Long posts ahead. Click here to get past all the networking blogging.
Ok, in part one I configured my router, and made it look a lot more complicated than it really is. Most people would only need to physically connect their router, then run the setup wizard, and they'd be good to go. But no, I have to get my hands into the guts of the machine and set things manually. I like to understand how things work, and why they do what they do. That way, if something goes wrong, I can fix it. But I understand completely if you were lost by my explanations.
In order to wirelessly connect to the router, I needed to configure my wireless card, in my case the Netgear WG511 Card.
Like the router, this has a software upgrade on the Netgear site, which I downloaded. It's always good to have the latest. Before chucking the card into the slot, I ran the software. It installed a nifty configuration utility and all the proper drivers. Then I put the card in, let XP recognize that there was new hardware and installed it. So far, so good.
Now, if your network is just "out of the box", at this point you should be able to connect to the router, maybe even browse the web. Because I chose to configure stuff manually, there were a few more steps for me to do.
Oh yeah, and if you aren't running yet, make sure you restart your computer. It might just need the old on/off.
To set my IP addresses I went to "My Network Places" --> "View Network Connections" --> select the card, right-click and choose "Properties" --> Select "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click the "Properties" button. I selected "Use the following IP address" and put the IP address that I wanted my computer to be in the first box. I already had two computers on my network, and they were "2" and "3", so this computer would be "4", or it's full IP: "192.168.55.4". The subnet mask isn't important. I just put it to 255.0.0.0. The Default gateway is the router: "192.168.55.1". The DNS server addresses were given to me by my ISP, Comcast. They are different for every ISP, so if you set those, you need to talk with your ISP. Again, if you didn't do this before, you probably don't need to do it now.
Now it's time to add some security. For this operation, I needed to have access to my desktop in case I screwed up a setting and locked my laptop out of the network, which I did more than once. Then I'd have to go back to the desktop and reset it. Annoying, but a nice learning process.
To configure the card for security, first thing is to go into the Windows Network option for the card. "My Network Places" --> "View Network Connections" --> select the card, right-click and choose "Properties" --> then click on the "Wireless Networks" tab. Make sure that the "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings" option is UNCHECKED. You don't want Windows to configure it, that's what the software that came with the card is for.
Run the configuration utility for your card. There should be an option in your start menu, or a little computer icon sitting in your task tray. Whichever method, just open it. If you are running out of the box, it should be connected, probably to a network called "NETGEAR" with a string of numbers and letters grouped in two after it. That string is the MAC Address of the router. More on MAC addresses in a bit.
You'll be changing security settings in two places. First in the Router, then on your card. So fire up your browser and log into the router too.
The first thing you need to change is the name of your network. In the router, click on "Wireless Settings". The name of the network is called the SSID. Change it. You don't want it to be the default. It doesn't have to be a super-secret name, but it does need to be unique to your area. Set the region, then hit apply. Now, go to your card's configuration utility, click on the configuration tab and change the Name(SSID) to the router's new name there. Hit Apply. Make sure you can still connect to the internet.
Go back to the Router set-up. Make sure that "Enable Wireless Access Point" is checked, and that "Allow Broadcast of Name (SSID)" is unchecked. Hit apply. That's the most basic level of security. In order to access your network, people need to know what SSID to connect with, and you've just hid it.
Next go to Setup Access List and check "Turn Access Control On". This allows you to limit your wireless network to only certain network cards. Note that you need the MAC address of your network card for this one. If it doesn't find it automatically, you can find the MAC address of your card on the "About" tab of the configuration utility. Put in the numbers and letters without dashes. Once you've added your card to the list, click the Apply button. Make sure you can still connect to the internet. Congrats, you've got a second level of security on.
A note on MAC addresses: MAC address is short for Media Access Control address. It's a series of numbers and letters that identifies a piece of hardware on your network. Every network card has its own MAC address, as does every router. Whenever you enter a MAC address, you are pointing to a specific piece of hardware on your network.
A last level you might want to turn on is the WEP. Change "Encryption Strength" from disable to one of the other levels. Down below, select a key and put a word in the "Passphrase" field and hit generate. I generated four keys using random words. Do the same. Don't use obvious words. Once you've generated the keys, hit the Apply button, then go to the card configuration. Under "Security", click "Enable Encryption", and put in the key length you put into the Router. I then copied and pasted my keys from the router configuration window into the spots on the card utility (using the "manual" option). Pick a key and click the radio button next to it. That's the active key. Click Apply. Make sure you can still connect to the internet. Now you've got some decent security on.
Lastly, click on the "Profiles" tab on the card configuration, and type a name in the "Profile Name" box. Like "Home Network". Click the Save button. Congrats, you've got your first profile saved. If you go and use another network, you can set up a new profile, and just use the utility to switch between the two when you go back and forth. Nice, eh? I expect I'll have a different profile to use for the Pug House of Horrors, just as I'll need a different profile for my Mom's house if I take my computer down there to set up her network. Being able to have multiple profiles makes the card more useful.
Despite how confusing all this sounds, my setup was actually very easy because the card and the router were the same brand. I made it more confusing by insisting on manually setting certain things, like the IP addresses, and by adding lots of security. In 90% of the cases of setting a wireless network up, you should be able to get it running very quickly by making the physical connections then just running the default configuration for the router.
In other words, follow the instructions on the installation card.
I probably just scared away anyone who wants to do this and isn't at least moderately familiar with networking. But I'm glad I wrote it all down anyway, as now I'll remember what to do when I set up my Mom's network, and when I need to add my sister's computer to my network. I would call myself an experienced beginner in networking, not quite at the intermediate level. If you have a better knowledge of networks than I, please feel free to correct anything I've written. It might help me, and it might help others. Who knows?
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