Saturday, April 24
THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF BEFORE GOING WIRELESS
So you bought a new wireless router. Awesome it is, because a wireless router breaks the limitations of a wired internet connection, and opens up a new horizon of portable internet. But getting a wireless connection can be a pain if you don’t do the things that are meant to be done in a wireless network connection. So here’s a list of things that need to be taken care of before going wireless..
The standard.
In the market, generally 2 types of routers are found. The 802.11g and the 802.11n. The 802.11n is the latest trend in wireless networks these days. The n is better than the g in various factors like reach, data transfer rate. So yea, the n is no doubt better. According to Wikipedia, the reach of the router using 802.11g standard is typically 32m indoors and 90m outdoors, while the router using 802.11n can be double the reach of 802.11g. And for the icing on the cake, 802.11g provides only upto 54Mbps of data rate while a 802.11n provides upto 600Mbps of data transfer! Yes, so what are we waiting for? Let’s go and buy a 802.11n router. Well, not that soon Charlie. First check your laptop’s specifications, because the network card in your laptop may not support the 802.11n standard.
The security.
WLANs may be mobile and may reduce the huge load of wires, but it can be a huge risk to your data if not configured properly. I’ve seen many people who haven’t even secured their networks, for I’ve found many unsecured networks over my area. If other people get into your unsecured network, they can use your internet connection for free as well as access your private data. So don’t be a fool, grab a network passkey asap.
WPA, not the WEP.
I’ve seen a lot of people use the WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption. But I don’t think you know that WEP can be EASILY breakable. The WEP uses a 3 byte vector to encrypt the data packets, which has proven to be easily breakable even though you configure it to the fullest.
So, I would suggest you to go for the WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access ). This encryption is widely used now-a-days and there are no known issues of breaking it up(until you have a strong pre-shared network key).
Last but not the least
The brand : There are a lot of well known brands that have a Wi-Fi certification (most routers which don’t have a Wi-Fi name work good as well ). But a good brand of a router with good warranty may bring some assurance.
The wireless n : Well I might not be wrong to say that the wireless g will be totally outdated soon. So a wireless n router would be a good investment.
So all in all, the wireless n router would be a good buy. But always remember, don't use WEP if you want to use your connection fully.
Laters
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