Information Technology notes August 2007

Setting up your own home network is a great way to get the most out of your IT hardware and share resources such as the Internet access , printers, files and programs. Home networking has become easier to setup, maintain and more importantly hardware is cheaper to buy. To create your home network you will need a router, often supplied with many broadband packages. Companies such as  BT, Netgear, Belkin, Dlink etc… all can supply home routers.

Plugging you computer into a router using an Ethernet cable connects it to the network. Most home routers will allow up to four different computers. If you want to plug in more than four, you will have to purchase a switch.

A wired network has the advantage of  being very secure, quick and reliable but you do have the inconvenience of cables attached to your computers

Wireless Networking (Wi-Fi) is a popular way to setup a network without any cables . This  requires either a Wi-Fi access point which you plug into your router or a router which has a Wi-Fi access point built in, such as the BT home hub or various devices from Netgear, Belkin, D-link etc...

Unlike a wired network, Wi-Fi networks can be less secure, slower and open to interference from other radio frequency sources such as cordless phones or even microwave ovens!  Wi-Fi network has a limited range which means that you can’t move too far away from your access point or you will lose your connection.

Wi-Fi networks are available in four standards each type varies in speed and range, from the a network (specialised uses),  b network (11Mbs), g network (54Mbs) to the new n network (300Mbs).  The new n standard has not been finalised thus the hardware may not be compatible with future devices and are currently labeled pre-n.

Last month I talked about  keeping your computer secure. If you are using a network there are additional steps you should take to ensure that your data and privacy are not left vulnerable to attack.

The first point of entry to your network is through your router. Every router has the option to add a password before you can access the router setup. This will often be a standard password such as admin or password. Change this to a more appropriate word so it cannot be easily guessed.

Every wireless network will have a name or SSID which any connecting PC needs to know. The SSID appears whenever your PC has detected a nearby Wi-Fi network. Change this from the name supplied by the manufacturer. Don’t use your name or address this information will be public. If your router allows you to hide the SSID, you should do so, preventing anybody seeing your network name. This will make it more difficult for legitimate user to access you network.

Without encryption your Wi-Fi network is freely available to anybody within range. Wi-Fi routers allow you to encrypt the data on your network  making  it more difficult for unauthorised access. When a network is encrypted the user enters a password or phrase to get access to the network. There are various forms of encryption supported by most routers, although some are better and more secure. It is best to avoid using WEP encryption as this is the weakest type of protection. If your router supports WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK use one of these to set your encryption passphrase. NEVER leave your Wi-Fi network unencrypted even if sharing it with someone you know or think no one could be in range.  

Access control is the strongest method of network protection on most home routers. Every device which connects to your network will have a unique code known as the MAC address. Set your router to only allow approved MAC addresses on to the network. This will block any device, even if they know the SSID and encryption password.  Use this function carefully, you do not want to prevent access to your own network!