Wireless Internet?

[Mr Light]

Pardon my technical ignorance

We just bought our first laptop computer, which of course comes with a wireless modem built in. I also just got high speed internet for the first time a couple months ago, which comes from an external box the cable company provided that then goes into my computer.

So my question is... to get wireless internet for my laptop, do I have to pay something extra to the company? I saw a wireless router for $30 at Target today. Do I just buy one of those and plug it into my cable internet and that's it? Do I need something from the cable company? Does it even have to involve them if I buy the wireless modem?

 

[RoJoHen]

You just need the router and the ability to hook it up. The cable company need not know.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

No, your cable company won't need to be involved. You just have to make sure the wireless router you get is compatible with your laptop. If the laptop's new, odds are it will be.

 

[Mr Light]

That is great news!!!!

Next question. Would I still be able to get wire internet on my desktop computer at the same time I'm using the wireless internet broadcaster? Would I run the wall cable into the wireless and then a wire from the wireless to the desktop or something? (Obviously I would get the same amount of information strength split amongst the two comps)

 

[Lindley]

The wireless router will just hook up to your cable router the same as any other computer, via ethernet. Once attached it will basically translate the wired signal to wireless and back.

So can you hook up both the wireless router and attach other machines via ethernet at the same time? Depends on how many ethernet ports are on your cable router. If it only has one, you can buy an ethernet hub pretty cheaply.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Most wireless routers have additional ports in them for wired connections. So you should be able to plug your desktop directly into the router.

 

[Mooch]

That is great news!!!!

Next question. Would I still be able to get wire internet on my desktop computer at the same time I'm using the wireless internet broadcaster? Would I run the wall cable into the wireless and then a wire from the wireless to the desktop or something? (Obviously I would get the same amount of information strength split amongst the two comps)

The wireless router will plug in to your cable modem and your PC will plug into the router (and so will the laptop, wirelessly).
You might need to buy another ethernet cable unless you have a spare.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Also, at this point, when buying a router I would advise you look at g-wireless instead of n.

Unless everything in your home is guaranteed to be state-of-the-art and you've got a super-high speed connection, the noticeable difference during regular surfing is negligible. Save yourself a few bucks and just go with g. It will (or should) work even if the new laptop is n.

Plus, n is still in that new enough to sometimes be buggy stage.

 

[RobertVA]

Note that there are two different types of wireless connection used with notebook or netbook computers. Either or both may be included in some models.

The older type requires a nearby Wireless Access Point (WAP). This is the type typically made available in places like coffee shops and book stores. Many computer accessory retailers sell wireless routers for home use that include a WAP and several (usually four) wired Ethernet ports. You may want to change the WAP's settings to keep neighbors and paserbys from getting into mischief (like hosting copyrighted media or child pornography) over your cable/fiber connection. Any data transferred through this type would be considered part of any speed and quantity ceilings imposed by your ISP.

A netbook computer may have a modem compatible with the same data services used by smart phones (like I-Phone or Android). These modems connect through cell phone towers and are typically subject to smaller monthly data volume (many a few Gigabytes - less than half the amount of data on a dual level DVD). Many of these modems are available as subsidized devices that require you to subscribe to the data plan for a couple of years or pay an early termination fee.

Smart phones and e-book readers may be equipped to use a WAP when available to control the owner's cell data costs. Some E-book suppliers don't charge for the cell type "Wireless" because file type restrictions and Digital Rights Management provisions in the units tend to encourage customers to buy E-books from the same source they bought the reader from (similar to printers and ink cartrages).

 

[Arrqh]

You may want to change the WAP's settings to keep neighbors and paserbys from getting into mischief (like hosting copyrighted media or child pornography) over your cable/fiber connection. Any data transferred through this type would be considered part of any speed and quantity ceilings imposed by your ISP.

Pretty much any wireless router these days will enforce these sorts of changes in its setup routine which walks the user through the process. Generally all one needs to do is change the admin password, change the SSID to something sensible, and use WPA2 encryption.

 

[Mr Light]

I thought all wireless routers had a password so other people couldn't jump on your signal and use it without you knowing.

 

[Arrqh]

Like I said, when you set it up there will most likely be a wizard or CD or the like that will walk you through setting all that up. If you don't set it up, it will be an open network and anyone could connect to it but these days it's pretty simple to set up proper network protection.

 

[Teelie]

Nope, many are just free and open for anyone with a wireless capable machine to access unless you specifically give it a password. Wired computers won't usually need a password to access it but the wireless connections will.

 

[RoJoHen]

I thought all wireless routers had a password so other people couldn't jump on your signal and use it without you knowing.

Most can have a password, but it's something you need to set up when installing the router, otherwise it will be open to the world.

That said, I have never had a password on my router in the 4 years I've had it, and I've never had a problem.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Some other things to consider:

• Configuring your router's WAN interface to have the same MAC address as your computer's wired network interface. This avoids having to re-register with your ISP. Whether this is necessary depends on your ISP and cable modem.
• Configuring the wireless router to get its IP address from the ISP, and to act as a DHCP server for your local network (basically assigning IP addresses and DNS settings). This is usually the default setting.
• Setting up the router's MAC address list for your computers to make it more difficult for others to gain access to your network.
• Configuring your network to hide its SSID.
• Configuring your network to use the highest strength security protocol that is supported by the router and all the computers that will access it.

 

[Mr Light]

Wow... I had no idea what any of that meant Maybe I'll know when I buy it!

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Some other things to consider:

• Configuring your router's WAN interface to have the same MAC address as your computer's wired network interface. This avoids having to re-register with your ISP. Whether this is necessary depends on your ISP and cable modem.
• Configuring the wireless router to get its IP address from the ISP, and to act as a DHCP server for your local network (basically assigning IP addresses and DNS settings). This is usually the default setting.
• Setting up the router's MAC address list for your computers to make it more difficult for others to gain access to your network.
• Configuring your network to hide its SSID.
• Configuring your network to use the highest strength security protocol that is supported by the router and all the computers that will access it.

Every router I have used in the past several years had a "clone MAC address" option in the admin panel. Mr Light, you will just want to use that.

It's a bit pointless to set up your network for only a set list of MAC addresses. As long as you disable SSID broadcasting (again, this is an option in your admin panel), set the admin panel itself to use a custom password (not the default), and use WPA2 encryption, MAC filtering is rather superfluous.

I'll put it to you this way: if someone is able to break your encryption they'll have no problem cloning the MAC address for one of your systems, so there's really no point bothering with that particular security measure.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

It's a bit pointless to set up your network for only a set list of MAC addresses. As long as you disable SSID broadcasting (again, this is an option in your admin panel), set the admin panel itself to use a custom password (not the default), and use WPA2 encryption, MAC filtering is rather superfluous.

I'll put it to you this way: if someone is able to break your encryption they'll have no problem cloning the MAC address for one of your systems, so there's really no point bothering with that particular security measure.

I'm probably a little too paranoid.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I most commonly see MAC filtering used in corporate offices where there are open access points. They just use it to prevent casual leeching. Beyond that, it isn't much use.

 

[kimc]

I thought all wireless routers had a password so other people couldn't jump on your signal and use it without you knowing.

Most can have a password, but it's something you need to set up when installing the router, otherwise it will be open to the world.

That said, I have never had a password on my router in the 4 years I've had it, and I've never had a problem.

I'll bet your neighbors love you for the free internet service you're providing them. It sounds like they've been honest and haven't used the connection to do you harm but that doesn't mean those driving by looking for open signals to take advantage of won't cause a ruckus if they find you. Please protect yourselves out there.