modems? keeping them?

I have a Siemens Speedstream4100 modem
whenever I leave my computer, I turn off the modem
I have had to replace this modem twice in 2 years because after turning it on/off 3-6x a day it won't stay on when I click it it on
it only costs atbout $25 to replace, but what the hell? what is a better modem I should invest in?
http://www.calweb.com/dsl/https---tools.sonic.net-atmpartner-resources-ss4100-install-guide.pdf%20-%20Adobe%20Reader.gif

 

I am going to just plug it into a 6-plug powerstrip

 

In what way did the modems fail? Was it the same on both of them?

If it was the power switch that failed on both of them, I'd suspect a design flaw that has resulted in an unreliable power switch. If that's the case, either leave it on, or use the switch on the power strip to remove power from it.

There's lots of cable modems that don't have power switches at all. Some of those that do may have the switch in inaccessible locations. Generally, those models are designed to be left powered on at all times. For those, keep in mind that every time you turn on an electrical component that generates any heat while it's operating (and that's most electrical components), the rapid temperature change at turn-on causes thermal stress as the parts expand from the heat. If the component was designed for "always-on" operation, repeated temperature cycling may do it in.

 

Just leave it on, they really are designed for it. Its ok, and you wont end up replacing that modem as often, believe me i have had many of those running for multiple years. Used to do tech support at two different isps and we had more problems with users turning them off and on then ever just leaving em on.

 

It was the power switch that failed
I am using a power strip now, obvious answer yet oblivous to me
I could leave it on, and I could leave my lights always on, but I choose not to because why?

 

Im just saying from working in dsl tech support field, those modems have issues with on and off frequently. Better to leave them on. Good luck with replacing your modem in the future.

 

Is that a statement, or are you expecting a response? If the latter, what's the issue that you'd like a response to?

 

nope, I was just giving the resolution to my issue.

Oh yeah, but why? I don't need to waste the power, I don't leave my lights on all the time, even with those CFL bulbs and I don't have an ternet firewall/router, so I turn it off because I might use it a max of 4 hrs in 24 hours

 

Yes, turning off your DSL modem will save some power. A little bit -- maybe 10-15 watts. That's less than a third of a kilowatt-hour per day. Where I am, residential power costs about 6 cents per kWh. At that rate, my cost to leave the modem powered up would be about two cents a day. Maybe it's easier to see that as about $7 per year.

Add to that the fact that my first modem lasted about 7 years, and was powered up almost continuously over that time. That makes my total operational cost for that modem about $10.60 per year.

But you've heard it from a tech support guy as well as from me -- turning your modem on and off all the time is likely to shorten its life. You've indicated that you're spending about $25 per year replacing modems, plus maybe $1.50 per year for the power you did use.

You call it from here. It's you that pays for the power or the replacement cable modems.

But if Internet security is your primary concern, that's a whole other matter. The above comments are not relevant to that issue. But if that's the case, you answered your own question.

 

yes internet secruity is my main issue, I was told to get something by Linky's I think, a router or something? I
what could I use to protect my computer?
Or should I just keep my finance crap on a seperate HD? and only plug it in when I need it? Of course, that will make life complex when I get online to pay bills and such..as I use online banking, but I also keep backups of my passwords on my computer AND the HD I use to backup my HD.
or can you link me to a thread that will answer this seemingly complex question; well, complex to me.
Thanks

 

I'm worried about my computer being hacked or stuff taken or whatever....I've been leaving it on since you told me this and I just unplug the ethernet cord, and when I come back, I plug it in, it doesn't turn off and my computer is ready to surf the net nearly instantly
thoughts?

 

I expect that advice was given to you because nearly all routers for the consumer market include a hardware firewall that provide fairly good security compared to a software firewall like Windows Defender. LinkSys is one of several good manufacturers. Zoom and D-Link also provide some good routers at reasonable cost, and I'm sure there are lots of others.

I googled the model you've referred to, and found a product description sheet for it online at <http://shadow.sentry.org/~trev/adsl4200/docs/feature_matrix.pdf>. It seems that your Siemens SpeedStream 4100 provides many features that a separate router would provide. If you have only the one machine connected to the Internet, you may not need anything else if you just enable the security features in your SpeedStream. Many of the basic security features may already be enabled, but you'll need to get into its admin setup to confirm that. For that, you'll need the SpeedStream's manual. You can get that here if you can't find it on Siemen's website.

Using a removable drive for your sensitive data does make sense, particularly as that can also protect you from data loss resulting from a home fire or theft of your computer. Unplugging the telephone line connection to the modem makes your system completely unhackable -- with that link disconnected, a hacker can't get at the firewall in your modem/router or the computer behind it. It may also force your ISP to change the IP address assigned to you more frequently than otherwise would be the case, forcing a hacker to go to the trouble of finding you again if he wanted to continue his efforts.

However, a firewall can provide only limited protection against a data-mining worm once that worm has installed itself on your machine. Make sure your AV software is kept up to date and that it does frequent scans on all drives that you use.

 

My cable modem has been on continuosly for 1 1/2 months with no problems. As for security, where does it say that you need to keep your PC on whenever the modem is on? Mine gets powered down to get some "sleep" when I do.

 

Huh? I don't know that anybody said that. :confused

As noted in an earlier post in this thread, my ADSL modem is on almost continously. I never turn them off; my previous one was powered up for about 7 years with very few interruptions. But you can be quite sure that I turn my computer off when I don't expect to be back to it within 12-18 hours. Until recently, my computer was on only during the evening and weekends.

 

whoa, thanks, I didn't see this post before, it is useful, however I cannot even access the Speedstreams configuration features.
I looked at the manual which says
Admin User
The Administrator profile controls the requirements for logging into the Web interface and accessing configuration pages, as well as defining the administrator login name and password.
To configure administrator settings:
1. Select Setup>Admin User from the left
and that makes no sense to me, how do I check to see how the config is set up?
I searched for SPEEDSTREAM on my computer and I don't have it... I looked under MY COMPUTER and I don't have it..geez, I have no idea! please assist!!?
I found
Connecting to the Router
The SpeedStream Router contains an HTTP server that allows you to connect to the Router and configure it from your Web browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, versions 5.0 or later).
To establish a connection from your computer to the Router:
1. After installing the Router, start your computer. If your computer is already running, reboot it.
2. Open your Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator Web browser.
3. In the Address bar, enter the default router IP address: http://speedstream and press Enter. This displays the “Gateway Administrator Setup” window.
but when I do that, it just says IE CANNOT DISPLAYTHE WEBPAGE

I only use CCcleaner,,,more than once a session I'm online, should I use something else?

 

Oh, dear.

CCleaner is a good product -- I use it myself. But all it does is remove unnecessary temporary files accumulated by your browser and other software, and clean up clutter that accumulates in the Windows Registry.

But it provides no protection whatsoever against viruses, worms, spyware, and the like. It's not designed to do that.

What else do you need to protect yourself from malware? Check out this page for a place to start.

 

yes, thanks, that worked well, I was able to get to the configuration menu/screen.
however I don't see the SSID?
the very top of this screenshot,is
Connection Configuration
WARNING
Changing these settings may interfere with your ability to connect to the Internet.
and my username and password
what is the SSID?

Internet Connection Configuration
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh118/watchntv1978/34343.jpg

 

I think there's some confusion here. I thought the SSID (service set identifier) was unique to wireless devices. I've seen no indication that the Speedstream 4100 provides wireless service.

Hardwired devices don't need a SSID. They can reached only through a physical connection.

 

this board is hard to read,
I read left to right, up to down, like a book
this setup(linear mode) goes from bottom up...I change the lay out to hybrid layout, but it's still not easy,it's a pain in the ***, why is it set up this way?