When you connect to the Internet through a wireless access point, you are using radio transmitters to send data between the access point and your computer. Anybody else with a Wi-Fi–enabled computer or a specialized radio receiver can also receive those signals. Unless you protect your Wi-Fi network, anybody with a Wi-Fi network interface can use it to connect to the Internet and possibly open files on your own computers.

In many neighborhoods and business districts, as many as a dozen or more different Wi-Fi signals are floating around. Most of my neighbors have turned on their access points’ security features, so it’s a lot more difficult to grab an unauthorized connection from any of them than to break into a network through an unsecured access point.

There are methods out there for cracking Wi-Fi encryption, but most intruders look for an unsecured network rather than taking the time to break through encryption. However, no wireless network is totally secure without additional tools, so your best defense is to make your wireless network more secure and more difficult to crack than the one across the street.

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Tags: Wi-Fi

Wireless technology is transforming nearly every aspect of our lives. Think about the ways that mobile communications, mobile computing, and mobile entertainment affect the way we live, the way we work, and the way we play. Underlying all that mobility is the 19th century technology of radio transmission, paired with 20th century circuit boards and 21st century ideas about how technology can serve us.

This post we will describe how wireless can help you live, work, and play better. This post also provide practical guidance to setting up some recommended devices and equipment.

You should at least understand the basics, so begin with an overview of wireless technology in general. What is the difference between 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n? And where do Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fit into all this? You will get all the answer for these questions and more in Cut The Cord later. This post also talk about practical ways to prepare your wireless home networking for all the demands PCs, TVs, and peripherals will place on it.

The benefits of wireless cameras might not be so obvious. For years now, cameras have been pretty portable, but digital cameras have never really been free from physical ties to a PC. How much easier would it be to send your pictures to a hard drive or printer without having to deal with yet another USB port or docking cradle?

Media Extenders act as conduits to push audio, video, pictures, and other content from your computer to televisions, stereos, and other traditional entertainment devices. Common examples are Media Center PCs and Microsoft Xbox 360. Later, you will learn how each takes advantage of wireless technologies to help spread multimedia around your house without running wires through the walls.

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Tags: Wireless

Wi-Fi encryption uses the same key code on the access point and on each client computer to provide access to encrypted data. To add a key code to a Wi-Fi connection profile in Windows, follow these steps:

1. From the Control Panel or the system tray, open the Wireless Network Connection Properties window and choose the Wireless Networks tab.

2. Find the name of the network in the list of Preferred networks and click the Properties button.

3. Open the drop-down Data encryption menu and choose WEP or WPA. If the program offers you a choice of key lengths, choose the longest possible number of digits.

4. Type the same network key that you used to set up encryption on your access point in both network key fields.

5. Click the OK buttons in both open Properties windows to save your settings and close the windows.

Tags: Wireless

We sometimes get so caught up in the excitement of the next big thing we throw the baby out with the bathwater. Based on the performance of the Wi-Fire Wi-Fi adapter, that might just be the case with IEEE 802.11g wireless routers.

If you value range over throughput, this is the Wi-Fi adapter for you. This ungainly device doesn’t rely on MIMO or IEEE 8011.n, it doesn’t even require a PCMCIA slot. When we plugged it into the notebook USB 2.0 port, it delivered unbelievable range with a year-old Asus WL700gE router equipped with a single antenna.

Indoors, the Wi-Fire performed no better than Linksys WPC600N adapter, and no 802.11g router can match the maximum throughput of an 802.11n model. But the Wi-Fire lived up to its name when it moved the notebook outdoors, delivering TCP throughput of 15Mb/s.

The speed constantly as when moved the notebook ever further away, 350 feet from the router, with the signal passing through an insulated, double thick interior wall and a steel garage door, the Wi-Fire delivered TCP throughput of 14.5Mb/s. Maximum range dropped to 135 feet on the other side of the house, but throughput remained steady at 13.2Mb/s.

The antenna is extremely directional, which wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t mounted so loosely to its plastic stand. You can set it on a tabletop or clip it to your notebook screen, but after you’ve painstakingly located the reception sweet spot, the simple act of breathing is enough to move it out of position.

Tags: Wi-Fi

Sure you’re waiting for media-streaming devices to catch up to 802.11n, and the Linksys DMA2200 Media Center Extender does it in style, geek style, that is. The box isn’t particularly attractive, but the dual-band Wi-Fi radio inside that’s capable of operating on either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequency bands.

The built-in DVD player that is capable of scaling standard-def DVDs to 1080i. The wireless connection stumbled when tried to stream HD video with 5.1-channel audio attached, however, and it broke down completely when moved the extender into a more enclosed area of the cabinet.

Aside from delivering the familiar Windows Media Center user interface, the primary advantages that devices like the DMA2200 offer are support for PCs equipped with CableCARD digital tuners and hooks to online media content offered by the likes of Comedy Central, Showtime, and the Discovery Channel.

Unfortunately, the user interfaces most of those services offer to be utter crap. The ability to pause playback on one media extender and resume it on another, on the other hand, is a slick benefit.

Unlike the less-expensive Xbox 360, this new class of extender freezes out Windows XP Media Center users altogether. Your host PC must run Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate. In fact, aside from the wireless feature and the consumer-electronics form factor, there is not a whole lot here that would lead to recommend the DMA2200 over Microsoft’s gaming console, especially if you’re into games.

Streaming 1080p video on a wireless network is compelling; being forced to use Vista to do it isn’t.

For more, click Linksys DMA2200 Media Center Extender

Tags: Wireless

The Linksys WRT600N is the first 802.11n draft 2.0 router that can operate on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands simultaneously. It’s also the most expensive Wi-Fi router so far.

The router at its default settings: The 5GHz radio operating in 802.11n-only mode and the 2.4GHz radio operating in mixed 802.11b/g/n mode. Both radios have access to the same integrated four-port gigabit switch. The latter was used for data and the former for streaming media to Linksys’s DMA2200. The router delivered impressive results, especially while simultaneously transferring data and streaming HD video.

In fact, the Linksys WRT600N is the best. The chasm widened to a staggering 170 percent when the client was placed at its furthest point from the router inside the home, but the gap narrowed to just 5 percent when we compared performance inside the well-insulated media room.

The dual-band feature really came to the fore when streamed 1080p video clips over the wireless network: The DIR-655’s data throughput dropped by nearly half in some situations; the WRT600N was unaffected.

Not everyone needs a router that can handle conventional traffic, VoIP, and high-definition media all at the same time. If you do or if your neighborhood is simply jam-packed with competing access points, Linksys WRT600N should be at the top of your router shopping list.

Click for more: Linksys WRT600N

Tags: Wireless

With 802.11n Draft 2.0 routers and wireless network adapters becoming both ubiquitous and relatively inexpensive and with 802.11n media center extenders finally reaching the market, you might be wondering if building an old-fashioned wired network is worth the trouble and expense.

There is no question that stringing wires around your house is a royal pain, especially if it lacks a crawl space or attic, and if you’re going to bother with a wired network at all, you’ll need to invest in a gigabit switch. You’ll also need to buy bulk Cat5e cable, RJ45 jacks, mud rings, wall plates, and perhaps a few new tools.

Now, this post is to compare the deployment cost, convenience, and performance of a wireless network powered by a high-end Wi-Fi router with that of a wired network controlled by a high-quality gigabit switch in four usage scenarios.

Connecting to the Internet is the one scenario in which the speed of your local network really doesn’t matter. The typical DSL connection will provide bandwidth of less than 6Mb/s; cable modem connections are usually faster, but not enough to outstrip the performance of even an 802.11g Wi-Fi router. Since you won’t gain anything by using a wired connection to browse the web, you might as well enjoy the freedom a wireless connection has to offer. Just be sure to use the best wireless security that your equipment supports.

Building out a wired network takes a lot of elbow grease, but it is certainly not a costly proposition if you do the work yourself. And an 802.11n Draft 2.0 router with a gigabit switch is only marginally more expensive than lesser hardware. You’ll never regret the commitment to having wired network