Computer Questions

[Ron]

Yeah, even the Admin has geek questions

I've upgraded my Dell a bit, added a GIG of RAM, a 500GB hard drive and I'll be adding a flat screen monitor as well. Couldn't justify getting a whole new desktop...and didn't want Vista yet.

Anyway, my wife wants a laptop (which I will use from time to time, so it must be a bit versatile in that arena, if you know what I mean). The questions - we want to do the WiFi thing. Have never investigated the technology and was wondering what it is we'll need. Is it just the card and a router? Is there anything else we should consider? How reliable is it; both speed and connection. Are there components to avoid / required? Anything you can suggest would be great - from speed to any add-ons that you think comes in handy!

Thanks everyone !!

[sidd finch]

Just make sure you password protect the WiFi using a strong password that includes letters and numbers.

Sidd

[Steve Grisetti]

As with any connetion to a router, Ron, it's pretty much a no-brainer -- at least as far as my experience goes.

You just turn on the router and your laptop will find it.

But I definitely second Sidd's suggestion. As I'm sure you know, all routers from the factory with exactly the same passwords and settings so, unless you manually change it, anyone can jump on.

[Chuck Engels]

unless you manually change it, anyone can jump on.

Doesn't that mean there would have to be more people in Maine than just Ron and his wife? How many people can there be in Maine anyway? I don't think you need to worry about it personally

[Bob]

Ron.

You will mainly just need a wireless router. Your desktop will attach to the router with an ethernet connection and your laptop will most likely come with wireless capability. New wireless routers now are generally sold as 802.11g or 802.11n, but I believe they are all backwards compatible with 802.11b. Check your laptop specs -- It will most likely support at least "b" but probably "g" and some support "n". 802.11n is a draft spec right now -- expect flash updates. It's significantly faster than "g". Some laptops do have "n" support but others don't. You will need a card if the laptop doesn't support the spec you want to go with.

I've been using "g" since it came out and have found it to be very reliable. The max speed is 54 Mb/s, but speed falls off rapidly with distance. Your Internet access speed will be limited by your ISP connection, of course. Inside the house, the walls and construction will interfere some, I have one small dead spot, but the rest of the house is great. If you run into that and it's a problem, you can always get a repeater. I don't use it in my back yard, but it shouldn't be a problem should I ever want to -- I see wireless networks from four of my neighbors. (edit: I don't mean to imply that I would use my neighbor's connection, only that the signal is strong enough that I could probably use my connection from across the street if I wanted to.)

You definitely need to be concerned with security. The routers come preconfigured wide open. As mentioned, you should change the router password so that only you can configure the router. But, you should also enable encryption and other security features.

I turn off the router SSID broadcast. That way my router will not show up in the list of available access points. I manually enter it into the laptop. I also use the router option to only allow pre-authorized MAC IDs. Finally, turn on encryption. At the very least, use 128 bit WEP. Consider more advanced encryption. It's not that hard or costly to set up a high gain antenna that, line of sight, can pick up signals much further than you imagine. Google "war driving", for example. Hackers at Berkeley were able to map access points across the San Francisco Bay.

On the laptop, I'd turn off ad hoc connections (that keeps the guy next to you in the coffee shop from making a peer to peer connection and snooping).

It's pretty easy to set up a wireless network, but I'd definitely take the time to learn how to configure it securely. I'd also stick with a good name brand such as Linksys or Netgear. You won't save that much anyway going with a bargain basement brand.

Your router will also function as a firewall, a great bonus.

[Ron]

I knew I could count on you guys ! And thanks, Bob, for your detailed response - almost all of it I was looking for. From the 'type' to connection reliability. As that guy Chuck alluded to ( where is he anyway - just popping in like that ), I won't really have to worry [much] about anyone in my immediate vicinity having WiFi and sniffing me out, most don't even have computers and the ones that do I optimize for them so...

Thanks again for the inputs, off to check my Shopping Cart !

[Chris B]

Quick note "54Mbits" equates to at best 24Mbits of throughput (if you disable b protection and a few other things). This equates to just under 3 MegaBytes per second. Real world will see roughly half that. Now this equates to 1 mp3 every 2 or 3 seconds which is OK - but if you start going near video files it's going to take a looong time to copy them across the network. This is also shared by all devices on the network.

For comparison a wired connection will give 100 Mbits - or about 12 mbytes/second. Still slow for AVI files - but a lot faster for a full backup etc.

Chris.

[Doreen L.]

I agree with Chris on transferring avi files. It's a lot slower.

BTW, it's pretty simple to set it all up - I recently did it when I got the new computer. I have one computer hard wired into mine plus my old computer is now on a wifi plus a lap tap. Security can be an issue. I use my Trend Micro and it will let me know if any other computers try to hook up into my network. The people next door apparantly rather hook into someone else's internet connection rather than pay themselves and mine kept blocking them. I knew it was them because they moved a few weeks ago and the attempts to get into my system stopped.

[Bob]

Wireless is slower than wired. But, nothing is stopping you from plugging your laptop directly into an ethernet port on the router for those large file transfers and backups. There's generally a 4-port switch built into the router.


It all depends on what you want to do. 802.11g is perfectly adequate for sharing your Internet connection and light duty file sharing. For heavier networking on your home network, you need something faster. If you want to keep to wireless as much as possible, the 802.11n draft routers are attractive as they are significantly faster. However the spec isn't final and you'll need to deal with compatibility issues until it sorts itself out. Not to mention that they cost more.

[Bob D]

I have a wireless set up at my house. I have 2 computers hardwired to the router, 2 computers wirelessly connected and 2 TIVO boxes connected to the network.

I did change the default password and I also set it up only to allow certain MAC ID's to have access. Isn't having only certain MAC ID's having access wirelessly a good stopping point from unauthorized access?

[Chris B]

Firstly - I do NOT want to scare monger. The chances of a home network actually being attacked are minuscule. However there is a lot is misconception about security. For example Mac Address filtering will stop somebody "accidentally" logging in to your network but not much else.

These articles give detailed step be step instructions of how to crack a WEP secured network with MAC address filtering enabled and SSID broadcast turned off. The purpose is to show people how they are vulnerable - rather than teach anybody how to do it - this knowledge is already well known by the "bad guys". With the hardware available in 2005 a 128 bit WEP "secured" network was cracked in 1 hour. I believe the current record is 2 minutes.

Part 3 below details how to secure a network.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/2005/05/1 ... index.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/2005/05/1 ... index.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/2005/06/0 ... index.html

Again - I don't wish to scare anybody, the measures here (I believe) are extreme and would protect against somebody with physical access to your network. Final thought - if you are running away from a lion - you don't have to run faster than the lion - just faster than the chap next to you. Same applies to WIFI.....

Chris.

[Bob]

MAC addresses can easily be forged and WEP is not the strongest encryption you can use. And, tons of tools and detailed "how to" guides are available. But, to use your home as an analogy, you don't leave the doors and windows unlocked just because a burgler can easily get around the locks. These guys are generally opportunists, If your network is even minimally secured and your neighbor's isn't, who's more likely to be taken advantage of?

Unlike a business, which is more likely to be an active target, your chances of having your home wireless network accessed or monitored is small and the most common use is simply using your Internet connection. But, the consequences can be huge. You need to exercise due dilligence. A little prudence and common sense goes a long way.