Now you see it, now you don't

Hi All

I would be very grateful if someone can shed some light on a weird phenomena
in my Network Connections Folder.

I have a Netgear Router/Modem connected to my PC through a Netgear NIC. My
daughter connects to the router via an Wireless Adapter.

This is the weird thing : From time to time, when I look in my Network
Connections Folder, there is an icon labelled Internet Gateway in addition to
my usual LAN icon. If I look at the stattus of this icon it shows data
flowing between two PCs. If I disable it, I can't connect to the Internet,
but then suddenly it disappears altogether and my connection to Internet is
not affected.

What is this elusive icon, why does it appear from time to time? Can I stop
it from appearing altogether?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks....