Help on home networking

Discussion in 'Networking and Computer Security' started by betsy, Aug 15, 2005.

  1. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    Sorry if this subject has already been covered or if its a stupid question but I am new.

    Is it possible to wirelessly network my laptop to my home computer and still get it to connect from around 4 miles away?

    Or is there any otherway I can connect to the internet from my laptop without having a home phone line installed, which is cheap? ie under £200?

    Thank you xx
     
  2. zRoCkIsAdDiCtInG

    zRoCkIsAdDiCtInG HWF Guitar Freak

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    to still be able to connect from four miles would be seriously hard and it would have to result in doing a wifi can which is illegal and not recommended

    if you have sattelite tv then you can get a satellite internet connection, but it costs per month
     
  3. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    Oh right, I didn't know that would be illegal, thanks for saving me from getting into trouble!

    I was thinking of just getting a connection but I don't want to be tied to a 12 month contract as I may only be there for 3 months.

    Do you know if the GPRS cards from mobile networks work out expensive?
    ie Vodafone GPRS or 02 aircard?
     
  4. zRoCkIsAdDiCtInG

    zRoCkIsAdDiCtInG HWF Guitar Freak

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    i think it would cost a bit perhaps over your budget, wait for other feedback
     
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  5. Anti-Trend

    Anti-Trend Nonconformist Geek

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    Satellite is not a feasible solution for laptop internet access. The equipment and service are expensive, and the equipment is physically larger than a laptop. The best solution I can think of is getting a cellular carrier which offers dialup over cell-phone, and simply dialing up through your phone. It's slow, and the premium is usally high. But if you absolutely must have such a thing, it's the cheapest and most reliable way I know of. Of course, if you live in a major metro, there's always municiple WiFi...

    -AT
     
  6. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    Right ok, does anyone know of a network in the UK that does this or what extra equipment I would need?
    I am really in the dark about this, I have never heard of dialing up through my mobile before.
     
  7. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    Think I have it sorted, just purchased a bluetooth dongle thingy!
    I beleive I can connect to gprs on my phone and send it to my laptop by bluetooth,

    Thanks for all your help xxx
     
  8. Impotence

    Impotence May the source be with u!

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    GPRS is an ok offer.... but bear in mind 02 charge per MB transferd.... it might cost a :swear: fortune, what are your useage plans?

    Theese guys managed 125 miles with an unamplified wifi card (world record) http://www.wifi-toys.com/wi-fi.php?a=articles&id=91 its not a "practical" option tho! ;)
     
  9. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    I was planning on probably using it for a few hours a week, not much really as I have internet access at work. I also have o2 sim cards (6 of them) which include 1mb of gprs a month. Do you think this will be enough to cover a few hours a week?

    Nice link, great idea but far too advanced for me!!
     
  10. Impotence

    Impotence May the source be with u!

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    file transfers or web pages?

    Dont you have to top-up £10 a month to get the 1mb free GPRS? (you also get 300 free txts) if its the same as my sim, if you put on £15 you also get 150 off peak mins...

    you could try direct-dial to your computer (using the free mins), i havnt a clue how to set this up tho :(

    Check your PM's (i sent you my msn) tis easyer to talk about ths when you get a quick reply!
     
  11. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    Well the whole idea is for my boyfriend to talk to his ma on msn messenger when he moves here. We're staying with friends until we find somewhere to rent ourselves and they dont have a phone line.

    Yes i beleive that is right but we will use 6 of the sim cards between us easily as we are both text-a-holics!
     
  12. Impotence

    Impotence May the source be with u!

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    msn uses basically zero bandwidth as its only transfering text (unless you go over the top with custom emotions)

    So using your phone as a modem [via the bluetooth] should be fine.

    You should disable all adds etc that msn displays as it downloads theese for its servers (using your bandwidth), you will need to edit the registry to do this....

    Or (the simple option)

    Download a 3rd party msn client such as GAIM (which doesnt diaplays the ads) http://tinyurl.com/ddrxt]
     
  13. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    OK now I'm getting really confused. I've got as far as getting my laptop to recognise that mt molbile is there and it attempts to connect to the internet but thats as far as I can get.
    I've checked the o2 website and that hasn't really helped me. The only settings I can find there is how to create my email account on my phone.
    Dp you know how I can connect to gprs on my phone then transfer the connection to my laptop using bluetooth?
     
  14. Impotence

    Impotence May the source be with u!

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    Ok, this is from what i remember of using bluetooth on my computer (windoze XP)

    You should have a little Bluetooth icon next to your clock (if not you can acceess it through controll panel)

    The screen that allows you to search for new devices also allows you to view the details of devices you have connected to in the past.

    Check if you have dial up networking and that it is enabled on that screen (my phone's appear as "dial up networking on com3" [or something similar])

    I will try to get soem screen shots of the window im talking about up tonight (im at school @ the mo)

    Good luck!

    *edit* if the dial up networking option is selected your phone should be recognised as a modem by IE etc (u might have to set up the connection settings in control panel) *edit*
     
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  15. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    I think I have got this far. I can get my laptop to find my mobile then it comes up with the connection box. I don't have a clue what to put in that. It asks for a number to dial, the user name and password. Do I need to dial a connection if i'm trying to use GPRS?

    You really should be doing your school work then! I'm at work but not doing anything!
     
  16. pelvis_3

    pelvis_3 HWF Member For Life

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    Your service provider should have the network settings on their website!
     
  17. Impotence

    Impotence May the source be with u!

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    (As above) you need to put in your ISP stuff (internet service provider).

    This might be costly, (i think) you will be using the phone to call a computer (your ISP) instead of using the GPRS

    So

    It will cost you 5p a min (after 3 mins) to be on the internet, allthough you will get 2 and a half hours of free time per sim card (if you top up £15 a month) + after that you have got £15 of credit to spend

    basically, you computer is using your phone as a dial up modem, you need the number of your ISP to tell your computer who to call.

    Do you have more than one computer? (do you have a computer that stays at home when you take your laptop with you)

    If you do then you can set up your home computer so that you can call it from your laptop (using your mobile, you will also need a dialup modem for your home computer) and then your computer at home will send recive information off the internet (via the broadband) and send it to your laptop (using the phone call from your laptop to transfer the data)

    This will mean that your home phone is tied up when you are using the internet from your laptop (via the mobile)

    But it does mean that you only need to pay for one connection per month :)

    im still at school :(
     
  18. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    I put all my settings into the connection wizard last night from the o2 website.
    It all looked good and set up right but when I try to connect it says a connection with the remote computer cannot be established.
    It looks like it dialing the connection from my laptop but my moble does nothing.
    Any ideas?
     
  19. betsy

    betsy Geek Trainee

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    Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase people help me!! I know someone out there has the answers to everything, please tell me how to fix it! xxx
     
  20. Impotence

    Impotence May the source be with u!

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    can you post the URL to the o2 stuff... i want to see what you put in :)
     

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