November 3, 2003
If you find that you can't venture as far away from the router as
you'd like with one of your networked notebooks, experiment with
the router's placement. Indoor range should be about 300 ft., but
will be significantly reduced by walls, hallways and other
barriers. If you are getting interference from a baby monitor or
microwave, try changing the channel (a minor tweak in your
router's basic settings). If your cordless phone is a problem,
get one that automatically looks for a clear channel or, better
yet, one that uses the 5.8-GHz band.
STEP 3: MAKE IT SECURE
To prevent unwanted visitors, you need to enable the WEP security
feature on your router. It's a flawed technology, but enable it
anyway. You'll be asked to make up a pass phrase and generate a
WEP key, a string of letters and numbers you will need to type
into each machine on your network (after clicking on the
networking icon and going to Network Properties). Friends who
come over with their laptops will need that WEP key too, so write
the key down and tape it to the back of your router.
STEP 4: CALL FOR HELP
These days, self-starters have fewer opportunities to screw up,
thanks to better setup wizards and wi-fi--ready computers. But
home networking is still a tricky business. Tech-support people
can sometimes unravel a problem over the phone, but if they
can't, consider calling in a pro. Dell and Gateway make house
calls for fees starting at $160. You can also search the database
at fhome.com to find a network installer near you. Most charge by
the hour.
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