Wireless network setup question

[Vejita-sama]

I'm running your standard DSL/Cable modem Router now, but am thinking of setting up a wireless router so I can use my laptop anywhere in the house. I've got the 'know how' to set everything up but have a few questions:

1) I assume there's a way to set a 'freq' or something to make sure that only my PCs use the network (vs say my neighbor that also has a wireless network). Do/can I set this manually?

2) Is 802.11g really worth it? 11Mps = 1375kb/s which is way faster than any d/load I've ever gotten (max 300kb/s ave ~35-100).

Thanks in advance guys...

[mujahid7ia]

802.11g isn't going to affect your internet speed, but if you are planning on any file transfers between PCs, then it would be worth it.

[sitlet]

i have 802.11b wireless router for my laptop. like ^ said, you dont really need 802.11g unless you're going to be transferring a lot of files. your internet isnt as fast as "b", so 'g' wont matter. and as for your first question, on my d-link router, it has i believe 10 or so "channels" to select for the wireless. i dont have to worry about what channel its on, cause my win xp laptop automatically finds and connects to it. as for security, the only thing i know is that you can set a password to get on the internet and to share files. i have a password for my file sharing, so nobody shouldnt be able to get into my computer. as for my internet, i dont use a password for 2 reasons: 1. i dont want to have to type it in every time i get online, and 2. i really dont think any of my neighbors have a computer with wireless access (my neighbors are all senior citizens)

[HillJack]

I assume there's a way to set a 'freq' or something to make sure that only my PCs use the network (vs say my neighbor that also has a wireless network). Do/can I set this manually?

Your wireless router should give you a choice of channels to use -- About 10 or 11 for North America. Though, changing the channel will not prevent anyone from accessing your wireless network; you can change them because of 2.4Ghz phones, microwaves, etc. that cause interference. Any wireless network card software/driver should auto-sense the channel for access (if it didn't, then everytime you enter a hotspot, you'd have to ask what channel their WAP was using). As for restricting access, set your access within your router by MAC address -- ie: only "these" MAC addresses can access the router, anyone else will be refused access. Oh, and as an additional security feature, disable the SSID broadcast feature of your prospective router (the SSID is the "name" of your wireless network -- if people can see the name, they know where to start hacking). This way, most people won't even know your network exists.

Is 802.11g really worth it? 11Mps = 1375kb/s which is way faster than any d/load I've ever gotten (max 300kb/s ave ~35-100).

When I initially got my laptop and wireless router, I wanted g-access. 54Mbps vs. 11Mbps, I thought I'd go g so I could continue to share files with all 4 of my computers. It's nice and fast, but to tell you the truth, I got fed up with my 2.4Ghz phone almost constantly cutting me off, so I've since ran good old cat5 back to my office. So, if all you want to do is access the Internet, b-access will be more than sufficient. If you want to share files between computers, b will suffice, but g will be 5x faster (and you WILL notice the difference).

My 2 cents

[ChrisX]

I recommend a speed of 22 Mbps using D-link wireless access point and this doesn't affect Internet access for any computer in my network.

A wireless router is fine and I can't see a problem with that.

The speed I have here is a leeway from only 11 Mbps and a much faster 54 Mbps. I recommend at no more than 22 Mbps speed for wireless around the house, apartment or building.

Whatever wireless speed is still much faster than Internet access and my LAN speed is at 100 Mbps. I prefer to use the LAN to transfer or copy large files as so much faster than wireless.

I got great coverage anywhere in the house, can be upstairs or downstairs. It ranges from excellent to very good reception to my notebook.

The only problem is the freq: 2.4 GHz. I got a TV microwave sender and receiver across the home and as result interference on it from notebook wireless access.

Oh, well, I won't be using it and I intend to have the PC video card hookup via cable.

[mujahid7ia]

I have a 2.4 GHz 802.11B router and 2.4 GHz phone base w/ handsets on the same freq., but it doesn't seem to be interfering too much with the network.

Although, it could be the reason I have only fair range.

[rallynavvie]

I have all 2.4GHz phones in my house and still get 78%+ signal strength from all the way across the house (opposite corners and different floors) and never notice interference on them. You may run into problems when you get a lot of computers on your wireless network as each is eating up more frequencies. I have to think that there are a lot of "channels" available on the 2.4GHz spectrum. BTW both 802.11b and g run at 2.4GHz, only 802.11a and the upcoming 802.11i run on the 5GHz frequency. Another option if you're worried about it is to switch to 5GHz cordless phones.

As all have said you don't need G if you're just using it to browse the web. If you want to transfer files between computers a lot then G is worthwile. The D-Link I have also has Extreme G which is 108Mbps speeds by using two carrier signals or regular G. This is even better as it gives you the same speed as a 100Mb LAN. Other than the faster transfer speeds I was also very impressed with this feature for WLAN gaming. However there are limitations to the faster G speeds, you'll have to read up on it at the manufacturer's site. Since the prices of G hardware are pretty affordable I'd say get one of those as it leaves room for more growth. Additionally I also suggest the D-Link DI-624 router as it has loads of features with the latest firmware and a very easy interface (as long as you're familiar with networking protocols). I've seen them going for under $70US lately.

As for security don't trust either MAC identification or WEP encryption. Both of these can be pretty easily cracked. My suggestion would be to disable SSID broadcasting and use WPA encryption. Both of these options should be available on recent models, though I believe WPA may only be available to 802.11g devices. The problem with MAC ID is that your computer broadcasts the MAC address for the router to validate it, thus anyone with the proper sniffer can find out what the MAC address is of an authorized computer and clone it using the proper tools. We actually got to do a workshop where we were given the proper tools/software and told to hack into several different types of WLANs. It was a very enlightening seminar. Even WPA isn't completely faultless, but I think luck has a large role to play in getting past it.

BTW if you use one of these types of encryption you don't have to enter a password every time you access the router, it's a key you enter into your networking properties, the computer just refers to it when you need to. Of course if you're the paranoid type to not store passwords on your PC then you shouldn't be using wireless networking in the first place