seetin up simple home network

i know nothing :(

[benihana]

just got broadband (finally ) and figure i need to set it up so my fiance can surf on her laptop while im reading WebmasterWorld , i mean, er, working ;)

trouble is , i have no experience of setting up a network.

the dsl modem is a speedtouch 530, with 1 usb and one ethrnet port. it connects to the p.c via usb (and directly to the playstation with the ethernet - which is nice :))

both laptop and p.c have network cards installed.

do i need to buy a router, or is there anyway to do it with what i have?

desktop =w2k, laptop = xp.

any insight would be great
thanks
ben

[Go2]

I recommend buying a broadband router, with a WAN port which connects to your DSL modem and with several LAN ports for your local computer connections. I have a D-Link DI-604 which is dirt cheap, has 40 Mbps throughput and is easy to configure via a web browser. The advantage of a router is that you also get a native NAT firewall (which means that all incoming network requests to you computer are ignored if they didn't originate from your computer). Another advantage of a router is that if you decide to upgrade your broadband connection you only have to buy a new modem, while keeping your router and local network intact.

[benihana]

thanks go2 - will try to pick one up tommorrow
:)