Windows XP Professional: The Missing Manual

Connecting to the Internet

If you enjoy a full-time Internet connection like a cable modem or DSL, you’re constantly connected to the Internet. Skip to the next chapter.

If you have a dial-up modem, however, you should now have a connection icon in your Network Connections window.

Manual Connections

Double-click the connection’s icon in the Network Connections window (Figure 10-3). The Connect To dialog box appears, as shown at left in that figure. Just press Enter, or click Dial, to go online.

But that’s just the beginning. If you crave variety, here are a few other ways of opening the connection:

UP TO SPEEDIP Addresses and You

Every computer connected to the Internet, even temporarily, has its own exclusive IP address (IP stands for Internet Protocol). When you set up your own Internet account, as described on these pages, you’ll be asked to type in this string of numbers. As you’ll see, an IP address always consists of four numbers separated by periods.

Some PCs with high-speed Internet connections (cable modem, DSL) have a permanent, unchanging address called a fixed or static IP address. Other computers get assigned a new address each time they connect (a dynamic IP address). That’s always the case, for example, when you connect via a dial-up modem. (If you can’t figure out whether your machine has a static or fixed address, ask your Internet service provider.)

If nothing else, dynamic addresses are more convenient in some ways, since you don’t have to type numbers into the Internet ...