// Inexpensive Eight-Oh-Two-Eleven Networking
//
// by dual_parallel
//
// http://www.oldskoolphreak.com

This article will show you how to build a secure, inexpensive, 802.11b
network for Internet sharing.  This article will assume the reader has
a high speed Internet connection (cable or DSL), basic knowledge of
Windows networking, and at least two computers.

Looking at the back of any 802.11 networking adapter box will show a
wireless network using a high speed Internet connection, nodes with
appropriate adapters, and most importantly, an expensive wireless
router.  Creating a network following this article will eliminate that
expensive router.

First, you will need at least two Windows 98 machines.  Choose the
machine, probably the lower end of the two, that will be the proxy
server (and that's the key - instead of using an expensive router,
you're going to build a proxy server).  Most 802.11 adapters will
require a P150 or better, but a P133 should do just fine.

Next, you'll need an 802.11 network adapter for each machine.  You
could buy PCMCIA/PCI adapters or PCI cards, but instead buy USB
adapters.  Here's why: If you have a laptop, and wish to go
wardriving, the USB adapter will eliminate the need for an external
antenna - it is the antenna.  Also, buying a USB adapter alone costs
about the same as a PCMCIA card, and definitely less than a PCMCIA
card with a PCI adapter.  Look for a used USB adapter, and/or watch
for sales at your favorite office or electronics superstore.

Setup your hardware by installing an ethernet card in the proxy
server, and configuring it for the high speed Internet connection.
More than likely, your cable/DSL connection will use DHCP, DHCP for
WINS, and have DNS disabled.  Now install the USB adapter for your
proxy, and configure it as 10.0.0.1 with a subnet mask of
255.255.255.0.  Install the other adapters with IPs of 10.0.0.2,
10.0.0.3, etc., with the same mask.

This takes care of the hardware.  All of the software required for
this network is free.  Head to http://www.analogx.com, and download
and install AnalogX Proxy and AnalogX PortBlocker on the proxy server.
Read the refreshing READMEs, and make any fine adjustments.  You'll
probably won't need to though;  Proxy and PortBlocker's pre-
configurations should suit just about anybody.

With the proxy server set up, all that's left is to configure the
programs on the remaining nodes to use the proxy for Internet access.
I will walk you through the configuration of a few common programs.
For the following programs to work, you must turn on the HTTP and FTP
services in AnalogX Proxy.

Internet Explorer:
1. Select Tools, Internet Options.
2. Click the Connections tab.
3. Click LAN Settings...
4. Check "Use a proxy server..." and enter Address: 10.0.0.1, and
   Port: 6588.

Winamp:
1. Right click in Winamp.  Select Options, Preferences...
2. Under Setup, select the "Using LAN Internet Connection" radio
   button, and enter 10.0.0.1:6588 in the HTTP proxy box.

WS-FTP:
1. Under Session Properties, click the Firewall tab.
2. Check the Use Firewall box, and enter 10.0.0.1 for the Host Name,
   and enter 21 for Port.
3. Select the Proxy OPEN radio button under Firewall Type.

(Linux boxes will work just fine on this network...)

Konqueror 3.0:
1. Click Settings, then Configure Konqueror...
2. Click Proxy and click the Use Proxy box.
3. Choose Manually specified settings, then click Setup...
4. Check the desired boxes, and fill in the fields with your
   favorite IP, 10.0.0.1, and the appropriate port.

And that's it.  If you have trouble:

1. Reboot/shut-down all nodes, restarting the server first.
2. Double-check TCP/IP configurations.
3. "Update" the wireless adapter configurations.
4. Turn off or reconfigure other firewalls, like ZoneAlarm.

After everything works, place Proxy and PortBlocker in the server's
StartUp folder to eliminate the need for a monitor.

With free software, and hardware that's inexpensive or laying around
in your lab, this wireless network will perform as well as any
network using a router.