Total noobi router question.

LoadsaMoney

LoadsaMoney

LoadsaMoney

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Right as title, total noob here when it comes to routers as never used em before, right i got my Netgear DG834G router from AOL the other day as i regraded to the 2mb Gold package, and now decided to give it a go.

Now im not using the software supplied (no way :D ) as im doing it manually, now when i connect it up, get the http:// in there i get the config screen with 2 options, one auto, one manually, can i just do the auto one, and then through there will i have to enter some of the settings ive got here in the booklet (as it says in there i may need to enter some, but not all), or do i have to select the manual option and do it all that way.

Any help would be great.

Thanks. :)
 
LoadsaMoney said:
Right as title, total noob here when it comes to routers as never used em before, right i got my Netgear DG834G router from AOL the other day as i regraded to the 2mb Gold package, and now decided to give it a go.

Now im not using the software supplied (no way :D ) as im doing it manually, now when i connect it up, get the http:// in there i get the config screen with 2 options, one auto, one manually, can i just do the auto one, and then through there will i have to enter some of the settings ive got here in the booklet (as it says in there i may need to enter some, but not all), or do i have to select the manual option and do it all that way.

Any help would be great.

Thanks. :)
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Auto should be fine. If it detects everything fine then all you'll need to enter is your username and password.
 
Netgears are very good at setting themselves up, auto will detect all your protocols and that milarky
 
Ahh cool thanks guys, ill give it another go later then, was just a bit confused as the booklet said i may need to enter some of these settings, but if an auto will do it all ill try that. :D

Will the firewall etc... be on by default, and if so can i finally get shot of me ZoneAlarm as it keeps going **** up every now and again, and also do i need to configure it to allow my MSN, Utorrent etc.. through like on Za, and if so how would i do that lol. :D

Thanks. :)
 
Right made a balls, i tried again today, but instead of getting the page to set it up, i get a page with the settings, so it looked like its set itself up somehow (probably while booting PC), anyway had a test button so i clicked that and it went to open a page but it was crawling green bar was going like a snail, and the hr glass was on,so i left it for a min or so then just closed it off, and said bugger ill try again, so i reset me PC, and now when i put the http:// into I.E im getting page cannot be displayed straight off, and the green bar just filling right up, so i cant even get the config page or whatever it was now. :confused:

i also tried clicking on the setup wizard on the left (before i closed and reset PC)see if i could get it back to ask for an auto config again, but that again was on a crawl, now if i have to reset it back to factory settings does it need to be plugged in as ive unplugged it all again now before it goes out of the window. :D

Thanks. :)
 
Right success, i reset it and did an auto, and all it asked for was my logon details and jobs a goodun. :D

Right only prob now is, if i have ZoneAlarm on, utorrent goes red circle and says the router/firewall prob, if i turn ZoneAlarm off its fine, now my mate says i need me ZoneAlarm on as well to stop stuff getting out from me. :confused:

Now also with Za on i have to keep logging into every forum on here, ill log in click say the graphics cards section, and once in if i want to post ill have to login again, with me Za off its fine, keeps me looged in.

Now if i have to keep me Za on, how do i get me router to allow me Utorrent through, and also so i have to stop logging in everytime on here like when i go into the diff sections, ive looked at the firewall bit, but its all gobbledegook to me as ive never used a router before, its on about adding stuff etc... and there is basolutely no manual at all for it telling me how i do it, ive looked through the CD everything, and not a thing. :(

Thanks. :)

Right i also have to knock it off to post, as as soon as i click on it to post my post i have to login again but it keeps saying invalid thread contact webmaster blah blah blah, so i need Za off, also my MSN keeps dropping, i have to keep clicking connect now when it drops, but my net stays on. :confused:
 
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Crikey, your having some problems with your router aren't you? :eek:

I had never used a router before I went on to Max but I never had the problems you are having, I just entered this info:

Connection type: PPPoA (although I'm not sure if AOL use PPPoE) :confused:
VPI Value: 0
VCI Value: 38
Encapsulation type: VC-MUX
Modulation: G.DMT
Authentication type: CHAP
My ISP username and password.

I'm not with AOL so I'm not sure how you set yours up and the only thing I can think of is ask AOL level 2 tech support if you are using a AOL recommended router.

I know youv'e had a bad experience with routers but they are much better than using a USB modem.
 
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CurlyWhirly said:
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He's connected to the internet okay :)

He just needs to set up port forwarding for his p2p programs etc.

If you haven't used a router ever before it can be a little bit of a learning curve to get port forwarding set up. Google will have the answers, that's how I learned about it, and how to do it.

FWIW I would put ZoneAlarm in the bin if it was me, and also turn the Windows firewall off. Just use the router's own firewall.
 
dirtydog said:
He's connected to the internet okay :)

He just needs to set up port forwarding for his p2p programs etc.

If you haven't used a router ever before it can be a little bit of a learning curve to get port forwarding set up. Google will have the answers, that's how I learned about it, and how to do it.

FWIW I would put ZoneAlarm in the bin if it was me, and also turn the Windows firewall off. Just use the router's own firewall.
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Yeah i was going to do that, get rid of ZoneAlarm as i hate the the thing as it keeps going **** up, but my mate says i need it on aswell. :confused:

Thats the funny thing, i was thinking last night that it cant be the router, as when i turn Za off and just have the routers firewall going, everything works fine, MSN is fine, Utorrent is fine (goes green tick) etc... so the ports must be fine, its just when i turn Za on at the same time, so it must be that, as surely if i have everything set fine through that (Za when using my USB modem) then say i set Utorrent away goes to Za says right your fine, then it goes to router, router should say yup your fine as well (as its doing when no Za is on), but it doesn't as something is stopping it getting through as it goes red, and it cant be the routers firewall (ports etc...) as as i said when i have Za off everything works fine through my router, its just when i turn Za on at the same time that something stops them getting through, and id say its Za.

Would it be fine just running the routers firewall then as you say (ive never used the windows one anyway) and getting rid of Za, if so then why would my mate say i need it running as well to stop me sending stuff out. :confused:

Thanks. :)
 
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The router's firewall will stop incoming traffic other than what you specify but it'll let everything go out. So, he's saying you need a software firewall to keep tabs on what is going out to the Internet from your machine which is true if you're paranoid or just security conscious. However, if you have fairly safe browsing habits and you have antivirus and antispyware, or you're just feeling plain confident, then you don't need a software firewall at all. I don't use one myself.
 
You can carry on doing anything that you normally do with no problems. Routers use stateful packet inspection which means that (aside from port forwards) it'll only allow traffic inbound that you've actually requested. As an example, a website - you'll make an outbound request on port 80 (or whatever the webserver uses) and the server will respond, the router knows it belongs to the outgoing request it sent and it allows it.

So it's for that reason that websites, games, MSN, email etc work fine. You'll only need to allow port forwards for inbound connections that you won't be initiating yourself - so if you were hosting an FTP server, that'd be a perfect example.

A software firewall is really only still needed if you're concerned about the possibility of spyware or you want to see exactly what application is accessing the Internet and how. One reason you might want to do that is for privacy reasons - in case you're concerned that an application is calling home. Most people rarely bother though.
 
Ahh right i see what you mean now, thanks for that, ive got all the usual Addware/Spyware programs on, think ill just ditch Za then (finally), and just use my routers firewall. :)

Ive another couple of mates who just use the routers, and they said they dont have any probs at all, thanks again. :)
 
Just an UPDATE:

Well i decided to reinstall me ZoneAlarm and its working fine now, MSN isn't dropping, and i am fine in these forums again, it now keeps me logged in, and i can post etc... :D

Utorrent was still blocked however, so i went to port forward, selected my Router, and selected Utorrent, and it took me through step by step what i had to do to get it through, some of it was wrong, but i found out what i needed to do instead as it was a bit diff, i added the port in the services for inbound, and set it to Allow Always, then i selected single IP address in the drop down box, and i put my IP in there and applied, then i did the same in the outbound services, added my Utorrent i already made, and in the IP Lan Address i again added my IP and applied, then upon watching Utorrent, it went from the red warning, to the yellow triangle, then it went to the green tick, so its working great. :D

That sound about right there to everyone, just want to make sure putting my IP address in both is correct (even though Utorrent is working fine).

Thanks. :)
 
dirtydog said:
He's connected to the internet okay :)
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So he is, I misunderstood his problem :o



dirtydog said:
He just needs to set up 'port forwarding' for his p2p programs etc.
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I've never set up port forwarding but I don't use P2P so perhaps that's the reason :confused:

The only program that I use that can be loosely considered P2P is Windows Live Messenger which I've noticed is extremely slow when sending and receiving files :mad:

I wouldn't know how to do 'port forwarding' either as my router is quite complicated with loads of menus and options.
 
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Just go to port forward and select your router from the list, and the program you want to forward, and it takes you through step by step with screenshots of your routers menus etc..., was well simple that way, and if i can do it i rekon anyone can as ive never ever used a router before in me life. :)
 
CurlyWhirly said:
I've never set up port forwarding but I don't use P2P so perhaps that's the reason :confused:
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Yeah it does depend on what apps you use. Most ordinary users never need to worry about port forwarding. And even apps which need it, still work without it - they just don't go very fast :p

This site may help educate you about the subject a little :)

http://www.portforward.com/

edit - actually I think Loadsamoney mentioned that didn't he :D
 
dirtydog said:
Yeah it does depend on what apps you use. Most ordinary users never need to worry about port forwarding. And even apps which need it, still work without it - they just don't go very fast :p

This site may help educate you about the subject a little :)

http://www.portforward.com/

edit - actually I think Loadsamoney mentioned that didn't he :D
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Yeah thats the one, you've linked to it which i failed to do. :D
 
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