wireless internet connection

cingular wireless insurance

opinise@gmail.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:17:00 +0000

very appropriate if you choose Cingular Wireless as the media celuler you. Besides the features that are wonderful and complete, Cingular wireless phone also has an cingular wireless insurance .Wireless Phone Insurance Protecting Your Wireless Investment Choosing protection for your wireless phone means added security. What Wireless Phone Insurance means to you is fast, hassle free protection when you need it.

Wireless Phone Insurance protects your wireless phone against loss, theft, accidental physical or liquid damage, and mechanical and/or electrical failure after the manufacturer's warranty period has expired. The program has a monthly premium of $4.99 and a non-refundable deductible for each approved claim. The premium and deductible (for an approved claim) are added to your monthly billing statement.
Wireless Phone Insurance

KEY PROGRAM TERMS

* $4.99 monthly premium
* Incidents Covered: lost, stolen, accidental damage, liquid damage, and mechanical or electrical failure after the manufacturer's warranty period has expired

* Deductible: Effective Nov. 3, 2008 per the terms of your new Insurance Coverage Certificate, each replacement phone is subject to a $50 or $125 non-refundable deductible per approved claim depending on the phone model
* Limits: Two claims within any consecutive 12 months, with a maximum replacement value of $1500 per claim
* Claims may be fulfilled with new or refurbished replacement equipment and may be a different brand, model or color than the covered equipment. Compatibility with current accessories and features is not guaranteed.
* You may cancel coverage at any time for a pro-rated refund of the monthly premium

Secure wireless point to point connections

opinise@gmail.com — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:47:00 +0000

For connecting 2 sides connection with share same network, usually we design with poin to point connections. For design with point to point connections, for secure wireless point to point connection, we must be registered mac address each radio Access point to other side radio access point. It means, only radio access point with mac address was registered in other side access point which can connect to them. look at picture below :

Technorati Tags wifi

The Wireless LAN

opinise@gmail.com — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:06:00 +0000

Wireless LAN configuration could be implementation simply and in a complex manner. Basically, two PC that was installed wireless adapter cards could arrange a free network that could be connected with each other in the distance that was determined. This form was mentioned with peer-to-peer network wireless. The network wireless that was needed like the example below did not need adminitrasi and the configuration of early. In this case of each client could access resources from the other client without through server the centre.

The fitting one of Access Point could widen the range from the network ad hoc, that could double the range from two equipments that communicated with each other. For Access Point connecting with the network of the cable, each client could access resources server like the other client. Each of Access Point could support several clients; his certain number depended on the number of numbers and the characteristics on the supportive transmission. Several of his applications proved that one Access Point could serve the client totalling 15-50. Access Points had the limited range, that is approximately 500 feet for the room was closed (indoor) and 1000 feet for the room was open (outdoors). To the area that was big enough like the storage warehouse and the campus of the possibility tertiary institution to be able to be installed by Access Point more than one. Access Point could be placed before through the study of the place or the area. His aim that is to cover the range with the scope cell that overlapping so as the client could be connected in any area without losing communication with the network. The client's capacity to move around a A group of Access Points was mentioned with the exploration (roaming). Access Points handled the client to be connected with each other without the existence lost communication.

To overcome the problem topologi, the network planner of the possibility of choosing to use Extension Points to widen the network from Access Points. Extension Points apparently had the function that was the same as Access Points, but they were not tied with the network of the cable like AP. Fungsi EP like his name that is: they to increase the range of the network with me-relay the signal from the client headed AP and EP that was other. Each of EP was possibly tied by each other in order to be able to connect AP with the very far-apart client.

Equipment wireless LAN finally that must be considered that is antennae directional. Regarded you had wireless LAN in the A building and wanted to be connected with the B building that be at a distance one mile. His solution that is with put on directional antenna to each building, each antenna that directed each other. Antenna was to the A building connected with the network of the cable through Access Point. Antenna to the B building also was connected with Access Point, so as wireless LAN could communicate with each other.

Referensi
http://www.breeze.com
http://www.proxim.com
http://www.wlana.com

Long Range wireless network connection

opinise@gmail.com — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:44:00 +0000

How to make long range distance of wireless network connections?

The question above often was thrown by netter in fact by the network administrator, and for answer it not was easy because of many decisive factors far in short of the range of the network wirelless, there were several answers that possibly could help among them:
The first version answer: The network wireless in a topologi manner was divided 2: point-to-point and point-to-multipoint.

1. Point-to-point

the Frequency that was used could 2.5 G, 5 G, 10 G, 15 G, etc.. Must fill the SHED criterion of = Line Of Sight (was seen without was the obstacle among them). Might be the obstacle among them but might not enter the area of first fingers of Fresnel Zone (Fresnel Zone 1). The calculation method of Fresnel Zone, to high the obstacle and the distance to two antennae could be done in the Power that was used also must in adapted, must have the reserve power if rain and the attenuation of the atmosphere happening. The reserve power to anticipate the attenuation was acknowledged as Fading Margin. The calculation of the power yg was needed between 2 points and the certain distance was acknowledged as Link Budget. For the capacity hardware, respectively the different product.Adapted to our requirement. Point-to-point is usually used for the network backbone/trunk or the network of access have a speed high.

2. point-to-multipoint.

In broad outline, the frequency and the calculation power almost be the same as point-to-point. Only the network point-to-multipoint there are those that could form the good network although including being gotten the obstacle (NLOS=Not Line Of Sight). Technology that was used was OFDM (orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). Made use of the obstacle/obstacle as the OFDM media of the signal reflector that had many carrier (multi-carrier) down to distination. so as the signal yg came from various reflection directions arrive in the side of the recipient was made reinforce each other. If the distance between antennae did not have the obstacle then his range will be more far.

Technology wireless the future was WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) that enabled BTS to be able to communicate with various re-beads/client that was different the make/Multivendor, with the very high speed. Aimed to form wireless Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). To coverage the area of the network point-to-multipoint depend on big the small size of the BTS emittance (Base Transceiver Station) at the time of the beginning regulation (commissioning) The outline of Distance relations/coverage, the Frequency, speed/Bandwidth and the Price/Cost

1. Increasingly high Frekuensi, Bandwidth increasingly big, the Price Be increasingly high , Coverage Area was increasingly Small.
2. increasingly low Frekuensi, Bandwidth increasingly small, the Price was cheaper, Coverage Area Be more far.
For the Frequency that is used, generally equipment wireless could diset in the frequency how many, depended their respective government regulation of the country.

The version answer 2:

Wireless in for became 3, was based on the distance and the power.

1. Wireless WAN (Wide Area Network) (calculate so many kilometre, with the power so many hundred mW)
2. Wireless LAN (Local Area Network) (range so many hundred metre, with the power so many puluh mW)
3. Wireless PAN (personal the Network area) (range so many metre, with the very small power) For Wireless WAN, the distance 5 km including the public (several implements were that could until 40 km). In the world wireless had 3 matters that influenced the distance reached out with a rule as follows .

1. Power, increasingly big the power, increasingly far his distance. But the big power really was not good, especially for the health of the body.
2. The frequency, increasingly big the frequency of his distance was increasingly short. But this frequency has was slot him 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, etc., so could not also in arranged-arranged.
3. The implement that was used. For example the strengthening of antennae, loss to the cable, censitivity the recipient.

The general implement was known in Wireless LAN among them GPRS that in with GSM, CDMA or Bridge that used the standard WiFi. Bridge that was public in the market at this time, there was 2 types of antennae: that have the shape of omni (like the pole and spread the signal all through the direction) as well as that directional (like the parabola to the side of certain). For the distance 5 km, antennae directional that was cheapest then could cover the distance 5km, for the public's antennae that mempu him the just high strengthening that could cover the distance 5km. We did not really suggest the fitting boster, the very practical method but if not knowing his use could exactly cause a loss to the person.

The version answer 3:

At this time has had newest technology in Wireless that is Wi-Max (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) that used the new standard nirkabel IEEE 802,16 with the speed 11 clouds byte (MB) per the second. Wi-Max could serve internet access nirkabel through to to the best of 50 kilometre. For Wi-fi the distance that could be taken only revolved 1 km, if wanting to be increased significant needed upgraded technology radionya. this technology used 2 waves radio.technology this could be used with the different frequency. In accordance with the condition and the use regulation of the frequency in his user's country. His method also same: that there is 2 methods connected between PC with the Wireless system that is Adhoc where 1 PC connected with 1 PC with each other connected was based on the SSID name (Service the Set IDentifier). SSID personally simply the name one computer that had card, USB or equipment wireless and each equipment must be given by a special name as the identity.
The Adhoc system was the system peer to peer, in a sense one computer was connected to 1 computer by knowing each other of SSID. While to be depicted possibly more was easy to imagine the system direct connection from 1 computer to 1 computer other with used Twist scanned cable without HUB equipment. So be gotten 2 computer with WIFI equipment immediately could be connected without the implement that was mentioned access point mode. In the Adhoc system no longer knew the system central (that usually is made function to Access Point). The Adhoc system only needed 1 computer that had the SSID name or simple him the name one network in a card/computer. The two networks were most general and more was easy at this time with the Access system point with the PCI form card or an unit hardware that had the Access function point to do broadcast to several computer client in the distance of the certain radius.

You can study in: http://www.windowsnetworking.com

Placement of your N1 Wireless Router

opinise@gmail.com — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:53:00 +0000

Placement of your N1 Wireless Router

Important Factors for Placement and Setup.Your wireless connection will be stronger the closer your computer is to your Router. Typical indoor operating range for wireless devices is between 100 and 200 feet. In the same way, your wireless connection and performance will degrade somewhat as the distance between your Router and connected devices increases. This may or may not be noticeable to you. As you move further from your Router, connection speed may decrease. Factors that can weaken signals simply by getting in the way of your network’s radio waves are metal appliances or obstructions, and walls. If you have concerns about your network’s performance that might be related to range or obstruction factors, try moving the computer to a position between five and 10 feet from the Router in order to see if distance is the problem. If difficulties persist even at close range, please contact Belkin Technical Support.
Note: While some of the items listed below can affect network performance, they will not prohibit your wireless network from functioning; if you are concerned that your network is not operating at its maximum effectiveness, this checklist may help.

1. Wireless Router Placement
Place your Router, the central connection point of your
network, as close as possible to the center of your wireless
network devices.
To achieve the best wireless network coverage for your “wireless
clients” (i.e., computers enabled by Belkin Wireless Notebook
Network Cards, Wireless Desktop Network Cards, and Wireless
USB Adapters):
• Ensure that your Router’s networking antennas are parallel
to each other, and are positioned vertically (toward the
ceiling). If your Router itself is positioned vertically, point the
antennas as much as possible in an upward direction.
• In multistory homes, place the Router on a floor that is as
close to the center of the home as possible. This may mean
placing the Router on an upper floor.
• Try not to place the Router near a cordless 2.4GHz phone.

Belkin wireless Router vs Netgear wireless Router

opinise@gmail.com — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:07:00 +0000

for any user that want to use Wireless Router, and we hesitant for decide what the best Wireless router between Belkin wireless router and netgear wireless router, in below i try to explian what the profit will we get from them.

Netgear wireless Router

With use this device, we will get many overplus of it. among other things it, simple for configure many features , content filtering ,

Content Filtering Overview

The 54 Mbps Wireless Router WGR614 v5 provides you with Web content filtering options, plus
browsing activity reporting and instant alerts via e-mail. Parents and network administrators can establish restricted access policies based on time of day, Web addresses and Web address
keywords. You can also block Internet access by applications and services, such as chat or games. To configure these features of your router, click on the subheadings under the Content Filtering heading in the Main Menu of the browser interface. The subheadings are described below:

Blocking Access to Internet Sites
The WGR614 v5 router allows you to restrict access based on Web addresses and Web address
keywords. Up to 255 entries are supported in the Keyword list. The Block Sites menu is shown in
Figure 5-1 below:

Blocking Access to Internet Services
The WGR614 v5 router allows you to block the use of certain Internet services by PCs on your
network. This is called services blocking or port filtering. The Block Services menu is shown
below:

Services are functions performed by server computers at the request of client computers. For
example, Web servers serve Web pages, time servers serve time and date information, and game hosts serve data about other players’ moves. When a computer on your network sends a request for service to a server computer on the Internet, the requested service is identified by a service or port number. This number appears as the destination port number in the transmitted IP packets. For example, a packet that is sent with destination port number 80 is an HTTP (Web server) request. To enable service blocking, select either Per Schedule or Always, then click Apply. If you want to block by schedule, be sure that a time period is specified in the Schedule menu.
To specify a service for blocking, click Add. The Add Services menu will appear, as shown below:

From the Service Type list, select the application or service to be allowed or blocked. The list
already displays several common services, but you are not limited to these choices. To add any
additional services or applications that do not already appear, select User Defined.

Configuring a User Defined Service

To define a service, first you must determine which port number or range of numbers is used by
the application. The service numbers for many common protocols are defined by the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) and published in RFC1700, “Assigned Numbers.” Service
numbers for other applications are typically chosen from the range 1024 to 65535 by the authors of the application. This information can usually be determined by contacting the publisher of theapplication or from user groups of newsgroups. Enter the Starting Port and Ending Port numbers. If the application uses a single port number, enter that number in both boxes. If you know that the application uses either TCP or UDP, select the appropriate protocol. If you are not sure, select Both.

Configuring Services Blocking by IP Address Range
Under “Filter Services For”, you can block the specified service for a single computer, a range of
computers (having consecutive IP addresses), or all computers on your network.

Scheduling When Blocking Will Be Enforced
The WGR614 v5 router allows you to specify when blocking will be enforced. The Schedule menu
is shown below:

Figure 5-4: Schedule menu
• Use this schedule for blocking content. Check this box if you wish to enable a schedule for
Content Filtering. Click Apply.
• Days to Block. Select days to block by checking the appropriate boxes. Select Everyday to
check the boxes for all days. Click Apply.
• Time of Day to Block. Select a start and end time in 23:59 format. Select All day for 24 hour
blocking. Click Apply.
Be sure to select your Time Zone in the E-Mail menu.

Viewing Logs of Web Access or Attempted Web Access
The log is a detailed record of what Web sites you have accessed or attempted to access. Up to 128 entries are stored in the log. Log entries will only appear when keyword blocking is enabled, and no log entries will be made for the Trusted User. An example is shown below:

Belkin Wireless Router

Next after we know about what benefits will we get with product of Belkin wireless router, next we will try to know what overplus of belkin wireless router product.

The Belkin name in fact was enough to be known as the producer of network equipment. After could try the True MIMO product from Belkin in the previous edition, CHIP had an opportunity to try the product router Belkin that was claimed could achieve the speed 125 Mbps. Belkin acknowledged this product as High-Speed More Wireless G Router.
Still worked in frequency extension 2.4-2.5 GHz, definitely. However, with the speed of the data rate that increased drastic. With the speed typical 200 Mbps and maximal as far as 540 Mbps in range indoor through to 50 metre. Compared with 802.11g that had the speed maskimal 54 Mbps and range 30 metre. For Belkin, was present with N1 Wireless Router F5D8231-4. Although in a manner the theory, protocol this could achieve the speed of the transfer as far as 540 Mbps, but this product only claimed to be able to achieve the speed 300 Mbps. Must be remembered, the speed was physical the data rate, the speed somewhat actual will decrease. He succeeded in gaining the highest value for the speed affair of the transfer of the data. The MIMO use also helped his achievement to not experience the decline, during the distance and the obstacle between router and wireless adapter improved. Moreover if using Belkin N1 Wireless Notebook Card F5D8011. Evidently, his achievement increasingly increased if might not be considered to be maddening. The transfer of the data increased as far as 19%. Www.belkin.com; Ampnet Mega Pacific, (021) 640-1651.

The form physical:
Minimalis with this LED Router Belkin indicator had the quite unified form. You will find five for port RJ-45 (four for LAN, one for WAN) and one of Jack the adaptor to the panel behind. A re-set switch was also provided. Router this also did not yet adopt technology MIMO, so you will only find a pair of antenna to the side behind. The front panel router this was filled with various LED indicators the standard. This LED indicator will show the status from every time port available, as well as the indicator to power, WLAN, and the connection.
The installation and the configuration:
was easy with web based management Belkin provided software the interactive escort the step for the sake of the step to mengkonfigurasi router this. You could use him to carry out the configuration of early. To user that has been used to it with router, you immediately could access web based interface in the IP address default router this that is 192,168,2,1. Various configurations of the regulation could you access from this menu, like the WAN regulation, LAN, DHCP, DMZ, the security regulation, to.

Summary, for long distance this wireless router is the best performance with With the rate transer the best also.

netgear wireless router 54 MBPS

opinise@gmail.com — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:28:00 +0000

The WGR614 v5 , it is one of product netgear wireless router. It's provides connection for multiple computers to the Internet through an external broadband access device (such as a cable modem or DSL modem) that is normally intended for use by a single computer, to access internet.
The 54 Mbps Wireless Router WGR614 v5 with 4-port switch connects your local area network
(LAN) to the Internet through an external access device such as a cable modem or DSL modem.

Provides you with multiple Web content filtering options, plus browsing activity reporting and instant alerts via e-mail. Parents and network administrators can establish restricted access policies based on time-of-day, Web site addresses and address keywords, and
share high-speed cable/DSL Internet access for up to 253 computers, so with this features administrator can used this wireless router as proxy build in. In addition to the Network
Address Translation (NAT) feature, the built-in firewall protects you from hackers.so with this device we can connecting our lab network to internet only with one device router with that so simple.:)

With its internal 4-port 10/100 switch, the WGR614 v5 can connect to either a 10 Mbps standard Ethernet network or a 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet network. Both the LAN and WAN interfaces areautosensing and capable of full-duplex or half-duplex operation. And some inportant feature like as deny access DOS from LAN port, deny attacker that floading services from LAN port, and the admin can be restrict rate access for each port LANs, for client access.

Not also all features, with net gear wireless router WGR614 v5, also included an 802.11 g wireless access point, with 54 MBS full rate access between Wireless interface and ethernet interface. So with use this product, any client wireless such as laptop with wifi or pc with wireless can also connect to this router device for connecting to internet access.

support :http://www.netgear.com/

wireless zero configuration service

opinise@gmail.com — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:11:00 +0000

In the article this time I will explain about wireless zero configuration (wzc) Service and error wireless zero the configuration (wzc) service.

wireless zero configuration service am some service background in windows that Would in load at the time of system booting / start up. wireless zero configuration am services that Function to undertake configuration equipment wireless/wifi, so as could Go and in make function with use windows. So if wireless zero configurasi Is not enable at start up, then the equipment operation wireless/wifi can not function As it should be. The deactivating service this at the time of windows booting often is carried out So that the process booting system can be faster. Moreover this can also happen when We installed utility the equipment gift wirelss/wifi then wireless zero configuration (wzc) service would automatically in deactivate. So as if at one time we would Pass by scanning signal wireless use the program windows, then will happen eror Wireless zero configuration service. Like as to the picture when we press the switch refresh to scanning signal.

To overcome this you could to activate come back wireless zero configuration (wzc) Service, by means of enable it so that can loading at the time of time windows start up. To carry it out follow the step is supervised this:

1. the click start the click run and typing "services.msc" (without quotation marks) after that will emerge the window services windows,

2. in windows the right part searches wireless Zero configuration service, the right click the click properties to the new window that emerges,

3. choose start up type automatic the next one presses the switch start to begin service, and end with the switch ok until here you have been successful enabled would so that service this go at the time of start Up, and windows could have undertaken configuration equipment wireless/wifi that is installed To your equipment.

Router configuration with cable modem

opinise@gmail.com — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:22:00 +0000

in this articles i will write instruction for internet router configuration with cable modem. This example i used EDIMAX Brodband Router Series. Oke, let's we do, following this step

1. the following example is for U.K , Click on "quick setup"
2 . Select (GMT) : i select london , then click NETX button
3. select "cable Modem" option,the system will move inti next step
4. Enter "hostname" and "MAC Adress" (the hoatname can be blank). The MAC Address is provider by Your ISP or click "clone MAC Address: Button if you're using the computer's MAC Address.
Confirm with your ISP about MAC Address used, click OK button to save the settting then reboot the router.
5. After Reboot our router is ready for internet connection

Using router to share internet with multiple PCs

opinise@gmail.com — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:52:00 +0000

instruction for using the wireless wouter to share the internet with multiple PCs.(power On Wireless Router and Modem)

Step 1.Cabling section :

1. Connect the ethernet cable from the router's WAN Port to The LAN port of modem

2.Connect another Ethernet cable from any LAN port of Router to the ethernet LAN socket on PC

3.Check to make sure the router was connected to pc.

Step 2. PC LAN Ip Configuration

1. Configure LAN Ip of PC, setting to automatically obtain an ip from the router

2. Power on squence for the networking devices and PC
- firstly, power off the modem followed by router and pc
-second, power in the modem
-third power on the router followed by pc for next step

Step 3. Router configuration - PPoE

1. Enter the router default ip address into your browser, and press EnTER

2. The login screen will appear,enter username and password default, in this example default user is "admin" and password is "1234"

3. the main page will appear, click "quick setup"
following example is for "PPoE" WAN setting

4. Select (GMT) Greenwich mean time : (youer country) then click NEXT Button

5. Select PPoE xDSL, the system will move to next step

6. Enter username and password , that ISP Provider and leave the others. ("services name" can be blank) and click "OK" to save the setting then reboot the router

7. After reboot, your router is now ready for the internet connection. and clients can access internet from LAN PORTS of router, or from signal access point of wireless router

First setting Wireless Access Point WAP54G

opinise@gmail.com — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:57:00 +0000

Along with it's steps:
1. The reset of Access Point (AP). The reset before that AP it by pressing the reset switch at the back of point access for 10 seconds with paper clip, although we were convinced settingan it back to default.
2. Give IP static to Laptop/Notebook/PC. Laptop/Notebook/PC we the love ip static care of 192,168,1. * (the star could be filled up by any the origin not 245 and under 255).
3. Put Laptop through to AP with the cable UTP if has connected the UTP cable from Laptop/PC this to point access directly.
4. The connection cheque to AP. Cek the quality of the connection to AP by using the Ping order to the address 192,168,1,245, if being reply continued the following step.
5. Be opened web the administrator AP. Open browser then type the address above (192,168,1,245) in address the bar. If going out the box of the dialogue user password fill it “admin” (this was default password AP) to the box password, whereas username let empty. Click OK and you will find the page setting based web from this point access.

If you planned to connect this point access in your network that had the different segment (for example apart from 192,168,1. *) the IP difference static him to the appropriate segment, or also could choose DHCP if you did not want to give IP Statis. But that was last possibly you would the difficulty of finding IP this point access eventually.

In web based control the panel from this point access you could arrange various settingan that was provided by WAP54G, for example Mode, authentication him and in place of password default. After was finished determined IP from WAP54G this pulled out the UTP cable from Laptop/PC, then continuation to your network. Necessarily you already could to access web-based control this panel of point access from your network.

good try.

Share internet connection with PC

opinise@gmail.com — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:24:00 +0000

OK just direct, along with step-by-step men-share the internet connection through AP that has been made beforehand. The first step to do this you needed 2 Network Card, one was useful to connect PC you with the internet and his one was assigned men-share this internet with client you. Because the topic here was men-share the internet connection with Access Point so we assumsed:

- LAN Card that connect to the internet used the cable connection/UTP
- LAN Card that connect to client used wifi/wireless
1. Here LAN Card that connect to our internet the name we give iNet, connected to the internet with IP DHCP.
2. Afterwards we sharing the internet connection from iNet used LAN Card wifi

3. After you the configuration necessarily in Control Panel -> Network Connection the status iNet will emerge “Connected, Shared, Firewalled” like this:

4. The configuration for Wireless LAN/wifi LAN, here was used by IP 192.168.0.1/255.255.255.0 because in a default manner the Connection Sharing Internet used IP this as gateway and if being different then Windows will force men-share used IP this. IP Gateway and DNS dikosongi because automatic obeyed the configuration from LAN Card iNet, so might not fill

5. The IP computer Client configuration

6. After all the configurations were carried out as well as made Access Point personally and client has connected with you, then in Control Panel -> Network Connections necessarily like this
Our network configuration will be like this after:

Tips Wireless networking with notebook

opinise@gmail.com — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:12:00 +0000

In this article we are going to look at the basics of a wireless router. How they work and what you can do to make sure it stays that way. If you have a recent model notebook computer you probably have wireless technology built into it. If not you can get a wireless card to install into your notebook to work in conjunction with your wireless router.
Newer notebooks are Wi-Fi ready. It already has the wireless hardware and software built into your computer. Several people in your family may be wireless as well. It is a beautiful thing to see everyone hang out in the family room with their notebooks all able to work or play online at the same time.
Once you are wireless you will know the joy of picking up your computer and walking anywhere around your house with it. Depending on your signal strength you may even be able to hang out on your patio.
If you are not wireless yet you will need a few things to convert your home network into a wireless network.
a. A wireless computer
b. A router to broadcast the wireless signal
c. You need a Broadband connection using a Cable or DSL modem. You can not have a wireless network if you are on Dial-Up connection

Your Internet connection should be present. The Modem will have two connections. One for the Cable or DSL modem and one for your computer.

To set up your wireless network turn off the power to your computers and your Broadband modem. Your computer will communicate with your router automatically when you start it up enabling you to get on the network without any confusion. The router and your notebook should not need any further configuration. The default settings should work.

A wireless router allows you to communicate to the Internet. A wireless computer communicates to the router. When the two are working in harmony you have a great system that allows you flexibility to enjoy your notebook whenever and wherever you want.

Take the Ethernet cable that is connecting your computer to the Modem. Reconnect it to your wireless router in the WAN connector. If all the cables are correctly placed, you should now be able to get on the Internet from your existing computers and your wireless computers.

wireless internet connection with WRT54G

opinise@gmail.com — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:59:00 +0000

for make wireless internet connection with WRT54G, we need :
first, you needed one wireless router, I usually with LinkSys WRT54G or 54GL, his price around $54,00, just this hardware that needed by you.

Secondly, the cheque to your internet modem, it was connected to the computer used LAN or USB, recorded MAC address from device that became the connection to this modem.

His method was with type ipconfig -all in command prompt, if using LAN, searched that writen Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: Physical Address......... : 00-15-C5-41-93-52 , so physical address that was MAC address you, recorded.

After that rose router and the configuration, his configuration was easy very much because of having his escort from router this.

That important was coping MAC address above to router, so that router you used MAC address above, because if not diset was like this, router could not share the internet connection.
Setting also SSID (the name of the network wireless you), IP filtering, ETC., all settingan relative was easy because of the guidance from linksys router this was very complete.

It is hoped Beneficia

src://http://id.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080316185525AAbNyE7

Connecting to the wireless repeater

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:55:00 +0000

After we tray to configuration repeater now at this articles i will explain how to connect to a wireless repeater. Oke, stay read with relax :)
Once you have properly configured the Repeater, your wireless computers should be able to detect its signal. Use your wireless network adapter’s utility to detect and connect to the Repeater. You can identify the Repeater by its MAC Address, which is displayed in the BSSID field of your wireless network adapter’s utility. You can check the Repeater’s MAC Address on its Web Configuration screen.
Step 1 Open your Web Browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape), enter the default IP
Address of the Repeater 192.168.1.250 (ip repeater configured before ) in the Address Bar and press Enter.
Note: If you have changed the IP Address of the Repeater, enter the Repeater’s new IP
Address instead of the default.

Step 2 Enter admin for both the User name and Password fields and click OK.

Step 3 The Repeater’s MAC Address is displayed on the Basic Setup page.

If the signal is weak, try reorienting the Repeater’s antenna or relocate the Repeater to
a different place.

Configuration of repeater mode

opinise@gmail.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:27:00 +0000

Congratulations on your purchase of this 802.11g Universal Wireless Repeater.The wireless Repeater extends the range of your access point/wireless router by repeating the signal to wireless clients that are beyond the broadcasting range of the access point/wireless router. This provides the wireless clients with greater flexibility and mobility. Best of all the Wireless Repeater is compatible with existing 802.11b and 802.11g network devices so it will work with most existing wireless devices. This product is specifically designed for Small Office and Home Office needs. It provides a complete SOHO solution for Internet surfing and is easy to configure and operate even for non-technical users. Instructions for installing and configuring this product can be found in article.
In this article i will tray configuration with product of airlink model AP311W. I will explain step by step how to configuration this pruduct for function corectly as repeater mode.

Using setup wizard of repeater configuration

step 1

Verify the Repeater is powered on, insert the provided CD, and wait for the autorun screen to

step 2

click on SETUP

step 3

click Next

and wait for the wizard to detect your access point / wireless router

Step 4
Select the SSID (Network Name) of your access point / wireless router from the Selection list. Click Yes if you see your SSID in the list and you don’t have encryption enabled for your wireless network. Skip to Step 8. Click Yes if you see your SSID and you have encryption enabled. Skip to Step 6. Click Manual if you don’t see your SSID in the list. Continue to Step 5.

Step 5
Enter the SSID (Network Name) of your access point / wireless router in the
SSID field and select the appropriate Channel and Encryption settings and click Next.

Step 6a
Select the same level of WEP encryption (64-Bits / 128-Bits) of your wireless
network from the drop-down menu.

Step 6b
Enter the same WEP key (password) of your wireless network in the Key 1
field and click Next. Skip to Step 8.

WPA-PSK
Step 7a
Enter the same Pre-Shared Key (passphrase) of your wireless network in the
Pre-Shared Key field and click Next

Step 8
the Repeater from the list, verify the Repeater Name is AP311W, and
click Yes.

Step 9
The default password for entering the Repeater’s Web Configuration Utility is
admin. To change the password, enter the new password in the Password field and
click Enter.

Step 10
If you know your Network IP Address settings, enter them in the applicable
fields. If you are not sure, just click Next.

Step 11
Review your new settings and click Yes continue.

Step 12
Click Exit to exit the Setup Wizard.

Step 13
For best result, place the Repeater at a central location between the wireless
router and your wireless computers.

Usage of wireless repeater

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:57:00 +0000

What is wireless repeater? It's a device usually used to extend wireless coverage in wireless network by repeating the wireless signal

generated by wireless router/access point. Some better repeaters also able to improve wireless transmission rate. This device is also referred as wireless range extender, booster or expander by some vendors.

Most of the time the repeater would give you the best performance if the one you purchased is from the vendor same as your wireless router/access point.

The repeater is best used to provide wider wireless coverage to reach those distant, hard-to-reach areas at your home where cabling is impractical.

The wireless standard supported are usually 802.11g or 802.11b/g. Make sure you select the one with 802.11b/g support if you have mixed wireless network at home.

Sometimes this device is not only work as a repeater, but also can act as wireless access point. Having both features would add the flexibility of the usage. Dlink DWL-G800AP wireless repeater is one of the example built with both features.

In terms on how to locate the repeater, you should locate it at the edge of your wireless network to better expand the wireless range.

The configuration of the repeater is pretty simple. Usually you only need to configure it with basic network setting, wireless name, SSID and wireless security features, connect it to other wireless router/access point, then you are considered done.. Furthermore, the simple setup wizard that provided by vendors is easy to use to set it up.

how to configure wireless router as access point

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:53:00 +0000

Ok..Here is the quick guide to configure wireless router as access point. You usually need to do this for creating a wireless network attaching to existing Ethernet home network without using additional access point.

Here is how we make the network connection, just connect the wireless router’s LAN port to Ethernet router’s LAN port by using a crossover cable. If one of the router supports auto MDI/MDI-X feature, you can make the connection by using straight or crossover cable. This will create a hybrid network that comprises wired and wireless network. Don’t make any connection to wireless router’s WAN port; you won’t use it in this case. After that you can proceed to make router configuration.

For the Ethernet router, you basically just keep the existing settings without changes. Assuming your Ethernet router's LAN IP is 192.168.1.1, and this will act as gateway for entire network (wired and wireless). If you would like to enable DHCP, then just enable the DHCP setting on Ethernet router and it will act as DHCP server for wired and wireless network (you don't need to enable DHCP on wireless router anymore). Let's take this scenerio as an example, you can enable DHCP with IP range 192.168.1.10-250, netmask 255.255.255.0, gateway 192.168.1.1, DNS servers 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.

Ok… Now we are focusing on how to configure that wireless router as access point. Basically it’s pretty easy. There are only 2 configurations you need to do: LAN and wireless settings.

First configuration is to configure the LAN setting on wireless router, means you need to assign an IP address and netmask to this router. In this case, I label it as 192.168.1.2 with netmask 255.255.255.0.

After that, proceed to make wireless configuration by assigning the mode, SSID, wireless channel, SSID broadcast and other settings as according to your needs. Also you need to configure the wireless encryption to encrypt the wireless data and improve wireless network security.

That’s the entire configuration; you can just ignore DHCP and other WAN related settings. It’s now the time for testing.

The computer with DHCP enabled in wireless network will be assigned the IP and network information from Ethernet router. It will then able to ping the wireless/Ethernet router and access to Internet.

Cannot Connect to Wireless Network? please check, why!

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:47:00 +0000

Cannot connect to wireless network? I’ve analyzed and listed down following tips to help you solving this problem, go ahead to check it out:

Physical Network Connection Issue

Sometimes the wireless network connecting problem can due to wrong network connection between the wireless router and DSL/Cable modem. You can take a look on this physical network setup article to ensure you have correct netavark

Wireless Router Firmware Upgrade

If you have configured all the wireless settings correctly on wireless router, but still cannot connect to wireless network, then try to go to router manufacturer website to download latest router firmware and upgrade your router firmware. After that reconfigure the router and

try to connect again. Sometimes the problem can be caused by the faulty router firmware. Also you can check on this wireless router configuration article to help you more.

DHCP Setting on Wireless Router

You must enable the DHCP setting on wireless router if you’ve configured the computer’s wireless adapter to obtain an IP address automatically. If not you will get the "failed to acquire an IP address" error when you try to connect to wireless network! Also don’t forget to configure big enough IP range on router’s DHCP setting, because the router won’t be able to assign IP to 6 computers if you only configured 5 IP space on router.

MAC Address Filtering Issue

Check whether you have enabled MAC address filtering on wireless router, if you have enabled it but your computer’s MAC address is not in allowed list, then of course you can’t connect to the network। If you did not enable it, then proceed to continue your reading.

Wireless Adapter Activation on Laptop

If you are using laptop with built-in wireless adapter, make sure you have activated the wireless adapter by turning on the wireless button, press Alt+F2 or other keys on the laptop. Read the laptop manual on how to activate the wireless adapter on laptop. As an example, usually I press Alt+F2 keys to activate wireless adapter on Dell Latitude laptop.

Wireless Adapter Driver Status and Configuration

Ensure you’ve installed the wireless adapter’s driver properly, if not it won’t work well. If possible, download the latest driver from manufacturer website and install it, this will fix the software bugs and hardware problems on existing adapter. The most important part is you need to configure the wireless adapter correctly, read these articles on how to configure wireless adapter in Vista and XP to see any incorrect configuration.

Faulty Winsock or Registry in XP

Suddenly you just can’t connect to wireless network after some virus or malware cleaning, driver installation or software patching few days ago, then most probably it’s caused by faulty Winsock or registry in XP. How to tackle this problem? You can then try to use WinSockFix to solve it.

Step to Linksys Wireless Router Firmware Upgrade

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:32:00 +0000

I will show you how to do Linksys wireless router firmware upgrade in this article. Usually by upgrading the firmware, it would fix the existing router bugs and provide additional router features.

For the steps I show here, I will use old Linksys wireless router WRT54G as an example.

1) Go to this Linksys firm ware download, choose your wireless router product. The one I will look for is wireless router WRT54G.

2) On the wireless product download page, select the existing firmware version of the router, then proceed to download the latest firmware. For the example here, I select version 1.0.

>Note: You can log on to your router management page to check the existing router firmware version.

3) After successful firmware download, log on to router management page, click Administration tab and proceed to select Firmware Upgrade, do file browsing to select the downloaded firmware (the file name should end in .bin) and click Upgrade button to do firmware upgrade. Upgrading firmware may take a few minutes, so please don’t turn off or reset the wireless router.

Note: Please note you can locate the existing router firmware version at the upper right location of router management page. Also you can get it by clicking Status tab. The version shown here is v1.00.6

Note: I would also advise you to backup the existing configuration by going to Administration > Config Management -> press Backup button, so that can restore existing setup if you need to reset the router to factory default setting later (if you are unlucky).

how to connecting a wireless router

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:53:00 +0000

Now we can start to configure wireless router, and I will use Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router as an example. This router supports 802.11g and backward compatible with 802.11b standard. The authentications supported are WEP, WPA/WPA2 authentication with pre-shared key or RADIUS server. In case you plan to get a new router, I recommend you to get one of these wireless routers.
Read the router manual before starting to configure it. This is useful for you to understand the router features and how to configure it. If the manual is not came together with router, you can download it from vendor website.

Sometimes the vendor will prepare some quick setup wizard to expedite router configuration, but I’m not going to explain this method here. I will explain some important and common setting which will be found in most of the wireless routers from different vendors, so you can use wizard to start the installation and then check out the details here.

Also register your product at vendor website if possible. You will be notified of firmware update, security alert and also product related information.

Open your popular web browser (Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape Communicator), then type http://192.168.1.1 and press “Enter”. This IP address is factory default IP assigned to the router, you will be able to find it in wireless router manual. That’s why I said it’s important to read the manual.

You need to set computer with the IP sits in the network same as wireless router, so you can only access and configure it. In this scenario, I set computer IP as 192.168.1.10 (you can set 192.168.1.X, X= number between 2 and 254), netmask as 255.255.255.0 and gateway as 192.168.1.1.

After that, the logon screen will pop up, type in default user and password you found in router manual also. You will then log on to the router web-management page.

Here are the router settings that similar to wired network router.

WAN (Wide Area Network) Setting
LAN (Local Area Network) Setting
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Setting

These are additional setup that required to make wireless router works.

SSID and Other Basic Wireless Settings
Wireless Network Authentication

WAN (Wide Area Network) Setting

First go to Setup tab and click Basic Setup, this is the place you set public IP address provided by your ISP in order to access Internet. It can be one of these 5 options:

Automatic Configuration – DHCP - Choose this option to obtain an IP address automatically from your ISP. (For most cable modem users). Optionally key in a name for this router. The default MAC address is set to the WAN’s MAC address on the router.

Sometimes you will need to clone MAC address under MAC Address Clone tab. This feature is required by cable modem users with the service registration via computer network card’s MAC address. That means the ISP will authenticate your network card’s MAC address whenever you use the connection service. If so, you will need to click clone MAC address in order to clone the computer network card’s MAC address to your network router. If you are not sure, check with your ISP technical support. Click here to check MAC address of network card.

Static IP - Choose this option to set static IP information provided to you by your ISP. You will required to type in all network information manually if select this option. This option is mostly used by business users. Lot of works if use this option, try to avoid this if possible.

PPPoE - Choose this option if your ISP uses PPPoE. Your ISP will provide you with a username and password. This option is typically used for most DSL services.

PPTP - Same as PPPoE, This option is mostly used by DSL service users with provided username, password and IP information.

L2TP - This option is mostly used by DSL service users is Europe with provided username, password and L2TP server information.

Telstra Cable: This option is mostly used by DSL service users with provided username, password and Heart Beat server information.

As a cable modem user, I will choose Automatic Configuration – DHCP option. I won't clone MAC address because the service registration is tied to cable modem's MAC address.

LAN (Local Area Network) Setting

At the same setup page, set up the IP address for the router. This will be the router/gateway IP address that you will set on your network computers. The LAN IP address is private in your home network and cannot be seen from the internet. I set my router with IP 192.168.1.1 and subnet mask 255.255.255.0.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Setting

Most of the routers has built-in DHCP server, so does this router. The DHCP server will automatically assign an IP address to the computers in your wireless network. At the same setup page, you must specify the starting IP address, number of users and lease time. Lease time is the length of time for the IP assigned to the computer.

For my case, the starting IP Address is 192.168.1.2, maximum dhcp users is 50 and I set the Lease Time for 1 day (0 minutes).

SSID and Other Basic Wireless Setting

Now click Wireless tab and you will see Basic Wireless Settings. These are unique features for wireless router, it’s not available for those wired routers:

Wireless Network Mode – 3 wireless operating modes are supported, it can be 802.11b (B only), 802.11g (G only) or both (Mixed). I select Mixed, so that wireless client with 802.11b or 802.11g wireless network adapter can join the network.

Wireless Network Name (SSID) – The SSID is the network name of this wireless network and must be identical for all devices in the network. When wireless clients first start up, they scan the wireless frequency band for special beacon frames that content SSID sent by wireless routers or access points, finally connect to the network that preferred by users.

SSID is case-sensitive and must not exceed 32 alphanumeric characters. Change it and don’t use default SSID due to security concern. I set it as home-network.

Wireless Channel - There are 13 wireless channels (1-13) supported. All devices in your wireless network must use the same channel in order to function correctly. I select 13.

Wireless SSID Broadcast - If you enabled this feature, the router will broadcast SSID and would be detected by wireless clients in the network. For security concern, I would recommend you to disable it.

You don't have to follow all settings I used, tune the wireless router as according to your needs.

src : http://www.home-network-help.com/wireless-router.html

how to connect a wireless from laptop

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:07:00 +0000

These instructions apply to Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you are running a pre-SP2 version of Windows XP you should update to Service Pack 2 as it provides improved security and wireless support.

First, ensure that your wireless connection is set to detect wireless network settings automatically:

Go to Control Panel and open Network Connections.
Right-click on the wireless connection icon and then click Properties.
On the General tab, tick the check box marked Show icon in notification area when connected.
On the Wireless Networks tab, tick the check box marked Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings.

The presence of a wireless network will be detected automatically and the notification Wireless networks detected will appear in the taskbar.

Click on the caption to see a list of available networks.
Alternatively, right-click on the networking icon in the taskbar and select
View available wireless networks.
If more than one network is shown, select the network named KINGSWIRELESS.
Click on Connect.

You will see a message informing you that you are connecting to an unsecured network.

Click on Connect anyway.
Click on Connect once more.

The entry for KINGSWIRELESS will change to indicate a successful connection.

PC Wireless Networking: Connect and Configure a Wireless Router

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:00:00 +0000

Setting up a router no longer requires a degree in Information Technology and several hours of time. Most of the routers designed for the home or small office user come with a reasonably simple setup process,good documentation, and telephone support technicians who can walk you through the process, if you need them.

Connect a Wireless Router

1.

Take the router out of the box and carefully read the installation instructions. The installation should be very straightforward, but the procedure can vary from router to router.

It's important to use the right kind of cable to connect to the broadband modem. There are two types of cables that look the same: a standard cable, and what is known as a crossover cable. If your router didn't come with a cable, check its documentation and make sure you have the right kind of cable.

2.

Connect the router to your cable or DSL modem. If your router came with a network cable, use it to connect to the broadband modem. Make sure you insert the cable in the right port on the router; typically it's labeled WAN (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Insert the cable from your broadband modem into the port labeled WAN.

3. If you're going to connect a nearby computer with a cable instead of a wireless connection, connect the cable from the computer's Ethernet port to one of the standard Ethernet ports on the router. Typically, this connection uses a standard Ethernet cable.
4. Connect the power adapter to your router and turn the router on.

Configure a Wireless Router

Most wireless routers are configured through a setup program in the router. You access the program through your web browser. The look and feel of the setup program will vary by manufacturer, but the settings listed here are common to most routers. The illustrations used here are from the Wireless-G Broadband Router from Linksys.

Some routers come with a software program on a CD that accesses the router's setup program and walks you through the configuration process.

1.

Open the setup program. Your router is preconfigured with an IP address that can be used to access the router's setup program. Check your router's documentation for the IP address. Open your web browser, type the router's IP address in the browser's Address bar, and you should see a logon screen for your router's setup program (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Type your router's IP address in your browser's Address bar.

2.

Log on to the router setup program using the default password listed in the router's setup instructions. For this Linksys router, the password is admin (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Logon by typing the router's default password.

3.

Set up your Internet connection. Contact your ISP to find out what type of connection is required. For example, many DSL accounts use a PPPoE connection that requires a username and password so the router can log on (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Select the type of connection your ISP requires.

4. If necessary, type your username and password.
5.

Select a channel. Routers can operate on any one of 11 channels. Many routers are preset to use channel 6, which can lead to routers stepping on each other's signals. If a neighbor's network is interfering with yours, try setting your router to a different channel (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: Select the channel.

6.

Enable the DHCP server. The DHCP server that automatically assigns IP addresses to each computer on the network is usually enabled by default. Confirm that it is enabled in the setup program (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: Confirm that the DHCP server is enabled.

7. Some ISPs only want you to connect one computer—and hence, one MAC address—per account. (Check with your ISP.) To circumvent this restriction, routers allow you to “clone” the registered MAC address onto your router, so all the computers connected to your router appear to the ISP to be using a single MAC address (see Figure 7).

Figure 7: If necessary, enable MAC address cloning.

step by step wireless router guide

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Setting up a wireless router is easy. Essentially you turn your cable or DSL modem off and your wireless router on. Then, you connect the router to the modem with a cable, and turn the modem back on. You are more or less done.

The wireless network wizard on your computer will pick up the router and, if your ISP does not have any special requirements, away-you-go, you are on the Internet.

For easy of setup and configuration, manufacturers ship wireless routers with all security disabled. Therein lies the problem. If you do not take any further steps to secure your router, and a surprising number of people don’t, your network will be wide open to all passersby and strangers. It’s like you’ve hung out a sign, “The door is open. Please come in and help yourself.”

The problem is not that strangers will be able to use your router to access the Internet but that, without further protection, would-be intruders will be able monitor and sniff out information you send and receive on your network. Malicious intruders can even hop on to your internal network; access your hard drives; and, steal, edit, or delete files on your computer.

The good news is that it is relatively easy to secure your wireless router. Here are three basic steps you should take.

1. Password protect the access to your router’s internal configuration

To access your router’s internal setup, open a browser and enter the routers setup URL. The URL will be specified in the manual. The URLs for D-Link and Linksys routers, two major manufacturers of wireless routers, are http://192.168.0.1 and http://192.168.1.1, respectively.

For Linksys routers, leave the user name blank and type “admin” (without the quotes) in the password field and press enter. To change the password, simply click on the Password tab and enter your new password.

For other routers, please consult your manual. Alternately, you can search on the Internet with the term “default login for ”. Don’t be surprised to find quite a number of pages listing default login parameters for many different routers, even uncommon ones.

2. Change the default SSID (Service Set IDentifier)

The SSID is the name of a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network). All wireless devices on a WLAN use SSIDs to communicate with each other.

Routers ship with standard default SSIDs. For example, the default SSID for Linksys router is, not unsurprisingly, “Linksys”. As you can see, if you don’t change the default SSID of your router a would-be intruder armed with a few common SSIDs from major manufacturers will be able to find your wireless network quite easily.

To change the SSID, click on the Wireless tab. Look for an input item labeled SSID. It will be near the top. Enter a new name for network. Don’t use something like “My Network”. Use a name that is be hard to guess.

3. Disable SSID broadcast

Wireless enabled computers use network discovery software to automatically search for nearby SSIDs. Some of the more advanced software will query the SSIDs of nearby networks and even display their names. Therefore, changing the network name only helps partially to secure your network. To prevent your network name from being discovered, you must disable SSID broadcast.

In the same screen that you changed the name of your network, you will see options for SSID broadcast. Choose “Disable SSID” to make your network invisible. Now save all your settings and log out.

Since your wireless network is now invisible, you will have to configure your computers to connect to your wireless network using the new name. On Windows XP, start by clicking on the wireless icon in the Notification Area and proceed from there.

With these three steps, your network now has basic security. However, if you keep sensitive information on your computers, you may want to secure your wireless network even further. For example, you can

- Change the channel your router uses to transmit and receive data on a regularly basis.

- Restrict devices that can connect to the router by filtering out MAC (Media Access Control) addresses.

- Use encryption such as WEP and WPA.

As with most things in life, security is a trade off between cost (time, money, inconvenience) and benefit (ease of use). It is a personal decision you make. However for the majority of home uses, the three basic steps plus WEP/WPA encryption provides reasonably strong security.

Turning on encryption is a two-step process. First you configure your router to use encryption using an encryption key of your choice. And then, you configure your computer to use the encryption key. The actual process of configuring your router for encryption varies from router to router. Please consult the router’s manual.

There are even stronger methods for ensuring security. A strong and robust security method is RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service). Using RADIUS requires additional hardware and software. However, there are companies that offer RADIUS security as a subscription based service. The fees are reasonable and dropping.

Therefore for example, if you run a business on your wireless network, have sensitive data on your computers such as credit card information, and have a number of users who access your network, you should consider using RADIUS. Since the service sector for RADIUS is dynamic and growing, a search on the Internet with terms like “RADIUS subscription” or “RADIUS service” is probably the best way to locate one.

Is Your Wireless Network Secure?

opinise@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:37:00 +0000

Networking professionals are encouraging people to think twice about wireless network security. You might be thinking I use WEP-128 bit encryption with MAC address filtering, I’m safe. Or you may be you’ve never even heard of WEP, if this is the case you might want to unplug your wireless access point immediately. But then again look at the bright side at least you don’t have the false sense of security that your network is secure. Perhaps you are the smart guy who knows how insecure wireless networks are.

You too are at just an equal risk!

Your computer consultant might be partially right when they say WEP will protect your network. It will protect your network from casual snooping but that is about it. Last year the FBI was able to crack a WEP protected network in less than 3 minutes with tools widely available on the internet. Since then it’s been downhill for WEP.

At this point you might be thinking, “Oh well, someone gets on my network and uses the internet”. This is completely false. If someone has gone through the process of getting on your network chances are the only thing they want is not internet access. Any computer security professional will tell you that physical access to the network is 95% of the security battle. Once this has been accomplished you can consider all of your data compromised. Customer invoices, customer data, credit card numbers and passwords to financial institutions will all be in the hands of a hacker. One in many methods can be used to gain access to your personal data, whether it’s through Key loggers, Trojans, or just by sniffing your plaintext network traffic.

Maybe, just maybe, I have not convinced you of the insecurities of wireless networks. Let me tell you about another attack that hackers can use to gain access to your network. Let’s say your access points are completely locked down, to your knowledge. A user from your network goes and flips on their laptop while sitting in an airport terminal waiting for a plane. They see an available insecure wireless network so they click on it and connect. None of us have ever done this before right, itching to check their email one last time before heading out of town? Unbeknownst to them they have just clicked on a fake honeypot wireless network, set up by a rogue hacker that before they can even realize their machine is already being scanned. Picture for a moment that user could be anywhere, even sitting at a desk in your network. Just as long as the rogue access point is stronger than your AP’s radio signal you’re security is done.

May be you fall into the category of never setting up wireless networks because you read about their insecurities. How then can you be at risk? Just consider for a moment that a user in your organization fires up his wireless card. See’s a wireless network that is named XYZCorp after your company. So they connect to it and immediately a script is hammering their machine for security vulnerabilities. Once again they connected to a rogue access point setup by a hacker. Now you might be thinking. “C’mon you must have to be a computer genius to find and run these tools.” Think again, thanks to the kind people over at http://remote-exploit.org all these tools can be downloaded in one big happy ISO file. Burned to a CD as an image and bang you’re done, ready to take a drive to the nearest business and start sniffing credit card numbers. Everything wrapped into a nice package just waiting for the next script kiddy to start running the programs. You may be thinking ok this is a major problem so what should I do? Give up my organizations ability to use wireless networks? This isn’t exactly what we are saying. A newer wireless security technology has taken over in 2004 called WPA. It is more secure than WEP. And so far tools are not as readily available to hack your network. But consider the following. WEP was ratified in the late 1990’s less than six years later it was exploited. This is typical of almost every computer technology. It is only a matter of time before technologies are exploited. Just always remember Security is a multi-tiered companywide responsibility. From providing physical security to web site security all matters should be considered serious and not taken lightly. So before you grab a wireless access point and slap it in your network, I urge you to think twice.

You may think you are in a sinking boat because you are a small organization not able to implement the latest technologies and afford the newest access points. Or maybe you cannot afford to pay an IT staff over 100k-200k a year to maintain your medium size network. Executives at N2 Network Solutions say you should consider IT outsourcing or IT consulting. You can get Industry certified engineers on a project by project basis. Contractual relationships are also available to dump the responsibility of your network into their hands for a fraction of the price. To keep your small to medium size network performing like a Fortune 500 machine invest the capital and secure your assets.