I live in a neighborhood populated by super old people. I'd be surprised if half of them even had computers.
Wireless Internet?
- Thread starter Mr Light
- Start date
I live in a neighborhood populated by super old people. I'd be surprised if half of them even had computers.
Well, if they have powers, you never know what they might be capable of.
That depends on a number of things. 
Was the password for the wireless access or for accessing the router settings? Almost every router comes with a default password on the router settings page, it's often something basic like "password". You don't really need to change that password because once your wireless password is turned on, nobody should be able to access the settings page anyway.
Secondly, if it is the wireless access password you're talking about then it is best to change it from the default immediately, the password might not be unique and anyone trying to access your network would just need to Google your router model (which is often displayed by searching for nearby networks) to find out what the password is. Creating your own unique password is the best option here to secure the network.
Thirdly, the wireless access password should be set to WPA2 encryption. WEP is easily hackable, WPA is a more secure version of WEP that was rushed out when WEP was found to be faulty, and WPA2 is the current wireless encryption standard which offers a good level of security.
(If you don't secure the network, not only might people be able to access files on your computers, they could even alter the network's settings to deny you access. I've heard of this happening a few times, some people actually drive around looking for unsecured networks just to piss people off like that.)
Was the password for the wireless access or for accessing the router settings? Almost every router comes with a default password on the router settings page, it's often something basic like "password". You don't really need to change that password because once your wireless password is turned on, nobody should be able to access the settings page anyway.
Secondly, if it is the wireless access password you're talking about then it is best to change it from the default immediately, the password might not be unique and anyone trying to access your network would just need to Google your router model (which is often displayed by searching for nearby networks) to find out what the password is. Creating your own unique password is the best option here to secure the network.
Thirdly, the wireless access password should be set to WPA2 encryption. WEP is easily hackable, WPA is a more secure version of WEP that was rushed out when WEP was found to be faulty, and WPA2 is the current wireless encryption standard which offers a good level of security.
(If you don't secure the network, not only might people be able to access files on your computers, they could even alter the network's settings to deny you access. I've heard of this happening a few times, some people actually drive around looking for unsecured networks just to piss people off like that.)
I bet it goes farther than you think.
From my house, I can access five other networks besides my own. Three of them aren't protected and I could use them if I wanted to.
That depends on a number of things.
Was the password for the wireless access or for accessing the router settings? Almost every router comes with a default password on the router settings page, it's often something basic like "password". You don't really need to change that password because once your wireless password is turned on, nobody should be able to access the settings page anyway.
Secondly, if it is the wireless access password you're talking about then it is best to change it from the default immediately, the password might not be unique and anyone trying to access your network would just need to Google your router model (which is often displayed by searching for nearby networks) to find out what the password is. Creating your own unique password is the best option here to secure the network.
Thirdly, the wireless access password should be set to WPA2 encryption. WEP is easily hackable, WPA is a more secure version of WEP that was rushed out when WEP was found to be faulty, and WPA2 is the current wireless encryption standard which offers a good level of security.
(If you don't secure the network, not only might people be able to access files on your computers, they could even alter the network's settings to deny you access. I've heard of this happening a few times, some people actually drive around looking for unsecured networks just to piss people off like that.)
Follow this advice.
Do all wifi devices have the same usable range as a handheld mp3 player with a small antenna?
Honestly, I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to secure their network. It's like leaving your front door unlocked because you don't think there's crime in your area: even if you're right, it isn't a good idea and the lack of a previous intrusion doesn't mean that it's impossible.
Yeah. It requires such a small effort to turn it on and it provides more than adequate protection for the vast majority of users.
The only circumstance where I could see people having an unsecured wireless network in the home is if you live way out in the country and your nearest neighbor is a mile or more away. Of course, you probably don't have broadband if you are in that sort of situation.
The only circumstance where I could see people having an unsecured wireless network in the home is if you live way out in the country and your nearest neighbor is a mile or more away. Of course, you probably don't have broadband if you are in that sort of situation.
That describes my family's place in Vermont. We have DSL there.
It isn't the fastest DSL ever, but it beats dial-up.
Great attitude.
Sorry for being a dick -- I must have been having an off day. I think I was irritated by someone other than the OP seeming to tell me what to do. It seems as though the OP hasn't had any difficulty figuring things out so all's well that ends well.
Personally, I favour Ethernet over power adapters -- faster (200Mits/s), easier to set up, and more reliable if there are lots of other networks around.
Sorry for being a dick -- I must have been having an off day. I think I was irritated by someone other than the OP seeming to tell me what to do. It seems as though the OP hasn't had any difficulty figuring things out so all's well that ends well.
Personally, I favour Ethernet over power adapters -- faster (200Mits/s), easier to set up, and more reliable if there are lots of other networks around.
Yeah, but people don't use wireless for the speed, they use it for the convenience. Hell, I was happy to use 802.11b when it first came out. And you know how slow that is!
Just beats having wires running everywhere.
I've got to admit, living in Burlington VT I'm not sure I feel a particular need to upgrade my router even though there's some decent reasons I probably should.
The biggest draw I'm coming up with is an always-available network drive, despite all of the other benefits I'm aware of security and intranet-wise.
The biggest draw I'm coming up with is an always-available network drive, despite all of the other benefits I'm aware of security and intranet-wise.
I believe homegroup password is a Windows 7 thing used for sharing files on a network. It's always worth changing any password away from the default (but keep a physical record of it somewhere safe and secure).
The SSID (aka "service set identifer" or "network name") doesn't really matter. I'm a bit surprised that there isn't an option to change it or at least not to broadcast it.
WAP 2.0 isn't a security standard -- do you mean WPA2?
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That must've been it.
Uh... I think I did something wrong
I changed this stuff around 9pm last night, and everything was working fine on both computers. But when I woke up this morning, the internet on the desktop worked for five minutes and then wouldn't connect anymore. I turn on the laptop and that doesn't work either. I reset the password to the original setting. The internet worked for five minutes then crapped out again. I went to Windows Firewall on the destop and saw that Firefox did not appear, so I added it as an exception. The internet worked for five minutes then crapped out again. So now I just unplugged the router and put the cable right into the desktop.
I'm trying to remember what I did last night. I changed the password on the laptop for the router. I didn't do anything to the desktop because it doesn't use wireless it uses a cable coming from the router to the desktop.
I hate technology
You could use the "reset to factory defaults" setting and start again. I'd recommend making a list of every single setting (name and value) that you modify from its default setting.
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