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Wired & Wireless Broadband
First, you will need to buy a wireless 802.11b broadband router (pronounced rooter, not rowter!), if you have cable broadband, or a wireless broadband modem/router if you don't, like the majority of North Devon inhabitants. When deciding where to place your router, keep in mind that walls, water pipes, cables or anything that could produce interference can decrease your range (especially microwave ovens and cordless phones). Try to keep to a range of around 50-100 feet (max). This will create a greater throughput (A measure of the data transfer rate through a typically complex communications system or of the data-processing rate in a computer system).
Now it is time to install the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) card into your desktop computer if you don't already have one (it looks like the dial-up modem slot where you plug the cable into, only bigger - see photo below). Many laptops and desktops already come equipped with (a) mobile technology and/or (b) network cards so the need for additional cards may not be necessary.
| We will assume that as we don't have cable broadband in North Devon yet, you are already using a broadband modem connected to your computer via a USB cable. Turn off your PC, remove the USB connection to the modem and put it away somewhere safe. Your broadband modem/router will come with another telephone cable (thanks!), an Ethernet cable, and another filter.
Plug the ethernet cable into one of the local area network (LAN) ports on the back of the wireless modem/router and the other end into your computer's LAN/WAN card (see picture opposite). Plug in the modem/router's mains plug and wait for the status lights to indicate that it's communicating with your ISP. Be patient, this may take a few moments. Once the lights stop blinking, indicating that everything is working properly, you can turn on your PC. |
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 Netgear Modem/Router |
Next, refer to the router's printed quick-start guide or insert the CD that accompanied the modem/router, either launch your Web browser, and type in the address indicated in the guide or await the wizard to start.
Follow the on-screen setup wizard, which will guide you step by step through the process. It is important to note that the default SSID (Service Set Identifier) number is often set to 101, so you should change it to a different number to ensure that your wireless connection remains secure. Hackers know many of the default SSID's. |
If you use a CD to set up your wireless connection, there is usually a system whereby it can detect your broadband connection automatically. Invariably, if you are using 'standard' broadband, the settings will be for PPPoA (Point to Point Protocol over ATM) as opposed to PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet). Once you ensure you are using PPPoA, the rest of the set up will fall into place based on this information.
Micro-Filters
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Every phone socket in the house must have an ADSL filter fitted for broadband to work, even if the socket doesn't have a phone in it. If you are new to broadband, then you may not realise this, if you already have broadband in your home and you have been using it for some time, then you already knew this little gem! Make sure that if you have Sky TV, supplemented through a phone line, this is filtered too.
A micro-filter works by taking the combined telephone/ADSL signal and splitting it into two different signals. The telephone plug on your micro-filter is designed to limit the frequencies your phone is able to use. Although you would never normally use the frequencies outside this range, actions such as picking up the receiver can generate frequencies outside normal voice range. Without the filter, this interference would corrupt data within the ADSL frequency band. |
The second socket is the ADSL socket, this is essentially the raw signal, i.e. unfiltered, so an ADSL modem will see the high frequencies, but can just discard the normal voice frequencies.
Am I Connected to a Wireless Router?
| When you are connected via a wireless facility such as a modem/router, an icon will appear in your task bar, similar to the ones shown here. For Windows XP, there is a 'computer icon' with what appears to be a 'radar signal' eminating from the side of it. If you are using Windows Vista or 7, there is an icon that shows two 'computers' and a small blue 'disc' in front of it. The pictures below show what both of them look like. | |
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| Windows XP | |
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| Windows Vista/7 | |
| The way that the computer connects to the wireless facility varies between XP and Vista/7, some say that Vista and 7 connects easier, I personally don't agree, but that's just my opinion based on installing wireless broadband with both systems. Sadly, the Vista and 7 systems does not show a different icon for wireless and wired connections, unlike XP. | |
To establish a wireless connection, having first set up the wireless modem/router, you need to remove the ethernet cable from the computer and/or the router. The immediate effect will be a disconnection from the internet! Let's assume you are running Windows XP. The 'connected to the internet' icon (the one to the left of the wireless example above) will, as the example shows, now display a red 'X' in it.
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Switch on your built-in wireless card (see picture), or install your wireless PCMCIA card or USB 'dongle'. On a laptop, the wireless switch is usually accompanied by a small light which will illuminate when switched on. Usually, a small notification window will pop up stating that the built-in wireless facility is now on, this is especially true of HP & Compaq computers. Also, a computer icon will appear in the task bar similar to the one shown above, but without the 'radar' bit, and again with a red 'X' over it. Double-click on the icon and a window will appear on your desktop that will display all the wireless connections within range of the computer.
Select the wireless 'SSID' that your wireless connection is called, for example it could be called DLink, Belkin54g, Sky54g or Netgear54g or something like that. If you have re-named the SSID in the modem/router set-up (which I always do), then you should have made a note of the new name, and the encryption password you have selected. |
Now highlight the SSID and click 'Connect', if the connection is password protected (especially if you live anywhere where it is likely to be found by sniffer software) then enter the password (twice with XP, once with Vista/7). The connection, assuming you have put the password in correctly, will be automatic with XP and you can select to 'save' the connection with your Vista/7 computer.
Encryption
By default, encryption is not enabled. Encryption is important, because hackers equipped with the necessary devices can sniff the packets transmitted by the wireless network, thereby compromising your data. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a protocol used for encrypting packets on a wireless network. It uses a 64-bit (or 256-bit, depending on the vendor) shared key algorithm. Using WEP will increase the protection on your data, but doing so will reduce the effective data rates.
There is more about wireless security on the next page.