The first thing that you will have to make a decision on while planning out your home network is will your network will be wired or wireless. The notion in each case will stay put the same where in all your computers will join up to a central router, which will talk the connections to your ISP from side to side a cable or a DSL modem.
It is a frequent fact the wireless home network provides much more expediency than wired networks. They do not necessitate cabling and permit users to move from one room to another with freedom. But wired networks are more secure and dependable and if you can use again the existing phone lines or the electrical wiring, then the cost of installing new cables are reduced radically.
Wired Home Network
In the case of wired networks, the entire set up is known as Local Areas Network (LAN) wherein small bundles of cables are used which is available in every room of your house. These cables can be used for a phone line or a computer connection. More often than not, a minimum of one Ethernet cable is required in a room. A standard pack of wire contains four cables:
1. A coaxial cable for a television
2. A coaxial cable which will provide input from a DVD player
3. Cat5e Ethernet cable for a computer
4. Cat5e Ethernet cable for a phone
The cables lead to a common area where the phone lines can be split and the computer ports can be patched to a panel with jacks. Now, each computer is patched with a short Ethernet cable into the network router to gain access to the Internet.
Wireless Home Network
In the case of wireless networks, the entire system is known as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). This type of network has gained such immense popularity over the last five years, that now a wireless node at a coffee place is a common thing. The most common factor that affects the range of your wireless network at home is the wireless access point placed inside the house, the materials used in the construction of the house and any other physical obstructions between your devices the node.
Home Computer Networking Tips
You have to decide on the kind of network that you want for your house depending on the various pros and cons with each type. Below is some home computer networking tips that will help you make the system more robust and secure:
1. Assign static IP addresses to each of the computer. Ensure that you set up a private IP address range to prevent your computers to be directly accessible from the Internet.
2. Set the ‘Auto Connect to wi-fi’ option off. You computer may accidentally connect to a neighboring network, which can pose severe security threats.
3. Ensure that you have changed the default username and passwords for the administrator accounts, especially if you are using a Wi-Fi system. The hackers can easily access your network from outside the building and can hack into your system as all routers come with standard passwords.
4. Ensure that the firewall on all the computers and routers is turned on. Revoke rights that can allow the users to set the firewall off. Installing additional personal software on each computer will help you make your system more secure.
5. Enable MAC address filter on your network. You will also have to provide MAC address to all your computers to turn the filtering on. A MAC address is very difficult to fake and increases the security of a network tremendously.
6. Use a non-standard channel for your wireless network which will make it difficult for your hackers to access your network.
7. In case you have a wireless network setup, then change the default SSID immediately. Also, ensure that you have disabled the SSID broadcast feature on your network router.
8. Network should be turned off when not in use. Turning it on and off frequently is not a feasible solution, however when the network will not be required for an extended period of time, it can be turned off.
9. Enable and use Wired Equivalency Frequency (WEP) which will help encrypt all the data exchanged over your router.
You will require networking your home computers for a home-based business or simply for the convenience of connecting all you home PC and laptops in your house together. You can choose a wired or a wireless network weighing all the pros and cons. But ensure that you stay your network secure from malicious users and viruses.
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Written by Jason on May 4th, 2008 with no comments.
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Let’s say you have a computer that’s connected to the internet via a broadband modem. This guide shows you how to share that computer’s internet connection (turning it into a router) with other computer(s) in your house without using a router or even a network switch in some cases.
Two Computers
If you want to share an internet connection with one additional computer on your network you’ll need an addition network (LAN) card installed on your computer if your broadband modem connects to your computer via a network (LAN) card.
If your broadband modem connects to your computer via a USB cable you probably won’t have to purchase an additional network card because one will be available.
Connect the two computers together with a regular CAT5 network cable. If you don’t want to run a wire or you want to make the shared internet connection wireless for a laptop, connect the computer sharing it’s internet to a wireless access point via a CAT5 cable and connect to the wireless access point wirelessly with the computers accessing the shared internet connection.
Three or More Computers
If you want to share an internet connection with two or more additional computers (a small network) you’ll need an additional network (LAN) card if your broadband modem is not connected to your computer with internet access via a USB cable. You’ll also need to purchase additional network cards (one for each connection), a switch, or wireless access point to network the computers you’re sharing the internet connection with.
Connect the computers to the computer sharing it’s internet via a network switch and CAT5 network cable or a wireless access point and wireless devices installed on each computer accessing the shared internet.
Enable Internet Connection Sharing
1. Click the Start orb and then select Control Panel.
2. Click Classic View on the left side of the Control Panel.
3. Open the Network and Sharing Center.
4. Click Manage Network Connections on the left side of the Network and Sharing Center.
5. Right-click the network connection you want to share and then select Properties.
6. Select the Sharing tab at the top of the Network Connection Properties window.
7. Check off Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s network connection.
8. Click OK to save the changes.
9. Now you can connect your computer, switch, or wireless access point to the extra network connection on the computer sharing it’s internet connection via CAT5 network cable.
Note: If you turn the computer connected to the broadband modem off all of the other computers will lose their internet connections as well.
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Written by Jason on April 25th, 2008 with no comments.
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Updates and service packs do not serve as exclusive methods of adding functionality to Microsoft’s operating system. In this regard, feature packs are designed to enhance a Windows platform with various components and features on top of the standard releases that are part of a product’s lifecycle. Case in point: Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless made available as of April 16. This is Microsoft’s way of delivering added functionality to Windows Vista on top of the recently released Service Pack 1.
“This software update includes the following components or features that improve wireless support in Windows Vista: Bluetooth version 2.1 support, Unified Pairing user interface, Windows Connect Now updates. Some of these features may work with existing hardware. However, you must have new hardware to take advantage of the new functionality,” Microsoft revealed.
The Redmond company released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to manufacturing on February 4, 2008. At this point in time, Vista RTM users have access to all 36 language versions of SP1 through Windows Update and the Download Center with the company planning to drop the service pack via Automatic Updates any day now. However, the proximity between SP1 and the Feature Pack does not mean that the extended wireless capabilities have been added to the service pack.
In fact, the Vista Feature Pack for Wireless is an addition to SP1, requiring the service pack in order to install. “This update is compatible with all versions of Windows Vista. It can be installed only on a computer that is running Windows Vista Service Pack 1,” Microsoft stated. However, the company does plan to add the components launched through the Feature Pack for wireless to the next full product release of Windows Vista. The company did not disclose any additional details on its future plans related to Vista.
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Written by Jason on April 21st, 2008 with no comments.
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1. How to Clean the Start Menu
The start menu of the Windows XP is populated with the number of shortcuts and newly installed programs. If you want to remove any of the programs from the start menu just right click on that program and click “Remove from this list”. The program will be removed from the start menu. Additionally, there are certain programs at the right side such as My documents, Run, Search etc and if you want to customize this list then right click on the empty place > Properties > Start Menu > Customize.
You will see a number of options there such as Large Icons, Small Icons and number of programs in the list. In the advance tab you will see the three options such as 1. display as a link, 2. display as a menu and 3. Don’t list this item and you can choose these options for the control panel, my documents, my music and my computer etc. (more…)
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Written by Jason on March 2nd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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If you have faced such a situation when you are not able to connect some of the websites specifically on your mtnl broadband connection but all other websites other than those websites are reachable then this post is for you.
So after reading this post you will get answers for your questions like..
Why this problem actually occurs ?
This problem occurs when you have specified wrong address for any of your dns server’s primary or secondary.
How to solve this problem ? (more…)
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Written by Jason on March 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Getting more range out of your wireless networking gear can be a challenge, but it isn’t impossible. Here are some pointers on how to extended your Wi-Fi range.
First if you are planning on getting a new wireless router 802.11b or g, forget it, get the
802.11n models
if you can afford it instead. You can never be upto date and if your planning on transferring data within your own network aswell then
802.11n gear is what you need.
Now if you already have a 802.11b/g router, dont worry, if you have problems with signal strength or get cutoff intermittently, the first thing to try is moving the router. Best spot is at the highest most central point of your house (unless you live in the basement).
Remember, the signal needs to travel through walls, metal, interference form other wireless devices and the signal can get week easily. So now you tried moving the router around, still not much of an improvement? Try a
Range Extender or replace the small original antenna on your router with a
high-gain antenna replacement which is cost effective.
Ensure if possible that your PC or Notebook connecting to the router is using the same wireless version, meaning if you buy a
802.11n model router, your laptop or PC should have a 802.11n adapter in it otherwise your going to default to a lower speed.
If you find that the location isnt the issue, try change channels in your router’s firewall configuration screen. You’ll find a “Wireless Channel” setting in the wireless configuration portion of your router. Most routers default to channel 6, or 11, but if your neighbors are all on channel 6, then you might be seeing slow speed and lower range due to interference. Try one of the other channels (start with 3, 1, and 11) to see if you get a better signal with them.
Sample router config screens from D-Link and LinkSys
I also recommend you try the online speed test services to measure your download speeds and verify the Internet service provider is supplying you the expected amount of bandwidth. These tools will also help you measure the results of performance tweaking your network setup.
Here is a list of tweaks for your Web Browser:
For Firefox performance tweaks click hereFor IE7 performance tweaks click hereHere is a list of free speed test providers:
Speedtest.net Global Broadband Speed Test
Dslreports.com Speed Tests
CNET Bandwidth Meter
Other Tips Users have watched
Written by PCWizKid on February 24th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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This is little bit of windows hacking when you say you want to shutdown a remote computer on your LAN network, if you are doing it for FUN then its ok.
But let me tell you, this may also cause some potential data loss at the remote computer.
Requirement: You must have administrator rights in order to remotely shutdown a computer.
How to:
1. Start>>Run and type cmd and press Enter. (more…)
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Written by Jason on February 16th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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