Networking for a moron -- wired and wireless.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

Hey all,

Can you kind folks possibly point me to some usefull resources where a complete idiot can gain an understanding of networking basics?
I'm looking for something that is in plain English and has plenty of pretty pictures.

Also looking to learn as much as I can about wireless security -- how to use it, what the different types mean (WPA, WPA2, WPA personal, WPA Enterprise, etc). I do know that WEP is pretty much useless...
I want to make sure that nobody else can access my wireless, but I also want to make sure that my own devices can access it quickly and easily.

Also want to learn what all those hundreds of settings in my router are and how to maximize the performance of my router and cable connection.

Again, looking for something written to educate somebody with no prior knowledge and is in plain English, minimal jargon, and has plenty of pretty pictures.

I'll start digging though here: http://wireless.ittoolbox.com/documents/popular-q-and-a?r=Paid:Wireless:PopQ&A&reftrk=no
but if you guys know something better, please share.

TIA!

[Soopafresh]

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/howto/

[redwudz]

I just set up a new Linksys WRT600N wireless router and I found the tutorials on the Linksys site very helpful, especially with WPA and the other security settings. Many of them are Flash videos and very easy to understand. Along with the software included with the router, it was fairly easy to set up: http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_CASupport_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&ci...=1049627773H32

They're listed under 'Learning Center'. I've done a fair amount of networking, but this was the first time with wireless. A couple of other tips for security they mentioned were using MAC address filtering so only your computers can access the system and turning off the broadcast of the SSID so your network doesn't show up on other computers. In my neighborhood I see about six unsecured networks.