Wireless router question

Factual Questions
1

Have cable broadband, desktop & laptop computers with WinXP, wired router.

I got the router primarily as a firewall, but did hook up my old laptop now and then with extra cable from the router. Worked fine.

Just got a new laptop with wi-fi built in. First time I turned it on, got a notice that I was connected (if that’s the right word) to a wireless LAN. That gave me pause, then I realized it was my next door neighbor’s. I asked, but he would not give me his ID and password. :smiley:

OK, as long as I have a laptop with this, it would be handy to be able to sit anywhere in the house and get online.

However, if I get a wireless router to replace the wired one, then how do I differentiate between my neighbor’s network and mine? I assume there is some way to configure it, but as never used wi-fi before, can’t seem to figure it out.

I don’t really want to set up a network between the two computers. just want to be able to get online through the cable ISP with the laptop.

Went to the Wireless Network setup wiz, but right away it got complicated and am not sure that is the program in Control Panel that I would want to accomplish this. Is there another program I should use for this? Suggestions?

2

Wait do you have a wireless router yet or no? If no … why were you running the Wireless Network Setup wizard?

First, buy a wireless router.
Second, follow the directions that come with the wireless router (they are really. dang. easy. nowadays)
Third, become addicted to being online and watching the TV at the same time!

As for who’s network you’re connected to…each network has a name. As long as you don’t name yours the same as your neighbor’s, you’ll know who’s is who’s. You get to pick your own name. You tell Windows that that’s your preferred network and it won’t even think about other networks anymore (until you tell it to).

Also if your neighbor’s network is locked down with a password you can’t connect to it anyway. And if you’re smart you’ll do the same for yours.

So really - go to Best Buy, pick out a router, install it as per it’s instructions. And if you hate it/it’s too hard/you can’t figure it out you CAN return it.

3

Your laptop will list all wireless networks available and indicate if they are encrypted or not - I can log into my next door neighbour’s and vice versa, theoretically - except he has no working wireless components. Other than his router, that is.

You select the one you want - it will be fairly obvious which is your own, connect to it and away you go.

Do check out the security aspects though, unpleasant things can happen on an unsecured wireless network.

Edit: redundant word

4

There are differentiated by SSID which is a name you give your network. When you saw the neighbors network there was a name associated with it. Give yours a different name. You should be able to enter it by some means into you router. In my router you can connect to a web page on it via a Ethernet cable when you are setting it up. Your current wired router probably has a web page on it that you can used to change settings if needed on a wireless router there would just be a few more pages for configuring the router.

5

And set up WPA-PSK security.

Si

6

[QUOTE=KlondikeGeoff]
Have cable broadband, desktop & laptop computers with WinXP, wired router.

I got the router primarily as a firewall, but did hook up my old laptop now and then with extra cable from the router. Worked fine.

Just got a new laptop with wi-fi built in. First time I turned it on, got a notice that I was connected (if that’s the right word) to a wireless LAN. That gave me pause, then I realized it was my next door neighbor’s. I asked, but he would not give me his ID and password. :smiley:

OK, as long as I have a laptop with this, it would be handy to be able to sit anywhere in the house and get online.

However, if I get a wireless router to replace the wired one, then how do I differentiate between my neighbor’s network and mine? I assume there is some way to configure it, but as never used wi-fi before, can’t seem to figure it out.

I don’t really want to set up a network between the two computers. just want to be able to get online through the cable ISP with the laptop.

Went to the Wireless Network setup wiz, but right away it got complicated and am not sure that is the program in Control Panel that I would want to accomplish this. Is there another program I should use for this? Suggestions?
[/QUOTE]

Based on your question, I assume you want a literal cookbook “how to?”…and you do, in fact, want to set up a network, unbeknownst to you. You want two computers using the same link to the Internet, and you want the router to let them do that. No problem.

Buy a Linksys Wireless G Router. About $50. Don’t get the Speedbooster one–it won’t increase speeds to your laptop b/c the laptop isn’t Speedbooster. Don’t buy the N kind.

Hook the new router to your cable modem with an ethernet cable. Turn it on and let it connect.

Hook your desktop computer to the router with an ethernet cable. Open Internet explorer and type in the default IP address of whatever router you ended up buying. Example: 192.168.0.1

Hit the Enter button.

You will see the admin screen for your router. Default for Linksys is blank for UserID and “admin” (without the quotes) fo password.

Click the Wireless tab. Enable the Wireless network, give it a name, and save changes. Make the name simple. “Geoff” is fine. Click the Wireless security tab and pick 64-bit encryption, WEP, and put anything you want in the passphrase, which is just a Linksys tool to help you create a secret key. You will see some letters and keys in the boxes below. Write down the #1 key, save changes, and turn on your laptop.

Make sure the wireless is on for your laptop, and open the utility to control it. Ask the utility to show you the available wireless networks, and pick Geoff. When you try to connect it will give you a blank box and ask for the key. It might ask you what kind of security Geoff wants; answer 64-bit WEP.

Type in the combination of numbers and letters you wrote down. You will probably need to enter this twice.

Wait for the router to give you an IP address (this will happen automatically), and go online wirelessly.

Now that you have the basics, you can go back into the router and change lots of settings. If you are paranoid enough you can improve your security by changing to more robust encryption schemes such as the WPA variants, and you can also decide not to broadcast your SSID (the network name). For home networks it’s now worth it in my opinion, but computer people love to convince you it is. It’s best to control the router settings with the desktop hardwired to the router. If you make changes wirelessly to the router from the laptop you can make the router stop talking to the laptop and then you have to start from a wired connection all over again.

It doesn’t have to be a Linksys router. Belkin is good and so is DLink and so are many others.

It’s fine to use the instructions and the included disk but it sounds like you aren’t big on that sort of thing.

7

Many thanks, Chief Pedant, for chapter and verse on setting it up. Exactly what I needed. Thanks also to all the others who posted some good tips.

As soon as I buy the router (and got to get a wireless card for my desktop), will forge ahead full blast, just as though I knew what I was doing.

I usually buy stuff like this online, but I like the tip about getting it at Best Buy so can return it if I get too exasperated in trying to set it up, can return it. :smiley:

8

You could save yourself a few dollars on the wireless card for the PC. As the PC is static and so is the router, if they are in reasonably close proximity you can just connect them with an Ethernet cable - one will be delivered with the router anyway, as you need it for the initial setup before enabling the wireless link.

9

First suggestion is to do a little reconnaissance to determine how much crosstalk you might get from your neighbors. Download and install NetStumbler to figure out which channels are being used within your immediate vicinity. Then when you set up your router, set it to a different channel. It’s also helpful to run NetStumbler from time to time to check your signal strength and Signal-to-Noise Ratio.

One major problem you might encounter is interference from your or your neighbors’ cordless phones. If they operate on the same frequency as the router (2.4 Ghz), you might experience frequent signal drops. If you have 2.4 Ghz phones, consider selling them and switching to a WiFi-friendly variety.

Once you get settled with your wireless router and you know it’s all fine and dandy, consider switching on MAC filtering. What this does is tell the router to only allow connections from MAC addresses that you signify. Then there’ll be no chance that a neighbor will be able to pirate your IP address and get you in hot water for downloading naughty stuff.

10

[QUOTE=KlondikeGeoff]
Many thanks, Chief Pedant, for chapter and verse on setting it up. Exactly what I needed. Thanks also to all the others who posted some good tips.

As soon as I buy the router (and got to get a wireless card for my desktop), will forge ahead full blast, just as though I knew what I was doing.

I usually buy stuff like this online, but I like the tip about getting it at Best Buy so can return it if I get too exasperated in trying to set it up, can return it. :smiley:
[/QUOTE]

The wireless router will have some ports for wired connections–usually 4 or so. It’s best to use one of these ports to hook up to the desktop with a wired connection. That way you can troubleshoot the wireless functions. This will also let the router assign a permanent identifier (a “static IP address”) to the desktop, which is a little more stable arrangement. It’s also a faster connection.

I suggest using the other wired ports for a printer (lots of printers are also wireless, but it’s just easier to set up) and a phone adapter if you have an Internet-based phone service such as Vonage.