Guide To Setting Up A Wireless Network
For the technically challenged, setting up a wireless network may sound like an impossible task; especially if one intends to do this for a mini-office or small-business outfit at home or in a tiny location downtown. In this case, there is usually no resident IT guy to take care of networking. On top of that, the chosen broadband service provider usually does not come with a how-to guide for setting up a wireless networking system. Therefore, you may find yourself doing the set-up on your own.
The good news is -- you do not need to be a serious tech junkie in order to set up your network. Listed below is a comprehensive guide to help you in your set-up.
Before setting up the wireless network, you must have the following ready:
• A working broadband internet connection, either with cable modem or a DSL connection. Nowadays, internet providers offer cheap and affordable rates so you just pick the one you prefer best. • A wireless router with built in firewall application. • And for computer systems that do not have built-in transmitters, you need to get an adapter which you can plug in either the PC card or the USB port. Most people prefer the standard 802.11 Wireless routers today come with software you have to run on your computer in order to install the system in your set up. The software has easy and user-friendly step by step instructions. Once you have all these ready, plugged and installed, your computer should be able to detect a network. Find the name of your router from the list and then select this to connect to the system. At this point you have already initially set up the wireless network. Now, your router will be set in default, meaning everything in it is based on standard settings done by the manufacturer. But then your router also has a specified web address where you can administer the changes to the default settings. Once you have accessed the administration panel, you will need to change the following to your preference: • Your network name (SSID) - to properly identify that it is your working network. The default name is usually the manufacturer’s name. • Your network channel - to get rid of interference, as some areas in your neighborhood may be using the same channel. The default channel is 6. • Your password • Your security set-up - setting up your wireless network’s security is important to make sure that other people outside of your own network will not be able to access your resources. If you leave your network open, any person with wireless cards in their units and staying within your vicinity can just easily tap onto your signal or work their way around your own computer. This poses a huge risk. Your network’s security may be configured via WEP encryption. This is a series of unique passwords that is generated from your set-up’s administrative panel. You need to take note of these passwords and keep it safe. With this, anyone who can detect your hotspot will need to have those specific passwords in order to enter your network. However, take additional security measures since unfortunately, WEP can be broken down by hackers or computer savvy individuals. You can beef up your network’s security by: • Disabling your network name or SSID, so that your network does not broadcast itself on other people’s networks. • Generate a WPA, which has a similar concept as the WEP and checks password integrity. • Filtering the MAC address (Media Access Control) or the detection of specific computer hardware. With MAC, you configure which computer station is allowed to access your network. The drawback to this is you have to reconfigure the set-up when you have a new computer to add to the network or you have a visitor who wants to make use of your resources with his own laptop. Keep in mind that some interference may affect setting up the wireless network. If there are walls and cables within your range, its performance and affectivity may be affected.
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