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Internet Sharing - my ways !Let me explain some terms first. I divided Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) applications into two basic categories: Proxies & Routers . - The Proxy server is a simple application - compared to a router - applying ICS in an application (API) environment . After setting up the proxy server, client PC's cannot "see" Internet directly like standalone PC's , so you have to setup most of Internet applications accordingly . Setting up a Browser is an easy task , but setting up multiple email accounts to email clients like Outlook Express may not be an easy job . If an application does NOT support proxy (or socks) server then possibly it will NOT be able to access Internet . For example Windows commands like ping , tracert , ftp etc will NOT work . On the other hand a good advantage of Proxy technology is the cache function: most contents that already downloaded are stored in cache files and can be used from all users if they access the same contents . - The Router applies ICS in a more hardware / low level way called Network Address Translation (NAT) simulating the hardware router device . Some routers in order to gain the advantage of cache found into proxy servers , may also include a proxy . NAT technology acts "transparently" . All client PC's acts like stand alone PC's . All applications in client PC's do not require to have any special setup . Notice: Software routers are much more complex applications than software proxies . Prefer to disable DCHP server from router application and configure all the client PC's manually , otherwise be sure that DCHP works good & stable . Be sure you do not load other conflicting applications (antivirus , firewalls) on server . Set up the client PC's right ( IP / Subnet / Gateway / DNS) . So you must check up carefully the application manual , help pages & official site . Some ICS applications including NAT technology are: Windows ICS (included in Win98 SE & above), WinRoute Pro , RideWay , WinProxy (Ositis) , WinGate , SyGate , AllAboard , NAT32 etc . Except Win ICS I successfully tested so far only WinRoute Pro but it worked fine . I found it very fast , small , stable & robust . No client application needed . I also tested in past WinProxy (Ositis) & WinGate but I wasn't satisfied at all (unstable , buggy, difficult to setup & use ) .
Proxy vs. NAT (Router)
Software Proxy Server: + Is in most cases small application (1-3 MB) , easy to install on server without even a reboot . Some of them do not event "touch" registry settings & some of them may work to a new PC just copying them from the old one . + Includes cache which means a nice speed increase if many people visit the same sites . It's a nice experience watching a client PC updating it's Norton Antivirus definitions (1.5 - 2.5 MB) in some seconds , just because another one client did it before !. + Most of them have nice control & log tools , which means you know where your bandwidth is spent , by whom is spent & also which other programs you didn't think of consumes your bandwidth (like webshot etc) . It's a nice tool against bloody spyware applications !. - Every PC as well as most Internet applications must setup to recognize the proxy server . It's fast & no need to reboot if you already made IP enumeration. This is a time consuming setup only if you have more than 20 PC's . - Every application is able to communicate only If it support proxy or socks ports . Actually very few applications does not have such support . Most third-party products like Symantec Norton Antivirus , Webshot etc communicate via Internet Explorer kernel so there is no need to set up anything on them . - Forget low level Internet commands like ping , tracert , ftp etc . However some proxy software like ProxyPlus may includes ping & tracert support through browser (Internet Explorer) . - Complex streaming applications like video conference or Internet telephony are very hard or even impossible to work . Even in cases that the software support socks , it is not working good . Just forget using them through proxy . + From all the above mentioned there is something positive from all these above minus : Security . It's more difficult for a third-party application , spyware or trojan to communicate in a proxy configuration than when using a Router , and it's much more easier to be detected & blocked . Also If a user try to install himself a P2P Internet application (like Kazaa , WinMX etc) , it will NOT work if he will not set it up correctly ( enable SOCKS server) . Even if he do it will be easily inspect it and report it (to proxy log files) . + No need to install firewall on client PC's , because Proxy Server acts better than firewall : Blocks everything except some given ports .
Software Router: + Does it all !. No need for any special setup in client PC's and their applications . - There are certain cases that still cannot be like having a direct PC . For example installing a Web server or FTP server in a client PC cannot use it outside your LAN if you do not setup your router accordingly . In case of web server the case is easy (just redirect port 80 to your client PC) , but in case of FTP server , not all applications can work this way . I prefer to use Serv-U . - Hard to find a good application even now days !. My PC's was many times fatally crashed during installation of some famous NAT software . If I have to install or test a new or updated version of NAT software I take a Ghost backup first !. - Dangerous if server infected by trojan or virus , or if you didn't setup security well . - May have to reinstall it after a network card or modem change , or after the installation of conflicting software (firewall , spyware etc).
Final Verdict: Proxy Servers are best suitable for business use , where the major applications are Internet Explorer & Outlook Express , users visits more or less the same sites, and you certainly need strong security, bandwidth control & a long-life stability . Router "does it all" but in some cases this is not good ! . What I do in most cases is to combine a hardware router (to ensure stability & virus free operation) & a software proxy server (to have full control & cache). In case that I want to give a client PC full access I set it up to recognize the router , otherwise I set it up to recognize only the proxy server . Finally some NAT applications like WinRoute also includes a proxy server, in order to catch proxy's advantages .
Great Tip: If a client PC can have Internet access (no matter how), then this computer can be the proxy server giving Internet access to other PC's that not having yet (due to privileges or different sub groups) . This tip works even on different sub networks ( i.e. a client PC with IP 10.0.0.22 can be the proxy server of all 10.0.1.xxx PC's ) . This is also a nice tool for a kind of Internet access hack since some proxies easily fit on a floppy (read below) and some Java proxies are not even executables (.exe) , they have .jar extension and probably can run inside Internet Explorer !.
Windows 98 ICS TipsToday Microsoft provides a free solution together with Win98 SE / Win ME called ICS (Internet Connection Sharing ) . To be honest although MS claims it's an easy job , It wasn't easy at all for me (specially in my novice years) . Win ICS acts like a DCHP server but try to avoid it . It is observed that if Win9x client PC's does not have a fixed IP , are more unstable & start slower . If you set it this way , note that you MUST power on the server first and then all the others . So the best tip for easy & robust installation is to do exactly the same steps as seting up a hardware router : Make IP enumeration & setup gateway in ALL your client PC's . Then go to server PC and after IP enumeration , install WIn ICS . Forget anything about setup disks e.t.c. .
Freeware Solutions
Free NAT software: Regarding NAT software, only Windows ICS is a free solution for Windows 9x . It works good if you follow my tips mentioned above . It doesn't support many functions & tools found in most commercial products (remote administration , proxy & email server , extended configuration menu , remote dial & hang-up , Web based administration etc) . Win 2000 Pro & WinXP Pro are the later Microsoft products that also includes NAT services . Installing ICS in WinXP is easier than ever , requiring for you just a few clicks without any reboot (go to your modem properties -> advanced -> ...) . NAT Solutions included in many other operating systems . Linux & FreeBSD are popular FREE operating systems that provided such Internet services many years before the appearance of Win ICS .
Free Proxy Servers: As I already mentioned , the installation of proxy software is much more easier . Everything below can be installed even on your old Win95 machine without even a reboot . - jHTTPp2: One of many free simple (http-only) proxies written in Java . This is a good way to realize how simple is to share Internet with this way using a free 60KB program ! . I don't find a reason to choose such a simple proxy but anyway if you want such application I recommend this one . Note that needs a Java JRE installation . If you want to avoid it just use the next one !. - AnalogX Proxy: the best of the simple free proxies that deserves to be mentioned . Very small & easy , however does not includes cache function , have limited Socks support (only Socks v.4) , no mapped links , have fixed port numbers , hard to install it as a service & I found some problems using email redirection . - Kingate 1.2: This is a newcomer at sourceforge.net . It has only console mode (no GUI) , does not have cache , and is configured only thought telnet mode . However it's a GNU (open source) freeware with Http / Ftp / Pop / Smtp / Socks services available . - FreeProxy 3.5: Another newcomer . Cool GUI with many features . Haven't test it extensively yet . There are many other small & totally free proxy applications with limited functions or stability but there's no need to be mentioned since the following ones are better & free too !. If you want to use anything more than your Internet Explorer , your proxy must support at least Socks 5 support & mapped links . Moreover if you are dealing with a business installation having more than 3-4 clients , soon you will realize that features like remote administration , remote restart , remote monitor , cache control & URL filters are certainly NOT a luxury !. - Jana Server: Jana is a too-good-to-be-free software . It's a totally free proxy server that also includes Socks 4,5 / pop3 / smtp / Web server etc . - CinaProxy: This is also a multi featured free proxy with Http / Ftp / Pop / Smtp / Socks services available . It comes with a nice installation file , but it's too hard to set it up ( undocumented , only on-line help , probably you will face some difficulty at first time). Jana exists for many years offering easier installation & ease of use . I did not really tested so far . However CinaProxy is the most featured GNU (open source) proxy for Windows platform . - WinProxy (Lan Projekt): Free for a 2 user connection . Pretty small & stable . This was my favourite in the early Win95 years . - Proxy+ : Free for a 2 user connection . Small & stable too . This is my current choice for a commercial proxy .
Proxy Servers Tips:
- Most proxy servers have some Time-To-Live (TTL) settings . Increase the TTL value to useless or low priority sites . - Increase TTL (3-10 days) on sites like Symantec's LiveUpdate URL's . It's useless to have a shorter time . - Block advertising , stat or spam sites in order to increase speed . - Mail Server is a nice feature that most proxy servers have . It really accelerates email transactions, but makes things too complicate specially in case you do not own a leased line but you have a simple dial up account , because it may charge you using the phone line in times you do not want at all or you do not want so often . Be sure if you really want it or if you can adequately support it . In most cases a simple mail redirection (or mapped links) should be OK . - If you want to setup an FTP client , it's much more easier to set it up using the Socks port rather through FTP cache . Not all ftp clients support Socks port but most of popular ones do (CuteFTP , WsFTP, FlashFXP , SmartFtp etc) .
- How to use multiple email accounts: Now if you want to setup Outlook Express for
provider2 then:
Michael Hondrosmos
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