WinXP Internet Connection Status icon, widget, properies and services

[Norm X]

Under WinXP there is a thingee called "Internet Connection Status". The way
I connect is rather dynamic. Sometimes ICS says the connection speed is 10
Mbps, now it is 94.2 Mbps (how stupid) and sometimes it is disabled and
cannot be enabled. It claims to report packets sent through the Internet
gateway. "Properties" brings up "Service Settings" that looks like port
forwarding on a router (impossible). Does anyone know anything about this
thingee or where it is documented? I know how to set up a router, but I
don't want to waste time with this thingee until I know more.

In "Control Panel" there is "Windows Firewall" that only applies to this one
PC.

 

[Norm X]

Under WinXP there is a thingee called "Internet Connection Status". The

way I connect is rather dynamic. Sometimes ICS says the connection speed
is 10 Mbps, now it is 94.2 Mbps (how stupid) and sometimes it is disabled
and cannot be enabled. It claims to report packets sent through the
Internet gateway. "Properties" brings up "Service Settings" that looks
like port forwarding on a router (impossible). Does anyone know anything
about this thingee or where it is documented? I know how to set up a
router, but I don't want to waste time with this thingee until I know
more.

In "Control Panel" there is "Windows Firewall" that only applies to this
one PC.

Maybe I should mention that this thingee says it allows one to connect to
the Internet through a shared connection on another computer, but that
rather than Internet Connection Sharing, I use a bridged network connection
through a Win7 machine. Maybe this thingee can talk to the firewall on the
Win7 machine?