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2/15/01
11/11/00 Vicomsoft is, in my opinion, the only real game in town if you want a software-based solution to sharing your Internet connection via a MacOS based computer. They have a strong product line, good tech support and continue to improve their existing products and add new ones. They're also an excellent choice for Windows machines. However, their products are expensive compared to other alternatives, although they tend to have more features, more robust products, and better support than the competition. The pricing also may come from their background as a supplier to customers with larger networks (vs. the home Internet sharing market). Note that most of Vicomsoft's product line is available for both MacOS and Windows. I've used MacOS versions of SurfDoubler, and Mac and Windows versions of SoftRouter Plus and they work fine... after you get past some installation problems. Please read the information on this page before installing any Vicomsoft products. As usual, if you are using a cable modem, I recommend that you install a second NIC in the computer that is connected to the cable modem (for an explanation of why, read this page). If you are using a dialup or internal cable modem, you need only one NIC in the Sharing computer. Note that the sharing Client computers don't have to be MacOS machines. Any computer can be a sharing Client, as long as supports the TCP/IP protocol. ProductsThe Vicom Internet Gateway is a fully featured Level 3 router with address translation. It includes the following features in the base product:
Many feature upgrades are available, so check this pricing/feature matrix for more information.
The least expensive offering is SurfDoubler
($54 for two users, If you need sharing for only 2 or 3 users, and would like Parental Control features, SurfDoubler Plus will do the trick at $74 and $99 for 2 and 3 user versions respectively. The site also features two good cable modem FAQs.
If your LAN has Macs and PCs, you may want to read this. If you need help configuring TCP/IP on the Mac, read this.
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11/00
SoftRouter Plus has been discontinued because of overlap between it and
the new modularized Internet Gateway.
$73
for three users). Features include a full Router, DHCP server, DNS caching,
and Firewall. SurfDoubler does not have Parental Control features.