Setting-up an Internet Connection On Ubuntu

- 1 -

Logged-in to your guest account, enter:
startx

...to start X.

- 2 -

Open a terminal and enter:
su -c "control-panel"

...followed by the root password when prompted.

- 3 -

In the control-panel select the "Network Configuration" button to bring up the "Network Configurator" window.

- 4 -

In the "Nameservers" box, enter your ISP's Primary DNS IP address e.g. 194.126.82.5. If you don't know yours then ask your ISP.

- 5 -

Select the "Interfaces" button and then select the "Add" button to open the "Choose Interface Type" window.

- 6 -

It's very likely that you'll be using the default of "PPP", so unless you know otherwise, just press "OK" to bring up the "Create PPP Interface" window.

- 7 -

In the "Create PPP Interface" window, enter the dial-up phone number, your PPP login name and your PPP password.

Note:

A few ISPs use an encrypted form of password transmission called PAP (Password Authentication Protocol). If yours is one of these, select "Use PAP authentication".

- 8 -

Select the "Customize" button to bring up an "Edit PPP Interface" window.

- 9 -

Select "Allow any user to (de)activate interface" to allow users other than root to connect and disconnect from the Internet.

Note:

A red indented box next to an option, indicates that the option is on. A grey box indicates that the option is off.

- 10 -

Select the "Networking" button, and switch off "Restart PPP when connection fails". It's extremely frustrating when you disconnect and it keeps reconnecting!

- 11 -

Finish by selecting the "Done" button, then select the "Save" button in the new window that appears.

- 12 -

Back in the "Network Configurator" window, select the "Save" button and then the "Quit" button.

- 13 -

At the control-panel again, select "Modem Configuration", select the device your modem is attached to, and finish by selecting the "Ok" button.

- 14 -

Finally, close the control-panel to terminate the su -c "control-panel" command you entered way back at step 2, thus returning you from the root account, back to the guest account.

Dialing Up

- 1 -

Either enter:
usernet

...in an X terminal window, or select "AnotherLevel menus" > "Networking" > "Usernet".

- 2 -

Select the "ppp0" button to connect, and then again when you wish to disconnect.

I Still Can't Get on the Net!


ISPs all require different details to dial-up. I use Global which is a big ISP here in Britain. A lot of people have e-mailed me telling me this guide doesn't get them on the Net. If you are one of those poor souls, then all I can say is that hopefully this guide has steered you in the right direction and that hopefully a phone-call or e-mail to your ISP will fill in the missing blanks.

The Dreaded WinModem

Unfortunately, some internal modems require a rather large driver called Windows! They are referred to as WinModems and companies that produce them to save a few cents, are crooks... allegedly. :) One notable example is the US Robotics WinModem series. If you have a WinModem you're not getting on the Net, simple as that. Although I've heard that the 2.4.x kernel will provide support for WinModems. (To what extent, I don't know.)