A Wireless Solution

[Jeff S]

It seems that there is always someone that has issues with their wireless network. I originally thought I would closely relate this to my router and the way I have it set up and then thought better of it. Which is why they have call centers in India so I’ll try to keep this as vendor neutral as possible.

 

I’ve had wireless for a few years and have always had minor issues but I always seemed to have these problems when it was least expected- the worst possible time.

 

First make sure all filters are in place and plugged in and your DSL (digital subscription) turned on by your service provider.

 

Most of the popular router models have a web-based interface, which allows you to make changes in a user-friendly windows environment without having to resort to the command line.

 

To get to the web based interface enter the factory default of your router. Many routers use the public IP range of 192.168.0.0. The first address in this range is 192.168.0.1. Type this into any Internet Explorer browser window or alternatively type http://192.168.0.1. If you have changed the IP address at any time, you would use that in place of the factory default IP address. Not all models will use 192.168.0.1 as default. More information on IP addresses here.

 

So you should have ‘webbed’ to your router. You should be prompted for a username and password. The factory default on my Netgear was username Admin and the password is password. (It’s that easy, which also means that if you have this information readily available on the web and you don’t change it ANYONE can use these credentials to get access to your router. If they have access to your router they have access to EVERYTHING!)

 

Once you have access the first thing you must do is supply the credentials for allowing the router to act as a host to your ISP (internet service provider). Once you enter this information into the router the basic setup should be complete and you can access the web. If you are like me and your connection goes down you either have to remember what you did before or find another connection to the internet! You do not want to leave your router like this. At the very least, change the password that you use to log into it.

 

Somewhere in the browser (you may have to search) are the following settings:

 

-There should be an option for logging on to your service. Enter your username and password in the space provided. You can do this in a few different ways. I use AOL for my service. I gave the router it’s own login via AOL by giving it a screenname and password that I was not going to use for anything else. (If you use this account and login away from home you will be promptly logged out as your router, once it’s connection is lost, will automatically try to log back in).

 

-For Internet IP address you probably want to have your router learn dynamically from ISP. What this means is your ISP gave you an IP address that changes. By doing this dynamically, the router knows to check the connection and get a new IP address if needed. There should be an option to enter the IP address that was given to you by your ISP if you paid extra to have your own address.

 

-For DNS servers you also want the router to learn them dynamically as well. Your service provider has a list of DNS servers. DNS (Domain Name Service) is a protocol that resolves a name associated with a website to an IP address.

 

-NAT (Network address Translation) Enable this option if you will be using more than one computer to access the internet on your network. With NAT enabled you can now go to each PC and set the TCP/IP Setting to DHCP

 

-Change the (SSID) name. You will probably want to change the name to something other than the factory default. Change the password when you do this as well but don’t associate it with something that is easily cracked. Something you don’t want to do is to name your router trout and give it a password of fishing.

 

-Set the Region-I hope you know where you are!

 

-Channel (01-13) If you have issues connecting such as limited connectivity or it takes forever for your connection to come up, play with these channels until you find one that works better.

 

-Mode- You are given the option whether or not to use a certain standard for wireless. Most wifi works on standards IEEE 802.11g or 802.11b. G is backwards compatible with B. This means they can work together, just know that B is slower.

 

-Wireless access point (this is typically on by default)

 

-Broadcast of Name (SSID). This is also on by default and should be turned off AFTER you set up all of your other PCs to connect to the internet. The rest, which is all part of wireless security, will include setting up PSKs (pre-shared keys) and associating the MAC (media access control) addresses (the unique 48 bit code in each network interface card) to your router.

 

MTU- Maximum Transmission Size. The maximum size for an Ethernet frame is 1500. This can be adjusted slightly.

 

Lastly- to reset the Netgear DG834G back to factory default- unplug the telephone line and hold the reset button in for ten seconds. You will lose all settings to include your port exceptions!

 

These are the main settings that should concern you unless you want to set up other options like being notified should someone try to break into your router, port scans, and denial of service attacks. There are also firewall settings where you can block certain keywords. Ideal for your 13 year old.

 

I will be adding more to this for connecting multiple computers and wireless security. My apologies for its length and any and all pronunciations and spelling mistakes.

Edited March 9, 2008 by Jeff S

[Chris Goddard]

Jeff, may I say DON'T apologise just get more of the same on ere!! THANKS for what you HAVE done thus far!!

[Jeff S]

Jeff, may I say DON'T apologise just get more of the same on ere!! THANKS for what you HAVE done thus far!!

 

Alright then! You say Rooter I'll say Rowter!

[Jeff S]

Adding Wireless PCs to your network.

 

The way that I have my network set up is more than likely like everyone else. I don’t have a DMZ set up between my router and ISP and I’m not using the firewall feature that comes with the router. These are more corporate style setups and you don’t really need them – well the firewall if you have children or if your wife likes to look at porn.

 

Keep it simple.

 

This is tailored for XP and can be found on the web already which can be a pain trying to find all that you need in one place. I may also include setup for Vista.

 

Each PC should have at least one network interface card (NIC). The NIC has a unique address which means there is not another like it in the world. Newer PCs usually have more than one NIC. They should have one that has wireless integrated or if they are not wireless capable you can purchase a wireless NIC separately. Either way the setup is pretty much the same. You can use the software that comes with the card if you want. I prefer to use windows. (Why would you want to learn how to use yet more software?)

 

I’m going to represent navigation as >. For instance from the start bar click settings, then click network connections, then click your wireless connection, then click properties etc, It will be written like this:

 

Start>settings>network connections>wireless NIC>properties>

 

First make sure each PC is currently running and not suspended or turned off. If it is directly connected to the router you can do the following but only on the NIC that is directly connected. (It won’t be the wireless one!) You should also enable the NIC that you will be using wireless or other (if it isn’t already) from the properties window by clicking:

 

Start>settings>network connections>whatever NIC>properties>enable

 

Now since NAT has been enabled on your router, (remember network address translation?) you can set each NIC for dynamic host control protocol (DHCP) to do this go here or alternately go to:

 

Start>settings>network connections>wireless network connection>properties> (highlight)TCP/IP>properties>obtain an IP address automatically.

 

Now click OK in that window and CLOSE in the next.

 

While still in the network connections window, highlight your wireless NIC. Network tasks on the left should now have quite a few options. Click view available wireless networks.

 

The next window to pop up will show all of the wireless networks available. If yours isn’t there you should log back into your router and broadcast the SSID and also enable your wireless access point.

 

Click your network. It should specify if any security has been applied like WEP, and WPA. In many cases you may be able to pick up more than just your network. In my case I have three to choose from.

 

When you click your network it will prompt for your pre-shared key if security has been enabled or warn you that no security has been applied before you connect. You should now be able to open a browser window and connect to the internet from that PC.

[Jeff S]

Security:

 

Pre-shared Keys (PSKs)

 

A pre-shared key does exactly what it says. When you are logged into you router, find where it mentions security. There should be multiple options. I use WPA-PSK. You would have to know me pretty well to guess my key. Once you enter your pre-shared key into the router, you will need to tell your wireless PCs what the key is as well.

 

To do this, go to each PC and click:

 

Start>settings>network connections>wireless NIC>properties>wireless networks

 

Under preferred networks highlight your network and then click properties. Network authentication and the encryption should reflect the same settings you have enabled on your router. If they are not identical on the router AND the PC you will get a limited connectivity message on the wireless. Now enter the same key you entered on the router.

 

Some models like mine ask for the key each time you connect but if you add the key in your preferred network it should automatically connect. Just don’t forget the key!

 

Locking access:

 

You can lock down the router, which will only allow the PCs that you specify to connect to your network.

 

Most routers have a list of connected devices. If you find this link in your router and tick the box next to the PC you want it to trust it should allow that device to connect.

 

To verify what the mac address is go to the Command prompt:

 

Start>run> then type command >enter

 

The output will tell you the mac-address of your NIC, and the current IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and a lot of other useful information. Write down the mac-address of each PC and make sure these are the ones that are connected to your router. You wouldn’t want your neighbors 16 year old to be using your network would you?

 

Another way to increase your security would be to change the IP address to something other than the factory default. If you do this you should use an IP in the private range. Public addresses are actual addresses that can be used on the internet. Your ISP will assign you one public address.

[Jeff S]

Troubleshooting:

 

You can have a connection to your router and not have a connection to the internet. Hopefully this can help isolate a problem. Remember something as simple as unplugging your router for a minute or so can remedy things.

 

Command prompt:

 

Start>run> then type command >enter

 

If you receive a warning that your IP address is already in use on the network go to the command prompt and type:

 

ipconfig /all (enter) –Note- Write this information down you might need it.

ipconfig /release (enter)

ipconfig /renew (enter)

 

 

The first command will give you your current default gateway, IP address, and subnet mask and a lot of other useful information.

 

The second and third commands are for DHCP only and will release your IP address and renew it for another. Make sure you write down the output specifically the IP address, the subnet mask and the default gateway before doing this.

 

If you can’t access the web:

 

If you wrote down what your IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway from ipconfig command you will need to reference this.

 

Make sure you get a reply from your loopback address. This is internal to your PC and the ping doesn’t actually go anywhere. It just verifies internally that your TCP/IP stack is working. Try to ping 127.0.0.1 from a command prompt. If you get a reply it works.

 

Ping 127.0.0.1

 

Try to ping your default gateway. Your default gateway will be the IP address of your router. Open a command prompt and then type:

Ping 192.168.0.1 (Yours may be different).

 

Try to ping www.google.co.uk

 

If, after you ping google, you get ‘destination host not found’ more than likely the connection to your ISP is down. A call might be in order.

 

If you are working on one PC in your network and want to ping another, you will need to get the IP address of that PC (ipconfig at command prompt) and ping this IP address from the other PC. It sometimes can be a pain to keep checking to see if you are getting a reply. An easy way to remedy this is to use minus T. An example of this is to continually ping your default gateway. To do this, open a command prompt and type:

 

Ping 192.168.0.1 –t

 

You will now continually ping your gateway until you tell it to stop. To get it to stop press control c. This will work with any address that you ping minus t. There are other tools that are really neat time savers to use. I can’t remember off the top of my head but I’ll have a look around to see what I can find.

 

I Love Wikipedia!

 

All the best,

Edited March 9, 2008 by Jeff S

[Jeff S]

Troubleshooting:

 

If, after you ping google, you get ‘destination host not found’ more than likely the connection to your ISP is down. A call might be in order.

 

Update: I'm surprised no-one called me on this. Before you call your ISP- Try to disable the wireless NIC and re-enable it. Verify that the SSID and pre-shared key are correct (case-sensitive). Lastly, if you are unable to get to the web from only one of your PCs, try adding a DNS address in the TCP/IP properties window where you selected DHCP. You can get the DNS address by logging into your router.

 

and yes I have run into this issue recently..