Quote:
Originally posted by baltassoc
Also, it sounds as though you may not have the most recent patches on your computer for Windows 98. While that is merely an annoyance from the perspective of the USB port being flakey, it's downright dangerous from the perspective of putting a potentially vulnerable machine onto the Internet with a full time high speed connection.
As soon as you have the card installed and get the connection cranked up, go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ It will tell you what patches you need automatically (you may have to accept the installation of Microsofts update utility), and walk you through the process. Depending on how long its been, it will take a little while of letting the computer crank away, but much less time than with the modem.
Also, get a current copy of McAfee or Norton or PC-Cillin on your machine ASAP and run both the virus protection and the firewall.
Broadband is the greatest invention since the Internet, but without the patches and the firewall, some 15 year old punk will turn your machine into his personal slave. Of course, in your house, that may be true without a connection to the outside world.
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Excellent advice -- I hadn't thought of the lack of a recent microsoft update giving me problems with the USB connection. I planned on running the patches once I got online with broadband -- I simply don't have the spare 768 hours to download them via my 56.6 modem.
And as for the rest of your warnings, also good -- I had also planned on getting a router (perhaps a wireless one). Is it true that they provide an additional level of firewall connection?
