Setting Up A Home Wireless Network
First, you will need to choose an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Many ISP's offer a flat rate service while others may charge an hourly rate. In either case, choose one that makes sense for your needs. If you currently have a wired connection, you can inquire with your current ISP, they may provide wireless services as well.
You will need to purchase a wireless 802.11b wireless broadband router. Most routers will connect to a broadband modem, a 10/100 Ethernet backbone, or wireless network. They typically support a range of 300 feet indoors and 1,500 feet outdoors. When placing your router, keep in mind that walls, water pipes, cables or anything that could produce interference can decrease your range. Try to keep to a range of around 150 feet. This will create a greater throughput (A measure of the data transfer rate through a typically complex communications system or of the data-processing rate in a computer system).
Now it is time to install the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) card into your desktop computer. Many of the newer laptops come equipped with mobile technology so the need for additional cards may not be necessary.
Next, turn off your broadband connection device and your PC. Then unplug the cable from your broadband device (Ethernet cable) and plug it into a Local Area Network (LAN) port on the back of the wireless broadband router. Keep the other end connected to your PC.
You are now ready to connect a second Ethernet cable between your wired broadband modem’s Ethernet port and the wireless broadband router’s Wide Area Network (WAN) port. Once all connections are made, turn the modem on and wait for the status lights to indicate that it’s communicating with your ISP. Be patient, this may take a few moments.
Now you can plug in the wireless broadband router. The status lights will blink as it performs a self diagnostic check (this also may take a few moments). Once the lights stop blinking, indicating that everything is working properly, you can turn on your wired PC.
Next, refer to the router's printed quick-start guide, launch your Web browser, and type in the address indicated in the guide. Follow the on-screen setup wizard, which should guide you step by step through the process. It is important to note that the default SSID (Service Set Identifier) number is often set to 101, so you should change it to a different number to ensure that your wireless connection remains secure. Hackers know many of the default SSID's.
By default, encryption is not enabled. Encryption is important, because hackers equipped with the necessary devices can sniff the packets transmitted by the wireless network, thereby compromising your data. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a protocol used for encrypting packets on a wireless network. It uses a 64-bit (or 256-bit, depending on the vendor) shared key algorithm. Using WEP will increase the protection on your data, but doing so will reduce the effective data rates.
