mazzz
Emperor
Ok I have satilite internet, Is there anyway I can buy something to hook up the my p.c. or labtop that lets my use my internet on a labtop anywhere in my house?
how do I get wireless internet one a labtop?
- Thread starter mazzz
- Start date
You need a wireless router, and a wireless NIC card for the laptop. Both can be found in any half decent computer store. Try www.compusa.com or www.microcenter.com to find some comparitive prices.
mazzz
Emperor
how big should the wireless router be? (in terms of many MB per second)
do most labtops already come with a NIC card?
do most labtops already come with a NIC card?
Looking at the recent Microcenter ad I just happen to have on my desk (honest!), they have a Linksys Wireless-G Access Point for $79.99, after a $10 instant savings and a $10 mail-in rebate. The data rate on that is 54Mbps, which is (according to the ad) about 5 times faster than the 802.11b standard. They have the 'B' routers for about $30 less. The 'B' standard is about 11Mbps. For your home connection, the 'B' standard should be good enough. My cable is rated at about 3Mbps.
Whether or not your laptop comes with a NIC card really depends on the setup you had when you bought it. It might very well come with one, but you'll probably have to buy a wireless card for it.
Check out your local computer store and see what they have.
FireBall
Friendly Ball of Fire
The 802.11B standard will be more than enough for almsot all internet connections...
Even 10.8Mbps is more than enough for Turner's 3Mpbs connection, really, most of that speed will be wasted, even if you're moving files, some of it will be wasted due to hard drive speeds.
Even 10.8Mbps is more than enough for Turner's 3Mpbs connection, really, most of that speed will be wasted, even if you're moving files, some of it will be wasted due to hard drive speeds.
mazzz
Emperor
so a buy a wireless internet router (they all say dsl/cable will they work with my saitilite?)
then a slide in a NIC card into my labtop and it will work? any installing to do?
can i prevent other from using my internet signal?
then a slide in a NIC card into my labtop and it will work? any installing to do?
can i prevent other from using my internet signal?
hbdragon88
haunted by blackness
You have to set WEP Encryption to prevent other people from accessing your internet signal. You do this by going ot the options at http://192.168.1.1. The username and password is admin/admin. First thing you do - change the password. Then you set a WEP key on the router and save options. Go to your wireless card settings and enter in the WEP key. Nobody can access your network now.
And make sure you get a wireless NIC card.
I've been thinking about this, too. Like FB said, the B standard will be more than enough for your internet connection. However, if you want to play LAN games on your home network, go with the G. You'll need to make sure you NIC card in your desktop can handle the network speed. I'm sure that's more than fast enough for any MP game out there now, and gives you some expandability room, too. Plus, if you have friends with laptops, you can change your WEP encryption to a temporary password, give them the key, and then they can connect to your network and play LAN MP games with you.
I've been thinking about this, too. Like FB said, the B standard will be more than enough for your internet connection. However, if you want to play LAN games on your home network, go with the G. You'll need to make sure you NIC card in your desktop can handle the network speed. I'm sure that's more than fast enough for any MP game out there now, and gives you some expandability room, too. Plus, if you have friends with laptops, you can change your WEP encryption to a temporary password, give them the key, and then they can connect to your network and play LAN MP games with you.
mazzz
Emperor
whats the differnce between 802.11b Standard and a
802.11g Standard?
whats the best to buy? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/284716/ref=amb_right-2_81562_2/104-4332953-1488718
802.11g Standard?
whats the best to buy? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/284716/ref=amb_right-2_81562_2/104-4332953-1488718
mazzz
Emperor
also what is the range I can go with my labtop and still use the internet?
the B standard is 11Mbps, while the G is 54Mbps.
Not sure on the range, but you should be able to get the off of any ad for it.
Not sure on the range, but you should be able to get the off of any ad for it.
Depends on where you locate the router. Preferably central position. If you are talking about a mutiple storeys house, you might need a bridge or repeater to broadcast the signal, otherwise the signal is generally strong enough for an apartment.
For normal internet usage, a 802.11b standard is good enough, however, the price gap between the 'b' & 'g' is narrowing, so if I have excess budget, I would go for a 'g' standard.
As for security, I do not know about other brands of router, for mine, I could set a 128 bit WEP encryption as well as limit the access by IP address and/or MAC address, that is, to fix the IP for each of your PC and notebooks, and only the PCs with these authorized IPs and/or MAC addresses are allowed to log into your network.
Depending on models, you might be disable the DHCP server feature of the router, so that it will not give out an IP address to any computers nearby with a wireless NIC on. Alternatively, you can also limit the IP range to so narrow that only a limited number of devices can be attached to your network.
Other security measure would include not to broadcast your SSID so that others could not detect your network.
Please be very careful and write down all the passwords and IP addresses especially the 128 bit encrypted password. You do not want to be locked out from you own network accidentally.
Best regards
For normal internet usage, a 802.11b standard is good enough, however, the price gap between the 'b' & 'g' is narrowing, so if I have excess budget, I would go for a 'g' standard.
As for security, I do not know about other brands of router, for mine, I could set a 128 bit WEP encryption as well as limit the access by IP address and/or MAC address, that is, to fix the IP for each of your PC and notebooks, and only the PCs with these authorized IPs and/or MAC addresses are allowed to log into your network.
Depending on models, you might be disable the DHCP server feature of the router, so that it will not give out an IP address to any computers nearby with a wireless NIC on. Alternatively, you can also limit the IP range to so narrow that only a limited number of devices can be attached to your network.
Other security measure would include not to broadcast your SSID so that others could not detect your network.
Please be very careful and write down all the passwords and IP addresses especially the 128 bit encrypted password. You do not want to be locked out from you own network accidentally.
Best regards
GenMarshall
High Elven ISB Capt & Ghost Agent
Sometimes laptops, like mines for example, have an internal wireless internet card/attene.
FireBall
Friendly Ball of Fire
Yep... many cards, especially those with Centrino technology, have build-in Wi-Fi cards...
As for b vs g, I'd reccomend 802.11B, it's slightly more supported atr places like Starbucks or MacDonalds with their hotspots, also B standard should be enough for almost anything you do. It's also a little cheaper.
As for b vs g, I'd reccomend 802.11B, it's slightly more supported atr places like Starbucks or MacDonalds with their hotspots, also B standard should be enough for almost anything you do. It's also a little cheaper.
mazzz
Emperor
I do not have dsl or cable, i have an other kind of high speed internet, can anyone tell me what router to buy?
here is what i have http://www.maxiis.com/Wireless.html
here is what i have http://www.maxiis.com/Wireless.html
FireBall
Friendly Ball of Fire
Buy a Broadband Wireless Router, since you have Broadband... Assuming you use an ethernet port for your internet, any router should do...
mazzz
Emperor
I dotn use an ethernet port though
jeannie
Warlord
Then what kind of cable do you plug into your computer, and into what kind of jack, to access the Internet?
Most computers today come with two kinds of jacks - one for a telephone cable for a dial-up connection via a modem, and an Ethernet jack for connection to a LAN. My ignorant guess (I'm not a geek) is that you ARE using an ethernet port with an ethernet jack and an ethernet LAN cable - one end plugged into the ethernet port and the other into whatever other piece of equipment you need for the satellite connection.
(I have Internet access from my Cable TV company. Before I bought a wireless router, my ethernet cable ran from my computer to the 'cable modem' supplied by the cable tv company, and the 'cable modem' had another type of 'wire' that went from the cable modem to the cable tv company. Now that I've gone 'wireless', I had to buy a second Ethernet cable, because the router sits between my 'cable modem' and my desktop PC.) I hope this explanation from a novice helps.
Most computers today come with two kinds of jacks - one for a telephone cable for a dial-up connection via a modem, and an Ethernet jack for connection to a LAN. My ignorant guess (I'm not a geek) is that you ARE using an ethernet port with an ethernet jack and an ethernet LAN cable - one end plugged into the ethernet port and the other into whatever other piece of equipment you need for the satellite connection.
(I have Internet access from my Cable TV company. Before I bought a wireless router, my ethernet cable ran from my computer to the 'cable modem' supplied by the cable tv company, and the 'cable modem' had another type of 'wire' that went from the cable modem to the cable tv company. Now that I've gone 'wireless', I had to buy a second Ethernet cable, because the router sits between my 'cable modem' and my desktop PC.) I hope this explanation from a novice helps.
LordKestrel
King
FireBall said:
G is backwards compatible with B, so there is no point in purchasing only a B card.
EDIT: Just had to add a bit about the WEP comments above.
WEP is broken. It utilizes a flawed encryption method that makes it trivial to get into given enough time. There are solutions out there that help, such as automated key exchange, that you should really look into. Enabling WEP will only make it more annoying to access your wireless connection, not impossible.
The upcoming 802.11i standard will help with a lot of that, but it has it's own set of issues. Right now, you're probably best off using WPA if your AP supports it, and upgrading to WPA2 or 802.11i when those specs are approved.
mazzz
Emperor
i have a big black wire with a circler pin at the end (its like a cable plug for tv buy very thick) i had to add a "wireless card" that sticks out of my pc and has an outlet the the pin goes into, it would not fit in the enthernet or the phone jack
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