WiFi vs. DUN question

I'm running an IBM T23 with Win2K Pro Sp4. My wireless
setup consists of an Atheros MiniPCI card and Linksys 7dbi
antennas mounted to the back of the screen.

I also have a Zonet cardbus phone modem installed. I have
signed up for both a Netzero and a Juno free internet account.

What I'm worried about is that running the downloaded
software to install these services might wreak havoc on my
wireless settings. I've heard many say that the #2 internet
virus is AOL (Windows itself being #1 - lol) so I would NEVER
use an AOL installation disc.

I've used Netzero and Juno on another PC with no issues
but like I said, I'm worried - I used WiFi 99.999% of the time
but I would like the flexibility of being able to use a telephone
line for internet access if I need it......

Should I back up my registry before running these programs?

What do you guys think?

--
73's de Ken KG0WX - Kadiddlehopper #11808,
Flying Pigs #-1055, Grid EM17io, IC-706mkIIg,
Elecraft XG2, 4SQRP Tenna Dipper, Heath GD-1B

On Thu, 17 Aug 2006 05:31:25 -0500, "Ken Bessler"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I'm running an IBM T23 with Win2K Pro Sp4. My wireless
>setup consists of an Atheros MiniPCI card and Linksys 7dbi
>antennas mounted to the back of the screen.
>
>I also have a Zonet cardbus phone modem installed. I have
>signed up for both a Netzero and a Juno free internet account.
>
>What I'm worried about is that running the downloaded
>software to install these services might wreak havoc on my
>wireless settings. I've heard many say that the #2 internet
>virus is AOL (Windows itself being #1 - lol) so I would NEVER
>use an AOL installation disc.
>
>I've used Netzero and Juno on another PC with no issues
>but like I said, I'm worried - I used WiFi 99.999% of the time
>but I would like the flexibility of being able to use a telephone
>line for internet access if I need it......
>
>Should I back up my registry before running these programs?
>
>What do you guys think?

personally, i do an image backup of the OS and programs partition as
well as backing up the registry before i install ANYTHING...new stuff
or upgrades. every now and then something in the install just doesn't
go right and thanks to the image backup i can easily restore one or
both partitions to its pre-install state. no muss, no fuss.

beyond that if you're worried about viruses then scan those cd's
before using them.

73,
rich, n9dko

Ken Bessler wrote:
> I'm running an IBM T23 with Win2K Pro Sp4. My wireless
> setup consists of an Atheros MiniPCI card and Linksys 7dbi
> antennas mounted to the back of the screen.
>
> I also have a Zonet cardbus phone modem installed. I have
> signed up for both a Netzero and a Juno free internet account.
>
> What I'm worried about is that running the downloaded
> software to install these services might wreak havoc on my
> wireless settings. I've heard many say that the #2 internet
> virus is AOL (Windows itself being #1 - lol) so I would NEVER
> use an AOL installation disc.
>
> I've used Netzero and Juno on another PC with no issues
> but like I said, I'm worried - I used WiFi 99.999% of the time
> but I would like the flexibility of being able to use a telephone
> line for internet access if I need it......
>
> Should I back up my registry before running these programs?
>
> What do you guys think?
>

I use DUN with Earthlink. I am using it right now. I didn't have to run
any install cd, although Earthlink has one. I just got on the cellular
phone with Earthlink's support and they gave me the information I needed
to make the DUN connection from the hotel, which had nothing to do with
the registry.

It was more for OE that the configuration happened, as Earthlink's SMTP
is not on tcp port 25. It's port 587. There were no registry changes
period.

All you should have to do with a DUN connection is give the user-id and
psw needed to connect with your email, NG, and browser programs (the
user-id and PSW are entered in the configuration of the programs) and
are given to connect the ISP's DUN network during the connection
process. There are no registry changes.

On the other hand, when I want to use the hotel's wireless high speed BB
connection, I disconnect the DUN connection, push in the wireless card
in it's pciam slot, the card does the seek for the wireless network
because of XP's Zero Configuration, it connects, and I am good to go on
the wireless for the browsers.

As far as your Win 2K pro on the DUN, you should be able to do the same
as I did.

Duane