Wireless Laptop: Connection, Security, Buy Tips
Laptop adapter cards become more important for mobile workers when it comes to taking advantage of Wi-Fi Internet access.
Wireless networking offers many great advantages. The biggest advantage is portability. You can take your wireless laptop from your living room to your kitchen to your bedroom and still have access to all of your files and internet. This is great for using recipies from the internet right down to doing a little work in front of the TV.
Another advantage of going wireless is that you do not have to hide lots of wires going between your machines and router. This makes everything look tidier and more clutter free whilst also removing potential trip hazards from lots of loose cabling.
How To Make A Wireless Connection?
To configure a wireless connection on your laptop, you need to click the Start menu and select Control Panel. But before that you should set a gateway in the PC.
In the Control Panel, you shall find the icon called Network Connections. Double click on the same. A wizard appears. Follow all the steps in the wizard till the last page with Finish button appears. Click the button. Follow the similar steps for rest of the laptops to be connected to the network.
Safe Way To Use A Wireless Laptop
Security is not a problem as such for wireless as long as you properly secure your network. The simplest form of protection is to use something called a WEP key. A WEP key is used on both the computer and wireless router and acts as a code between the two machines to keep data encrypted. If someone does not have the key they should not be able to access your network. There are further options available depending on your chosen wireless router to increase the level of security.
By not securing your wireless network you are essentially leaving the front door of your network and internet connection open to anyone who wishes to connect using their own wireless equipped computers.
One of the first things you'll want to do is increase the security of your network. There are a number of things you can, and should, do to accomplish this goal.
- Make Your Wireless Network "Invisible"
- Rename Your Wireless Network.Encrypt Your Network Traffic.
- Change Your Administrator Password.
- Use File Sharing with Caution.
- Keep Your Access Point Software Up to Date.
Befor you Buy Wireless Laptop Adapter!
IEEE 802.11 Standard
IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards for wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication, developed by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802) in the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz public spectrum bands.
- IEEE 802.11 a standard uses the same data link layer protocol and frame format as the original standard, but an OFDM based air interface (physical layer). It operates in the 5 GHz band with a maximum net data rate of 54 Mbit/s, plus error correction code, which yields realistic net achievable throughput in the mid-20 Mbit/s.
- IEEE 802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and uses the same media access method defined in the original standard. 802.11b products appeared on the market in early 2000, since 802.11b is a direct extension of the modulation technique defined in the original standard. The dramatic increase in throughput of 802.11b (compared to the original standard) along with simultaneous substantial price reductions led to the rapid acceptance of 802.11b as the definitive wireless LAN technology.
- IEEE 802.11g. This works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b), but uses the same OFDM based transmission scheme as 802.11a. It operates at a maximum physical layer bit rate of 54 Mbit/s exclusive of forward error correction codes, or about 19 Mbit/s average throughout. 802.11g hardware is fully backwards compatible with 802.11b hardware and therfore is encumbered with legacy issues that reduce thruput when compared to 802.11a by ~21%.
- IEEE 802.11n is a proposed amendment which improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and many other newer features. The TGn workgroup is not expected to finalize the amendment until December 2009. Enterprises, however, have already begun migrating to 802.11n networks based on Draft 2 of the 802.11n proposal. A common strategy for most companies is to utilize 802.11n to support existing 802.11b and 802.11g client devices and then migrate client devices to 802.11n as they become available.
