Wifi Help Needed (broadband)

[rirhill]

Hello
I want Wanadoo broadband as it seems like a good deal but is it worth buying their wireless kit or getting my own? Can anyone tell me if the wireless routers can be used as a network too on my other computers? Also how do you use WIFI hotspots that I hear about in public places? Your advice would be welcomed.

Regards
Ian

 

[Flyer]

Hi Ian

Don't know about Wanadoo in particular, but generally I advise not purchasing the ISP's kit, *usually* because they are more expensive. Any broadband router will work with Wanadoo.

I have a Linksys WAG54G Wireless router and have installed several of these routers as they work so well - I installed another one on Monday, quick download of the latest firmware, 10 minutes setup, job done (well, more to it than that but that was down to their existing network ).

Some routers (like the Linksys) will have a four port hub built in, so you can plug in your existing computers and just use the wireless element for PCs/laptops that are not going to be used in the same space.

(I get my kit from BroadbandBuyer, currently showing the WAG54G at £78.90).

Cheers
Andrew

 

[rirhill]

Andrew
Thanks for the advice. Thats what I was thinking about buying from a different source. There are so many standards etc it looks very confusing. I just don t want to have to buy a load of new kit later so try and get all the kit to do things that I need from the outset.
Is the hub for setting up a network or just sharing the broadband?

Regards
Ian

 

[peterchurch]

Hi,
just to add to Andrews comments stick with Linksys I went with dlink and had nothing but trouble with hanging laptops, networks etc. I have now swapped over to linksys wireless cards but still have a dlink router & modem. The setup is now working great.

If you don't go with the ISP stuff then beware! Not all ADSL routers have the modem on board I got stung by this trick and I was not pleased. If you go for a router and it does not have a modem on board you will need to buy an Ethernet based modem.

If anyone has the Linksys All in One Box can you post the model number?

I would recommend buying your cards from PCworld as throughout all my problems they have consistently just taken my "broken" ones off me and given me new ones (they don't repair them so they give me new ones then sort the busted ones out with dlink) I have had about £300 worth of them at the last count (dodgy chip set in the B2 dlink card!!) the last one went at 10 months old so now all my cards in the house are running linksys with 10month + warranties :bannana:

As for hotspots...

You have to pay for access to the legal ones but depending on where you are you can sometimes find "open" networks that people either miss-configure or leave open to outside usage (coz they are nice people ) legal ones require that you have a common key to get on, meaning that everyone on that network can in theory see your data . (not strictly true but can be done)

If you live in a built up area you should apply the following precautions with whatever wifi product you end up with...

1) Stop the wifi router broadcasting the SID (site ID) outside the network.
2) Apply Mac filtering so that only machines with Mac Addresses that you recognise can gain access to a DHCP address
3) Make sure that you use the highest available WEP or WPA encryption that the router has. In addition use HEX keys instead of alphanumeric.

128 bit WEP can be broken. But on a normal house network I doubt anyone would take the time to try. If you are in a business environment I would not use it!

Hope this helps.

Any questions just ask

Regards,
Peter

 

[Flyer]

Is the hub for setting up a network or just sharing the broadband?

Ian (and Peter ), the WAG54G router is an all-in-one box - 4-port hub, ADSL modem, 802.11g & 802.11b wireless access point. Nothing else is needed except for wireless cards/PCI adapters for those PCs/laptops that you want wireless access for. For compatability's sake, I would go for Linksys ones (as on the BroadbandBuyer site).

There are obviously other manufacturers/models but this is one that I know and recommend. Somebody is bound to post that they have had problems with Linksys kit and recommend another

Cheers
Andrew

 

[uumode]

Hi Ian

Don't know about Wanadoo in particular, but generally I advise not purchasing the ISP's kit, *usually* because they are more expensive. Any broadband router will work with Wanadoo.

Cheers
Andrew

also *usually* harder or longer to replace / repair if something goes wrong.

 

[sym]

Anybody experienced any problems with WEP enabled ? Such as slow response / connections dropping / VPN tunneling connections dropping ? I'm using the WAG54G as described by Andrew above.

S.

 

[mapleleaf]

I used a Vigor 2600 wireless router/hub with a D link laptop wireless card on 802.11b I had loads of probs with dropping connections & hanging laptop . so I bought a 802.11g 54mbs D link card & its cured the problem. I also bought a compatable 802.11g D link Wireless Access Point & a D link Hub to separate the hub & Wireless part away from the router - but cant get the D link AP to recognise the wireless network - its back at the local dealer to test if its broken or if I just didnt configure it properley. not tried linksys though.

 

[craigyb]

I use buffalo for everything, buffalo 54Mb products seem to be excellent. I have PCMCIA cards, USB2 adaptors, PCI cards and external aerials. All work flawlessly with their AP.

Also they have just realesed a 54MB bridge for those ethernet devices in hard to reach places.

Time for a xbox in the bedroom?

 

[rirhill]

Thanks again for your help and comments.
Peter, Andrew
Please could you give me advice for the cards for laptop and desktops. Should I go for Linksys cardbus adaptor or the USB adaptor? And what for desktops a Slot card or USB adaptor?


Regards
Ian

 

[Flyer]

Laptop: Cardbus - slot it in, install drivers, job done.

Desktop: PCI Adapter - as above . If you are comfortable taking the cover off your PC, this would be my preferred option. Installing cards such as these is very easy and should take no more than two minutes.

The benefit of these two options is that once they are installed, you don't need to worry about them - fit and forget! A USB device is super; but you have another box to move with the laptop or taking up a USB port on your desktop. The USB option is the quicker option to setup but will, IMHO, cause you more problems in the long run.

Having said that about the desktop, if your desktop is within easy cable reach of the router, the best option is to connect with a cable. I have four PCs here and they are all cabled; it's only the laptop that uses the wireless connection.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Flyer]

Anybody experienced any problems with WEP enabled ? Such as slow response / connections dropping / VPN tunneling connections dropping ? I'm using the WAG54G as described by Andrew above.

The only problem I encounter is when the laptop has booted, it takes 30 seconds or so before internet connections can reliably be made. Access from cabled PCs are fine, so it could be related to the wireless aspect. Or it might not be

No slow response, no connections dropped, don't have VPN.

Using 64bit WEP, channel 11, SSID broadcast disabled. Dell Inspiron (Intel Centrino).

Cheers
Andrew

 

[sym]

The only problem I encounter is when the laptop has booted, it takes 30 seconds or so before internet connections can reliably be made. Access from cabled PCs are fine, so it could be related to the wireless aspect. Or it might not be

No slow response, no connections dropped, don't have VPN.

Using 64bit WEP, channel 11, SSID broadcast disabled. Dell Inspiron (Intel Centrino).

Cheers
Andrew

Should have specified - the slowness is only on my wireless Laptops. No problems with the cabled machine. And no problems at all when WEP is turned off. I'm using 128bit, SSID broadcast NOT disabled (as heard that that can slow things down even more !). Maybe I'll try 64bit and see if that makes any difference !

S.

 

[Flyer]

SSID broadcast NOT disabled (as heard that that can slow things down even more !)

Really?! <scotty>Doesn't compute Captain!</scotty> How's that then? (Not that I'm going to change my setup, but just interested how that could be).

Maybe I'll try 64bit and see if that makes any difference !

I think it must. There's a lot of encryption/decryption going on there at 128 bit. My thinking is that 64bit is pretty damn complicated and find it difficult to accept that someone is going to be that interested in my stuff that they are going to try and crack it.

Who do you work for again? MI5?

 

[sym]

Really?! <scotty>Doesn't compute Captain!</scotty> How's that then? (Not that I'm going to change my setup, but just interested how that could be).

No - you are quite right - it doesn't compute at all .... just something I'd heard !

I think it must. There's a lot of encryption/decryption going on there at 128 bit. My thinking is that 64bit is pretty damn complicated and find it difficult to accept that someone is going to be that interested in my stuff that they are going to try and crack it.

Who do you work for again? MI5?

I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you

S.

 

[Flyer]

I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you

S.

That answers that then

 

[NormanB]

Changing the SSID will not incur a speed penalty.
Invoking WEP will and the more bits the bigger the speed penalty.
Additional (but not foolproof) security can be gained by using MAC control - so only cards with your listed MACs can access the network.
So maybe drop the WEP to 64 and invoke MAC to satisfy the paranoia.
Of course all this stops a stumbler accidently accessing your network, but the determined will burrow through! ;-) I would consider this a low risk in most circumstances - this can be ameliorated even further by reducing shared drives and strapping down sensitive data (not sharing) and securing the files by password and/or encryption.

 

[uumode]

If you are going for a new system WEP is pants, you can crack it with a pringles can

with WEP although the encryption is secure, I believe the password is broadcast in plain text, so it's easy to grab the key and decrypt communications

SO WPA is the way forward.

 

[fuzzer]

I noticed the connection on my linksys WirelessB router dropping out too.

Ive just sent it back as faulty ( something diferent) and have asked for it to be replaced with a 3 com office connect router with 256 bit encription

Heres hoping

 

[sym]

Norm ....

Good advice there. I've had the MAC address thing set up for a while - this doesn't seem to affect speed at all .... just have to make sure you Permit all MAC addresses that you tell it, not choose the 'deny' option !!

Mysteriously, the 128bit encryption has been fine all afternoon since I posted that question ... so leaving it alone for now!

@fuzzer ... you need more than 256bit encryption given the people you work for, surely!

S.