HIGH SPEED INTERNET

1. Do you have or are you interested in getting High Speed Internet, you need to consider the following:
2. High Speed Internet is 5 to 50 times faster than dialup and does not tie up your telephone line.
3. Your computer will need a network connection or a network card.
4. It is possible to network several computers to the one high speed internet connection with a router (less than $100) such that the computers can share a printer, share files, and be on the internet at the same time. This can also be a wireless network with the use of a wireless router. It can also be a combination or wireless and wired. You could for instance share the high speed internet with a neighbor without seeing any reduction in speed unless you are downloading very large files.
5. There are multiple options available with different speeds and costs:
   DSL is a service of your telephone company and uses your existing telephone line. Cost is approximately $40/month with a possibility of a discount if you also have the same phone company as your long distance provider. Availability of DSL service varies and depends on how far you are from a DSL amplifier station.

   1.  Verizon currently offers several different options ranging from $15/month for a lower speed up to $40/month for the maximum speed for their telephone customers. You will need to sign a 1 year contract and the MODEM is provided by Verizon.   You can check this out at verizon.com.
   Cable MODEM is provided by TV cable services and uses your existing TV cable line. A cable MODEM is usually rented and belongs to the cable company. This is faster than DSL and usually costs approximately $45/month. There is usually also a deal such as reduced rates for the first few months and reduced cost installation.
   1. High Speed Internet by Satellite is provided by your TV Satellite service. This is similar in speed to cable service. There is the difference that heavy rain can interrupt service.
   2. WIFI is a wireless service starting to be available in selected areas and is a wireless service where your computer makes a wireless connection with the service similarly to a cell phone. This service is currently available for individual computers and cannot connect to a network. This works with a wireless port in your laptop, or PDA or a wireless card in your desktop computer. It has the advantage that a connection can be made anywhere in the service area. Costs for this vary. There are some cities considering making this service available within the city. It has the advantage that the only infrastructure required is enough towers to cover the area and competes with cable and DSL service which require hard wiring. This is probably the future.
6. A high speed internet connections are typically left on most of the time and is therefore vulnerable to attack from hackers and computer worms. To protect your computer, you need to install a firewall program and have antivirus software running at all times. Typically these programs come with one year of free updates for protection against new known threats. They can be set to automatically download updates for the subscription period.
7. Typically firewall and antivirus programs are available at a discount. Check your Sunday ads from Staples, Office Depot, Circuit City, Best Buy, Computer USA, etc. for sales. Usually there is also an upgrade rebate available if you have proof of purchase for a similar earlier program from the same and sometimes competitive products. When the subscription expires the software will prompt you to renew on line for full price. It is much less expensive to look for another sale and take advantage of the upgrade price. Remember to fill in the rebate forms and be careful to enclose all required documentation. They love to deny a rebate for missing details.
8. If you plan to have a network you need to set up your firewall program to allow communication between the computers in your network for printer sharing. This is usually not difficult.