Wireless networks

Mike Hughes

Mike Hughes

Former Board Administrator
I want to set up a wireless network at home, so I can take the laptop anywhere in the house...............

I need an education on these things.................anyone care to shed some light on it?? Or point me to some decent articles online on the subject?

I understand how they work, I just need to know more about the security (or lack thereof) that they offer. I can't have just anyone poking around in my system.
 
If you are going wireless, spend some money and get a good firewall (hardware & software) as radio waves go everywhere and scanners find open ports quite easily. If your wireless without firewall, your neighbors can see it all.
 
Yes, it is XP.........I do have a software firewall........and I think the routers provide a hardware firewall, right?
 
If you had a new Mac then you would have no trouble at all. They incorporate AirPort technology as standard and the Powerbook often comes with the AirPort card built in. It uses the IEEE 802.11 standard which is also available to M$ users.

There are wireless home networks available through most computer retailers and even PC cards that feature the IEEE 802.11 standard. You must get a hardware firewall to be safe; one like those produced by D-Link et al. To test your system go to www.GRC.com and test your ports. The results are eye opening. There is nothing you can do about the wireless signal but 2.4 GHz is fairly secure and can be digitally encrypted. There is a group of people that search for wireless networks they can surf from; I forget what they call themselves but there are web sites devoted to their arcane (and legal) practice.

Just a wee note or two about the Mac...when the new Power PC G4 came out the US Government would not allow full distribution around the world because the chipset had reached the gigaflop level determined to be a Super Computer and was therefore restricted technology to North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya et al. In France the AirPort card was initially illegal because the French military used the 2.4 GHz band for their secure communications. The new Jaguar OS 10.2 is really Unix with a pretty face so it is using the same OS as the backbone of the Internet so it is stable and secure. They were recently tested as having 4 potential security problems; M$ at last count was several thousand. By the way I happily use my Mac Powerbook everywhere anyone uses M$ with no difficulty and have done so for years now. Merely my $0.02 worth.

Cheers.
 
Mike routers do indeed provide firewalls in them, that is how the wife and my computers are connected to the Internet.

That used with Norton Anti-Virus working all the time seems to work well for us.

I have heard many say install a software firewall also but have not seen a reason or need for one.

Perhaps someone can explain that reason, we are not wireless nor planning on it.

Jon
 
A firewall prevents unauthorized access to your computer and all of it's information. Essentially it is like a one-way gate that allows outgoing but restricts incoming to selected addresses. It is NOT an anti-virus solution! If you have a M$ computer you are extremely vulnerable to viri, worms and Trojan horses. Mac computers tend to be relatively immune to most of them but even they should have anti-virus software that is regularly updated; Norton, McAfee, PCcillin, Trend Micro, Dr. Soloman's, Tech Tool Pro et al.

Software firewalls are less than reliable simply because they are software and therefore have either 'back doors' or are hackable. They are sort of like a curtain; tough if you do not push too hard.

A hardware firewall is like a steel door. No matter how hard you push there is nothing to move. Having both is like having a Department of Redundancy Department. :)

Not all routers have firewalls built in. Again if you want to check your firewall run the tests available at www.GRC.com.
 
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Thanks Michael,I just ran the test and came out ok,they couldn't get in not even in the ports...cool
 
Thanks for your thorough info, Michael............but you're not talking me into a Mac! LOL. I'm glad you're enjoying yours.
 
D-Link makes a very good router and hardware firewall that you can get at any number of retailers for ~$100 or so.

Having a hardware firewall will close those ports....but like it says at the web site...for now. To be vigilant is to be safe, especially if you have a M$ computer because they are most likely to be probed and hacked. My friend had his cable connection to the internet used as a spam source when he was hacked and he was threatened with losing his internet. Got both software and hardware firewalls plus two different anti-virus programs so he feels safe now.

BTW he also wears a belt with his suspenders :)
 
dOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE NORTON INTERNET SECURITY. tHIS IS THE NEATEST THING i'V EVER SEEN. wHENEVER SOMEONE TRYS TO TAP INTO MY CPU IT ALERTS ME AND THEN ON A MAP IT WILL TRACE DOWN WHAT CITY AND STATE THEY ARE IN AND ALL THEIR WEB INFO. i HAVE ONLY USED A CPU FULL TIME FOR ABOUT A YEAR SO ALOT OF THIS STUFF IS NEW TO ME, SO THAT TRACKING THING MIGHT NOT BE AS NEAT AS i THINK...LOL...
 
Hey Mike,

I use the linksys router with the linksys wireless card. Once I got it set up its great. But if you are setting up a network within the house, you may want to check out which level of cable modem service you have. Here there are three levels and levels two and three are the only ones that will support a network.

But you are correct in the wireless. Got to love technology.

Reed
 
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