Neighbor Sharing My LAN

[Guest]

Folks,

I have three computers in my home network. A desktop wired to a Linksys
Wireless router and two wireless laptops. The LAN is secured with WPA2 and a
32 character alpha/numeric key.

I would like to let my neighber, an elderly gentleman, access my wireless
network so he can get his email and surf the net. He doesn't currently
subscribe to any Internet service but just bought himself a new Toshiba
laptop with wifi built in.

I took one of my laptops to his house and we had a good strong signal from
that location.

What would be the best way to let him access my LAN? I know he'll need my
key but I do not want to let him access any of my computers (e.g. drives,
files, etc.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Chuck]

Folks,

I have three computers in my home network. A desktop wired to a Linksys
Wireless router and two wireless laptops. The LAN is secured with WPA2 and a
32 character alpha/numeric key.

I would like to let my neighber, an elderly gentleman, access my wireless
network so he can get his email and surf the net. He doesn't currently
subscribe to any Internet service but just bought himself a new Toshiba
laptop with wifi built in.

I took one of my laptops to his house and we had a good strong signal from
that location.

What would be the best way to let him access my LAN? I know he'll need my
key but I do not want to let him access any of my computers (e.g. drives,
files, etc.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

You're very charitable, Rick. Does your ISP permit this? Not all do.

To do this safely and effectively, you'll need a total of 4 routers or WiFi
access points. Are you using WiFi too? You'll want to use separate channels.
1) A main router connected to your Internet modem.
2) You need a router, to protect yourself from him.
3) A router / WiFi Access Point (maybe part of #1 / maybe connected to #1).
4) A router running in bridge client mode, connected to your neighbours
computer.

I would advise you to ask for advice from a general advice forum, like
DSLReports, where they have experts in various issues:
# Legal.
# WiFi.
# Security.
# WISP.
Registration there is free, and the forums are very well moderated against
trolls and other disturbances. And the helpers there are very competent.
<http://www.dslreports.com/forum/wlan>
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/wlan

 

[Guest]

Chuck,

Thanks for the information. I'm going to suggest to him that he subscribe to
one of our local low cost ISPs and I'll help him set up his own LAN. And
leave my system out of the equation.

--
Best Regards

Rick

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

Thanks for the information. I'm going to suggest to him that he subscribe to
one of our local low cost ISPs and I'll help him set up his own LAN. And
leave my system out of the equation.

I think that's wise Rick, your generous attitude not withstanding. Please
advise him to protect himself properly, too.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/please-protect-yourself-layer-your.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/please-protect-yourself-layer-your.html

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

On Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:56:04 -0700, RIck

I have three computers in my home network. A desktop wired to a Linksys
Wireless router and two wireless laptops. The LAN is secured with WPA2 and a
32 character alpha/numeric key.

I would like to let my neighber, an elderly gentleman, access my wireless
network so he can get his email and surf the net. He doesn't currently
subscribe to any Internet service but just bought himself a new Toshiba
laptop with wifi built in.

I took one of my laptops to his house and we had a good strong signal from
that location.

What would be the best way to let him access my LAN? I know he'll need my
key but I do not want to let him access any of my computers (e.g. drives,
files, etc.)

I'll be reading this with interest ;-)

In the Win9x days, I'd say:
- bind TCP/IP and NetBEUI to your LAN cards
- bind F&PS to NetBEUI only, not to TCP/IP
- set his laptop to use TCP/IP only, no NetBEUI

But since XP, Windows has been pretty poor at doing F&PS over anything
other than TCP/IP, so you're forced to blur the lines.

You could firewall F&PS on his PC; that would work "by consent" as
well as asking him not to install NetBEUI in the old Win9x days.

But if he gets malware'd, the malware may well trample down the fences
and crawl all over your systems.

At the very least, I'd:
- disable hidden admin shares
- limit what you share, and to read-only wherever possible
- consider strong account passwords (as strong as your WPA2 key)

However, the solution may lie in another direction - swot up your
router's specs to see if it can serve his system and your systems as
two separate subnets, with no routing between them.

If the above works, let me know how you did it

-- Risk Management is the clue that asks:

"Why do I keep open buckets of petrol next to all the
ashtrays in the lounge, when I don't even have a car?"