newbie with simple adsl question

[Unique]

hi

my first tech post, and i'll start with something simple!

i used to have adsl a few years ago, connected via usb modem. it was essentially a fast dialup connection, in that i had to click on an icon to dialup and connect. it wasn't an "always on" connection like my current cable broadband. that in itself wasn't a huge problem, but twice a week the ISP would disconnect at about 2am on tuesdays and thursdays for a few minutes maintenance, but the connection wouldn't reconnect automatically so if i left something downloading overnight it would resume. annoyingly on top of that it would also disconnect from time to time during weekdays usually about once a week whilst at work. with cable, it's only been down about 3 short times in 3 years that i've noticed, as when it does go back up everything resumes as normal

i'm currently taking a serious look at swapping back to adsl as my cable connection isn't the same quality or VFM as it was. whilst i'll have to get a phoneline installed, the cost of the line plus ISP would be less than cable, and about four times as fast! what i am concerned about is if the connection will be "always on" or 99%, or if disconnections are still common. the ISP's i've looked at seem to provide an ADSL combined router and modem, so i would connect via CAT5 instead of USB at the moment on my cable modem, and internet connection sharing via homeplugs and CAT5 to my other pc in the other room. the supplied router has wifi but i'd prefer to use cabling for better connection and speeds (i have a laptop too, so wifi to that would be handy, but i'd like to be able to turn wifi on and off at will, just to completely secure the line). i'm not sure if perhaps the router/modem keeps the line "always on" instead of the pc having to reconnect

i'm sure this is a fairly simple question that most people with adsl would know straight away. any info regarding it would be appreciated. i normally keep my main pc online all the time, connected online, and share to other pc's when required. i understand i'd have to reconfigure everything to use the router, but that shouldn't be too hard, and would probably be a lot better than the current setup of usb and ics

cheers!

[GoNz0]

yes a router auto redials if the line drops.

some have idle settings that will unhook from the broadband line, but can be disabled.

[peterb]

Just to correct a couple of misunderstandings (or maybe just terminology)

The ADSL connection (even with your USB modem was always there - and althoughthe term dial up is (wrongly used) there is no dialling as such the telephone line acts only as a bearer for the ADSL signal - so there is always a physical connection. "Dialling" in this context only means creating the logical connection to your ISP.

A combined modem router will connect to your phone line through an ADSL filter and the authentication details (username and password) for your ISP are entered into that. That means that as long as power is supplied to the router, the router has a logical connection to the ISP and any computer connected to the router (provided everything is properly configured) can connect to the Internet via your ISP.

Routers do have provision for dropping the logical connection during idle periods - but there is no advantage in doing so.

The Wirelss side of a wireless router can be switched off - via the configuration pages of the router. This can usually be done through a wired connection only (and of course has to be done that way to re-enable wireless) While that does offer maximum security, there are other ways of securing a wireless network - and you should use those anyway, even if you do switch off wireless when you don't need it.

The main method is encryption - WPA(shared Key) is the strongest easily implemented system. WEP is common, but regarded as less secure If you can use WPA - do so. You can also control what computers can connect wirelessly, (based on the network card address - the MAC address) and there are some other things you can do.

Hope that answers your questions - and welcome to Hexus!

[Unique]

thanks guys. the detailed explanation was great. i'm not a newbie to pc's by any means but i'm not so knowledable about wifi. i knew WEP could be easily cracked and i didn't think i'd get full speed bandwidth via wifi, thus wanting to use a hard line. wifi is handy for the laptop and iphone though. i was wondering if there would have been a physical switch to turn off the wifi, but doing it through the pc (presumably in the same way as i can access my surfboard modem settings) is fine. i would use other security such as firewalls etc as i've always used. i was just alarmed to see so many neighbors wifi connections showing up when i turned on my laptops wifi, although only one or two aren't secured at all

i was considering moving to o2 broadband as i have an o2 mobile so £10 a month for 16mb sounds great. i'm not sure if the £15 for 24mb is as good VFM as presumably if you aren't guaranteed 24mb connection but can get 16mb you can get max speed from the 16mb connection instead of paying more for perhaps 18-20mb realistically. i was just concerned about the drop outs. it's fine if the line disconnects when idle, but when you leave something downloading "offpeak" overnight or during the day and it's not finished when you're home as the line has dropped, it's a bit of a pain

thanks again, that clears up my main issues for now, just got to look into a BT line and choose/confirm ISP to move from virgin

[peterb]

You will only get 16Mb/s from O2 if ypou live in an area served by an exchange that has been unbundled and O2 are a service provider.

www.samknows.co.uk will help you determine what providers are available at your exchange.

WEP can be cracked more easily than WPA (some will say it is trivially easy with the right tools) but you need to assess the risk yourself (I use WEP as I have a laptop that doesn't support WPA - I haven't had any problems) but obviously use WPA if you can.

[solar975]

You can check how far you are from your exchange (and which exchange you are on) using the link below (then use samknows to see which providers are unbundled):

http://www.dslzoneuk.net/distance.php

If you are close to the exchange <1 km you will get good speeds, if you are further away (>1.5km) you may not get the full advertised speed.

[CrazyMonkey]

WEP can be cracked more easily than WPA

Just a little note - WPA is also not difficult to crack however it is more time consuming than silly WEP.

I use WPA2 with rotating keys that need to be statically known, i also use mac address filtering which only allows access to computers with xxx mac address to connect. However a mac address can still be spoofed

But really, i doubt you will have much of a problem just using WPA or even WEP. Chances of a neighbour cracking into your router is minimal - If you lived in a block of flats or an incredibly bunched street then these chances would greatly increase.

[peterb]

But really, i doubt you will have much of a problem just using WPA or even WEP. Chances of a neighbour cracking into your router is minimal - If you lived in a block of flats or an incredibly bunched street then these chances would greatly increase.

And that is really the nub of it - it comes down to risk assessment - and probably the riskiest place is a uni hall of residence with a few computer science guys in it who will crack it to prove they can! Unless you are particularly targeted, then any one wanting to use your connection will go for an unprotected one before going to the bother of trying to crack yours!

[Unique]

thanks again. i checked with samknows the other week and i'm about 350 metres from the exchange so should get 16mb easily as i'm in the city centre

i also found out the o2 router has 4 wired ports which is more than enough for me, main pc, spare pc or laptop, xbox, and connection to the other room via homeplug to the other pc and xboxes (i have 3 cables running to the homeplug and just change cables if i need to swap, which isn't often, so no real need for another router using another power socket). that's just what i need, and i can turn the wifi on if i need to run windows updates, anti virus etc, but i have 3 mobile to do that as well as a backup internet access. i turn the wifi off on the laptop when i'm not using it, but i have zonealarm installed as well, so i'd say i was above average in the security stakes, i don't like to take unnecesarry risks