased a router and one usb wireless card, exactly what I needed, and all for $30! Now all thats left is to wait for the highspeed install on wednesday(its alot longer of a wait then I thought it would be) As of now im taking out an ethernet card from my old computer and putting it into my backup comp, as even when my comps fixed I still plan to use this one. Seems like this is one of those good days, or for that matter, good weeks!

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indi
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Location: Earth, Brisbane, Australia
Posted: 29th May 2006 00:40
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yeah its a pretty straight forward config file nick. has some juicy components.

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself 
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