Have you noticed the many users on Filetopia who have a firewall next to their name? Users with cable or DSL connections should use a firewall. Users with a dialup may use a firewall if they choose, however it is not so important as when you have an "always on" connection to the Internet. When your connection is always on, hackers can take their time identifying and attempting to hack into your computer. With a dialup connection, your IP address changes each time you log onto the Internet, making it more difficult for a hacker to attempt to get into your computer at his leisure.

A firewall is not the same as anti-virus or anti-spam protection, although some firewalls offer this as an added feature. As a rule, I do not approve of anti-spam protection, and do not recommend it. As a beta tester for Zone Alarm Security Suite, I have anti-spam protection (but I usually keep it turned off!).

Why am I against spam protection? Most anti-spamware depends upon an Internet database of known spammers. If you receive an email from a known spammer, or from the domain of a spammer, it will be blocked from your inbox. The big problem is "hit and run" spammers. They know an Internet Service Provider will cancel their account once they have been identified as a spammer. They sign up with an ISP and send about a million spam emails before they are identified and cancelled. Tthe process may take only a day, then they are gone, but the damage is done!

The people who maintain the Internet database of spammers will spot this increase in junk-mail and put the ISP on the blocked list, meaning your anti-spamware will block any email from that domain. Unfortunately, Aunt Mary uses SuperCool.com as her ISP. Through no fault of Aunt Mary's, Mr. Spammer signed up with SuperCool.com and sent a million emails before his account was cancelled. By this time the spam-cops have placed SuperCool.com on the blocked list. If Aunt Mary tries to send you an email, your cousin Samantha wants to spend the summer with you, or your Uncle Charlie has suffered a heart attack, Aunt Mary's email will be blocked. I hate spam, but I also hate someone else, or some computer, arbitrarily deciding what email I should be allowed to read. Enough said?

Back to the main subject... your firewall. Windows XP SP2 it includes the XP firewall which is ON by default. When a firewall is ON, and has not been configured to allow exceptions, Filetopia will show the brick-wall next to the user. Many people do not know how to configure the Windows firewall to allow exceptions. This means your file sharing may be nonexistent. You probably will not even be able to get the list from another user who has a firewall, instead you will receive a pop-up message, "Cannot get list. You are both behind a firewall."

Well, bummer! File sharing is one of the fun things we do with Filetopia. If you are using Zone Alarm, Norton's, or Tiny Personal Firewall, you can go to this page to learn how to configure your Firewall and make it "transparent" to Filetopia. Click Here! When your firewall is "transparent," it does not mean that any hacker can get into your computer. It means only a user on the Filetopia server can connect to your computer, and then only to access the files in your shared files folder. You are not leaving your computer unprotected!

To begin configuring the Windows XP firewall, click on START, ALL PROGRAMS, ACCESSORIES, SYSTEM TOOLS, SECURITY CENTER to bring up this dialog. Click on Windows Firewall.

Make sure the Windows Firewall is turned on. (Place a check in the radio button next to the green shield.)

Click on the Exceptions Tab.

If Filetopia is not all ready listed among your exceptions, click Add Program, navigate to C:\Program Files\Filetopia3\Filetopia.exe and add it to your list. Place a checkmark in the box to unblock Filetopia.

After adding Filetopia to your list of exceptions, click on Edit to bring up this dialog.

Click on Change scope...

Select the radio button to allow any computer to access your computer. To repeat: This does not open your computer to any Internet hacker! It only opens your computer to the Filetopia servers and then only opens your computer to your shared files folder, which is what you want anyway.

Click on OK to close this dialog. Click on OK to close the previous dialog above.

After you have configured the scope of Filetopia, we have to click on Add Port to bring up this dialog. Name it Filetopia, enter 443 as the port number, then select the radio button for TCP and click OK.

Now click OK again, then click Add Port, and repeat the procedure adding Filetopia, port number 443, and select UDP this time.

Click OK as many times as necessary to close out the Windows Security Center. Your firewall will now be "transparent" to Filetopia.

Home Network or LAN (Local Area Network)

If you have only one computer connected to the Internet, you are done and can skip the rest of this tutorial. If you have more than one computer connected to the Internet through a DSL or cable connection, or home network, chances are you have already configured your ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) properties. If not, follow the steps below.

Go to START, CONTROL PANEL, NETWORK CONNECTIONS and select your LAN or High-Speed Internet connection. On the left side of your screen, click Change Settings of this connection, to bring up this dialog.

Click the Advanced Tab...

Place a tickmark to allow other computers on your home network to connect to the Internet using your LAN or High Speed Internet connection. Now you really are done! Click OK as many times as necessary to close all dialog windows.

Any computer on your network should now be able to log onto Filetopia and share files with other Filetopia users. There should not be a brick-wall next to your user name.

A bit about home networks. A LAN shares high-speed internet service with two or more computers. The computer connected directly to the Internet is called the GATEWAY computer. (No relation to those computers which come in a box with Holstein spots on it!) The other computers on your network are called CLIENT computers. If you are running Win XP, you can set that as the GATEWAY, and the CLIENTs can run XP, ME, or 98. Generally, you will want your newest, fastest, and most powerful computer set as your GATEWAY computer.

If you are networking only 2 computers, the simplest and cheapest method is to use a special type of CAT-5 cable called an RJ-45 cross-over cable. This cable will have connections on both ends which look like a standard telephone connection, but about twice as large, with eight wire conductors inside the cable. You can run CAT-5 cable up to 300 feet between two computers. Ready-made 15 to 25 foot lengths can be bought at computer stores for less 50 to 75 cents per foot. Longer lengths can be custom made for slightly more. It is important to specify "cross-over" cable. This will connect the send port of one computer to the receive port of the other, and vice-versa. You will be able to transfer large files and entire directories between the two computers, at speeds up to 400 mbps! This makes a second computer ideal as a safe place to store important files.

Locate the RJ-45 connection on the back of each computer, plug in the cable and turn them both on. On your GATEWAY computer, click on START, CONTROL PANEL, and double-click on Network Connections. On the left side of the screen, choose "Set up a home network." This will bring up the network wizard which will walk you through setting up a home network. When you have completed the wizard, you will be prompted to insert a floppy disk to copy network settings from the gateway to the client. After copying the network settings, insert the floppy into the client computer and follow the instructions.

If you have more than two computers, you will need a hub or router between the DSL connection and both computers. Follow the instructions which come with your router. Because all client computers connect through the gateway computer, only the gateway requires a firewall and anti-virus protection to protect your entire network.