need help with wifi...

[Arts_1_8t]

any techs out there that know alot about wifi? whats a good wireless router? currently have a netgear router for the DSL line.

my parents are thinking of going wifi, they don't want any cat-5's running on the floor of the house. mind you this, they are not good with computers and such. what are the good sides and the bad sides of going wireless. me, im a gamer and i download alot of stuff. i don't wanna go wireless, i'd rather stay hardwired. but for the rest of the house hold they wanna go wireless.

i've heard people leaching bandwidth, and taking IP's, and other stuff. but besides that, are they hard to maintain? like if there's a black out, is it tuff to get back online or reset the router? need pros and cons of going wifi.

tia,
Art

[bugzy]

WiFi is very easy. It as just as simple as hardwired networks. All you gotta do is give a network ad SSID (ID) like "artsnetwork" and if you have the router set to broadcast the SSID, then anyone with a wireless card can find it. Aka leech.

If you want security and dont want people to use, then' youll have to manually add either MAC addresses to allow, or setup a WAP connection which uses a preset key.

[Arts_1_8t]

thanks lon...what kind of wifi router i should get?

[bugzy]

I like the Dlink or Linksys ones.

[Arts_1_8t]

thanks lon!!!

[bugzy]

But on a side note, i personally like the Dlink wireless tool for the client more than the linksys utility.

On the router side, i think the linksys is easier to configure.

[FunkTron]

i have used netgear as well for wireless router side....not too bad in my opinion.
i run a Belkin setup...its decent...i got it on a steal of a deal...but I'd run something else now.

[Arts_1_8t]

thanks all!!!

i might go netgear if its cheap. we'll see soon. thanks again!!!

Art

[bugzy]

btw, if you want to go cheap, the wireless B setup's are hella cheap .. i think ive seen em for like $50 for a wireless/router/firewall

or if you want the G router (faster transfer speeds than B) for like $120 something

Personally for most people, the B router is plenty fast. Its transfer is more than your cable/DSL can transfer anyways.

[SYNYSTAGLI]

Where do you live art, I wanna see if I can leech with my new Folgers can setup :P

[FunkTron]

yeah Art...where are ya?

i used a pringles can tho. how does the folgers rate over my pringles?? :p

[audiracer2002]

i would recommend the dlink stuff. i had some problems with the linksys stuff that i bought first, but have been running dlink now for a few years with no problems!

[Arts_1_8t]

make sure you have the right piece of string...LOL!!!

dlink...will look into that. thanks rob!!! and thanks guys!!!

[madajb]

Whatever you do, turn on WEP, it's better than nothing.
-ajb

[Arts_1_8t]

Wep???

[sopolev]

Wep???
He means 'figure out the encryption'.

It's lame, but keeps the skriptkidz out.

[creanium]

If you can, get a router that has WPA ... it's a bit more secure than WEP.

[Arts_1_8t]

got a NETGEAR 108G wifi router (wifi and a 4port), 1 pci 54 G card, and 1 pcimia 108G card(for my sisters laptop) totaling about $177 at the store. with rebates about $100-$120 for everything. i hate mail-in rebates. now i gotta fill out all these forms and make xerox copies of everything and upc codes from each item...shouldn't be that bad...LOL!!! i guess im lazy.

still figuring out how to use WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and/or WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key) but im not broadcasting my SSID and the only way to gain access is if i add you to my router.

thanks guys for all your help!!!

Art