DSL woes/confusion?
Sun Jul 17, 2005 12:49 am
Hi! Me with my long-winded, more info-than-you-probably-need, tech challenged new person to the world of high speed internet.
I finally get a good deal on verizon dsl, and decide to go for it. Got it hooked up on Thursday, though not well - modem had to be in bedroom about 50 feet and a wall away from the computer - not doing too well.
So, today I had the phone co. out to put a new jack in the living room so there's not 50 feet of cable running down the hall from my bedroom (where the only jack was) and so the modem (westell versalink) wouldn't be near the cordless phone and would be close to the computer ... and so I would stop tripping over it all.
Now, I am liking that pages (generally) load faster. What I'm not loving is trying to play games on Neo.
This is my problem. I'm getting this awful "lag" for lack of a better term. Is this normal? Some games are slower than they were on dial up and some have become unplayable - Igloo Garage Sale Game for example. Instead of the things just dropping, they start to fall... stop ... fall .... stop and the chias are doing the same thing side to side ... move ... stop .... move ... stop.
Even whack-a-staff, usuki frenzy and the ltd2
games are lagging/running slow ... get a slight "pause" between each hit/item pickup/tile click. Frustrating, not able to get the score I used to, and just Why?
My computer:
AMD Athlon 1800+, 1.54 GHz and 64 mb (whatever those mean), Kyro Hercules 3d Prophet 4500, 80g hd/about 85% resources free, 1 gig ram, Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC, xpsp1, ie6 - all updates except sp2 - that already killed my puter once. Yes have a firewall set standard, yes run a/v & spyware every night, yes clear internet at least once a day/run disk clean up, and I defrag about once a month. And I've looked in the Device Manager - everything looks to be working correctly, have checked for any updates - all says up to date.
So, again, is the game thing normal? Could something be wrong with the modem? Some games are fine, (petpet sitter, carnival of terror, suteks tomb) but I find it weird and confusing that others just won't play right or won't play at all. Help???
I finally get a good deal on verizon dsl, and decide to go for it. Got it hooked up on Thursday, though not well - modem had to be in bedroom about 50 feet and a wall away from the computer - not doing too well.
So, today I had the phone co. out to put a new jack in the living room so there's not 50 feet of cable running down the hall from my bedroom (where the only jack was) and so the modem (westell versalink) wouldn't be near the cordless phone and would be close to the computer ... and so I would stop tripping over it all.
Now, I am liking that pages (generally) load faster. What I'm not loving is trying to play games on Neo.
This is my problem. I'm getting this awful "lag" for lack of a better term. Is this normal? Some games are slower than they were on dial up and some have become unplayable - Igloo Garage Sale Game for example. Instead of the things just dropping, they start to fall... stop ... fall .... stop and the chias are doing the same thing side to side ... move ... stop .... move ... stop.
Even whack-a-staff, usuki frenzy and the ltd2
games are lagging/running slow ... get a slight "pause" between each hit/item pickup/tile click. Frustrating, not able to get the score I used to, and just Why?
My computer:
AMD Athlon 1800+, 1.54 GHz and 64 mb (whatever those mean), Kyro Hercules 3d Prophet 4500, 80g hd/about 85% resources free, 1 gig ram, Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC, xpsp1, ie6 - all updates except sp2 - that already killed my puter once. Yes have a firewall set standard, yes run a/v & spyware every night, yes clear internet at least once a day/run disk clean up, and I defrag about once a month. And I've looked in the Device Manager - everything looks to be working correctly, have checked for any updates - all says up to date.
So, again, is the game thing normal? Could something be wrong with the modem? Some games are fine, (petpet sitter, carnival of terror, suteks tomb) but I find it weird and confusing that others just won't play right or won't play at all. Help???
Sun Jul 17, 2005 8:09 am
It sounds like something is slowing your computer down, and if it wasn't doing it when you had dialup it could be either the software that runs the modem or possibly some nasties - spyware, etc. But you seem pretty geared-up on the security side of things. One thing that might slow the PC down on DSL more than dialup is the firewall - on dialup random 'attacks' from other computers are amazingly infrequent so the firewall doesn't have to work hard. Since I've been on DSL my firewall now takes a 'hit' every few seconds, and every time it gets attacked it has to process the attack, block it, and write to the logfile - and all that takes precious processor time that could be used to run Igloo Garage Sale 
My hard disk is set to switch off after 5 minutes of inacticvity, since I've had DSL it's never had the chance!
You could try a different firewall, that might help? I know that some firewalls are more resource-hungry than others. I've been using ZoneAlarm for a couple of years now (on Win98) and it's always been good to me. And it's free!
My hard disk is set to switch off after 5 minutes of inacticvity, since I've had DSL it's never had the chance!
You could try a different firewall, that might help? I know that some firewalls are more resource-hungry than others. I've been using ZoneAlarm for a couple of years now (on Win98) and it's always been good to me. And it's free!
Sun Jul 17, 2005 5:56 pm
Sparky, first thanks for replying 
Yes, this is my first experience with a firewall, and I have to say, it's almost frightening to open it and see all the inbound events. I guess I'm just not used to it?
I am using McAfee Personal Firewall Plus (came free with the MSN premium that comes with the verizon dsl). I will look at zone alarm and see if stopping the mcafee and starting the zone alarm does anything. I have this one set to "standard" security if that means anything. It does also automatically log and send a report to HackerWatch.org. Told you I was technically challenged!
I am being sent a new modem, the one they sent me? gets very hot. Not just the modem, but the plug and the prongs on the plug which does make me nervous. I just have to wait for it, then have to call verizon to somehow get it set up over the phone instead of using the cd.
Thanks again.
Yes, this is my first experience with a firewall, and I have to say, it's almost frightening to open it and see all the inbound events. I guess I'm just not used to it?
I am using McAfee Personal Firewall Plus (came free with the MSN premium that comes with the verizon dsl). I will look at zone alarm and see if stopping the mcafee and starting the zone alarm does anything. I have this one set to "standard" security if that means anything. It does also automatically log and send a report to HackerWatch.org. Told you I was technically challenged!
I am being sent a new modem, the one they sent me? gets very hot. Not just the modem, but the plug and the prongs on the plug which does make me nervous. I just have to wait for it, then have to call verizon to somehow get it set up over the phone instead of using the cd.
Thanks again.
Sun Jul 17, 2005 6:47 pm
Atleast you didn't get Earthlink DSL. Never get that. Trust me.
Anyway, if you're running Windows 98 or lower, any high speed connection slows the computer down. You need a Windows Me+ (or Linux...*cough*linspireisthewaytogo*cough*) to run it. If the software firewall doesn't work (my dad has ZoneAlarm, and he says it works good), I know this sounds weird, but get a router. If you're using a Windows 2000 or XP computer, you will constantly be targeted for attacks. A router (psysichal (sp?) fireware) will block all attacks. Even if your computer is not on, your internet connection is, so you can be attacked when your computer isn't on.
I just felt our modem and it's warm. Lukewarm, but it's warm, nonetheless. You may want to get that checked, though.
Good luck with your high speed though! (DSL's confusing sometimes.) Me and my dad know a lot about DSL due to Earthlink going up and down, and their call centers in India knew nothing about it, so my dad read allot.
Anyway, if you're running Windows 98 or lower, any high speed connection slows the computer down. You need a Windows Me+ (or Linux...*cough*linspireisthewaytogo*cough*) to run it. If the software firewall doesn't work (my dad has ZoneAlarm, and he says it works good), I know this sounds weird, but get a router. If you're using a Windows 2000 or XP computer, you will constantly be targeted for attacks. A router (psysichal (sp?) fireware) will block all attacks. Even if your computer is not on, your internet connection is, so you can be attacked when your computer isn't on.
I just felt our modem and it's warm. Lukewarm, but it's warm, nonetheless. You may want to get that checked, though.
Good luck with your high speed though! (DSL's confusing sometimes.) Me and my dad know a lot about DSL due to Earthlink going up and down, and their call centers in India knew nothing about it, so my dad read allot.
Sun Jul 17, 2005 8:29 pm
Yeah mine gets just nice and warm too - and it hisses quietly to itself when it's busy. It's powered off the USB port so there's no power plug to get hot. I'd definitely be concerned if any bit of it got hot (e.g. painful to touch, or started smelling of hot plastic) Better to be safe than sorry
Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:06 am
Yes, the modem (and especially the power supply/plug itself - the prongs) getting hot, not warm, but hot is a big issue. I am getting a new modem from Verizon and they said I would have to call them back to get it set up. Yes, I use WinXPhomeSP1. I also do something that cracks my friends up ... when I turn the computer off, I unplug the modem. Not because of the hot power source issue (though that's big), but so I'm NOT "always on"
Now, I did just a little investigating, went to http://www.westell.com, on their homepage is sections for various modems. chose the versalink327W, ended up with a huge .pdf file. Most of it I don't understand. But I did find one thing that may be part of my gaming problem, and the fact that pages in general are sometimes really lagging.
There is a router/hardware firewall inside this modem. It's default set to "medium" - the settings don't seem much different for high or medium. Low might be a problem with security.
Obviously, I don't want the world to "see" my modem, right? So low security doesn't sound good. The medium customizing thing, NAT? sounds like what I might need for allowing things, but I'm totally lost, I have no idea what this NAT stuff is.
I'm just wondering if a) it's a bad modem that once it's replaced with a good one my internet problems will pretty much stop (I know, nothing's perfect) and if the fact that I have this hardware firewall/router built into the modem AND the mcafee personal firewall plus 6 is part of the problem. Pages are starting to load really slow, so it's now something more than games not wanting to work.
Now, I did just a little investigating, went to http://www.westell.com, on their homepage is sections for various modems. chose the versalink327W, ended up with a huge .pdf file. Most of it I don't understand. But I did find one thing that may be part of my gaming problem, and the fact that pages in general are sometimes really lagging.
There is a router/hardware firewall inside this modem. It's default set to "medium" - the settings don't seem much different for high or medium. Low might be a problem with security.
High - high security level only allows basic Internet functionality. Only Mail, News, Web, FTP and IPSEC are allowed. All other traffic is prohibited.
Medium - Factory Default=MEDIUM
Like High security, medium security only allows basic Internet functionality by default. However, medium security allows customization through NAT configuration so that you can enable the traffic you want to pass.
Low - The low security setting will allow all traffic except for known attacks. With low security, Versalink is visible to all other computers on the internet.
Obviously, I don't want the world to "see" my modem, right? So low security doesn't sound good. The medium customizing thing, NAT? sounds like what I might need for allowing things, but I'm totally lost, I have no idea what this NAT stuff is.
I'm just wondering if a) it's a bad modem that once it's replaced with a good one my internet problems will pretty much stop (I know, nothing's perfect) and if the fact that I have this hardware firewall/router built into the modem AND the mcafee personal firewall plus 6 is part of the problem. Pages are starting to load really slow, so it's now something more than games not wanting to work.
Mon Jul 18, 2005 12:22 pm
General lag during flash games? Sounds like something is draining your CPU resources -- does Task Manager show CPU usage to be 100% when you play a game (if so, what's using it -- look under the Processes tab)?
Network Address Translation (NAT) handles packet forwarding between the internet and your home network if someone on the outside wants to connect to you.
Because of how DSL works, you only have one "outer" (real, as far as the Internet is concerned) IP for the entire home network -- and it belongs to the router. There's no way that anybody outside the home network could access your PC if NAT (and/or port forwarding) is not set up, because the router will simply drop connections that it doesn't know who to forward to. This makes client-side firewalls redundant unless you're out to prevent attacks from the local network (your home) or programs connecting to the internet from your PC (spyware, games, windows update).
There's absolutely no need to do that. Your modem should remain on.
Wrong. You do want the world to "see" your modem, because otherwise you would get absolutely no Internet. It's what's behind your modem that you might not want the world to see -- and that is not visible by default.
Your DSL modem / router should be considered more or less invulnerable to attacks -- the majority of the exploits are aiming to get your PC, not your modem.
Network Address Translation (NAT) handles packet forwarding between the internet and your home network if someone on the outside wants to connect to you.
Because of how DSL works, you only have one "outer" (real, as far as the Internet is concerned) IP for the entire home network -- and it belongs to the router. There's no way that anybody outside the home network could access your PC if NAT (and/or port forwarding) is not set up, because the router will simply drop connections that it doesn't know who to forward to. This makes client-side firewalls redundant unless you're out to prevent attacks from the local network (your home) or programs connecting to the internet from your PC (spyware, games, windows update).
I also do something that cracks my friends up ... when I turn the computer off, I unplug the modem. Not because of the hot power source issue (though that's big), but so I'm NOT "always on"
There's absolutely no need to do that. Your modem should remain on.
Obviously, I don't want the world to "see" my modem, right?
Wrong. You do want the world to "see" your modem, because otherwise you would get absolutely no Internet. It's what's behind your modem that you might not want the world to see -- and that is not visible by default.
Your DSL modem / router should be considered more or less invulnerable to attacks -- the majority of the exploits are aiming to get your PC, not your modem.
Mon Jul 18, 2005 4:54 pm
Hi Hunter!
Well, I continue to live up to my sn here - ever confused. I just opened my task manager, Processes and then went to Neo and just went to the game room, started Igloo and played one level. CPU usage went up to 47% then back down to the 20's, up to 30's...never went over that 47%.
I'm lost, truly and completely on the whole modem/hardware firewall/NAT (I have no idea what that is).
But from what you wrote it's almost sounding to me like the firewall in the modem set to medium is kinda stopping my "traffic". I'm not on a network - this is a stand alone PC. It almost sounds like the firewall in the modem (router?) should be, if I can figure out how, set to Low so things will work better. Is that right? Then I can leave the McAfee firewall set at standard.
I can tell you that I stumbled across a page within McAfee (HackerWatch.org) that "tests" your firewall. I get a page saying it can't test it.
I tried just disabling the McAfee software firewall (is that the client side firewall?), hoping that would help - but nothing changed. Still lagging pages, still bad game play.
I've no idea about this different IP stuff. All I can say is this extra "protection" between my puter and the internet may be good for security, but bad for just being able to get around.
Well, I continue to live up to my sn here - ever confused. I just opened my task manager, Processes and then went to Neo and just went to the game room, started Igloo and played one level. CPU usage went up to 47% then back down to the 20's, up to 30's...never went over that 47%.
I'm lost, truly and completely on the whole modem/hardware firewall/NAT (I have no idea what that is).
But from what you wrote it's almost sounding to me like the firewall in the modem set to medium is kinda stopping my "traffic". I'm not on a network - this is a stand alone PC. It almost sounds like the firewall in the modem (router?) should be, if I can figure out how, set to Low so things will work better. Is that right? Then I can leave the McAfee firewall set at standard.
I can tell you that I stumbled across a page within McAfee (HackerWatch.org) that "tests" your firewall. I get a page saying it can't test it.
Unable to Probe
The IP address requesting this page is different from the IP address of your computer. This indicates that your computer is behind a proxy or NAT. These devices allow you to access the Internet by relaying traffic, typically from multiple computers, through a single IP address.
We are unable to directly probe your computer, you should take comfort from this. You have that much more protection between your computer and the Internet.
I tried just disabling the McAfee software firewall (is that the client side firewall?), hoping that would help - but nothing changed. Still lagging pages, still bad game play.
I've no idea about this different IP stuff. All I can say is this extra "protection" between my puter and the internet may be good for security, but bad for just being able to get around.