A question about wireless broadband and/or wi-fi

[Spiff]

Hello

First of all, here's what I know:

* I have a computer
* I have an ADSL interweb connection
* I got a laptop last night
* it has a network card thing
* I'd like to be able to connect to the internet with it

Now, is this just a matter of me buying a wireless modem, tossing the current one aside and installing the new one, and then connecting to the net? Or am I missing something?

I'm with Bigpond (don't ask) and because they're Nazis I'm guessing I'd have to buy a Telstra-approved modem. Should I then perhaps go to somewhere like Hardly Normal tomorrow and get one of their wireless kits, or do I want something else? I'm pretty clueless with this sorta thing, I'm afraid.

Thanks in advance,

Spiff

 

[Southy]

bigpond

 

[phlogiston]

Nah, you just buy a wireless router and bung it in between your current modem and your computer.

Easy peasy.

 

[Spiff]

Wireless router, hey? Hmmmmm.

Might get one tomorrow. The most expensive is always the best, right?

 

[phlogiston]

D-Link or NetGear. Stay away from Gigabyte. I've got a Gigabyte

 

[Spiff]

What about the D-Link DSL-G604T DK1? Yeah, I copied that from an ebay listing. It's one of them modem-router combo wotsits. Or should I just get the router, seeing as I already have the modem?

 

[phlogiston]

I'd just get a router, unless you know the modem is going to work with your bigpond. It'd be cheaper for a start.

I've got a router with a separate moden, but I'm on cable, not ADSL, so I can't really advise there.

 

[Lord Tim]

Yeah, I have a DLink 540T wireless G router and it works great. Also has standard LAN cable connections on there too so you can hook in 4 computers using cable as well as using it as a wireless.

Some tips:

While this router is fairly easy to set up using the wizard, shit can get strange sometimes.

I'd suggest disabling your laptop firewall while you get this all set up so you can rule that out of the equation if something goes wrong.

Use a LAN cable and plug that into the router when you set it up using your laptop. (You use your laptop to surf to an address which gets you into the router). If the wireless side of things fucks up or you can't get it working out of the box, the cable is the only way you'll be able to get into the config page on the router.

Getting the router talking to the internet is the easy bit. Getting the computer talking to the router properly can be a bitch. If you have WinXP SP2 (service pack 2 - you should have) then they've simplified a lot of the problems that were in the the initial release of XP.

You want to go to start -> settings -> control panel -> wireless network setup wizard. That'll get you started.

After you get everything talking and you're able to get onto the net, I'd strongly advise you to use some kind of encryption. That router comes with a few different kind of encryption protocols to use, and you need to set up one to match on your laptop. It's not as hard as it sounds here and it'll stop people from leaching your net connection or hacking into your machine if they happen to have a wireless laptop nearby (even next door.)

And don't forget to put your firewall back up after you're done.

Wireless is pretty good - we have 3 machines on wireless in here and another 2 with cable. It's not as fast as a LAN cable but it's pretty good and more than fast enough to give you the net at full speed.

 

[mattt]

Mr Knowledge to save the day!

 

[Spiff]

Thanks kids!

 

[Spiff]

Tee hee, I'm using the internet on my laptop! Got a $100 router at Harvey Norman (Belkin - if it's no good, don't tell me) and it was an easy-peasy install.

The bloke there made me buy a network adaptor for my desktop PC even though I thought I didn't need one - turns out I was right, so I spent $80 on something I didn't need. Yay.

 

[Southy]

take it back and headbutt him to get your cahs back....

 

[Spiff]

I've been in a headbutting mood of late, so I might just do that, Dan old pal.

 

[Hanso]

Download Porn

 

[Shannow]

I got lost after the bit that went "Hello"

 

[Spiff]

Shannow, "You had me at hello" is sooo much more romantic than that.

 

[phlogiston]

When you're comfortable with it, make sure you've got security enabled, otherwise your bastard neighbours will steal you internet. Arseholes.

 

[Spiff]

Seems secure enough. I think it's got firewalls and stuff enabled. What in particular should I check?

 

[phlogiston]

At least make sure you require a password to connect to it. You only need to type it in once, so it's not like it's going to nag you about it.

 

[Spiff]

Ah. Might look into it tomorrow then.