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Sygate Home Network
Type of Program: Network
Supported Platforms: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP
Company Name: Sygate
Version: 4.2
Price: $39.95 and up
Installed Size: 8.07 Mb
Download/Homepage
Okay here is the Bad News. I downloaded this program because I
was having trouble doing Internet Sharing on my home Ethernet network. I figured
that is probably why people get this kind of software. So anyway I got it and
intalled it - no sweat. Then the problems began. It said it could not find my
Network. Then it gave me information though that it said I could send to them.
It suggested that I try their web site. When I got there I got directed to their
Forums. None of the topics seemed to pertrain to me. So I tried to post to the
Forums. Well it said I had to fill out a form and register to do that. So I did.
Guess what? Still no posting to the Forums. I guess that is why all of the Posts
on the Home Network Forums are by Leo. If you want to call them about your
problem it costs $75.
So then I emailed support with the information the program said that I should
send. Guess what? They never answered, and I told them upfront that this
was for a Review on our site. If they don't answer me, what do you think your
chances are? So I uninstalled the damn thing, after all if it couldn't do what I
needed what was the use of having it?
The Good News. It took me all day screwing around to get my Ethernet in a shape
that I thought Sygate might be able to help me. I do mean all day too. There was
the Microsoft Knowledge base, plus Google. Lots of registry work uninstalling,
reinstalling and rebooting. You get the picture I imagine. After all this time I
could not get Microsoft's Internet Sharing to work (I am using Win 98 SE}.
Though I must admit that it worked fine first try when I had to do it a couple
of months ago using my laptop as the host machine. But that's another story. My
problem was I could not get Network properties to show this:
TCP/IP(Shared)-> adapter
TCP/IP(Home)-> adapter
I could get the computers to share folders and drives though. The first time I
installed Sygate I knew that I could not ping the host computer from the client
computer. The next time I installed it I knew that I had that problem licked. So
I installed Sygate agiain and whoopy It Worked! It found the Ethernet and
installed internet sharing in a New York minute and I was in business! Boy did I
feel better.
Now lets get to the busines end of the deal. Does it do what you want it to?
Well the answer is an unquailified Yes it does. I can do all sorts of things,
handle all kinds of Internet connections, you can make access rules for
applications. You can control how the dial up setting are made if you have a
dial up connection, it also can hang up. You can set up your network
automaticlly or manually. It will connect on startup to a networked area you
specify. You can enable Internet sharing on startup. You can enable DNS forward
and enable enhanced security, enable access log, and enable address server
(DHCP).
You can also in the advanced options set permissions and Black List web sites
you want the kiddies to stay away from. Their is also Free Firewall that can be
added (Plus a pay one too).
Conclusion. It it work for you, it will do the Job! If it doesn't - Forget It
and uninstall it and try something else, that's what Shareware is about.
As you can imagine I was not impressed with their troubleshooting. That is why
they are given such a bad rating on support.
Performance: 
User Friendly:
Cost:
Ease of Installation:
Support:
Reviewed by Joe Tex
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