Advice wanted on broadband setup

[RogerS]

Ike

As you are going down that route then PLEASE get yourself a decent firewall like ZoneAlarm.

Roger

 

[ike]

As you are going down that route

I have all your recommendations ringing in my ears, and I do not doubt the wisdom of Zen etc. I am a poor soul with little in the bank and compromise I must. It's a cheaper ISP or nuthin' I'm afraid - simple as that. Still it's not like having a crap tool that's not even good to sit and watch (no, not Harrison Ford!), I can change to another outfit if necessary.

Very timely Roger as I was about to ask for advice on what is the best software for
a)parental control to save young Ikelets from accidental embarrassment - (yeah, right!)
b)anti-virus
c)firewall
d)spam (desirable but not essential)

I am all but paranoid about having broadband fully expecting the computer to go **** up in 5 minutes. I really don't wnat to spend evenings pratting about getting the damn thing just to work properly!

cheers

Ike

 

[RogerS]

Ike

For my two-pennorth,

1)set up a separate user account for the Ikelets and don't give them Admin privileges

2) parental controls....not being one (a parent, I mean) can't advise :lol:

3) firewall - ZoneAlarm (once installed switch off your Microsoft one)

4) virus - avg from www.grisoft.com is good

5) spam - if you are running Outlook (not Outlook Express) then spambayes is very good...and free.

I avoid Symantec ie Norton as much as I can....seems to me that they spend a lot of their time sowing FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) IMHO let alone insidiously creeping into every orifice in your computer :evil:

Did you check out MetroNet? I'm on their £10 a month plus VAT deal which is pretty good.

 

[dedee]

Ike,
once you have broadband the need for offline email is reduced therefore an online email might be worth consideration. It seems a lot more secure to me if the likes of Gmail are holding spam mails on their servers rather then than on my PC. Mind your they seem very good at blocking spam anyway. I exclusively use online email now with accounts with GMail and Yahoo.
If you would like a Gmail account PM your email address & I'll send you an invitation.

Andy

 

[ike]

Roger said:

Did you check out MetroNet?

Yes. Comparing like for like, (2Mbit) Plusnet is £14.99 v. £18.75 for Metronet.

Andy said,

If you would like a Gmail account PM your email address & I'll send you an invitation.

Thanks Andy. I've got a Yahoo account at the moment. Useful when I could access it at work but not any more. It's pretty good at stopping spam and I doubt I'll ever use more than 5% of a 1 Gb mailbox, so I'll stick with it for now.

cheers

Ike

 

[DaveL]

Comparing like for like, (2Mbit) Plusnet is £14.99 v. £18.75 for Metronet.

But do you realy need 2Mbit?

For a bit of surfing and forum use 512Kbit is plenty, why pay for more if you are not going to make full use of it?

 

[ike]

But do you realy need 2Mbit?

I don't know, it seemed like a good idea. I haven't signed on the line yet.

 

[Adam]

I have some bottom end NTL service 250k? something like that - and its more than enough for fast browsing. Only uploading large amounts of photos causes problems.

Adam

 

[ike]

It's beginning to feel like 'sticking the pin in blindfolded' choosing an ISP.

I could slide into an agony of indecision between 512K, 2Mb or whatever, when it's a difference of about £2 p.m. but whats the point?.
The bottom line for me is the 1st year cost - getting started. Some of the cheapest tarrifs exclude the connection fee - £50-£70, or no hardware included (£20-£30).

I have found Norton Internet Security 2005 on special offer for £22.50 - so that's the software sorted. With connection and 1st month sub, a grand total of £49 to get going safely.

I ain't gonna lose any more sleep (yet)! :roll:

cheers

Ike

 

[RogerS]

Well Ike, to be honest I didn't realise that price was your only criteria.

Good luck with your system.

 

[dennyk]

I have a Netgear DG834G V2.

I use it on Tiscali Broadband and it works fine

 

[ike]

Roger says:

Well Ike, to be honest I didn't realise that price was your only criteria.

That's because it isn't. I looked at price against stated performance, and there is such a large spread on price for a given performance. Note I didn't say u]actual[/u] performance. That's the point though. I can't afford £20 or £25 p.m or whatever, so I'm having to take calculated risk that cheap ISP A might in fact not be crap (at least for my needs), compared to well recommended ISP B or C. Hopefully I'll get good bangs for my bucks.

Ike

 

[Alf]

Ike,

I know exactly what you mean. I, too, had to look for best bang for the limited buck. It's a total 'mare, and frankly something of a lottery as far as I can tell, but crossing your fingers and hoping for the best at least costs nowt. :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[ike]

"...crossing your fingers and hoping for the best at least costs nowt".

As long as isn't a 12 month contract! :? 8)