Internet Sharing Guide

After releasing our Windows 95/98 Networking Guide, we've received an overwhelming amount of e-mail asking for networking help. The most popular question seems to be "How do I share Internet access on my LAN?"

If you already have a working LAN, and one of the computers on the network has Internet access, then sharing between the systems on the network is a lot simpler than you may think! In fact, one of the easiest (and in many cases, the most efficient) methods is to install special software on the connected machine to share that connection. Your Internet connection type doesn't really matter, as any decent software suite should be able to handle anything from dial-up accounts, to DSL, to cable modems.

Of course, if you have a DSL connection, you can avoid installing additional software by purchasing more IP's from your provider. Just assign the additional IP's to all the other computers on the network, and you're all set -no software needed. This is the best option for gamers since some multiplayer games don't work well with Internet sharing.

Regular dial-up modem users and DSL/cable modem users who don't find the additional IP solution cost effective will have to install NAT or proxy software.