I have an HP desktop (CFP3) and a Fujitsu laptop (ZA), both XP pro.
I have an ELink p660r bridged to a Linksys WRT54G v8.2 [DD-WRT v24 RC5] PPPoE.
The desktop is on Ethernet port 1 and the laptop is wireless.
I just went out and picked up a new Canon MX310 printer and hooked it up to the HP, works great :).
I want to safely create the smallest of networks [just the two machines] so that I might print from the Fujitsu via the HP.
I started to head into the XP setup, then decided I’d check in here first - to see if this is in fact the most prudent step…perhaps there is a simpler (or more importantly - a safer?) way than running the XP Network Setup Wizard?
I don’t want to open any more holes than absolutely necessary.
Any tips, advice (or if this is simply too idiotic of a query perhaps a link in the right dir) or pointers are greatly appreciated.
Well lets see. If you are sharing your printer in your network you have to enable file and printer sharing, which can infact expose you in itself. I suggest getting two printers one for each computer. That is the safest way to do it.
With another desktop that might be considered, but the laptop is tiny - like my 2 bedroom apt - and besides wanting to print wirelessly, another printer is a luxury I cannot afford at present [although, I do have an extra little p.o.s. HP printer around here somewhere].
Might be a moot point though, since I can’t even find the printer over my LAN with the laptop as it is.
Thanks again for taking a minute to help me out. :■■■■
If you want to encrypt the network traffic, perhaps try Hamachi. You then only need to enable file and printer sharing on the virtual NICs, not your real NICs.
Just read the Wiki on Hamachi and it sounds great [although maybe a bit more than I can chew at the moment] and may come into play before long - thanks mister B!
At the moment I can only ping to and from desk/laptop but cannot find my printer when I fish for it.
I was hoping to find a setting in my router [dd-wrt] to create this little network, but the kids over in that forum are busy and I await advice regarding these settings.
I’m still looking for an inexpensive networkable printer.
Correct me if I’m wrong but can’t you just setup your network printer. Find out it’s IP Address from your router and then just add the IP Address as Trusted in CPF therefore allowing traffice to the printer without having to enable File and Printer Sharing or is that completely different and only in relation to printers that are separately connected to the router?