Setting Up Internet Connection Sharing

You will need to designate a Windows XP computer as the host. This computer must have two network adapters, one for your internal network and one for the Internet connection. Before attempting to enable ICS, verify that the host computer has a working connection to the Internet through the network card connected to the cable modem or DSL line, or on the network connection associated with the modem. The easiest way to enable ICS is to use the Network Setup Wizard, by following these steps:

1.	Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click Network Setup Wizard.
2.	Click Next until you see the Select a connection method screen.
3.	Click This computer connects directly to the Internet, and complete the wizard to install ICS.

This method has several advantages in that the wizard automatically detects the connection to the Internet, configures Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), bridges multiple network adapters connected to your home network and creates a log of information about the configuration named nsw.log in the Windows folder.

Turning on ICS manually is almost as easy as using the wizard except that you need to create the bridge for multiple network cards before enabling ICS. (See an earlier column, Building Network Bridges for more information on how to use the bridging capability in Windows XP.) Then take these steps:

1.	In Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections and then click Network Connections.
2.	Click the local area network (LAN) connection or the dial-up networking connection that you want to share (that is, the one that connects to the Internet), and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.
3.	Disable Client for Microsoft Networks and File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks by clearing the check boxes shown in Figure 1. This step is extremely important. Never leave these items enabled for any network card that is directly connected to the Internet (see sitting duck, above). Figure 1
4.	Click the Advanced tab, and select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box. Figure 2
5.	You can enable or disable the allowing of other users to control the connection—users don't need to be able to control the connection to use it.
6.	Under Internet Connection Firewall, select the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box for this network card, unless you have another firewall between the computer and the Internet. This is very important.
7.	Click OK, and Internet Connection Sharing will be enabled. Note: You must have administrative rights to enable ICS. After enabling ICS, verify that Internet connectivity is still functional on the host computer before testing the client computers. Remember to leave the host computer on all the time or turn it on before the other networked computers, so the client computers can request an IP address from the host.

“New Folder” Option missing from “New” Menu in Windows Vista

Today when I tried creating a New Folder in Windows Vista, I saw that the option was missing from the right click “New” menu. I tried creating it through the explorer by going to “Organize – New Folder”. This option was there but it was doing nothing. I was able to successfully able to create a folder through DOS but that is not something you prefer.
I thought that it might be due to a virus but a scan by my anti virus and anti spyware didn’t find anything. So after searching, I was able to find a solution to this problem. Apparently, the reason why this is happening is unknown. to fix the problem, download this file (folderfix_vista.zip) , extract it to your desktop, you will get a .reg file . Right click on that file and select “Merge” in administrator mode and add it to your registry.

After that, simply refresh the desktop 2-3 times and the entry will be back and working.