Home computer questions--yet again

[Martha]

I know I pester this board a lot, especially CFB, to answer my computer hardware and software questions.  I beg for your patience. 

We have a computer at home where we get highspeed internet from Clearwire.  A box to pick up the signal sits in our porch.  It is plugged into our electrical wiring.  The wiring acts to transmit the signal to our computer in another room.  We had to do it that way as it was the only place that would pick up the clearwire signal.

When I used my laptop at home, I used to pick up a neighbor's wireless signal and use that to get on the internet.  Much to cube-rat's dismay.

The nieghbor has moved (turns out the neighbor got foreclosed on; another story).  I want to be able to get on the internet at home using my wi fi.  I want security so no one else can pick up the signal, like I did.  We went to Best Buy and they said the Geek Squad can help us for a couple of hundred bucks.  I know we aren't sophisticated, but I think with instructions we should be able to do this ourselves.

So, what do I need to get a wireless signal to my laptop?

What do I need to make it secure from interlopers?

 

[HFWR]

Not familiar with the system you have, but you'll need to get your signal into a wireless router. From there, (a) disable SSID broadcasting, (b) set the router to only accept the MAC address of your laptop, and (c) enable encryption.

Others will undoubtedly have better/more info...

 

[TromboneAl]

This link should help.

Or google something like "how to make my network secure"

neighbor got foreclosed on

Was it 'cause of his high Internet service bills?

 

[wabmester]

Not familiar with the system you have, but you'll need to get your signal into a wireless router. From there, (a) disable SSID broadcasting, (b) set the router to only accept the MAC address of your laptop, and (c) enable encryption.

Yup, that's the best way I know to secure wireless, but (b) can be a pain if you often add other computers to your network (e.g., if you have friends who bring their laptops when they visit).

(c) alone is sufficient for most people (and T-Al's link will walk you through it)

(a) adds incremental security

and

(b) essentially locks down your network unless somebody is *very* interested in your network and finds a way to determine your MAC address and knows how to spoof it

 

[Martha]

Thanks guys. We will buy the doohicky and if I have any trouble I know who to ask.

 

[wabmester]

FWIW, I usually buy LinkSys doohickeys, but this one from TrendNet looks like a good deal, has all the latest features, and has good reviews:

TrendNet TEW-610APB

 

[Martha]

Thanks wab.  At least I now know what the doohickey is called. 

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Love the trendnet gear...I'm using this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833156175 which is a step up from wabs suggestion. For the same price you get a "quality of service" engine that prioritizes your network traffic to give real time stuff like video, voice and whatnot a higher priority than your file downloads, so no stuttering/chattering. All automatic.

Nice wide range, you'll be able to pick up the signal from anywhere on your property.

Use one of the higher security methods like WPA2 and no worries about someone stealing your signal. You'll put a phrase or word into the router when you set it up using the wizard and it'll give you a key to type into your computers internet connection setup wizard. Once bonded, the two will retain a secure encrypted connection and nobody will be able to get in and use your connection without knowing the secret key.

 

[ERD50]

Good advice all.

I would add two often-overlooked security things:

Change the default name of the network.

Change the 'admin' logon and password. (Write them down!)

This stuff is in the manuals - it might seem a bit overwhelming at first, but it is simple once you get used to a few terms.

-ERD50

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Oh yeah, one other thing. If you get one of the trendnet routers, you might need to upgrade the firmware on it to fix a few oddball problems. This is a fairly typical process with many routers. Dont be daunted, its easy. Just download a file from the trendnet web site, run it, and let it do its thing before you set up the router.

By the way, did your neighbor get foreclosed on because he ran out of legal funds defending himself from the FBI swooping in to investigate his illegal internet activities...?

 

[Martha]

I ordered the thingy. I probably will be back for help when it comes.

Thanks guys.

 

[sgeeeee]

I ordered the thingy.  I probably will be back for help when it comes.

Thanks guys.

Oh Sh#t, Martha. You were supposed to get a dohickey -- not a thingy. Installing a thingy where a dohickey should go may cause your computer to explode.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Geez and I was just about to congratulate her for buying the thingy instead of the doohickey.

 

[MJ]

While we're on the subject, my Westell 327W has WEP and WPA-PSK security as well as MAC address filtering. I chose the WEP 256 bit to secure my modem. Is that just about as secure as MAC filtering?

 

[wabmester]

I chose the WEP 256 bit to secure my modem. Is that just about as secure as MAC filtering?

No, WEP has an exploitable weakness independent of key length. Any script kiddie can break it. Use WPA-PSK. MAC filtering will basically allow only a limited set of known computers to access your network, independent of encryption.

 

[kcowan]

While we're on the subject, my Westell 327W has WEP and WPA-PSK security as well as MAC address filtering. I chose the WEP 256 bit to secure my modem. Is that just about as secure as MAC filtering?

WEP just demands a login password from any wireless laptop.

PS I just got a LinksysWRT54GC Wireless Router written up in epinions.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Well...mac filtering isnt a bad idea but a moderately adept person can change their pc's mac address to match yours and in they go. Fine for keeping out the average joe, and certainly pretty easy to do.

WEP can be broken quite easily, key retrieved and access to your unit (or just passively decoding your data). Anything you do in 'secure' mode is also encrypted, and thats tougher to break, so no worries there.

WPA and WPA2 (WPA is a partial implementation of WPA2, more or less) are pretty strong and more than your neighbor is going to be able to penetrate. You might see "PSK", this is a public shared key which you enter into your router and each client before they can begin to participate...the non PSK versions usually require a dedicated authentication server on your network that provides the keys after authentication...so most home users will use PSK.

Some implementations of WPA2 are goofy and incompatible. I've had some real trouble getting two different vendors WPA2 implementations to work together, even after several driver/firmware upgrades.

I use WPA-PSK, dont bother with the mac filtering, and leave the SSID broadcasting on. Did change the routers name and the administration password. Unless you live in silicon valley or equivalent technically over-smart area, turning off the SSID broadcasting and enabling mac filtering will keep most people out...and those can be done on even very old pieces of gear that dont do anything better than older WEP implementations.

About all WEP does for you is slow things down at both ends...

Oh yeah, and older windows variants sometimes dont support WPA or WPA2 at all, unless someone has thrown out some software I havent seen to support it.

 

[MJ]

Thanks for the info.

MJ

 

[Martha]

The wireless router came in the mail. I managed to open the box and start reading the directions.

I already have a problem. I am supposed to "connect one RJ-45 network cable from the cable/dsl modem's Ethernet port to the WAN port on the AP/Router."

We get our internet from clearwire. The modem picks up a wireless signal from Clearwire. We had to locate our modem in a room far from the computer. The signal picked up by the modem is transported through what I guess is called a ethernet to our computer through our house's electric wiring. There is a cable plugged already into the ethernet port and then plugged into an outlet. On the computer end, there is a cable running from the computer to a plug in at the closest outlet.

So how can I plug my router into both the modem (which already has the ethernet port used) and the computer, which is 50 feet away?

 

[wabmester]

Martha, do you have any geeky kids in your neighborhood who you could invite over?   That'll be the most straight-forward approach.

I'm not familiar with your setup, but I could guess.

Start by unplugging the ethernet cable from that device plugged into your electrical wiring.   Plug that into the wireless gizmo.   In theory, that's all you need to do.   In practice, there are a dozen other steps that depend on your particular setup.   And we can't tell if your wireless gizmo has enough strength to reach all the rooms in your house from where you'll place it.

If you get desperate, PM me.

 

[Cool Dood]

Martha,

The easiest way and what you want to do is probably this: take the ethernet cable going into your computer, and put it instead into the WAN port of your router. Then plug your computer's ethernet port into one of the ethernet jacks on the router.

This assumes it's a router/switch/wireless access point, which is what they mostly sell as an "instant" wireless networking device. Is it?

 

[Martha]

Thank you guys. I'll muddle a bit and pm if I need help. I also might be able to get my sister's BF to help.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

You might need another cable.

What wab/cool dood said...the box you bought can act sort of like a 'splitter'. The 'wan' port goes to your ISP connection, so taking the wire that comes out of the clearwire box and connecting it to the wan port makes all those 'lan' ports now be connectable to your ISP, on top of the wireless connection it can do.

So then connect another cable (did one come with the doohickey?) from one of the 'lan' ports over to that powerline network box that hooks up your other PC.

Like this:

 

[JB]

If you don't get an internet connection after following the instructions above do the following:

1. turn off (or unplug) the clearwire modem
2. turn off (or unplug) the access point/router
3. turn on (plug in) the clearwire modem
4. turn on (plug in) on the access pount
5. try to view a web page

If you still don't have a connection look up the IP address of the router in the manual. It's usually something like 192.168.0.1. Type this IP address into the address bar of your web browser (same place you'd type any web address). You should see an administration login page for the router.

If you can't connect to the router from your computer try swapping the ethernet cables. These cables have a tendancy to malfunction.

 

[donheff]

I would expect either Cool Dood's or CFB's approach to work. The best choice may depend on which location will place your WAP close to the laptops or other wireless devices that will access it.

Don