Reasons to Set Up a Wireless Home Network

August 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Our home wireless router
Image by tawalker via Flickr

Wireless networking is a relatively new concept for many homes and businesses, but it is certainly one worth exploring. With the addition of affordable wireless routers, systems that come equipped with wireless adapters, and more and more wireless devices such as printers and cellular phones coming out each day, the advantages of setting up a wireless network in your home are stacking up. However, there are still some drawbacks. Here are the ups and downs of this networking alternative.

On the “good” side of the scale . . .

The mobility of the network allows anyone to access it from anywhere inside your home, or even immediate outside of it.

You don’t have to be right next to a printer or other device to tap into it as a resource.

You can reduce the number of cords you need to purchase, set up, and have around.

Setup is relatively simple when compared to a wired home network. You can simply plug into the router or other wireless station and use the wireless installation wizard that comes with your computer in order to create a fundamentally sound network.

On the “bad” side of the scale . . .

The speed of your network will be lower when compared to a fully wired network. While wireless is getting faster, it’s not “there” yet.

Wireless networks are far less reliable than wired networks, and you can get spots, downtime, and other errors more easily in a wireless network.

Wireless networking won’t work very well for specific tasks such as gaming, where the lag that occurs can create significant problems.

The cost of a wireless network, while decreasing, is high when compared to a fully wired network. In addition to the cost of the router and adapters for computers, wireless versions of printers or other utilities are more costly.

Neither wired nor wireless home networks are a bad idea, and each provides certain opportunities and drawbacks. The best approach is to evaluate your home, your priorities for mobility, cost, and ease of setup, and make the best decision to suit your particular situation.

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Filed Under: Computers, Internet, Technology, Wireless Technology Tagged With: , ,

5 Reasons to Secure Your Wireless Network

July 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The vast majority of wireless networks are now secured – a significant change from five years ago. However, some people still haven’t taken the ten minutes required to secure their network. While it may seem like a minor inconvenience to not have this security, there are many reasons why this security is important. Here are five of the most significant.

One: Your Bandwidth Use is Increased

It should be obvious that your total bandwidth use will go up with more users. As there is only a certain amount of total bandwidth that you’re alloted, it’s important to keep your bandwidth under control to maximize your speeds.

Two: Your Router Will Be Mad at You

There are multiple points at which your internet speed are limited. Beyond the bandwidth issues mentioned above, you should keep in mind that even the best wireless routers have limitations. If more people are accessing the router, it’s more likely to overload, slow down, require hard resets, and be generally problematic.

Three: Your Files May Be Vulnerable

A savvy hacker will be able to access other devices and computers on the network if you haven’t engaged in appropriate security. This means, among other things, that private documents, pictures, and files will be vulnerable.

Four: You Can Get Locked Out

If you don’t set a password for your network, anyone else can. It isn’t required that they plug into your router in order to access it as an administrator. If you haven’t gone through a setup, set an administrator username and password, and so forth, then anyone who taps into your network can go into your control panel and lock you out of your own web.

Five: You May Be Supporting Crime

If other people are accessing your wireless network, you have no control over what they’re doing. Every foul thing that can happen on the internet, ranging from harmless music pirating to child pornography to illegal gambling rings can be happening using your internet. In addition to being terrible in and of itself, there are legal liability issues that you will have to face if these activities are traced to your IP address.

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Filed Under: Wi-Fi Networks, Wireless Technology Tagged With: , ,

How to Secure Your Wireless Internet

June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Securing your wireless internet is incredibly important for a number of reasons. These include avoiding having your web used for illegal purposes, keeping your files secure, and keeping your web connection as fast as is possible. Luckily, securing your internet is simple and won’t take much time. Here’s a fast step-by-step to get you through the process.

Step 1: Check for Instructions

While this guide will walk you through how to secure your network with or without special directions, it may be that your router comes with a simpler guide with a more user friendly interface that allows you to skip some of these steps. Check for that guide first, and follow its directions if possible.

Step 2: Connect to the web.

Hypothetically, you can access your router wireless before securing it. However, it’s a good idea to hard wire in with an Ethernet cable if you can. In any case, make sure it’s the only internet you’re plugged into.

Step 3: Open Command Prompt

You will need to enter the router’s IP address in order to access your control panel, but the IP address isn’t always going to be the same. You will find the IP address by opening command prompt. To open command prompt, go to the “run” feature of the Windows OS you are using and type in “CMD,” then hit enter.

Step 4: Get your router’s IP address

Now that Command Prompt is open, you will enter “ipconfig,” and push enter. Look at the text that has scrolled down, and find the “default gateway.” That’s the IP address for your router.

Step 5: Log Into Your Control Panel

Open up your preferred internet browser and enter the ip address into the address bar, then hit enter. You may be prompted to enter a username and password. Leave these blank if you don’t believe you have any, and push enter. If this doesn’t work, check your materials, information on the bottom of the router, and the support site for the router in order to find this information.

Step 6: Secure Your Network

Now select the appropriate “secure the network” command and follow the given directions.

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Filed Under: Wi-Fi Networks, Wireless Technology Tagged With: ,