PCA Forums

two of the computers will be on the net but i want the third box

on the network but not on the net . i could try the "work offline" under

file tab but will try to go online?

me

Not sure I understand. Do you want to prevent the 3rd box from having net access or do you only have 2 IPs from your ISP and want to have all 3 boxes have access.

If the first option, are you just trying to keep the user of the third box off the Internet (like a child)?

Assuming the user of the 3rd box is not computer savvy there's some pretty simple things you can do to disable net access without worrying about firewalls and filters.

Simplest way is to manually configure the IP address of the 3rd box but leave the DNS settings blank. File and printer sharing will work over TCP/IP but you won't be able to browse the web (except by invoking a URL with the IP address). Domain names won't resolve.


If you're trying to get 3 boxes working on 2 IPs then your best option is just to share Internet access either via Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on one box (which involves installing a 2nd NIC on the "server" and it has to stay on all the time) or (much simpler) using a cable/DSL router to share it to all 3. You can find DSL/Cable routers under $100 now, and I've seen some on sale for $50 occasionally.

i want to prevent the 3rd box from having net access

i have a router if i want it get the third box online but i dont want to

it just holds my mp3s and gmae updates

me

Okay so the 3rd box is a "server" and you're concerned about someone hacking it?

Since you need to have it on the network, it has to have access to the router.

You could get fancy and manually assign an IP to the server and then probably (if your router supports it) block all the ports except the ones used by Microsoft for NetBios, but that would be a pain.

If you're using a router I wouldn't worry about it. You're pretty secure behind a router. If you want some extra protection, install a Firewall like Tiny or ZoneAlarm.

I would also recommend you use passwords on ALL shared resources. No sense making it easy for someone. Password protect any shared file. That can be a bit complicated in Win2K or NT but in XP (if simple file sharing is enabled) or Win9x it's very simple.

A very simple solution I've used to isolate a box from the net is to install the NETBEUI Protocal on the server and then uninstall TCP/IP from it (you'll also need to install NETBEUI on the other two computers so they can see the server since it'll be invisible to TCP/IP). Without TCP/IP installed the server will be completely isolated from the Internet.

Be aware that WinXP doesn't include NETBEUI since Microsoft doesn't want to support it anymore, but you can still install it on an XP system. There's a copy on the XP CD that can be installed. Instructions here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.as ... US;q301041

Nice trick with NETBEUI. I wish I would have though of that. Thanks!

not running xp

me on all boxes

zonealarm is part of the router

me