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Shnerdly
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2007 21:57 - Edited by: Shnerdly

This thread is to assist people who are new to Cable Modems, Routers and Internet Connection Sharing or would just like to expand their knowledge in those areas.

You should know that in a domestic setting, (at home) sharing your Internet Connection with people that live in your home is perfectly legal. It is not usually legal to share it with people outside your home. An example would be for you to willingly provide Internet access to a neighbor either by a wired or wireless connection. If you use a wireless router it is your legal responsibility to secure it in a way that does not allow unauthorized access. On wireless routers, I usually activate MAC Address Filtering and configure it to deny access to all except those addresses listed. For most private homes, this would be adequate security. You can enable WEP, WPA, WPA2 or WES but you should know that these will slow your speed on the internet because your transmissions have to be encrypted and decrypted.

To setup a small network with internet access in your home I recommend using a Router and doing the following: This Visiual Image may also help

1. The router by default should be setup to be a DHCP Server. This means it will provide the IP addresses to the computers. Pressing the reset button while it's on should restore the defaults.

2. The computers should be setup with Ethernet Controllers and they should be set to Dynamic IP Addressing. This means they will get their address from the Router.

3. Setup the network as needed with all of the equipment powered off:
The Cable coming into your home connects to the Cable Modem.
Connect a cat5 ethernet cable from the connection on the modem to the "WAN" or "Internet" connector on the Router.
Run the other necessary cables from the router to the various computers.

4. This is important! Start the Cable Modem first and allow it to boot before turning anything else on. This takes about a minute. The Cable Modem needs to be on and ready when you turn on the Router because the Router is going to request an address from the Modem.

5. Next turn on the router and allow it to boot. This takes about 30 seconds. The same principal applies. The Computers are going to individually request addresses from the Router. If the Router isn't finished booting, Windows will assign default addresses to the Computers that will almost certainly not be on the correct subnet so you won't be able to connect to anything.

6. Now turn on the Computers and they should get their addresses from the Router and they should be on the internet. If your Computers have shared Folders or Printers you should also be able to see them

All of that should have gone well. Now you should be able to access your router from any of the computers on the network by typing in the Routers address in your browser. http://192.168.1.1 would be the default address for a Linksys Router and many others. It should ask for a username and password. On a Linksys the username is left blank and the default password is "admin". Now probe around in there to locate and change the password. On a wireless unit, locate the wireless section and change the default channel and the SSID. If there are other similar routers in your neighborhood they can cause problems for each other if they are on the same channel.

On a Wireless Router, I recommend setting up MAC filtering. You will need the MAC address of each computer that you want to allow to connect. Before activating the MAC Filtering get your MAC address from the wireless computers after they have connected to the router by going to "Start" > "Run" then type "cmd" and hit enter. at the prompt in the black screen type "ipconfig /all" and hit enter. The wireless adapter should be identified and will have the MAC address listed as the Physical Address. The number will be in the following format 00:00:00:00:00:00 They need to be entered in the MAC address list and then check the spot to "Deny all except" and save the changes.

You should now be on the internet with basic security in place. You should also have a software Firewall and Anti-Virus on each computer. I don't recommend using the Windows XP built in Firewall. It provides almost no security compared to others like ZoneAlarm and BlackIce. I also recommend the use of Anti-Spyware software like AdAware or Spybot Search and Destroy. All four of these software packages can be downloaded from the MajorGeeks website.

If you're having intermittent connection problems with your wireless machines you should be aware of the following:

1. If you have a 2.4Ghz wireless phone in use in your home you need to make sure you keep the base station away from the wireless router and/or access point. The 802.11b and 802.11g both operate on the 2.4Ghz band as well and they WILL interfere with each other.

2. Also be aware that a microwave oven will jam the wireless signal to and from your router or access point.

If your still having wireless problems you may be having a conflict with another Router in your neighborhood or possibly with a neighbors 2.4ghz phone on the other side of a wall if you live in an apartment.

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