High-octane surfing

[hvp05]

I got my Comcast cable modem installed right about 3 hours ago and so far I love it. Having this truly does expose a new dimension of the Internet; graphics fly and video is pretty smooth, as it should be. All of this I could not do before with dinosaur dial-up. So I'm happy, but...

I'm wondering if anyone has had problems with cable. I have already experienced a few [big] lags in downloading that I am not sure whether to expect as rare or somewhat frequent.

Also, I know my security practices must become more vigilant. I'll have to install a firewall, for one. Any recommendations?

Thank ya kindly...

 

[tomchamp]

I got my Comcast cable modem installed right about 3 hours ago and so far I love it. Having this truly does expose a new dimension of the Internet; graphics fly and video is pretty smooth, as it should be. All of this I could not do before with dinosaur dial-up. So I'm happy, but...

I'm wondering if anyone has had problems with cable. I have already experienced a few [big] lags in downloading that I am not sure whether to expect as rare or somewhat frequent.

Also, I know my security practices must become more vigilant. I'll have to install a firewall, for one. Any recommendations?

Thank ya kindly...

I remember the day I got DSL...I was like holy chit at the speed...as far as a firewall..do you have XP?

 

[FromTexas]

I remember the day I got DSL...I was like holy chit at the speed...as far as a firewall..do you have XP?

If you answer, "Yes" to that question... you should be asking if you have anything else.

 

[FromTexas]

BTW- if you have had your cable on more than a few hours without a firewall, you are already being pinged like mad. Wait till you see the results once your firewall goes up and you list all the intrusions attempted. They happen per every five seconds or so.. sometimes more.

 

[tomchamp]

BTW- if you have had your cable on more than a few hours without a firewall, you are already being pinged like mad. Wait till you see the results once your firewall goes up and you list all the intrusions attempted. They happen per every five seconds or so.. sometimes more.

Never had a problem with XP's firewall, but your right if don't have one...omg!

 

[FromTexas]

Never had a problem with XP's firewall that I know of, but your right if don't have one...omg!

:fixed:

 

[vraiblonde]

If Comcast is anything like Adelphia, expect glitches and outages at least once a week.

Still better than dial-up, though

 

[tomchamp]

If Comcast is anything like Adelphia, expect glitches and outages at least once a week.

Still better than dial-up, though

I have had Verizon DSL since march. Never had a problem!

 

[vraiblonde]

They happen per every five seconds or so.. sometimes more.

I've had 544 so far this month, says McAfee.

 

[FromTexas]

I've had 544 so far this month, says McAfee.

Hmm, just checked mine and they have slowed a lot. I'm getting 10-40 a day now. Of course, I have had my firewall running for a long time now. It was real nasty right after the firewall went up on my last computer -- about 1 every few seconds to few minutes. I guess they knew it had been open access before that.

 

[meangirl]

If Comcast is anything like Adelphia, expect glitches and outages at least once a week.

Still better than dial-up, though

I have never had a problem with Comcast...no glitches or outages for at least a year now. I love it.

 

[hvp05]

I have never had a problem with Comcast...

Thanks. (FT and Tom, sorry... no huggy for you.)

I am running a 6 year old Dell that still uses its out-of-the-box version of Win98. I considered upgrading to WinXP some time ago, but I heard that the system might become unstable, so I steered away.

I have never used an actual firewall, but I have done port checking and virus scanning... and I guess I'm lucky that I have not received anything really bad.

I have been reading product reviews on Amazon and they are mixed. Focusing on the security suites (Anti-virus, -spyware, firewall, etc.), Norton, McAfee, Panda and ZoneLabs have been reviewed as mediocre at best. The most highly-rated one is PC-cillin by Trend Micro. T.M. also has one of the most affordable offers. (Very good thing )

By the way, I have disconnected the cable modem until I get some kind of protection installed.