The Best LAN/Internet Connection - continued

What's Your Connection?

Wireless: A small transmitter sticks out the back of your PC. It sends an infrared signal that connects your boxes.
Example: Diamond HomeFree Wireless

AC Line Connection: This method uses your house's existing electrical wiring to connect your PCs and a printer.
Example: Intelogis PassPort AC LAN

USB Network: Uses a USB connector and a special USB cable to directly connect your PCs.
Example: EZ-Link USB Networking

USB to Ethernet: This method uses a special USB-to-Ethernet adapter to directly connect your PCs via Ethernet.
Example: ADS USB to Ethernet

Phone Line Connection: Much like the AC connection, this method uses your house's existing phone lines to transmit data throughout the house.
Example: HomeFree Phone Line

100-Base-T Network: Connects your PCs via a central hub or directly, using a "crossover" cable.
Example: D-Link 100-Base-T

It's called a proxy server. This technology has long been used by large companies as a sort of buffer between a company's network and the wild, wooly Internet. But lately, there have been low-cost alternatives for small LANs. Several of the home LAN packages ship with proxy software, including WinProxy and WinGate. Kali, a package designed to make IPX network games work over the Internet, also has a proxy server available, though it works only with Kali-approved games.

Of the three proxy options, WinGate is probably your best bet, though even it is not perfect. We connected to Quake II servers and Battle.Net servers (on the Internet) from a second system through another computer using a single user account. In both cases, games played fine, and there was no noticeable lag (beyond the normal lag you encounter playing games over the Internet). However, we never got Half-Life to directly connect to servers.

Despite repeated tries, we could never get connected to any game server using WinProxy. The proxy server from Kali works fine for Kali-approved games. At $69 for a three-user license, the home version of WinGate ranks as the cheapest way to take a couple of friends out on the Internet to look for trouble.


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