basic need-to-know on buying/setting-up wireless

[George]

Hello,

Am using WinXP-pro on 2 PC's (want to do remote access later, too), got one
wired-router, 2-PC's, in small 3-story house, in suburbs, not much traffic
here. Trying to set up very basic wireless access (for future laptop, and
small Wii in house), without spending lots of time or becoming expert, would
greatly appreciate some advice in these below general areas, thanks...

1) WAP or Wireless Router? Already have a Linksys VPN router (works great,
already set up, although don't use the VPN part yet). Looks like wireless
access points (WAP's, $69) are MORE expensive than entirely new wireless
router (sale $43).
-Can/should I get the wireless ROUTER and just use it like a WAP... i.e.
just use it for wireless access and skip all the router stuff. Can I do
that? Is it easy to set up (just wireless, no router)?
-Would I HAVE to throw out existing router and start over?
-Is there some great benefit to paying extra and getting just the WAP (no
built-in router) and attaching it to my router?

2) Which device? Looks like the Linksys WRT54G is good all around. It
handles wireless-B too.
-Is there any GREAT reason to pay much more (~$70) and get speed booster for
35% more speed.
-At $43, seems I could always get a few years out of it and start over later
if speed is a real issue, besides better deals/standards likely on market by
then anyway, right?

3) Security...
-How secure are these local wireless networks? Everyone says set up a
password. Are there some basic things everybody sets up to be very secure?
-Is the biggest risk a neighbor or drive-by connection? Is that really
hard, or really easy? So what if they use my always-on connection, flat
fee.
-Or is the risk of an unauthorize sign-on that they could browse files
and/or remote-control and damage my PC (a big deal).

4) Anything else in the really need to know or do category?

Thanks for any basic suggestions, insights, advice,
George

 

[Jack \(MVP-Networking\).]

Hi
Wireless Router can be used as an Access Point provided it is configured
like this.
Wireless Router as an AP - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html
From the weakest to the strongest, Wireless security capacity is.
No Security
MAC______(Band Aid if nothing else is available).
WEP64____(Easy, to "Brake" by knowledgeable people).
WEP128___(A little Harder, but "Hackable" too).
WPA-PSK__(Very Hard to Brake ).
WPA-AES__(Not functionally Breakable)
WPA2____ (Not functionally Breakable).
Note 1: WPA-AES the the current entry level rendition of WPA2.
Note 2: If you use WinXP and did not updated it you would have to download
the WPA2 patch from Microsoft. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/893357
The documentation of your Wireless devices (Wireless Router, and Wireless
Computer's Card) should state the type of security that is available with
your Wireless hardware.
All devices MUST be set to the same security level using the same pass
phrase.
Therefore the security must be set according what ever is the best possible
of one of the Wireless devices.
I.e. even if most of your system might be capable to be configured to the
max. with WPA2, but one device is only capable to be configured to max . of
WEP, to whole system must be configured to WEP.
If you need more good security and one device (like a Wireless card that can
do WEP only) is holding better security for the whole Network, replace the
device with a better one.
Setting Wireless Security - http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Security.html
The Core differences between WEP, WPA, and WPA2 -
http://www.ezlan.net/wpa_wep.html
Jack (MVP-Networking).

 

[John Wunderlich]

Hello,

Am using WinXP-pro on 2 PC's (want to do remote access later,
too), got one wired-router, 2-PC's, in small 3-story house, in
suburbs, not much traffic here. Trying to set up very basic
wireless access (for future laptop, and small Wii in house),
without spending lots of time or becoming expert, would greatly
appreciate some advice in these below general areas, thanks...

1) WAP or Wireless Router? Already have a Linksys VPN router
(works great, already set up, although don't use the VPN part
yet). Looks like wireless access points (WAP's, $69) are MORE
expensive than entirely new wireless router (sale $43).
-Can/should I get the wireless ROUTER and just use it like a
WAP... i.e. just use it for wireless access and skip all the
router stuff. Can I do that? Is it easy to set up (just
wireless, no router)? -Would I HAVE to throw out existing router
and start over? -Is there some great benefit to paying extra and
getting just the WAP (no built-in router) and attaching it to my
router?

You can use a wireless router as an access point. I do because it's
cheaper. I use a WRT54G device. Before connecting it to the existing
router, I connect it to a PC and do the following:
o Disable DHCP
o Change the IP address of the router to be on the same subnet as the
existing wired router and with a non-conflicting IP address.
o (On WRT54G) Change the setting from "Gateway" to "Router"

You can then connect the wireless router to your existing router.
Leave the WAN port open and connect to the LAN port. You may have to
use a cross-cable but I think most newer routers are autosensing.

2) Which device? Looks like the Linksys WRT54G is good all
around. It handles wireless-B too.
-Is there any GREAT reason to pay much more (~$70) and get speed
booster for 35% more speed.

I believe you only get more speed if the wireless receivers on your
computing devices are also SpeedBooster devices. IMHO, it's probably
not worth it.

-At $43, seems I could always get a few years out of it and start
over later if speed is a real issue, besides better
deals/standards likely on market by then anyway, right?

3) Security...
-How secure are these local wireless networks? Everyone says set
up a password. Are there some basic things everybody sets up to
be very secure? -Is the biggest risk a neighbor or drive-by
connection? Is that really hard, or really easy? So what if they
use my always-on connection, flat fee.

It's not too hard. You just have to make sure that all your wireless
devices support the type of encryption protection that you choose.
WEP is older and not very secure (can be cracked in a couple of hours)
but just about every device supports it.
WPA is better
WPA2 is better yet.
Use the highest security supported by all your wireless devices. Set
the same password/key on your router and all connecting devices.

Anyone succeeding in cracking your security is on your local network
and can do things like browse/delete shared files on your computers,
change router settings, access the internet (traceable back to you),
and the like. Unless you consider yourself a target for this kind of
stuff, WPA/WPA2 is probably adequate security.

HTH,
John

 

[Bob Willard]

Hello,

Am using WinXP-pro on 2 PC's (want to do remote access later, too), got one
wired-router, 2-PC's, in small 3-story house, in suburbs, not much traffic
here. Trying to set up very basic wireless access (for future laptop, and
small Wii in house), without spending lots of time or becoming expert, would
greatly appreciate some advice in these below general areas, thanks...

Good the Wii supports 802.11G, as does any current laptop. More good
the Wii supports WPA-personal with TKIP, as does any current laptop.
So you can set up your router to use 802.11G-only mode, and you can use a
long passphrase, preferably with upper-case and lower-case, and numbers.
(I don't recall if the WRT54G allows punctuation in the passphrase.)

I'm running a Wii on my Linksys WRT54G (v2), along with one laptop and one
desktop (and 6 wired PCs). Setting up the Wii was somewhat difficult, but it
has been trouble-free since then. I replaced one antenna on the WRT54G with
a 7 dBi antenna for better range, and my Wii works at ~50 ft. LoS from the
router.