Wireless Broadband

Wireless broadband internet (Wifi) enables you to share your broadband connection with 2 or more PC's or laptops without running network cables all over your house or offices. This is known as a setting up a wireless network (WLAN). As wireless technology has vastly improved, wireless broadband and wireless LANs have become more and more popular.

Unlimited wireless broadband is when the broadband provider does not have any usage or download restrictions in place. The advantage of this is that you know exactly where you stand in terms of cost and use of your wireless broadband internet service.

Note that the option to have broadband wireless internet is available for any broadband service. Some providers supply the wireless broadband router when you register for their broadband service. Examples of providers who do this are  BT and AOL. With the others you will need to buy a wireless router which will cost approximately £50. See broadband router pictured on the right.

You will also need to have a wireless adapter in every PC or laptop that you wish to share the wireless broadband on. Pictured left is a USB wireless adapter that can be used on most PCs or laptops. These adapters cost around £20. Most new laptops now come wifi enabled so the wireless receiver is built in. If it is not then an alternative to a USB adapter is a laptop wireless PC card pictured on the right. Wifi PC cards cost approximately £30.

Dabs.com are recommended as a good value and reliable supplier of wireless networking equipment in the UK.

    Setting up your Wireless Broadband Internet

The setup of wireless broadband is fairly straightforward. In essence the wireless router takes the place of the broadband usb modem. The first time you setup your wireless broadband you will need to connect the wireless router to a PC or laptop in order to configure it. Typically you will access an admin control panel for the router by opening up an internet explorer window and typing an IP address supplied in the router instructions eg. 192.162.1.1 . In this control panel you will need to put in your username and password that were supplied by your broadband provider. Normally the only other thing you will need to setup is your security as everything else is already configured automatically.

    Secure your Wireless Network

Using a wireless local area network (WLAN) may lead to theft of sensitive information and hacker or virus infiltration unless proper measures are taken. As WLANs send information over radio waves, someone with a receiver in your area could be picking up the transmission, thus gaining access to your computer.

Up to 75 per cent of WLAN users do not have standard security features installed, while 20 per cent are left completely open as default configurations are not secured, but made for the users to have their network up and running ASAP.

It is recommended that wireless router/access point setup be always done though a wired client. Change default administrative password on wireless router/access point to a secured password. Enable at least 128-bit WEP encryption on both card and access point. Change your WEP keys periodically. If equipment does not support at least 128-bit WEP encryption, consider replacing it.

Although there are security issues with WEP, it represents minimum level of security, and it should be enabled. Change the default SSID on your router/access point to a hard to guess name. Setup your computer device to connect to this SSID by default.

Setup router/access point not to broadcast the SSID. The same SSID needs to be setup on the client side manually. This feature may not be available on all equipment. Block anonymous Internet requests or pings.

On each computer wireless network card, network connection properties should be configured to allow connection to Access Point Networks Only. Computer to Computer (peer to peer) Connection should not be allowed.

Enable MAC filtering. Deny association to wireless network for unspecified MAC addresses. Mac or Physical addresses are available through your computer device network connection setup and they are physically written on network cards. When adding new wireless cards / computer to the network, their MAC addresses should be registered with the router /access point.

Network router should have firewall features enabled and demilitarized zone (DMZ) feature disabled. You can test your hardware and personal firewalls using Shields Up test available at http://www.grc.com. All computers should have a properly configured personal firewall in addition to a hardware firewall. Update router/access point firmware when new versions become available.

Locate router/access point away from strangers so they cannot reset the router/access point to default settings. Locate router/access point in the middle of the building rather than near windows to limit signal coverage outside the building.

While none of the measures suggested above provides full protection as countermeasures exist, a collection of suggested measures will act as a deterrent against attacker when other insecure networks represent easier targets.

    Troubleshooting your Wireless Broadband

Like all computer hardware, wireless broadband (also know as wireless LAN) can work for months or years and then all of a sudden, it stops working. Before you through your PC out of the window or call in "the computer guy" there are a few simple steps you can take to troubleshoot the problems.

1. First of all, save your work and restart your computer. If you have access to the wireless LAN router and broadband modem, restart them as well. This simple technique has a surprisingly high success rate.

2. If this fails, the second thing is to check for loose connections. If you have a USB or PCMCIA wireless LAN card, ensure that it is seated firmly in the slot. If you have an internal PCI wireless LAN card, you will need to open the computer casing to check the connection.

3. If a loose connection isn't the cause of failure, the next thing to try is check Windows' My Network Places. Are there any new network icons that appear there? Sometimes, your wireless LAN card may detect another network nearby that has a stronger signal and connect to the new network instead. If My Network Places showed any unfamiliar network name, simply remove it. Then double click on your own network name to re-establish the connection.

4. If there is no new network nearby, you can try to bring your computer right next to your wireless LAN router. If this works, then it is likely to be a case of interference. You should think carefully what has changed recently in your house. Maybe you have added a new cordless phone or other equipment that use radio waves. Try switching them off one at a time to determine the source of interference.

5. If you can't determine any source of interference, you can now try resetting the wireless LAN router to its original factory setting. You can login to the router's control panel using a web browser and look for the option that allows you to restore the settings to the factory defaults. Some routers have a reset switch on the back that you insert a sharp pointed object into and keep pressed for several seconds.

If none of these techniques worked, it is likely that there is a hardware failure in your wireless network.

You need to unplug each piece of hardware in your wireless LAN in turn to figure out where the failure is. Once you identify the source, call the manufacturer and report the fault. In the event you are unable to isolate the source of failure, call the manufacturer and seek their advice. They should be able to advise you on how to troubleshoot your network further.

Just remember to stay polite and be patient!