Home Networking

Introduction - Wireless Networks - Sharing High Speed Internet
Security Concerns - Related Links

Introduction to Networking

The number of homes and businesses that have more than one computer is increasing rapidly. While some plan purchases of more than one computer to begin with, in most cases it is an upgrade to a newer computer and the desire to connect the two together.

Networking is Connecting Computers Together

In simple terms, networking is connecting one or more computers together to share files, high-speed Internet access or resources like printers and scanners.

The simplest network is merely connecting two computers together. There are a number of kits available that use USB or other devices and included the software or instructions to make it work. Usually such simple networks are intended only for transferring files between computers and are relatively temporary.

However, the advantages of sharing your high-speed Internet connection between several computers and the dropping prices of routers makes a standard network more affordable and practical.

Hubs, Routers and Bridges

Earlier networks used hubs that simply allowed you to connect several computers together to share resources without having collisions between the requests for resources. Hubs didn't provide any protection from outside computers viewing your network.

Routers provide a built-in hardware firewall and allowed for more sophisticated connections, particularly when combined with a good software firewall on the connected computers.

More recent networking equipment is easier to setup and maintain than the earlier counterparts. Home users don't have access to the technical staff typically found in larger companies, so setup wizards are included that make setup possible without outside assistance.

Wired or Wireless?

Most current networks use either Cat 5 Ethernet cables (with ends that look like oversize telephone plugs) or are wireless (capable of connecting using the same cables wherever cabling is necessary).

Wireless networks connect by using radio signals that carries the information between the various devices on the network.

Configure Routers Only When Wired In

It is important that you never try to configure a router using a wireless device in order to avoid losing the signal when the router reboots during setup. Instead, connect to the router directly with an Ethernet cable until the setup and configuration is completed. Once complete, you can return to a wireless connection if you wish.

Wired Network More Secure

Wired networks are more secure because they don't transmit information except to connected devices. However, the convenience of wireless makes it more practical for most home users.

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Wireless Networks

Wireless is an excellent option since the pricing has dropped drastically and it avoids having to run cables throughout your house and gives you freedom to move around if you have a laptop.

In addition to computers, printers and other specially-designated devices are now capable of connecting with wireless technology. You can also add this capability to some devices with third-party hardware.

802.11a/B/G/N Standards

You'll see a number designations for various wireless components.

These wireless standards all share the "802.11" part at the front, but have a different letter at the end is the most important, designating the standard. It is most common to just refer to the last letter when speaking about the devices.

802.11a

802.11a is primarily used in large commercial installations. You are unlikely to find wireless a used in home or small office installations.

802.11b and 802.11g

Most home and small office wireless networks currently use the 802.11g standard which is faster with a throughput of 54 Mbps compared to the older 802.11b's 11 Mbps. Both are slower than the 100Mbps throughput that wired Ethernet networks are capable of handling.

802.11n

The newer 802.11n routers are 4–8 times faster and can penetrate areas in your home or office that previous version couldn't, but you'll pay more for this technology and 802.11n is still in draft. The WiFi Alliance® FAQ indicates that it is not known if draft products can be upgraded to the final standard. Therefore, I'd recommend buying all these devices from the same manufacturer to avoid issues if you're an early adopter (I have an 802.11n router).

Wireless Setup

Setting up a wireless network is relatively easy with Windows XP or Vista. You can share Internet access or share files or folders between both wired and wireless devices. This diagram of wired and wireless devices sharing a common Internet access point gives you an idea of the possibilities.

There is also a diagram on the WiFi Alliance® site, "Simple Wireless Network for Home and Small Office" (PDF–56KB), that shows the components of a wireless network illustrating potential advantages.

Wireless Security

It is very important that you secure your wireless network if you are sharing files between computers, particularly if you do not want them accessed by others. It is relatively easy using the tools provided by the manufacturers of wireless equipment.

Since no encryption is totally secure, use a wired network if you are concerned about confidential information or don't connect computers to the wireless network that contain this type of information.

WEP

Using WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol) is relatively secure for most home networks, but, as it sends a portion of the WEP key each with each transmission, it is less secure than more recent encryption methods. You use a key of pairs of the digits 0-9 and letters A-F. The more numbers you use, the harder it is to break, and is therefore more secure. Use 128-bit encryption where possible.

WPA & WPA2

WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access™) is designed to be more secure than WEP, but some older systems cannot connect with this protocol. The designation WPA-PSK indicates a pre-shared key, sometimes referred to as personal mode, and is used for home and small office networks.

Check out the Wi-Fi Alliance® to learn more about WPA2 standards.

More About Wireless

Check out the Wi-Fi in Your Life to learn more about this topic including how to set up a home network.

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Sharing High Speed Internet

Perhaps the most attractive reason to connect computers together is to share Internet access. Dial-up access generally didn't create this need for most users since modems are relatively cheap and can be easily connected to any telephone line.

High-speed Demands Sharing

High speed access changed this because users often had only one dedicated modem provided by the supplier (usually Shaw or Telus) and the location was often fixed at installation.

Telus High Speed ADSL provides connections for up to two computers (if you have two modems, depending upon your contract with Telus) determined by the MAC address of the network card. You can move the ADSL modem to any phone line that is connected to the phone number registered with Telus.
Shaw provides only one IP address and one modem. You can move the modem to any Shaw cable connection.

Connection Sharing

If simple connection sharing is your need, purchase a router and connect the various devices:

First, make sure the high-speed connection is working on one of the computers. This is an important step, since you don't want to complicate things by tackling the rest of the network before determining that your connection is active.
Make a note of the items that your router installation guide suggests you record. You will need this later to configure the router.
Next, remove the network cable from the back of the computer and plug it into the WAN port on the back of the router.
Then connect a network cable from one of the numbered ports to the back of the computer. Other computers can connect to the other numbered ports via network cables, but don't do that until everything is working on the primary computer. Do not use the uplink port, except to connect a hub to expand the number of computers you can connect to your router (and then only with a cross-linked cable).
Now follow the instructions to set your router up. This is where you will need the settings you recorded earlier.
Once everything is working OK on the main computer, you can add the other computers to the network. Be sure to check their connectivity.
If you have a wireless router, you will need to configure each computer with the wireless receiver according to the instructions you get with the unit.

This is a very brief overview of the connection process. You will need to follow the instructions carefully that came with your router.

You can find a much more detailed explanation of How Home Networking Works on Howstuffworks and on other sites on the Internet.

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Security Concerns

If you are setting up a network, particularly one that shares access to a high-speed Internet services, you need to read Preventing Unauthorized Access. An unprotected computer is estimated to have only 16 minutes of access time (or less) before it is compromised by viruses, spyware and other harmful infiltrations—less time than it takes to get a fresh Windows XP installation to the point where you can install protection.

"Always On" Increases Risk

Connecting more than one computer together, particularly if they are then connected to the Internet through a high-speed connection, poses more of a security risk than a stand-alone computer with a dialup connection (or no Internet access). You are now connected whenever the computer is on yet the connection can be fast enough to let an outside user use the connection unnoticed unless you check for their presence.

Always-on connections present a stable attack target are therefore more vulnerable.
You might not notice the loss of some of your bandwidth to nefarious uses since increased speed means they are tapping a relatively smaller portion of your bandwidth.
Music- or file-sharing programs often create their income from installing spyware or using your bandwidth for their own purposes. Most are up front about this—if you bother to read their license agreements carefully (and most people don't).
Wireless sharing doesn't end at the walls of your house or office. Be sure to enable encryption.

Here are some of the basic security measures you can take to help reduce these risks:

Purchase and use anti-virus software.
- Regularly download and install the updates.
- Upgrade when your vendor no longer offers updates.
Purchase and use a firewall. A router is also a hardware firewall, but I'd recommend adding a software firewall.
- Be aware of weaknesses.
- Test your firewall regularly.
Check for spyware on your system.
Know how to use passwords and encryption correctly.

There is always a compromise between ease of use and the degree of security that is achieved. You must make this decision based upon the best information available to you.

Windows XP Security Options

Windows XP has the ability for several levels of access control so you can allow limited access to your children and prevent them from installing or using certain programs that might be unsafe. Setting this up is relatively simple for most users to accomplish.

The main user of the system is called the administrator. If there is only one user they are usually the administrator by default.

One XP user can log off with all their programs still running to allow another to log on if they need to quickly check their e-mail or to print a document. As long as you don't shut down Windows XP (or have a power failure) the documents are safe. You should probably save everything prior to logging off just to be safe.

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