One Solution for Dead Ethernet Port

My ethernet port actually got fried on my desktop tower by a lightning strike a few weeks ago. I prefer not to use a wireless connection on this computer because it is a bit far from the router downstairs and needs a faster connection for some things I do for work. This is what I did to get wired internet back on this machine for about $10:

I ordered a USB 2.0 to Ethernet Adapter. It was a bit tricky to get working.

Here is what I did to get it woking on Windows 7:
1. Plugged it in and Windows detected it, but Windows did not automatically get it working
2. Downloaded the CD files that are provided in the link on the Monoprice site, but I had several issues with those files and could not get them working.
3. Went to the ASIX driver download page and downloaded the "Windows 7 64 bit" driver.
4. Went into Windows Device Manager as administrator and saw "Unknown Device".
5. Clicked to install driver for that device, selected the option to locate the driver file from the local computer, and pointed it to the folder where I had downloaded and extracted the driver from the asix.com site
6. It said the driver installed succesfully
7. I plugged in the item to the USB port and sure enough it was working

Note: It does not flash the little green and yellow lights, so if you don't see the lights do not assume that it is not working. Go to speedtest.net and see how fast your connection is.