Which Broadband ? - Page 4

JuanPablo · #31 10-14-2004, 11:27 PM

hey guys dont want any hate mail but until this february i was a senior cable modem technician for ntl, have been for the last 4yrs.. it sucked and the shifts are cr@p so i left!
but did u know;

aol broadband (not narrowband) support is all handled by NTL technical support except for simple software issues.

aol broadband requires you to be in an ntl area because it uses ntls network (hence why ntl engineers install your broadband!)

the aol software works through a 'portal' and is indeed a complete nightmare!

you can only get ntl broadband in ntl areas, ntl narrowband (dial-up) is the only service that will route through a bt phone line

ntl are testing 3mb broadband and also wireless broadband (tests in london)

DownSouth · #32 10-15-2004, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JuanPablo

ntl are testing 3mb broadband and also wireless broadband (tests in london)

JP,

If you still have contact with people at NTL, could you find out when he expected roll-out date is?

Cheers
Paul.

JuanPablo · #33 10-15-2004, 10:06 AM

hey downsouth i will be seeing my mate who is an ntl training consultant later today probably - i will happily ask him if he knows how the trials are going.

DownSouth · #34 10-15-2004, 04:07 PM

Thanks JP, much appreciated.

Cheers
Paul.

audiracer · #35 10-15-2004, 07:21 PM

most of the people that i know who are on with AOL or NTL cant wait for their contracts to end so they can change to BT

John Marshall · #36 10-15-2004, 07:30 PM

Hi Chaps,
You lot go on about alsorts of stuff, which some of us don't understand, so try and be a little helpful, in English.. plain and simple for us none non-nerds.

audiracer · #37 10-15-2004, 07:43 PM

non-nerds or those that suffer from senior moments. lol

JuanPablo · #38 10-17-2004, 01:36 PM

hey downsouth well i firmly believe that there will be a merge between ntl and telewest in the future - this has been on the cards for a number of months but i think its gets pt on hold as telewest is in debt and ntl need to sort their own systems out before trying to adapt to more change!
as far as the wireless access goes i have been advised that this hasnt turned out be as good as wi-max which is a group of companies who have managed to adapt wireless internet with a range of 40miles, countour hugging and not needing a direct line of sight with a transmitter! this will be something to watch out for as they would only need a transmitter every 60miles or so...
so as far as 3mb broadband goes - they have already tested it but due to already congested routers its not a good idea to implement. once merged with telewest maybe but until then i think they need to sort their contention ratios out before piling more bandwidth strain on the routers!
in my opinion its a few years off. keep an eye out for wi-max though , it looks very promising!!

Old Smoothound · #39 10-17-2004, 08:12 PM

Hi fellas,

Thanks for all of your help and comments.

The next stage of the upgrade to broadand is on its its way.

But I am unsure as to how to "firewall" myself from hackers and dipsticks out on the net. Any ideas on how to go about this?

I have Norton anti virus proffesional on my system, but haven't got a clue how to use it, also have spybot that searches my system for nasties lurking in the dark!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers
Shaun

DownSouth · #40 10-17-2004, 08:40 PM

Shaun,

You will probably find that the Broadband modem you get supplied will have a firewall built into the hardware and will be NAT enabled. Hardware firewalls tend to be safer than software ones.

First check with your broadband suppplier to verify a firewall on the hardware. If this doesn't exist, drop me a PM and I'll point you towards some good software solutions. One to avoid is the firewall built into Windows XP. It's just not up to the job. You will find for a day or so that a software firewall will be a little disruptive as it initially blocks all your outbound traffic. Don't fear, it will ask you whether you wish a certain program to access the internet. You reply yes or no as required. Once the software has 'learned' this, it won't ask again. After a day or so it will become a lot quieter.

Anti-virus software is your main concern. Norton is good, it should be pretty much set-up ready to go. If you haven't done so already, do a full system scan. Then make sure the software is updating the virus pattern files on a regular basis. I use Norton and it checks for updates on a daily basis and does a scan of the system once a week on a Friday afternoon.

If you have any queries get in touch with Norton Tech Support.

Another major point to keep in mind is that Windows needs to be updated on a regular basis with patches for fixes that Microsoft releases on an almost daily basis.... It is wise to make sure your system is up-to-date. Some people will tell you that after they have updated they have had problems with their systems. This is usually down to an ID 10 T error. IT managers 'in the know' without fail keep their systems current. You should too.

And finally, make sure you backup your PC! I know, "what a pain in the arse" I hear you say. I thought that several weeks ago, got lazy, and spent several days repairing this very machine. I now have my external drive attached to the laptop everyday for a backup.

Drop me a line if I can be of any more help/hindrance - (delete as appropriate).

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