Computer help - Router/wireless internet

[starrylizard]

Hello wise and fabulous friends list!! (Why yes I do want something. How did you guess?)

So here we have cable internet. I think we get broadband speed (10.0Mbps?).
Anyhow, the main compy and the internet connection are in one room.
My compy is about 20 meters away, in another room, upstairs and through about 3 walls. *cough*
I want to share the connection.

I'm looking to buy a router and I'll need something to make my computer pick up the wireless signal when I do.

So, I need suggestions/information on what I might need in both a router and to pick up the signal. Are there better brands? Is there anything I should look out for (or avoid) to get a good speed? etc.

Any help will be rewarded with virtual cookies and my gratitude!

Lizzie

Comments

[mistojen.livejournal.com]

TrueMobile is SUCKASS and the warranty on it is only, like, a year, so stay away from that. Other than that, I dunno. I just know that's what I have and it's crapped out, so now I've had to hardwire my laptop which SUCKS.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Ugghg! Okay. Luckily I haven't seen that one over here.
They cost a friggin' fortune though. So I want a good one.
Thanks!

[lark_ascends]

We have a wireless router that came with the net, but, my sister had to buy something for her computer so it would pick it up. I can ask later.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

yeah, they have these little thingys that go into a USB port. I'm kinda hoping I can get one that doesn't need a USB, because I don't have many ports to go around. :)
Thanks!

[missyvortexdv.livejournal.com]

If you have any spare PCI expansion ports in your desktop (if your computer is one) you should be able to get a card to fit that.

I may be out of date but I think the fastest wifi is 802.11g+, which is 108 Mbps max transfer rate. Obviously you need both devices, the router and the card/usb stick you buy to support the same protocol. Regarding the router, best to get one that is backwards compatible with the a and b (not to mention standard g speed) as well so if any friends come over and want to connect they have a fair chance to.

Security wise I'd recommend getting a router that does MAC filtering (so it only lets network devices connect that it has the MAc addresses registered in - fairly easy to setup though I often forget this when I get new devices lol) and WEP encryption (WAP is not as secure).

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

I'm really clueless, so excuse the questions...

I don't know what a PCI expansion port is?? I have a slot free to add like a DVD player or something?? And there's lots of other places to plug stuff I never use.

best to get one that is backwards compatible with the a and b (not to mention standard g speed)
SO I want something that covers a range of internet speeds?

What is MAC filtering? Is that something mentioned on the box? Does it allow password protection or something like that? And WEP. Shall look for that on a box too.

Thanks!

[missyvortexdv.livejournal.com]

The speeds I refer to are the speeds the wifi transmit's the signal between devices, it depends which protocol the router and the corresponding device your pc is using support. IEE 802.11a and 802.11b are older ones, 802.11g and 802.11g+ are newer. I forget what speeds they each are but I'm sure the newer ones are certainly as fast as the 10Mbps the net is provided at to the modem but in case anyone has older devices, say if a friend visits with a laptop and that has an 802.11b card, you might like to make sure the router is backwards compatible.

And yeah PCI is inside desktop pc's - looks like...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_Component_Interconnect

Not the greatest picture but you get the idea. Wifi devices tend to be PCI internal cards or USB devices.

MAC filtering - should say on the box but otherwise googling the model of router would likely be able to tell. What it is is registering each network devices (e.g. the network card on a desktop's motherboard or a wifi stick/card - basically network card connection to your network, wifi or wired) unique network address (MAC address) with the router so it will only let the approved devices connect to it, makes it a bit harder for anyone hacking your wifi network.

That's not fool proof though so also why WEP encryption is handy, much stronger than the previously recommended WAP encryption. You have a passkey for WEP that you need to tell your PC/device when setting up a connection - if you tell it to remember it then it won't ask each time it connects. :)

Any other questions or further clarification I'm happy to help.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That helps a lot! :)

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Okay, my dad just explained the PCI thing is inside the computer, so you can ignore that Q. :)

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty much completely IT stupid I'm afraid - although I learn fast =) - but when i wanted to know the same thing here's what my flist said:

http://the-muppet.livejournal.com/189246.html#cutid3

I basically went for the one they said, which was the one recommended on the accessories page by my internet provider, and it works brilliantly =)

Good luck =)

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Thanks, M. I'll have a look-see! :)

[chaps1870.livejournal.com]

I have a linksys and it works pretty well. I don't know about your distance though. The nice thing is that it is wireless or nonwireless so I can always connect the cable if the signal is weak.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

linksys Okay, thanks I'll have to google it.

[dazzlebug.livejournal.com]

Most normal routers - called a G router - have a Wireless Network Speed of 54Mbps (this means the rate at which file transfer will happen between computers linked to the router). These G routers often have a range of about 30 meters, which is roughly 100 feet. The signal will, obviously, become weaker the further away you get from it.

Then you have G+ routers, which have double the Wireless Network Speed (108Mbps) and double the range. These are also more reliable, as the signal reaches further, but it definitely would be wise to set up an enhanced security code if you were looking to get a G+ - during the setup for whichever router you buy, it will prompt you to set up a security code, and what you do is type in a password (let's say you make it "australia"), and the router will translate that into a security code, which will be a mixture of letters or numbers. You can choose a 64-bit encryption (which will be capital letters and numbers), a 128-bit encryption (upper and lower case and numbers), or a 256-bit encryption (upper and lower case, and little and large numbers - though this would probably be unnecessary, unless some darn good hackers live near you).

As for brands, I'm not sure which ones retail out there in Australia, but I have a Netgear G router and it works perfectly - save for a little two-second outage every now and then, but you'll most likely get that with any router. I've also heard very good things about Thomson Speedtouch routers, too. Like has been said in the comments before me, you'd need a wireless USB adapter, which you can pick up from any high-street PC store.

Hope this has helped!
♥

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Yup it has! Thank you! :)