On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 18:44:33 -0700, in alt.internet.wireless , Kickin'
Ass and Takin' Names <PopUlist349@hotmail.com> wrote:

>On Aug 4, 7:10 pm, curly Bill <sc...@anon.com> wrote:
>> Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names wrote:
>>
>> > I want to install one of those Wireless G USB print servers that I see
>> > on sale -- Linksys, Belkin, and Netgear all make them. From what I
>> > read on the box, there's some setup software, then, you slap this
>> > thing on the side of your printer, deploy the antenna, and connect the
>> > server to the printer's USB port.

If only....

>Then, you connect to the print
>> > server through your wireless G adapter in your laptop and print away.

Sorta. A few caveats:
1) check your printer actually has been tested with a wireless
printserver. Not all printers work with them. If its a GDI printer,
forget it. If its a MFD, forget it. Check with the manufacturer if
unsure. Prepare to be disappointed.

2) Not all printservers have decent security. Make sure you have at
least WPA on the printserver. Otherwise your concern about filesharing
below is a mere peccadillo compared to the wide-open wireless hole you
just created....

3) even then it may not work. Life's like that, some printers just
don't like printservers.

>> > So -- here are my questions:
>> > 1. If I install a wireless USB print server, will the printer print
>> > from both its parallel port and its USB port?

Unlikely unless it will already do that.

>> > 2. If my laptop is connected to the Motorola modem's wireless, can it
>> > also connect to the print server at the same time

Read some networking primers about wireless before embarking on this
adventure, but the short answer is yes.

>> If you can't figure out how to do "file and print sharing" which is
>> simple networking, how do you expect to figure out how to operate a
>> wireless print server.

Daft comment, I agree.
>
>If you don't know that file and print sharing feature opens up
>security holes and can provide an easy way for your computer to be
>infected with a virus,

This is equally daft however. Sharing is NOT a security hole unless
you don't secure it properly. Any decent firewall (even the builtin XP
one) will prevent sharing being exposed to the internet while still
allowing it on your local LAN, and if you have a router, you have even
more lines of defence - unless you turned off the router's firewall or
deliberately opened the filesharing ports.

>and, that file and print sharing is the most
>common route through which hackers enter

Euh, no. Social engineering and spam is the most common way in.

--
Mark McIntyre