How to Set up a Home Windows Hacker Lab

This is a newbie-friendly chapter from the 3rd and 4th editions of Carolyn Meinel's The Happy Hacker book. You can find a more advanced version of this information, including how to build routers and network many operating systems, in her book, Überhacker!

In this chapter you will learn:

• What is Ethernet?
• A brief history of Ethernet
• How to set up an Ethernet LAN using Thin Net or 10-BASE-T cabling among Windows 95 or 98 computers. 
• How to connect all the computers on your LAN to the Internet -- without buying expensive Internet addresses -- using just one modem.
• How to solve many Ethernet problems.

Wait!  Isn't Win95/98 Hacking Lame????

Ethernet networks of Windows 95/98 computers are a common networking scheme in schools, businesses, and even the military.  I recently was a subcontractor to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Off-Line Intrusion Detection Program.  The people running this program say that even in the security-conscious US Dept. of Defense, the majority of their computers that have access to the Internet are on humble Ethernet LANs populated by Windows 95 and 98 computers. 

So next time someone claiming to be an uber-elite hacker makes fun of you for doing research on a Windows Ethernet LAN, remember to quietly snicker.

SITE OF THE MONTH:

What Is Ethernet | Tools You Need | Hardware and Software | NIC Installation | Choose Protocols | Address & TCP/IP