If your PC is a mobile, that needs to shuttle between one network at work and a cable modem at home, or if you simply need to be able to swap between configurations for different ISPs (from cable to dial-up and back), there are some things to make your life a little easier.
Windows users should install NetSwitcher (shareware for US$ 8), which automates switching of settings for TCP/IP, Internet Explorer, Netscape, Outlook Express, and so on.
Apple Mac users simply use Location Manager, built into the Mac OS. For each location, define a named Configuration in the TCP/IP control panel. Then use the control panel Location Manager to create a named Location for each desired set-up, and link each Location to the appropriate TCP/IP Configuration. Change of Mail and News setttings in the Internet control panel can similarly be linked to the same Location (in Mac OS 9.x and below). You can then use the Location Manager control strip item to switch between set-ups with one click, with no restart necessary. You might find it helpful to configure an Offline location, in which TCP/IP is switched to Inactive state. You then switch to Offline before leaving one network, so that you can connect to the second network without exposing the configuration of the first to the second. Be aware that switching TCP/IP configurations disables any TCP/IP tweaks you might have installed, and resets to defaults.
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