Obvious questions (the answers to which should scare you...)

1) what is the IP address of the computer at work [no, don't tell me here,
just answer "does it begin with either "10.?.?.?" or "192.168.?.?"?]  If the
answer is "No, it begins with a normal legitimate class-C address", then
shut your PC off and scan for viruses every 5 minutes... [presumably, your
PC at work is "directly" on the internet, and if you enable inter-office
niceties such as "file and print sharing", then you are effectively allowing
anyone in the world read and WRITE access to your entire hard drive -- see
the website www.grc.com, and in particular the "shields up" sub-page for
even scarier details]

2) supposedly, win95 (and by extension, win98) has a "dial-up server" option
which would theoretically do what you want.  It does use your current domain
passwords [presuming you have an NT or samba domain controller doing
password authentication]  To be honest, I've had nothing but trouble trying
to enable this sort of configuration, but your luck may be different than
mine.

I've solved the problem in a slightly different manner -- at home I have DSL
available, so I've set up a firewall that is on 24x7 and allows me to access
my PC at home FROM work.  (my PC at home has a fixed IP address)  I am
considering "VPN"* as a way of bridging between my computer(s) at home and
at work, but before I do that I have to upgrade my firewall at home [it,
err, "got hacked" :( ]  With the wealth of "free" ISP's out there, even the
lack of dsl/cable shouldn't be a problem -- you would set up an on-demand
VPN between your home computer and the computer [gateway] at work, then your
computer at home appears to be "on the lan" at work [you could probably even
use reflection to log on to an HP without having to enable telnet on the
HP...]

Tom Emerson

*VPN=Virtual Private Network(ing) -- essentially a "secure" channel between
your network at work and some "remote" site using "the public internet" as
the communications line.  Similar in nature to using "I-phone" to make
long-distance calls for "free".

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim Ericson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Hi everyone,
>
> I've got a PC at home with a 56K modem, and one on my desk at work
> with a 56K modem on a dedicated outside line *and* a 100Bt network
> card connected to an internet T1. (both are Windows 98)
>
> I want to dial into my work PC from my home PC and have access to
> the internet, and maybe even access to my work PC files from home.
>
> Is it possible to have my work PC be a 'private' ISP with a single
> dial-up line with this configuration?  Does it require any added
> software like WinGate?
>
> Password protection is probably a good idea, as well.
>
> TIA!
>
>   Tim Ericson            tericson      DenKor Dental Management Corp.
>   Programming HP3000s since 1983!

Wow -- now that I think about it, 1983 is when I graduated from high school
and started programming classes at the community college on a series 48...
:) (or was it still a series III then? -- no matter, my first "real" job had
both...)