Wi-fi advice needed

Freebyman

Im totally lost when it comes to wi-fi, Ive resisted the urge to use it for many a year and now need to start using it for my PC and my smartphone in the house.

I have no idea how it all works, encryption etc, what to buy or what not to buy.

I currently have a connection running straight from my aerial (I have wireless broadband) to my PC via a ethernet cable. What do I need to buy so I can use wifi around the house and more importantly safely?

Sorry for the long post Im really lost on this

closed

aerial/wireless broadband means a wireless router? which one?

do you need to move the pc? If so, buy a usb wireless dongle.

if you haven't encrypted your wireless on the router, you should do it now, by logging into the router control panel webpage, going to wireless settings, select wpa2 or wpa, enter a password and save/apply - otherwise other people could connect to your network

to attach a smartphone/laptop/pc wirelessly, you would connect and enter the same password.

railbuff

If you are using the ethernet cable then you are not using a wireless connection, if you nhave a wireless router first you need to secure you connection and then check to see if your PC has a wireless network card and follow your ISPs instructions to make your connection your PC wirelessly to the router.

once this is done you can connect your smartphone using wifi to you PC

Freebyman

I get my internet from a company called https://www.surebroadband.net

Its a local isp, but the cable is routed from a dongley type of thing from on top of the house directly through the wall to the PC.

I dont need to move the PC at all, I dont have a wireless network card either.

To be honest I didnt understand much of your replies, which is more to do with me than you :rotfl:

closed

they sell preconfigured wireless routers for £40, or you could buy one yourself (cable/dsl type - check what they recommend)

the desktop could remain wired, (wireless routers usually have 4 ethernet ports as well as wireless functionality), so you don't need a wireless card at all.

The procedure to put a password on to encrypt the wireless signal is just a matter of going to a webpage eg http://192.168.1.1, choosing and entering a wirelss encryption password, saving it, then anyone who wants to access your router in future (including you) has to enter the password. The wired pc will just work without a password.

Willing2Learn

Freebyman wrote: »

To be honest I didnt understand much of your replies, which is more to do with me than you :rotfl:

Okay, a (hopefully unpatronising) explanation:

The dongley thing on your roof is what Sure Broadband call their CPE (customer premises equipment). The cable carrying the broadband signal from the CPE is wired to and powered by the adapter plugged into the mains socket in your home. At the moment you probably have the ethernet cable plugged into that adapter going straight into your pc. To enable wifi capability you would need to plug the ethernet into a wireless router which will then transmit the signal around your property (signal strength depends upon the type of router).

I take it you have a smartphone for wifi? When you say you want "use wifi around the house", is that with a laptop or regular PC as most laptops manufactured over the last few years have wifi? You could buy a wifi adapter which plugs into an available USB socket on your pc which will enable it to receive a wifi signal from whatever wifi router you choose.

If you do choose to buy a wifi router and adapter make sure they are matched as there are different types of signals. So if you buy an 'N' router then buy an 'N' adapter.

You also asked about security. A decent router will have a hardware firewall. The firewall will provide you with enhanced security that significantly improves upon the software firewall (hopefully) installed upon your system. It helps protect you against people infiltrating or hijacking your system via the internet or intercepting/logging passwords/customer numbers/credit card details when online shopping, banking or whatever else. So look out for routers with an internal hardware firewall.

And of course, like "closed" said you could keep the pc wired. Again, as stated by "closed", ensure you put a password to encrypt the signal. As suggested, contacting Sure Broadband to see what routers they recommend is a great idea. (I recommend Netgear routers btw!!)

Freebyman

Thanks for your replies, made it a lot clearer now. Will have a look at the netgear products.