O2 Internet- do I HAVE to use the CD that comes with it?

Bes · 21 Oct 2008 at 18:26

Hi

Getting my O2 BB switched on tomorrow \o/

The blurb that came with the box is pretty heavy on getting you to use the CD that comes with it... Do I HAVE to? as it is bound to install no end of crap on my PC

Thanks

Jakg · 21 Oct 2008 at 18:35

No - as long as you aren't using some retarded USB modem then you don't need to install any bloatware **** on your PC.

No swearing

J.B · 21 Oct 2008 at 20:53

Depends on you're setup, if you are using a USB modem they provided you will probably need the drivers off the CD, you might be able to extract the drivers without installing anything extra.

If you are using a router just use the web interface to set it up.

Wicksta · 21 Oct 2008 at 21:37

Nope you don't need to Bes, just plug in the router and go.

tolien · 21 Oct 2008 at 21:53

O2 don't give you a USB modem so no, you won't need drivers (or the CD really).

RobH · 22 Oct 2008 at 07:54

Notice how it tells you not to use the CD if your using a Mac, quite a good indication that it's not required. I plugged the O2 box in as soon as it arrived and configured everything via the web interface, took only a few minutes. I also logged in as the SuperUser and created an account for myself with SuperUser credentials and then changed all the default passwords, which is a good idea in case anything tried to get into the box from the browser.

For the wireless config, change the SSID to something other than the default and then make sure you are using WPA as a miniumum with some random password string from somewhere like www.grc.com/passwords. WEP, SSID Hiding, and MAC Filtering are all worthless if you want to protect your network these days.

Skidilliplop · 22 Oct 2008 at 10:01

In general the CD is for newbies who are incapable of connecting to a web page without the help of google. Though don't bin it as it might have some PDF manuals on it you might want to pinch for things like firmware updates etc.

RobH said:
Notice how it tells you not to use the CD if your using a Mac, quite a good indication that it's not required. I plugged the O2 box in as soon as it arrived and configured everything via the web interface, took only a few minutes. I also logged in as the SuperUser and created an account for myself with SuperUser credentials and then changed all the default passwords, which is a good idea in case anything tried to get into the box from the browser.

For the wireless config, change the SSID to something other than the default and then make sure you are using WPA as a miniumum with some random password string from somewhere like www.grc.com/passwords. WEP, SSID Hiding, and MAC Filtering are all worthless if you want to protect your network these days.

^^ WPA/WPA2 security. Probably the best security at the mo is radius as passwords are only valid for use once so sniffing the password and decrypting it is virtually pointless. However most people don't have a radius server at home...

yet