Totally OTand LONG: Newbie's Wife wants a Wireless Network for Xmas!

[hangar 661]

Guys, HELP! For the longest time my wife has been begging for a laptop so she can get some online time in (since im always hogging the pc, lol). Well, tonight we're ording a new Dell laptop and im concerned about the wirelesss router its been configured with...so im thinking we should change it and want to know which wireless router would offer us very stable connection, powerful yet easy security features so i can still host games online.I have more than 10 years experience in building/configuring/maintaining my own stand alone pc's at home but I no NOTHING about setting up a network and nothing about wireless. She intends to use it at home in our condo apartment and would like to share my single non networked desktop pc cable connection to the internet.She wants the flexibility of being able to roam from room to room so wireless would seem to be the way to go for us (although im not so happy about that).Im concerned with choosing the right wireless router for us. Im very concerned with security issues but im also a big online gamer so I feel I need something that has outstanding security features but will allow me to easily open ports, etc and allow me to host a game server online which I know can be a real pain in the butt once a router has been introduced. I guess I want something that will give me the best of both worlds..great security (although I actually prefer using the built in wondowsxp firewall) features AND easy on the fly security setting changes for when I want to host a game.Money isnt so much a concern. A very reliable connection, good speed thoughput, and easy but powerful security adjustments for newbies is essential. We don

[Guest aca_dia]

That is a normal setup.My wife uses the wireless and I keep my machine hard wired (all wireless routers I have seen still have 4 inputs for hard connections.) That solves any worries you have about how your machine accesses the internet. The laptop will just arrive with wireless G capability so you just need any wireless router you like that is wireless G (most are still B & G) As far as security goes make sure you active the WEP and make sure file sharing is turned off on any critical folders on your machine. The WEP setup is in the router settings and easily accessed (see the manual for the router you get). Aside from that change the password to the router from the default and you should be good to go.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Mod's Note,I am pasting John's (diajohn2 )reply so it will appear--it somehow got attached to the thread in the MSFS forum after I had moved it here...-JC___________________________________Dave, Don't fret over a wireless network. They are very simple, very cheap and work quite well. In addition they can be relatively secure. It does't matter much about the brand as they are mostly the same. You would take the output from your cable modem into the router. The router would normally have a ethernet connection for your desktop pc (hardwired). Your desktop would see no difference than being connected directly to the modem.The laptop would connect via its network card built in or added as the case may be to the network. It would connect with any standard wireless router.Follow the instructions included with the router which will probably include a CD for the installation on the laptop. You can set up security on the laptop and actually encrypt the data from the laptop to the router and the cable connection. Since you live in a Condo you will want to password protect the network so only you can use it.Again, it is all very simple.If you can build any computer, creating a home network is a piece of cake. It could take a little as 30 minutes to get it done.Good luck.John NoeSenior Captain British Airways Virtual

[Guest aca_dia]

BTW why buy the router from Dell? That is a completely separate purchase that has nothing to do with the laptop other than it needs to be the same standard (Wireless G). Check around for the best price on the model you want.

[Guest mruane]

Hi DaveI have been using a DLink G604T for a while now, but many others use Linksys and other brands with equally as good results. I have configured my work DELL notebook and the wireless router to use WPA rather than WEP. From what I have read it is safer. In addition to the other safeguards mention in this thread, make sure that you enable MAC address filtering otherwise any passerby can access your bandwidth. With the DLink, MAC address filtering restricts the devices that can connect to your wireless side of the router. That is done by you specifying the MAC address of devices that are allowed to connect to the router.

[hangar 661]

thank you all for offering the insight, all the tips are very much welcomed and appreciated. Ive been trying to read a little about all of this for the past few nites as time permits and theres such an abundance of info out there that it can be a very tough call for a newbie to know whether or not he's making a correct decision in his choice of router.The Netgear WGR614 that I am considering has gotton alot of horrible user feedback according to the posts ive seen on different tech forums. Apparently tons of folks are having intermitant connection problems and always having to reset that router. I may opt to just leave the router off my order for now until i can decide and then ill purchase it locally.Im curious to know from all of you...which wireless routers are you all using currently?...and are they all pretty much the same as far as how easy the port forwarding is done, so i can host games online?2 other question i have is whether or not the laptop would be able to access the internet off the router if my main desktop pc was shut down?...AND is it possible (or too much of a hassle) to shut down the wireless features when my wifes not around using the laptop but i want to go online with my desktop (since its hard wired to the router).I know i have too many questions, hehe...but i like being well informed before i do things:-)Thank you all, againDave

[Guest VenDexter]

Sorry, but WEP is not considered a valid way to secure a wireless network.In order to be very secure, you must have a router that supports WPA-PSK.This setup uses a pre-shared key (PSK) over Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).MAC filtering will do nothing to secure a network because anyone trying to hack a Wi-Fi network can and will spoof a MAC address.Read this:http://www.dslreports.com/faq/wifisecurityIt is just about the most definitive information on Wi-Fi security you can find.As the Hitchhiker's Guide clearly says, "Don't Panic." Just read up on the security, make sure your router supports WPA-PSK, and configure it and the laptop correctly and you should have very little to worry about.Steve

[Guest VenDexter]

I use the DI-624 from D-Link. It gets mixed reviews but I have always had very good success with D-Link equipment. It supports multiple protocols (see post below) and provides good wireless connectivity even with my 2.4GHz cordless phone in use.Yes, the router will allow access even with the PC shut down as long as it [router] is connected directly to the Cable/DSL modem.Port forwarding is usually pretty straight forward {bad pun}.Almost all routers have the ability to turn the radio on or off. I leave mine off most of the time since I basically only use it when my brother visits with his wireless laptop.Hope this helps,Steve

[Guest aca_dia]

Nothing is secure unless you unplug your machine and stick it in a vault. Anyone who wants to get through even a non-wireless router can with the right skills. Unless you have the World Bank financial data on your drive... its unlikely that anyone would bother to break through even a WEP. I suppose if you live in a densely populated area you might have more cause for concern, but anyone with the ability to hack even basic wireless protection has better things to do than look at your family pictures.

[hangar 661]

yes thanks Steve...good to know my pc doesnt have to be running and also that i can turn off the wireless aspect pretty easy.I already was aware about the MAC filtering issues (although it sounds like it works ok for non-threatening accidental intrusions from neighbors lets say) and the more advanced WPA.Dave

[Guest VenDexter]

While this is true, the problem is not necessarily someone hacking the computers connected to your network.Most people who crack a wi-fi network are using it for the bandwidth. They then use your IP to download/upload malicious content from/to the web or your network. Then guess who gets the brunt of the difficulties that follow? Especially if someone is using your IP to download illegal files, etc.Yes, it is probably true that most people will never have their wi-fi cracked, but if it does happen to you then it will be the one and only time you dismiss security.If you live in an urban area, high-rise apartment building, complex, etc., it is extremely important that you make your wi-fi connection as unappealing as possible.If you're using WPA-PSK with a 504 bit/63 character PSK, it would be next to impossible to crack it. You would then see it in your router's log long before anyone gained access.Steve

[Guest VenDexter]

Just wanted to throw this out there for anyone else who needs to secure a Wi-Fi network.I found a cool article on the time it would take to crack WPA-PSK.http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=127With just a 10 character PSK and a fast computer, it would take over 579,000 years!! If you add in mixed upper and lower-case characters, the time goes up exponentially. Using a 63 character PSK would take an astronomical amount of time to crack.All this assumes that you are not using a PSK which can be found as a word in the dictionary.Steve

[BrianW 124]

Exactly like Steve said, the longer the Pre-Share key the better off you are. Other things you can do is turn the transmit power down to only what you need for coverage, as well as not broadcasting the SSID in the beacon. This will limit your network from showing up on the available networks list in XP. This will at least make you a little smaller target even though a good sniffer like AirMagnet will still see your AP. As far as wireless stability is concerned you may want to download Network Stumbler a a similar wireless sniffer to see what's already out there and the channels and signal strength. Keep in mind that 802.11b/g only has three channels that don't overlap so you'll want to select a channel that's as far apart from what's already out there, although the auto channel select works just fine most of the time. To support WPA with windows XP you need to make sure SP2 is installed and that the wireless card's drivers are up to date.Brian

[Guest rogue1]

My number one priority for purchasing a replacement wireless router recently was the ability to limit wireless access to the router by MAC address. My Netgear router died and I've replaced it with a Linksys WRT54GX2. I am very happy with this router, it provides much better coverage of my house and the firewall configuration is very simple.And as was said in another reply, if should use WPA instead of WEP if at all possible. I'm stuck with WEP right now until I replace two wireless USB adapters (soon, real soon).Jim

[hangar 661]

well...i bit the bullet and went for the big bucks...this router seems to have just about every option i could possibly use and then some, plus it seems to get rave reviews from users and network gurus alike on just about every forum ive checked so far...reliabilty/stability seem to be one of its strong points and i feel it has enough features so that my wife and i wont grow out of it anytime soon.The D-LINK 4300 Wireless Gaming Router, yipee!Dave