Which wireless channel should I use? Wi-Fi Tips and Tricks

Wireless 802.11b and 802.11g routers have 11 channels in the United States and 13 in Europe, and most routers come set to channel 6 as the default. If you experience interference—from a neighbor's router, for instance—you can change your channel to solve the problem. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are non-overlapping channels. So if your neighbor's network uses channel 6, change your router to 1 or 11. You'll typically find channel settings on the router's basic wireless-settings page. Just click the drop-down menu and select an alternate channel, then save the settings.

How do I extend the range of my wireless signal? Wi Fi Problem Solvers

Improving a wireless signal is part trial and error. No two homes are alike, and no two solutions will work for everyone, but here are some common guidelines. First, position your antenna on a high perch clear of obstructions. (The wireless signal radiates down.) Keep in mind that certain things will interfere with the signal: metal, and dense building materials such as brick, stucco, and concrete. So avoid metal pipes and construction.

If changing your Wi-Fi antenna positioning doesn't help, you can get an extender (or "repeater"), such as the Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G, available for around $90. Devices like this will boost your range from 50 to 75 feet, A somewhat easier approach is Wireless Garden's Super Cantenna. This $39.95 tripod-mounted, high-gain antenna connects to your router and can be pointed at a specific area to amplify the signal.

How do I open ports on my router? Wi-Fi Problem Solvers

Certain applications,IP Webcams, home FTP servers, and online games—require that you open ports on your router to allow outside requests to be sent to an internal computer on a home network. This procedure, called port forwarding, is pretty straightforward. First, you'll need to find out which ports you need to open for your particular application or service. Then, you'll open those ports on the router. All models are different, but the process is similar. Open your router's configuration tool, and find a tab labeled Port Forwarding. Enter the service or software name, then type the Start Port and End Port numbers. If you're opening one port, enter the same number in both fields. Select TCP as the protocol, then click OK. Check your router's Web site for instructions for your specific brand.

I cannot connect to my router. How do I Fix This Wi Fi Problem

This is a problem with an almost limitless range of causes and solutions. First, make sure your router is configured for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). If it is, try disabling and re-enabling the DHCP function. If that doesn't work, disable wireless security and see if you get a connection; sometimes a mismatched Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) key can drop the IP address. You should also check for electrical interference from competing devices such as cordless phones, baby monitors, alarm systems, and microwave ovens. Disable all suspect devices, then recheck your Wi-Fi connection. If none of the Wi Fi Fixes I mentioned work, reboot the router and all computers on your network.

How To Get Secure Internet access in a public hotspot

Wireless transmissions on a public hot spot are typically unencrypted, and thus exposed to snooping. All computers on a public hot spot are typically exposed to each other, and thus vulnerable to network attacks.

Use a software firewall
A good software "firewall" will protect your computer from network attacks.

Make sure you are using strong passwords on all system accounts (including Administrator) and on all user accounts.

When Using Microsoft Windows

Use Simple File Sharing (Windows XP only); or
Make sure that all network shares are secured with strong passwords (all versions of Windows). Use Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management, Shared Folders, Shares to review and check Properties of all network shares

Improving Wi-Fi Why high transmit power will tend to increase your interference with other Wi-Fi users, making you a bad neighbor

Higher Power WI-FI

Will having higher power Wi-Fi help improve your range, no, since higher power only helps on transmit, not receive. Thus it's only likely to help if the other end of your connection is using higher power as well, which is often not the case. Also, unnecessarily high transmit power will tend to increase your interference with other Wi-Fi users, making you a bad neighbor. It's usually much better to just improve your antenna, which helps both transmit and receive.

What is wireless networking? Wi Fi How does it work?

A wireless network uses radio signals or microwaves to broadcast data and information. Rather than being transmitted through traditional coaxial, CAT5 ethernet or other standard wired methods, the data is beamed out over the airwaves.

Wireless networks offer advantages for some. Users with personal digital assistant (PDA) handhelds such as Palm Pilots, wifi enabled cell phones, or users with laptops can use wireless technology to allow them the convenience to move about while maintaining their network connectivity. Another pro is the ability for users to network desktop computers at various locations without having to deal with the hassle or expense of running a wired connection to that spot.

Most wired networks operate at 100mbps, and many organizations have upgraded to the newer standard of 1gbps.

A large percentage of wireless networks operate at 11mbps, roughly equivalent to the old wired speed of 10mbps. Most wireless network equipment available today is compatible with both 802.11b and the faster 802.11g which operates at speeds up to 54mbps. There is also a new, emerging wireless network standard, 802.11n, which theoretically increases both the speed and the range of the wireless network.

WHAT CAN AFFECT MY WI FI CONNECTION

Wireless network speeds are affected by obstructions such as walls and floors. Most wireless network equipment, for consumers in particular, also operates in the 2.4Ghz frequency range. This is the same range as other household devices such as cordless phones, baby monitors, etc. The interference from these devices, as well as microwave ovens and other electrical interference can greatly impact the range, speed and quality of your wireless network.

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Accidentally connecting to neighbor's Wi-Fi Or Are They Connecting To Your Wi Fi

Products with the same (default) SSID seem like a single network!

Set a unique SSID in your wireless router or access point.

Set up security (WEP, or better yet WPA), a very good idea in any event

Some wireless access points support broadcasting multiple SSIDs, allowing the creation of Virtual Access Points - partitioning a single physical access point into several logical access points, each of which can have a different set of security and network settings.

Security Basics For Home ComputingThree Easy Steps
As a home computer user accessing the Internet, whether through a broadband connection or traditional dial-up, you should do the following three things at a minimum to protect your compute:

1.Install and maintain anti-virus software. There are plenty of great anti-virus software packages available. This software checks for known viruses by scanning your computer periodically. Most will also check for viruses on incoming email. It is important to update the software as well though. New viruses are discovered almost daily. At least once a week you should check the web site of the vendor that makes your anti-virus software to see if there is an update available.


2.Do not open unknown or suspicious email. Many viruses and worms use what is called “social engineering”. That is, they attempt to trick you into becoming a participant in the process. The latest viruses can “spoof” the sending email address so that it looks like it is coming from someone other than the computer that infected it.

If an email is not from someone you know, it is usually best to simply delete it without looking at it. If the email appears to be from someone you know, you should read the message carefully before opening any attached files. Viruses and worms often have bad English and poor grammar. Consider whether the person you know would really have written that message or forwarded you the attached file.

3.Keep your computer patched against known vulnerabilities. Almost as often as new viruses are discovered, new vulnerabilities are discovered as well. Many times they are in the operating system (like Windows), but vulnerabilities are also found in tools like your web browser, email software and other 3rd party tools. Left unpatched, these vulnerabilities can be exploited by hackers to obtain access and control of your computer.

Staying up to date can be difficult. Some vendors, such as Microsoft, have automated utilities that check for updates and notify you. Other vendors may have an email mailing list you can join so they can notify you of any new updates. If your vendor doesn’t offer one of these solutions, you may just need to periodically visit their support web site to check for any new patches or updates.

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My Wake On LAN (WOL) won't work from the Internet how Can I Fix This

The problem is that for a router to send magic WOL packets to your network, you need either: 1.an external router interface for generating and sending magic WOL packets, or 2.manual enabling of a static route or directed broadcast. Many (most?) low-end routers don't have that capability because of the risk of smurf denial of service attacks.
WHAT IS A SMURF ATTACK?

The smurf attack is a way of generating a lot of computer network traffic to a victim site. That is, it is a type of denial-of-service attack. Specifically, it floods a target system via spoofed broadcast ping messages.

In such an attack, a perpetrator sends a large amount of ICMP echo (ping) traffic to IP broadcast addresses, all of it having a spoofed source address of the intended victim. If the routing device delivering traffic to those broadcast addresses delivers the IP broadcast to all hosts (for example via a layer 2 broadcast), most hosts on that IP network will take the ICMP echo request and reply to it with an echo reply, multiplying the traffic by the number of hosts responding. On a multi-access broadcast network, hundreds of machines might reply to each packet.

Today, thanks largely to the ease with which administrators can make a network immune to this abuse, very few networks remain vulnerable to smurf attacks.

The fix is twofold:

Configure individual hosts and routers not to respond to ping requests to broadcast addresses, and Configure routers not to forward packets directed to broadcast addresses.

Another proposed solution, to fix this as well as other problems, is network ingress filtering which rejects the attacking packets on the basis of the forged source address.

My Wireless connection drops periodically How Do I Fix This

Possible interference
Try manufacturer's wireless connection manager -- If your hardware came with its own wireless connection manager, trying installing and configuring it to manage wireless connections. (Some drivers will not maintain the association with the strongest signal access point in situations with high density access points.)

Too much wireless (RF) interference

Switch to a different channel
First try minimally interfering channels: 1, 6, and 11

If that doesn't solve the problem, try other channels

Remove interference (e.g., replace 2.4 GHz cordless phone with 900 MHz or 5 GHz cordless phone) Use a directional antenna or reflector pointed
toward desired radio, and
away from source of interference,
Switch to 802.11a (5 GHz)

Can't connect to Wi-Fi client bridge and Internet at the same time How Can I Fix This

In network terms, a bridge is transparent, passing data from each side to the other side (wireless to wired, wired to wireless). Thus in normal operation it doesn't have any use for IP addresses, just MAC addresses.

However, because of the need to manage Wi-Fi operation (SSID selection, WEP/WPA security, etc.), a Wi-Fi client bridge will typically have configuration screen(s) at a specified private IP address (e.g., 192.168.0.254) that can be accessed with a standard Web browser (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer) from a local computer. Unfortunately, unlike with a Wi-Fi router, a computer connected to a Wi-Fi client bridge can't normally communicate with both the client bridge configuration and the Internet at the same time.

How To Configure a Wi-Fi client bridge.

Problem: The NIC on a local computer needs a manually-assigned IP on the same subnet to connect to the client bridge config interface but then can't access the Internet, and when configured for DHCP through the client bridge can then talk to the Internet but not the client bridge.

Solutions:

Multihoming of the NIC (single link, multiple IP addresses)
For Microsoft Windows XP, see "Configuring Multiple IP Addresses on a Network Adapter" in Configuring IP Addressing and Name Resolution. Note: This only works with all manual addresses, not DHCP, which can be problematic when roaming unless managed with configuration manager software.

Two NICs in one computer, both connected to the client bridge:
one manually configured to talk to the client bridge config
the other with DHCP for the Internet.

Different computers for
client bridge config (manually configured)
Internet access (DHCP).

Connection manager software for rapid changing of NIC configuration profiles try theese.

Boingo Wi-Fi software (free)
Mobile Net Switch
NetSwitcher

PROBLEMS WHEN I ADDED WIRELESS ACESS TO A WIRED NETWORK

When adding wireless access to a wired network, as in the diagram, be careful not to create double NAT problems. Since the wired router already has NAT, use either:

1.a wireless access point with no NAT instead of a wireless router (with NAT), or
2.a wireless router setup as a wireless access point.