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Configuring a Dial-Up Connection

Now that you have learned a little bit about how dial-up Internet access works, it's time to get your computer ready for this. Before you start dialing, tell your computer that you have attached a modem and are using it to connect to the Internet. The good news is that is easy to do.

Configuring a dial-up connection can be as simple as letting a Microsoft Windows Wizard do the work for you. However, the wizard isn't a mind reader. It gets you a functional connection but not necessarily an optimal connection. Later, this chapter returns to that point. For right now, take a look at how you can get the wizard to work for you.

From your computer's Control Panel (assuming you are using a Microsoft operating system), select Network and Internet Connections. The Network and Internet Connections menu is illustrated in Figure 13-5.

Figure 13-5. Open the Network and Internet Connections Menu

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Under the Pick a Task section, click Set Up or Change Your Internet Connection. That brings up the Internet Properties Connections tab shown in Figure 13-6.

Figure 13-6. Connections Tab of the Internet Properties Dialog Box

You are probably thinking: Where's the wizard? Fear notthis is where the wizard lives.

Click once to select the New Dial-up Connection item and then click the Add button to the right. That brings up the New Connection Wizard screen illustrated in Figure 13-7.

Figure 13-7. New Connection Wizard

Select Dial-up to Private Network and press Next, as indicated in Figure 13-7.

Enter the telephone number that you will dial. As reminded by the wizard, this is the actual number that you feed to your modem, so you might need to preface it with a 1 or a 1 and an area code. When in doubt, dial the number from a regular telephone to figure out exactly what your modem needs to dial.

When you have entered the number, press Next at the bottom of the screen.

The next screen you see lets you name your dial-up connection for future reference. The name Dial-up My ISP is shown here. This is illustrated in Figure 13-8.

Figure 13-8. Naming Your Dial-Up Connection

Click Finish. After clicking the Finish button, you might be surprised to learn that you really aren't finished with the creation process. Instead, you get yet another screen that asks you to furnish some more personal information.

Provide the information (such as your network logon and password for that dial-up ISP).

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On this screen, you also need to check the box that instructs your computer's operating system to automatically detect your modem's settings. This is the safest way to configure a modem and takes the guesswork out of your chore.

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Press the OK button at the bottom of the screen when you are finished entering your personal information. This screen is illustrated in Figure 13-9.

Figure 13-9. Adding Personal Information

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After you press OK, you are returned to the Connections tab of the Internet Connections menu. The difference is that now you can see the dial-up connection you just configured.

From now on, whenever you want to modify your connection, all you have to do is click that named connection and press Settings.

There! You've done it. You have successfully set up a dial-up connection on your computer. Will you be happy with it? Probably. Just to make sure, you are shown how to track the wizard and see just what decisions it made for you.

Tracking Down the Wizard

As said before, most of the default settings selected by the Network Setup Wizard get you up and running. It is still a good idea to check on the wizard and make some important refinements. To do that, you need to know what settings the wizard modifies and how to modify them without his help.

Go back to the Network and Internet Connections menu you saw illustrated in Figure 13-5.

Click the Network Connections option. The Network Connections Menu you see next offers a choice of managing either dial-up connections or LAN/high-speed connections.

Select the Dial-Up Connections option. Figure 13-10 shows you this screen.

Figure 13-10. Network Connections Menu

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As you've seen throughout this chapter, dial-up connections are established on demand. Thus, it shouldn't be a surprise to see that the dial-up connection just configured shows a disconnected state while two of the three high-speed connections are enabled, or active.

Now turn your attention to a couple of settings.

From the Network Connections Menu, double-click the Dial-Up My ISP (or whatever name you have chosen for your dial-up Internet connection). This brings up a box you probably haven't seen before. That screen appears for you in Figure 13-11.

Figure 13-11. Checking Your Dial-Up Configuration

That screen is simple enough: It shows a user ID but hides the password for the sake of security. Also, for the sake of security, you have the option of limiting this ID, password, and dial-up connection for just yourself. In fact, that's the default that the wizard selects for you. Windows XP allows you to establish multiple user identities. Thus, even though this could be your computer, your wife and children could use it via their own logons. The default setting prevents anyone else from using my connection to the Internet.

The next interesting field is the telephone number to be dialed. Under normal circumstances, this number shouldn't change. However, you might be traveling or experience network difficulties that require you to either modify or change the telephone number. If so, here's your opportunity to do so.

If you are trying to connect from an office or hotel, you might be dialing through a privately owned telephone switch (known as a PBX or private branch exchange) that services the entire building. If so, a special numeric signal must be sent to indicate your wish to dial outside that local switch. Typically a 9 is that signal, but that is not universally true.

If you are having trouble connecting from a large building or hotel, you might want to ask what number to dial to get out of that building! Put that number in front of the number you are dialing.

When it comes time to actually establish a dial-up connection to the Internet, this is the screen that you use. Click the Dial button at the lower left of the box and away you go!

If, however, you are interested in seeing what other decisions the wizard has made on your behalf, you might want to explore other buttons and tabs on this box first. Click the Properties button at the bottom of this box to continue exploring.

General Tab

The first tab you get to explore comes up automatically when you click Properties in the General tab. Figure 13-12 shows you this screen.

Figure 13-12. The General Tab

The General tab is where you can add other, alternate dial-up telephone numbers. Remember: The wizard lets you stipulate one but you might need more! Clicking the Alternates button lets you do this.

The wizard also figured out what type of modem was installed and selected that manufacturer and model number. If you want to change that modem's settings, this is the screen that lets you do that, too. Simply click the Configure button to see what your options are. Fortunately, this is one area where the wizard does a good job and you shouldn't need to change any modem settings. Unless you like to live dangerously, it is time to move on to the Options tab.

Options Tab

Earlier, this chapter told you that one of the disadvantages to dial-up connections is the amount of time required to actually set up the call. Under normal operating conditions, call setup time is seconds, not minutes. However, some conditions such as busy signals can cause you to wait seemingly forever to establish a connection. The Options tab shows you how to manage your dialing and redialing options. This tab is shown in Figure 13-13.

Figure 13-13. The Options Tab

The dialing options are there for your peace of mind. Somehow, it always feels better when you can see your call setup attempt making progress. Launching the task and not getting any feedback at all during the setup leaves you wondering if the call is really being set up.

The selected redialing options are those you hope never to use. If these rules come into effect, it is because your attempt to set up a call to the Internet failed. Multiplying the number of retry attempts by the amount of time between the redial attempts shows you just how long it can take to get onto the Internet using a dial-up connection.

The Options tab has a button labeled X.25. That's an ancient network technology you will probably never have to worry about unless you travel to lesser developed nations. If you limit your travels to North America, you probably can go a lifetime without ever having to worry about that button or technology!

The only option on this menu that you might want to change is the one labeled Redial if Line Is Dropped. That's fairly self explanatory: If you check this box, Windows automatically starts redialing your Internet access connection if your session is disconnected while in use. Why the wizard doesn't select this for you is a mystery to me, but that's why it is important to track down the wizard.

Security Tab

Despite its important if not ominous name, the contents of this tab are really anticlimactic. Surely there is more to securing a TCP/IP connection than this paltry set of options indicates! Indeed, there is more to securing a TCP/IP connection than Microsoft would have you believe. I'll vacate my soapbox for now and help you understand why this tab exists.

Figure 13-14 shows you the Security tab.

Figure 13-14. Security Tab

As you can see in Figure 13-14, you really have only two Security options available on this tab. The first set is labeled Typical (which evokes the reaction, "My thought exactly!") and Advanced. The wizard sets just three Typical settings:

To use just an ID and password as opposed to more rigorous authentication. The wizard defaults to the least secure method of authenticating you.

Whether you want to use your Windows logon as the logon ID when dialing remote networks. The wizard doesn't activate this feature.

Deciding if you want to encrypt all data that you send and receive. The wizard leaves this feature off. If you activate it and then try to dial a network that doesn't support encryption, your dial-up session is always automatically terminated. It's probably best to leave this turned off.

The advanced settings requiresas the box saysa knowledge of security and security protocols. If you select the Advanced settings and then click the Settings button to its right, your efforts are rewarded with a handful of options for other authentication protocols. For the sake of connecting to the Internet, these authentication protocols probably won't be necessary. However, if you were to ever connect to a private network (such as your employer's wide-area network) using a dial-up connection, you might find these options necessary.

Overall, the wizard does a decent job of selecting security options for you. My only gripe with this tab is that there is more to securing a TCP/IP communications session than just encryption and authentication.

Networking Tab

If you click the Networking tab, you see yet another screen that lets you configure communications protocols. Notice that Windows assumes you are using TCP/IP. It is conveniently selected for you.

Figure 13-15 shows you the Networking Properties menu. On this menu you can specify just two things: whether you are connecting to a Microsoft or UNIX system and which protocols you use to communicate with that remote system.

Figure 13-15. Networking Properties Menu

The default values on the Networking Properties menu likely do just fine. Clicking this menu's Properties button brings up another screen, which allows you to stipulate IP address information. The default is that your computer gets an IP address for you automatically when you dial up to your ISP. The same is true for a Domain Name System (DNS). Unless you have an IP address permanently assigned to you by your ISP (which is extremely unlikely, especially when you connect via dial-up), these two options are perfect for you. Figure 13-16 shows you the default values.

Figure 13-16. The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties Menu

Advanced Tab

The last configuration setting for your dial-up Internet connection is hidden under the Advanced tab of the New Dial-up Connection menu. You can choose only two options here and the first one is really important. Figure 13-17 shows you this screen.

Figure 13-17. Advanced Properties Menu

Did you notice that the first option isn't checked? Apparently the wizard doesn't believe it is necessary to protect your computer and network from unwanted intrusions while you are connected to the Internet. That option is really a roundabout way of saying "Would you like to activate the firewall that comes bundled with Windows?" The answer is: absolutely!

A firewall can be either a physical device or a piece of software that protects you from unwanted Internet intrusions. When it comes to the Internet, what you don't see absolutely hurts you. Remember: TCP/IP is always running when your computer is turned on. That means it is always available for your communications needs, but it is also always available for answering any inbound communications attempts.Internet Control Message Protocol-based messages that originate outside your network. Such steps are small, but all contribute to your protection.

At a minimum, the "Would you like to activate the firewall?" box in Windows XP should come checked for you as a default. If nothing else, this option is important enough that it should be the first option in the Security tab. This critical feature should not be hidden under the Advanced tab. Doing so sends the message that if you don't consider yourself an astute user of networked computers, you don't need anything tucked away on that tab. This is the biggest reason of all to not trust the wizard.

Now that you have put up with the ranting, rest easy knowing that you learned how to properly configure a dial-up connection to the Internet. The key word in the preceding sentence was properly. Anyone can follow the wizard, but you know how to keep him honest, too. That's really all there is to it!