Network connections

[Guest]

Hey,

When I open the "Network Connections" window in "Control Panel", I have
three network connections:
1)Local Area Connection
2)Wireless Network Connection
3)Internet Gateway

My internet setup is as follows:
-I have a cable modem from my ISP
-An access point that is connected to the cable modem
-All my pc's use Wireless connection to connect to the access point

The thing is that the "Internet Gateway" icon just appeared since last week.
I've never had this icon in my internet connections before! When I choose to
disable this Internet Gateway connection, I no longer have access to the
internet on my computers. If I look at my access point settings, I can see my
access point no longer has an IP, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway or DNS
assigned. When I connect my pc directly to the cable modem (LAN) I don't get
this Internet Gateway Icon. Just to point out that this Internet Gateway Icon
is related to my access point.

The only thing I can think of that has changed on my computer are the
security updates I downloaded and installed last week (KB899589, KB905414,
KB901017, KB905749, KB896688, KB902400, KB904706, KB900725).

The questions I have are:
*Why did the Internet Gateway Icon appeared, since I've never had this Icon
before?
*Is it releated to the microsoft security updates?
*Why do I need this Internet Gateway now and didn't need it before?
*What's the point in having this Internet Gateway connection? I mean what is
it for?

I'm using Win XP Pro SP2

Thanks in advance,
Davy

 

[Chris Priede]

*Why did the Internet Gateway Icon appeared, since
I've never had this Icon before?

The "Internet Gateway" is your wireless access point, or rather, the router
portion of it. You didn't see it before and it appeared recently because:

a) UPnP device discovery was previously disabled or somehow prevented from
working on your computer, and something you've done recently has fixed it;

b) The router was not originally UPnP compatible or didn't have it enabled,
and a firmware upgrade or settings change has fixed that.

*Is it releated to the microsoft security updates?

Perhaps, but probably not.

*Why do I need this Internet Gateway now and didn't need it before?

See above. It is normal and nothing to be concerned about.

*What's the point in having this Internet Gateway connection? I mean
what is it for?

It indicates that Windows is aware of your router. You can use the
properties for it to forward ports, instead of having to use the router's
web based interface. More importantly, however, UPnP aware applications
will be able to forward ports automatically, and you may discover some
things you previously had trouble with now work fine. This could include
voice and video in instant messaging applications, games that can be played
over Internet, and more.

 

[Guest]

Chris,

Thank you for your clear and detailed answer.

Regards,
Davy

 

[Guest]

I am having the same problem and I do not have wireless networking set up. I
am using DSL and have a Local are connection icon, and now Internet Gateway
(or sometimes comes up as Linix IGD). It will not let me disable or delete
them. I did not intall them, they showed up on their own. The only way to
get rid of them is re-install windows and inevidable they come back days or
weeks later. Nothing shows up on anti-virus or spyware scans, and I have
used several different programs to scan with. Any ideas? Has anyone else
come across the 'Internet gateway on Linux IGD" connection appearing?