Random playlist song: Muppets - Manamana

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Got the router installed by the SCV technician today. Unfortunately, there was a breakdown in communication, and I forgot to tell my father what we were supposed to get, so instead of getting a free modem, router and wireless card with a 2 year subscription to MaxOnline 3000, we got only a free router. So much for an upload cap of 30kb/s.

No matter. For I can now perform unspeakable acts from the comfort of my room.


Nagging issues:

1) If I do not turn on wireless security like our dear friend linksys downstairs, can other people snoop around or otherwise do funny things with my system? I don't mind letting the neighbours leech off my bandwith, but I don't want them to get heart attacks when they see my pictures of Asian Prince, or of Quanxing posing naked.

2) How can I link my desktop and laptop in a network or, at the very least, share files between them?

3) WinXP's wireless connection authorisation/authentication options are pitifully limited, especially when compared to what the Intel PROSet for Wireless utility that comes with my notebook offers

a) Somehow I can't configure my desktop to connect to my router when I turn on wireless security, even if I enter the right WEP key. Damn WinXP. It has worked so far on the laptop, though. No wonder "linksys" is leaving his system open! I have thus decided, at least for now, to merely restrict access by MAC address. MAC addresses can be spoofed, but it's very hard to guess the right one to spoof.

4) How exactly does port forwarding or the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) work?


At least I can still use M$N IM to send/receive files. M$N is good for sending/receiving files. In fact, the only person whose M$N file transfers to/from me consistently fail is my sister. Whether that says something about her magic touch, or Cambridge's firewall, I leave it to the experts to argue over.

ICQ file transfer needed me to set up port forwarding before it worked, though.


My attempts to set up a home network have failed dismally. After fiddling with the Network Setup Wizard, and putting both laptop and desktop in the same workgroup, I used the laptop and clicked on my workgroup under Network Places -> Entire Network -> Microsoft Windows Network -> ~ and I got:

"~ is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this network to find out if you have access permissions

The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available."

Argh.