Windows 98SE

Sharing an Internet connection between several computers in one house or office can be extremely desirable. Sharing either a broadband connection or a modem helps free up telephone resources and reduce the cost of Internet providers.

It is relatively straightforward to share an Internet connection between several computers by way of a wireless or cabled network, and recent versions of Windows have included software applications to assist in this task. Unfortunately, the Internet Connection Sharing wizard included with Windows 98 was not initially very polished. It was difficult to configure, and prone to failure. Subsequent Windows releases have greatly improved on it, to the point where Internet connection sharing under Windows XP is automated and extremely easy.
The following steps are for using a cable-based LAN to share your Internet connection through one computer. The steps remain the same if you are using a wireless connection.

Step 1 The first step is to uninstall Internet Connection Sharing if it is already installed. This is accessed under the Add/Remove Programs tab of the Control Panel. Select Windows Setup and make sure that under Internet Tools, Internet Connection Sharing is not ticked.

Step 2 Also under the Control Panel, double-click on Network. A
list of the installed components should be displayed, and it should include NetBEUI (for each network card or dialup adaptor), TCP/IP (for each network card or dialup adaptor), Client for Microsoft Networks, and File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks.

Step 3 If any protocol is not installed, click on Add at the bottom of the window and install them. NetBEUI and TCP/IP are found under the Protocols setting, Client for Microsoft Networks is found under Clients, and File and Printer sharing is under Services. After updating the list of installed protocols, clients and services, reboot the computer.

Step 4 It is a good idea to test your Internet connection after rebooting -- make sure that you can still access Web sites as usual. It is not very useful to try to share a faulty Internet connection, and testing now can save you a lot of frustration later.

Step 5 Now it is time to configure the client computers. You need to copy the configuration list from the host computer almost exactly to get the client machines working smoothly. The only difference will be that you will only have one network card in the client machine, so the TCP/IP protocol will only be installed once, as there is no need for your client machines to have the dialup adaptor service installed. Don't install NetBEUI on the client machines either.

Step 6 Highlight the TCP/IP tab on the client machine and select Properties. Under the IP Address tab, select "Obtain an IP address automatically". Select the DNS Configuration tab and disable the DNS. Next, select the Gateway tab and delete any installed gateways. Ignore any NetBIOS, Advanced or Bindings tabs and reboot.

Step 7 Now Windows should be clear of configuration data, and it will default to automatic network configuration. You are then free to configure the Internet Connection Sharing component. Keep in mind that you now only have to install the ICS component on the host computer. Under the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, and then Windows Setup.

Step 8 Under Windows Setup, highlight Internet Tools and click Details. Select Internet Connection Sharing, which will launch the ICS setup wizard. After the wizard has commenced, don't press Cancel or restart the computer or you will have to start again.

Step 9 If you are sharing a connection over a modem, the next screen should say "To select the connection you want to use to access the Internet, start the Internet Connection Wizard". If this is correct, press Next. If not, make sure that you have the right protocols and clients installed as in Step 2. Click through the remaining steps and reboot the computer upon completion.

Step 10 If you are sharing your Internet connection via a cable modem, choose the "High-speed connection" option under the Internet Connection Wizard. First, select the NIC that leads to your Internet connection, then the NIC that is connected to your hub. After being prompted to make a network setup disk, you can reboot the computer and your Internet connection should be shared between any client machines you've configured.

Windows 2000

After you have assembled the necessary hardware (a computer that you want to serve as the host fitted with a modem or cable modem and NIC, client computers fitted with network cards, a hub and CAT 5 cable), setting up Internet connection sharing under Windows 2000 is somewhat simpler than under Windows 98SE. Although the basic steps are the same -- you must configure the hardware and protocols before running the connection wizard -- the Windows 2000 wizard is more advanced than the one in Windows 98SE, and is much simpler in its execution. Initial configuration of the server is vastly simplified, as you don't have to configure the Internet Connection Sharing component separately; it is an option that can be checked within the network configuration screen. Configuration of the client machines is the same as under Windows 98SE; all you need to do is remove all the settings from under the TCP/IP tab, and Windows will be able to find other machines on the local network. Enabling Internet connection sharing with Windows Me is essentially the same process as for Windows 2000.

Step 1 The first step you should take after connecting up the hardware is to set up the host. Under the Start Menu, select Settings and then Control Panel. Double-click on the icon entitled Network and Dial-up Connections. This will open a window showing a list of all the network connections to your computer.

Step 2 You should have at least two devices listed in the Network and Dial-up Connections window. If you have a cable modem connection you will have two NICs listed here; otherwise, you will have a dialup connection and one NIC displayed. If you have no modem or network cards listed, it is possible that your hardware is not configured properly.

Step 3 Right-click on the device that connects to the Internet (this should be either your NIC to the cable modem or the modem itself) and select Properties. Under the General tab is a list of installed components and protocols. Included in this list should be NetBEUI Protocol, Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and Client for Microsoft Networks.

Step 4 Provided that the list of protocols is present, the computers on your home network will be able to find each other. The final step on the host computer is to choose the Sharing tab next to the General tab, and tick the box labelled "Enable Internet Connection Sharing for this connection". You will usually have to reboot to complete the changes.

Step 5 Setting up the client computers is something that is not dependent on the OS -- the method is the same whether you are using Windows 95 or XP. Under the Control Panel, select Network and Dial-up Connections. In this window, you should see a listing for the NIC that you are using to connect to the hub or host computer.

Step 6 Right-click on the NIC that you would like to use to connect to the LAN and select Properties. Under the General tab, the following protocols should be included: Client for Microsoft Networks and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Note that you don't need NetBEUI installed on your client machines, and sometimes it will prevent ICS from working correctly.

Step 7 Select the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) entry and click on Properties. Select both "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically". You want your computer to be able to find the network connections freely without needing to request IP and DNS information from another source.

Step 8 Still in the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties box, click Advanced. Now remove all the data that is listed in the IP Settings, DNS and WINS fields. This will clear the data from the network settings fields so the computer will easily find the host computer on the network.

Step 9 After saving your settings and rebooting the client machine, you should be able to share the host machine's Internet connection. Even if you leave the settings fields in Internet Explorer empty, your browser will still be able to find the Internet connection without being specifically configured.

Step 10 As with Windows 98SE, Windows 2000 doesn't have an inbuilt firewall. If you are sharing your connection between several computers, it would be advisable to install a third-party firewall application to safeguard your computer against outside attacks. Any computer on your network is vulnerable, not just the one that is being used as the gateway.

Windows XP

Internet Connection Sharing in Windows XP is more refined than in Windows 2000 and Windows Me. Sharing an Internet connection across several computers under Windows XP is a trivial task, as a checkbox is provided to enable or disable Internet connection sharing from within the network settings window. A firewall is also included with Windows XP, which provides protection from data attacks outside your home network.

Step 1 The first step is to log into your computer with administrator access, and open Network Connections, accessed by clicking on the Start menu and Control Panel, then double-clicking Network Connections. You can also right-click on the My Network Places icon on your desktop and select Properties.

Step 2 The Network Connections window will list all the network adaptors that are installed on your computer. If you have your hardware correctly configured, you should see at least one network card that leads to your network, and a modem or NIC that connects to the Internet. Make sure that the devices you are going to use to share your Internet connection are enabled.

Step 3 Select the dialup adaptor or the NIC that is connected to your cable modem, and then, under the Network Tasks sidebar, click Change Settings of this Connection to access the settings window. You can also access this pane by right-clicking on the dialup adaptor and selecting Properties.

Step 4 Click on the Advanced tab to bring up the Internet Connection Sharing window, and tick the box entitled "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection". This is the core of Windows XP's Internet connection sharing capabilities.

Step 5 If you are using a dialup connection, it is possible to configure the computer so that it will automatically dial a connection to the Internet if any computer on the network requests data from a network connection. If you want to enable this feature, select the "Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection" box.

Step 6 Under the Home Networking connection setting under Internet Connection Sharing, select the adaptor that connects your host computer to the other computers on the network. This will enable the client computers to share your connection with the host. After rebooting your host computer, it will be ready to share the connection with any client machines.

Step 7 The system for setting up client machines to share a connection under Windows XP differs slightly from previous versions of Windows, in that you can access all the settings that require modification from within Internet Explorer. After opening Internet Explorer, click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options.

Step 8 In the "Dial-up and Virtual Private Network settings" section under the Connections tab, make sure that the box labelled "Never dial a connection" is selected. Access the proxy and automatic configuration settings for your LAN by clicking on LAN Settings under the "Local Area Network (LAN) settings" heading at the bottom.

Step 9 Under Automatic Configuration, make sure that "Use automatic configuration script" and "Automatically detect settings" are not ticked. As you are not using a proxy server, clear the box labelled "Use a proxy server for your LAN" under the "Proxy server" heading.

Step 10 As a basic firewall is provided under Windows XP, it is prudent to use it to protect the other computers that are connected to your network. Under the Network Connections Control Panel, right-click on the adaptor that connects to the Internet and choose Properties. Click on Advanced and select Internet Connection Firewall. If you run the firewall software on your host computer, all client machines will be protected under the umbrella of the host.