DSL : Does anyone here have it and what is your opinion of it?

[Bob Weisner]

HI:

I am thinking of switching from my regular dial up internet service and going to DSL. The only DSL provider in my area is Verizon DSL. Does anyone have Verizon DSL and what is your opinion of it?

Thanks,

Bob

[Ed Falis]

I have Verizon DSL and it's pretty ok. Downtime has been less than with my previous three cable feeds. However, they don't support internet connection sharing without an extra fee from what I can tell (in fact, even if your windows machine supports it, the Verizon software will disable it). There are ways around it (pm if this is an issue). Linux box as a gateway works fine for internet connection sharing as well.

Since I get it with my local and long-distance services, the prices is right.

- Ed

[Jim Becker]

I have Verizon DSL and have been more than pleased. It's NEVER gone down. I can't say that about the Comcast cable modem service I had first...primarily because it was the only thing available for a couple years. Cable is faster (at least potentially) but I ran them parallel (switching back and forth) for a month before settling on DSL. I got much better average throughput through my testing with the DSL than with cable, especially during time periods when kids were not in school. Since I use my access for work, too, reliable service is important to me. (Comcast technically forbids business use, too, even for just "checking your email", in their user agreement, although for a hundred bucks a month, they will allow it...with the same performance)

I get about 1.5mb downstream with my DSL and about 130kbs up-stream. Cable modem was occasionally providing up to 3mb down, but that deteriorated big-time late in the afternoon and in the evenings. Same speed up or so.

Once you experience always-on, high speed access...you'll never want to use a dialup modem again. I almost cry when I get stuck in a hotel that doesn't have high speed access!

[Joe Tonich]

Make sure you have a good AV & Firewall! I just had to restore my computer to get rid of a Trojan. I have Norton Internet Security 2005 now (Thats what found it, after upgrading from Norton AV 2003) a nd the firewall seems easier than Zonelabs. It gives you recommendations on what to do when it finds something.

Joe

[Tyler Howell]

Your life is about to change, Best things since jokes on the WWW. I have Qwest /MS DSL it is nose bleed fast!

[Frank Pellow]

We had Verison DSL (mostly under its old name of GTE) for about 4 years when we lived in the Seattle area and was quite happy with it. There was very little down time and we had very few problems with spam, worms or things of that nature (but I did have a firewall).

When we returned to Canada a couple of years ago, one of our first purchases was DSL from Bell Canada. Both my wife and I would certainly have problems now living without DSL.

[Pete Rosenbohm]

Have it from Bellsouth for about 5 years now and wouldn't trade it for cable or disk. My stuff really flys and have had no problems.


Pete

[Cecil Arnold]

I have SBC DSL and in the five or so years I have had it I think it has only been down 3-5 times, then for only a short period of time (once for a day, but that turned out to be a problem resolved by resetting the modem). The modem can be a problem and you will have to reset it if there is a power interruption, it takes about 5-10 min. to turn it off and reconnect. If the electrical service was as reliable as the DSL both would be better.--Go for it.

[Curt Harms]

seriously consider a router(network type). I have DSL and have a Linksys WRT54G (Good taste, huh Chris P.? )It works great, makes setup easy, makes it easy if someone wants to hook into your network temporarily. If You go with a wireless router, You can choose to disable wireless access and just allow wired access or select other access limitations and/or encrytion. Once You get your setup going, go to Steve Gibson's site www.grc.com) click on Sheilds Up! and check your security settings. While at grc.com, download "shoot the messenger" unless You need it enabled for some reason. As Jim B. said, after using hi speed, dial-up really sucks!!

Curt

[Bob Weisner]

Would I need a router if I have only one computer?

Thanks,

Bob

[Jim Becker]

Would I need a router if I have only one computer?

Technically, no...but the router also acts as a hardware firewall in addition to the absolutely necessary software firewall you'll have installed on your PC. The $50-100 that the router will cost you is nice additional insurance when it comes to protecting your privacy. IMHO, of course...your opinion may be different.

[Mark Patoka]

I've had Verizon DSL for the last 2 years and have been very pleased also. Only had a handful of times when there was no server connection. Customer service has also been excellent the few times I've had computer problems. Once you experience the constant connection and speed differences, you'll never want to go back to dial-up.

[James Carmichael]

I've had SBC Enhanced DSL for 3 1/2 years and love it. I'm a "software engineer" and it allows me to work from home a couple days per week (of course, it also means I have to respond when a website is down at 3:00 am).

I don't what I'd do if I had to rely on dial up again.

[Chuck Wintle]

I have had DSL for several monthss now and will never return to dial up. The speed is good and I bought a PCI DSL modem which goes inside my computer. I rely on a Zonealarm for my firewall and so far no problems with that. Once it would not connect and it turned out to be a problem with the phone company and not the provider. I notice some latency though with some websites...it could be Zonealarm causing the problem.

[Jamie Buxton]

Technically, no...but the router also acts as a hardware firewall in addition to the absolutely necessary software firewall you'll have installed on your PC. The $50-100 that the router will cost you is nice additional insurance when it comes to protecting your privacy. IMHO, of course...your opinion may be different.

I'm no expert in this area. However, the DSL modem which SBC included (Speedstream 5100) says it has a firewall in it. In fact, SBC suggests that I do not run a software firewall on my computer. My system is a single-computer one -- that is, no router, and only this DSL modem.