How To Setup a Secure Wireless Network in Your Home Cary NC

1. Select a hardware vendor of your choice. This is probably one of the single most important steps as many vendors will "end of life" many of their products fairly early. For home based networking, Linksys does a great job of providing almost all of the features one might need in a wireless router/access point.
2. Conduct a wireless survey. Before setting up your wireless router/access point, survey the airwaves to find the best setting for your network. A lot of times neighbors' wireless devices (access points, phones, etc.) can slow your network to a crawl if channels overlap. Along with your laptop or desktop equipped with a wireless card, use a tool like Net Stumbler to survey the area. Pay specific attention to the channels that wireless networks/devices are accessing, if your neighbor is using channel 6 (most common), a safe bet is to choose channel 11.
3. Update the router/access point. One key feature that most networking devices have is their ability to upgrade with a readily available firmware download that is usually available through the manufacturer's website. The updates only take a few minutes and can alleviate many problems that you might run into with your device, especially when it comes to compatibility issues.
4. Define your network space. Many people telecommute these days and need to have access to their corporate network with a company provided laptop. Access to your network may be unobtainable if you skip this step. Ask your network administrator the network address you should utilize for your home network. If you do not connect to an office network, the default network space configured with your router will work and no changes will be necessary. ...

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Author: Michael Terebessy