Speed up your Computer

15 Tips To Speed Up Your Computer

Finding ways to speed up your computer is the most important thing you could do as a computer user. This might save your computer from being thrown out the window, or even smashed up with a hammer. This is how far people get pushed when computers don't do what they computers don't do what they want them to do. It is one of those annoying little things that you have to do all the time, maintenance jobs, just to speed up your computer.

When you have a slow computer and you are trying to work on it, you can easily get frustrated to the point of doing something drastic! Hey but clam down ! I have to tell you something truthfully. It's your fault that your computer is slow because you do not perform computer maintenance on it. It is your responsibility to speed up your computer and make it run an its optimal performance. Don't go blaming the computer because it is slow, follow these steps below and fix your problem now!

15 tips on how to speed up your computer

Delete unwanted files

When I says to delete unwanted files, I do not mean you should go around your computer and delete any file you do not want. In this case, I'm talking about the files that you have created yourself, and are totally aware of what  they are. For example if you created a Microsoft word document and you no longer need it, and never will, then I suggest you delete that file. This is the kind of junk that clogs up your computer. You have a ask yourself, " Do you really need it?"

Files that you have created such as documents and image files can be safely deleted by going to the file on your computer, right clicking on its, and choosing delete from the menu. Keeping your computer or organized and junk free, is a great way to speed up your computer.

please see

Delete hidden junk files


Hidden or temporary files are created without the user knowing. All you have to do is open files, browser the Internet, Install programs, and more files are created in the background. There is so much happening in the background that most people are unaware of and do not know that this area exists. This is something you are going to have to learn about if you want to speed up your computer.


Remove Unwanted Programs


Are you one of those people that constantly download programs and install them on to your computer? Every software program you have on your computer is taking up space. It is not only taking up space, but it might also be checking for updates and connecting to the Internet. It also might be starting up when your computer starts up. There are so many good reasons why you should remove unwanted programs.


After you have removed the software program that you did not want, make sure you restart your computer the process.


Defrag to speed up your computer

Check & Fix system errors; Speed Up your PC by 300% times!

When you install programs and save files on your computer, the files are automatically saved to the closest available space on your hard drive. This means that files for your programs are fragmented if your hard disk drive is not organized correctly. This is why we need to de-frag our computer to place the files back together and to place the most frequently used files at the front for  easy access.

You should defrag your computer at least once a week if you use your computer often. If you do not use your computer that often then you can defrag less often.

If you are using the Windows disk defragmenter which is located at start menu>>Accessories>>System tools>>disk  defragmenter, you can choose to "analyze" first before you choose defrag. This feature will tell you if you need to perform this task or not.

Disk Clean Up

Disk CleanUp comes free with Windows and will get rid of the rest of the junk files that you have missed. Go to Start menu>>Accessories>>System tools>>Disk Cleanup. 

Always pay for a virus program!


By all means, you can waste your time trying to find the best free anti-virus program,but do you really want to risk it.


Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with a free anti-virus program. In fact I will recommend Avast as my number one freebie. However, even though this provided to be secure, it is safer to have the extra security features that come with the paid versions. Now days most new antivirus also come with a firewall that if they do not, Windows provides a perfectly good firewall for free.


Over the past 25 years I have tested at least 10 paid virus programs and have ended up with Avast running on my computer. It does not annoy me, it is not asked be stupid questions that I cannot asnwer, and is not make me deal with difficult settings. I like a peogram that just does its job.


Avoid multitasking with large programs


If you're anything like me, you will have 20 windows open at the same time, with your Internet browser having at least 15 tabs opened as well. Yes I know it is crazy and I/m trying to reform. I have a lot of experience in multitasking and have realized that some programs cannot be open at the same time as others. For example you should not be running a large program like Photoshop or Pinnacle video studio, while running a virus scan at the same time.

How to share Internet Connection

How to Share internet Connection at home is a FAQ for some- people who subscribe the cable /DSL Internet services from the ISP. DSL/ Cable internet connection is widely used today and the users are growing more and more the fact that DSL / Cable internet connection is much faster compared to the old Dial-up internet connection.

Dial-up internet connections have become a thing of the past. In the present world where technologies are being developed at an amazing pace, each website is a storehouse of rich multimedia content.

Internet access via a dial-up can be a harrowing experience. This is because such website will take a lot of time to load at the browser side, leaving the user agitated. Thankfully, this is not the case with broadband. This allows us share internet connection with some commuters at the household.

How to share internet connection 

Sharing broadband internet connection at home is simple, even for people with lack of networking experience. The first requirement to Share internet connection is DSL / Cable Internet subscription from your ISP (Internet service provider). There are many options you can deploy for your home network depends on the router / gateway appliances you can purchase at the marketplace.

Modem only

If you only have a DSL/ Cable modem with one USB port and one Ethernet port only, to share internet connection with several computers you can purchase a Switch LAN with 8 or 12 RJ-45 ports.

Pros:

• Simple network, one modem and one Switch LAN
• Less knowledge about network configuration experience

Cons

• This configuration is not practical since you have to configure the TCP/IP protocol property each of the computers with static IP address unless you deploy a DHCP services on your network. A pure modem does not have a DHCP service feature.
• Your network is vulnerable to the internet threats, no protection at the gateway such as firewall.

A router integrated with modem

Technology provides you many options and advanced features you can buy to deploy internet connectivity to share internet connection with multiple computers at home or at the office. Mostly all the networking manufactures introducing Router-modem - an integrated router with ADSL or Cable modem, for example D-Link introduces WBR2310 RangeBooster G DSL - Cable Router which consists of modem, router / firewall, switch, and wireless access point function. Or you can consider DGND3300 Wireless DSL modem / Router. DGND3300 is a dual-band RangeMax Wireless-N modem / router which deliver better connections with less interference.

Pros

• A single compact device to purchase with multi-functions provides you all the requirements to build a simple network at home.
• The device includes all the  services the network needs such as DHCP services, secure wireless connection, and firewall protection (NAT & SPI) and so on.

Cons

• A single point failure
• Less advanced features compared to Wireless routers separated from the modem

A modem with separate wireless router

This is a third option to share internet connection at home, a combination of DSL / Cable modem and the wireless router. The manufactures introduce wide variety of wireless router products you can select at the marketplace today. If you have already had a DSL or  Cable modem at home,you can purchase a wireless router with 802.11g standard or the future wireless technology draft 802.11n standard.

If you are building a network from scratch to share internet connection, it is strongly recommended to consider the benefits of draft 802.11n. It allows existing 802.11 wireless G and B users to continue to use the network, while providing a significant speed boost for 802.11n users.

Pros

• More secure network with advanced security features and services such as dual-firewall features, DHCP server, VPN-tunneling pass-through, secure wireless connection with the strongest encryption.
• Separate device between modem and wireless router, preventing a  single point of failure

Cons

• Purchasing separate modem and router is costly more money
• Need a better networking knowledge

See Also :

• How to build a Wireless Home Network
• Wireless Troubleshooting
• 802.11 WLAN
• Introducing a Network File Sharing 

The Best Wireless Router For Home

Building a wireless network in homes today becomes a common task by mostly home users that use broadband internet. This is a reasonable internet. This is a reasonable task to share a single broadband internet connection within the household. Moreover, affordable wireless routers and other wireless devices are hugely avilable in the market you can choose for your best wireless router for home.


Now which wireless router is the best for your home? This is a frequently ask question for home users seeking for the wireless router to provide the best performance for specific task. Seeking for the best wireless router is the moving target since wireless manufacturers always ship new router introductions to the marker each year or so with better features, faster, longer distance coverage and more stylist and the prices are so-so. Therefore , the best wireless router for home is the wireless router that meets your needs.


As general, there are three main categories of best wireless router for home usages that relate to the main function of the network you would like to build:

1. Router for work
2. Router for work and play
3. And high performance environment 

The best wireless router for home is the router that provides the best value to meet your business needs based on one of the above categories. The categories are based on the performance of the prices for each of the categories that related to the prices of the router for specific tasks. You should purchase the router that provides the best value to your business. You may not purchase a high performance wireless router which is much more expensive than standard wireless which is much more expensive than standard wireless router if you just want to use it for sharing the internet. It just wastes your money.


Pros:

1. Affordable standards router for home with solid connection
2. Best seller in Amazon, averagely 4.6 out of 5 stars customer ratings for ease of installation; value for money;attractiveness and technical supports.

Cons:

1. Single band 2.4GHz - maximum speed 150Mbps
2. Doesn't support Gigabit ports
3. Doesn't support USB for shared storage or shared printer

Click here for Top 5 wireless Router.


Router for work only


The best wireless router for home which is mainly to support for work in home such as sharing the internet connection, share documents and other networking tasks you just need an affordable standard wireless N150 router such as Medialink N150 wireless router which is currently #1 Amazon best seller. Mostly users provide averagely five star rating for solid connection, easy to install, value for money and technical support.


If you think the router with popular brand name, you may consider Linksys E1200 N300 wireless router which is one of the new Linksys E series that is shipped together to the market with Linksys E3200 N600 router.




Linksys E2500 Pros:

1. N600 dual band technology - double your bandwidth demands
2. Guest network access - security boundary  for guest
3. Averagely four stars customer ratings in Amazon for speed, ease of setup and signal strength 

Cons:

1. Doesn't support Gigabit ports
2. No USB port

Router For Work and Play


Probably you may not use your network mainly for work. your kids probably need to share the internet for online gaming with the friends and streaming media to view their favorite TV shows, movie shows and sport shows. Your best wireless router for home should support high speed for gaming and streaming media too beside for work. You can consider Linksys E2500 N600 router, the router that comes in the Linksys new E series. The router supports N600 dual band technology delivering the high speeds of up to 300Mbps each band.


You can also consider Netgear WNDR3400 N600 wirelss router uses the same N600 technology as Linksys E2500 series. Both routers include 4*10/100Mbps Ethernet LAN ports and one 10/100Mbps WAN port fast enough to support your wired connection to the computers. Both routers can be used to support both of your needs work and play.


High Performance Network

If you have a large home and you mostly use the network to support streaming high definition video and online gaming, you should build a high performance wireless network. High performance wireless network requires high performance router for demanding high speed and longer distance coverage. You can consider new Linksys E4200 N750 router the fastest router in new E series delivering the high speeds of up to 450Mbps in 5GHz band and up to 300Mbps in 2.4GHz band. Or you can consider the new WNDR4000 N750 by Netgear which uses the same N750 technology as Linksys E4200 Series.


If you are Linux user, you may consider new Buffalo WZR-HP-AG300H N600 high power router which is powered by DD-WRT Linux open source firmware. This is the first simultaneous dual band wireless router introduced by Buffalo.


Now, if the requirement of shared storage and printer exist, you should consider the wireless routers that support two USB ports to let you share the storage and the printer concurrently. You may consider the new Asus RT-N56U N600 router that includes two USB ports eliminating the requirement of purchasing the wireless print server. The router is ideal to support both of your 'work' and 'play'.


You may Also like:

• Increase your Wi-Fi signal strength 
• 802.11 WLAN 
• How to Secure A Wireless Network
• How to build a Wireless Network

How to Secure a Wireless Network

One of the advantages of the wireless networks is apparent - no wires to allow you connect to the network without the hassle of running a network cable.You can surf the internet with your laptop by your pool side or with your iPad at the gazebo. You can go live games in the comfort of your living room without the clutter of the wires. Unlike wired LAN, the wireless connection is prone to the eavesdropping by users within the network coverage.

How to secure a wireless network?



Security might be the last thing in your mind when you build a wireless network in home or offices. You can easily secure your wired connection by physically protecting the system cabling not to easily be injected by the intruders. But with wireless network, unauthorized users can easily pick the signal as far as 300 meters or even more by using hi-gain directional antenna with laptop. Therefore you must know how to secure a wireless network not ot easily be hijacked by the intruders.


It's easier to crack the wireless connection than wired connection because you don't need to physically connect to the network. Therefore you can access it easily because the data transfer occurs over the airwaves. there are three areas you can pay attention to in securing a wireless network:

1. Securing the wireless connection using the strongest industrial wireless encryption available today
2. Securing the endpoint of the network that faces internet 
3. And create a security boundary for your guests

Securing a wireless connection


Currently there are two main wireless security encryption you can implement for securing your wireless connection. If you have many wireless clients that are powered by the legacy wireless 802.11b/g, you can secure the connection using the WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy). Both end of routers/ APs and the wireless clients must use the same security settings.


If your wireless routers / APs are powered by the latest wireless 802.11n standards, and your wireless clients use the same wireless n standards, they can support the latest wireless encryption Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2).Always use this strongest wireless security encryption in connecting to the network it possible.


How to secure a wireless network using WPA/WPA2 encryption? mostly wireless devices that support the WPA/WPA2 encryption include the WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) feature to let you connect the secure network network by just pressing the WPS button. Unless, you need to configure it manually. Consult the device manual book regarding the security configuration using the WPA/WPA2.


In Windows you have an easy way to connect to the secure network the Windows connect Now (WCN). You can configure the computers using the WCN with the following steps:

1. Using the UTP network cable that came with your wireless router, temporarily connect your computer to one of the Switch LAN ports on your wireless router.
2. Turn your computer on; it will automatically connect to your router.
3. Open the Internet browser and type in the address to configure your router, as described in your router's instruction manual. The following table lists known wireless router default address, username and password as your reference.

4. 1. Router	Address	Username	Password
      Belkin	http://192.168.2.1	Logon prompt	(leave blank)
      D-Link	http://192.168.0.1	admin	(leave blank)
      Linksys	http://192.168.1.1	admin	admin
      NETGEAR	http://192.168.0.1	admin	password
      TRENDNET	http://192.168.10.1	Admin	admin

5. Type in the appropriate username and password to logon to the router.
6. The browser will show your router's configuration page. Find the wireless security page to select the wireless security modes available. Wireless routers /AP support six wireless security modes : WPA Personal, WPA Enterprise, WPA2 Personal, WPA2 Enterprise, RADIUS, and WEP.

If your router supports Windows Connect Now, you can quickly and easily configure the router by following the instructions in Using Windows Connect Now technology.


If you are using WPA, always remember that each device in your wireless network MUST use the same WPA method and shared key, or else the network will not function properly.


MAC Address filter


Wireless access can be filtered by using the MAC addresses of the wireless devices transmitting within your network's radius. Select Enabled/disabled the wireless MAC filter in the router's configure the wireless MAC filter either prevent or permit access.


You should know the MAC addresses of the wireless devices to be included in the permit or prevent MAC address record. The MAC address on wireless on wireless network adapters is typically printed on the network adapter's underside.

But if your Wi-Fi adapters have been installed in the desktop PCI slot, you cannot recognize the physical address visually. In a command line prompt (press Windows + R keys simultaneously and type in CMD and press enter) type ipconfig/all command and you can find the device physical address.

change the default wireless network name or SSID

Wireless devices have a default wireless network name or Service set Identifier (SSID) set by the factory. This is the name of your wireless network, and can be up to 32 characters in length. Each wireless product has their own default SSID as the default wireless network name. You should change the wireless network name to something unique to distinguish your wireless network from other wireless networks that may exist around you, but do not use personal information because this information may be available for anyone to see when browsing for wireless networks.

Change the default password

Wireless routers /Ap have a default username and password set by the factory. See the above table. Mostly have their default username is admin or some have their default password as password. Hackers know these defaults and may try to use them to access your wireless device and change your network settings. To thwart any unauthorized changes, customize the device's password so it will be hard to guess.

Securing the end point of the network facing the internet

How to secure a wireless network from any types of internet threats? In depends on the wireless routers security features, but typically all the wireless routers support dual firewall features:NAT and SPI which is enabled by default. NAT helps you to hide the private network from the public network, and the stateful packet inspection will examine the incoming packets thoroughly for any false positive packets.

Create a security boundary for the quests

Many wireless routers today support the Guest Network feature - a feature that allows you create multiple SSIDs. You can create separate Guest network with different password and with limited access right not to allow the guest gain access rights to your local private network. Typically the guests are granted an internet access only. This is a secure way to provide public internet access without compromising system security.

See Also:

• How to build wireless home network
• Top 5 Wireless Router

DHCP Server

In networking infrastructure, DHCP server is very essential services to provide IP configuration automatically to hosts including the computers on the network. With the proper IP configuration to the hosts on the network, all the hosts can communicate each other.


Deploying the IP address manually to hundreds of computers on the network is prone to the IP addresses conflict due to miss-typing - a normal human error. DHCP server is designed to help the network administrator to reduce the complexity of administrating the IP address configurations. By issues leases from a central database, DHCP server automatically manages address assignment and configure other essential settings for your network clients.

In windows networking, when the DHCP server is not available, the clients will adopt the alternate configuration or APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) The range of APIPA addressing is between 169.254.0.0 until 169.254.255.254. If the computer in the network (with DHCP server available) receives the IP address in the APIPA range, it indicates that the computer is not connected or there is connectivity problem. See also wireless network troubleshooting.

Network administrator should configure the IP address or the pool of the IP address that will assigned to the computers in the network. In Windows system, the clients lease addresses for a specific length of time from the DHCP server. Once 50% of the lease has expired, the clients will attempt to renew the same IP address. The DHCP server will renew addresses for another lease period.

DHCP server Scopes

A DHCP scope is a pool of IP addresses within a logical subnet, for example 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.220 that the DHCP server to manage distribution and assignment of IP addresses and of any releated configuration parameters (such as DNS, gateway) to clients on the network. Once DHCP scope is for one DHCP server can serve multiple subnets.

DHCP server scope specifies the range of addresses available for lease. An IP address within a defined scope that is offered to a DHCP client is known as a lease. Each lease has a specified duration, and the clients must periodically renew the lease.

An exclusion range can be set within the range of defined scope if you don't want to lease to DHCP clients. Exclusion range assures that the DHCP server does not offer the exclusion range to DHCP clients. You can also provide reserve addresses for specific clients with MAC addresses which are typically used for servers, printers and other network devices that require static IP addresses.

How the process of DHCP server to the clients?

• DHCP clients broadcast DHCPDISCOVER packet to the network
• DHCP server then responds with DHCPOFFER packet
• DHCP clients broadcast DHCPREQUEST packet
• DHCP server responds with DHCPACK packet
• After 50% lease time, DHCP clients will attempt to renew address with a DHCPREQUEST directed to the DHCP server
• DHCP server responds with DHCPACK adain

Configuring the Client


To configure a client to receive its IP address information from a DHCP server, the TCP/IP configuration of the computers must be configured to "obtain an IP address automatically" options. To configure the client to receive DNS options from the DHCP server, you should select the "obtain DNS server Address Automatically" option.


DHCP servers use private IP address instead of IP addresses ( registered IP address), since private IP addresses are not rout ableto the Internet, thus with the dual firewall features of the firewall will help you reduce network security threats from the Internet.


How to Configure DHCP server in Wireless Routers


Mostly all the wireless routers including the routers with build-in DSL modem or routers with build-in cable modem are powered by the DHCP server which enabled by default. So anyone that knows nothing about DHCP server, no worries - just leave the default setting.


Open the router configuration menu from the web-based utility by typing the default IP address of the wireless routers for example http://192.168.1.1 (For linksys) and press enter. The login dialog prompts you to type in the user-name and password of the router. The following table shows some wireless routers with their default IP address, user-name and password.

Router	Address	Username	Password
Belkin	http://192.168.2.1	Login	(leave blank)
D-Link	http://192.168.0.1	admin	(leave blank)
Linksys	http://192.168.1.1	admin	admin
NETGEAR	http://192.168.0.1	admin	password
TRENDnet	http://192.168.10.1	admin	admin

Find the configuration menu with relates to DHCP menu or similar one (refer to manual book of the router). DHCP Server is enabled by factory default.If you already have a DHCP server on your network, or you don't want a DHCP server, then select disabled.

Starting IP address: Enter a value for the DHCP server to start with when issuing IP addresses. Assume the Router's default IP address is 192.168.1.1, the starting IP Address must be 192.168.1.2 or greater, but smaller than 192.168.1.253.


Maximum number of DHCP Users: Enter the Maximum number of PCs that you want the DHCP server to assign IP addresses to. This number cannot be greater than 253. The default is 50.


Client Lease Time: The Client Lease Time is the amount of time a network users will be allowed connection to the router with their current dynamic IP address. Enter the amount of time, in minutes, that the user will be "leased" this dynamic IP address. After the time is up, the user will be automatically assigned a new dynamic IP address. The default is 0 minutes, which means one day.


Static DNS(1-3): The Domain Name System (DNS) is name resolution which is used to translate the names into their corresponding IP address. The DNS server is typically provided by the ISP where you subscribe the internet is.


WINS: The Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) manages each PC's interaction with the Internet. If you use a WINS server, enter that server's IP Address here.Otherwise, leave this blank.


DHCP Reservation: Click DHCP Reservation if you want to assign a fixed local IP address to a MAC address. You will see a list of DHCP clients with the following information: Client name, Interface, IP address, and MAC address. Click the select checkbox to reserve a client's IP address. Then click Add Clients.


If you want to manually assign an IP address, enter the client's name in the Enter Client Name field. Enter the IP address you want it to have in the assign IP Address field.Make sure the IP address is between the starting DHCP server's IP address and maximum number of DHCP users range. Enter its MAC Address in the To This MAC Address field. Click Add.

See Also:

• How to build a wireless home network 
• 802.11 WLAN
• Top 5 wireless Router
• Wireless Troubleshooting

How to Build a Wireless Home Network - Tutorial

This tutorial will guide you through the process of planning, building, and testing a wireless home network. Although mainstream wireless networking has made amazing strides in the past few years, wireless technology and terminology remains a bit difficult for most of us to comprehend. This same guide will help small business networks, too!

Build a Wireless LAN, Step by Step

You can build  any typical wireless home network, a Wireless LAN (WLAN), using this simple three- step approach:

1.  Identity the WLAN design that's best for your situation
2. choose good wireless gear
3. Install gear and test the configured WLAN

In subsequent pages, I break down each of these steps in more detail.

Ready to Go Wireless?

This article assumes you've already made an informed decision to go wireless rather than build a traditional cabled network. Though prices have dropped dramatically from a few years ago, when wireless gear was quite expensive, wireless networks still aren't for everyone 9yet). Unsure that wireless will ready meet your needs? Use the following supplementary articles to help you choose wisely:

Benefits of Wireless

Wireless offers tangible benefits over traditional wired networking. Ever tried to quickly look up a recipe on the Net while cooking in the kitchen? Do the kids need a networked computer in their bedroom for school projects? Have you dreamed of sending email, instant messaging, or playing games while relaxing on your outdoor patio? These are just some of the things can do for you:

Next Stop - Terminology

 The field of computer networking once sat squarely in the domain of techies. Equipment manufacturers, service providers, and "experts" that study the field of networking tend to go quite heavy on technical jargon. The wireless networking industry is gradually improving home. But there is still much work for the industry to do. Let's take a quick look at the common jargon of wireless home networking and what it all means.

When researching wireless equipment to buy, or talking about wireless networking with friends and family, you should have a solid understanding of this terminology.

What is a WLAN?

We've already said that a WLAN is a "typical" wireless home network. That's because a WLAN is a wireless LAN, and a LAN is a related group of networked computers situated in close physical proximity to each other. LAN's can be found in many homes, schools, and businesses. Though it's technically possible to have more than one LAN in your home, few do this in practice. In this tutorial, we explain how to build a single standard WLAN for your home.

What is Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi is an industry name used to market wireless networking products. You'll find a black-and-white Wi-Fi logo or certification emblem on virtually any new wireless equipment you buy. Technically speaking, Wi-Fi signifies conformance to the 802.11 family of wireless communication standards. But because all mainstream wireless home network gear users the 802.11 standards today, basically the term "Wi-Fi" merely distinguishes wireless equipment from other network gear.

What is 802.11a/802.11b/802.11g?

802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g represent three popular wireless communication standards. Wireless networks can be built using any of the three, but 802.11a is less compatible with the others and tends to be a more expensive option implemented only by larger businesses. Use the supplemental article below to help you pick 802.11 standards for your wireless LAN.

What are WEP and Wardriving?

The security of wireless home and small business networks remains a concern for many. Just like we use radio or television receivers to tune into station broadcasts, it's almost as easy to pick up signals from a nearby wireless home network. sure, credit card transactions on the web may be secure, nut imagine your neighbors spying on every email and instant message you send!

A few years ago, some techies popularized the practice of wardriving to raise awareness of this vulnerability in WLANs. With the help of cheap, home-made equipment, "wardrivers" walked or motored through   neighborhoods snooping  the wireless network traffic emanating from nearby homes. Some wardrivers even logged their computers resources and Internet access.

WEP is an important feature of wireless networks designed to improve security. WEP scrambles network traffic mathematically so that other computers cab understand it, but humans cannot read it. WEP helps protect your WLAN from wardriving and nosy neighbors, and today, all popular wireless equipment supports it. Because WEP is a feature that can be turned "on" or "off", you'll simply need to ensure it is configured properly when setting up your network.

Types of Wireless equipment

The five types of equipment found in wireless home networks are:

• wireless network adapters
• wireless access points
• wireless routers
• add-on wireless antennas
• wireless signal boosters

some of this equipment is optional depending on your home network configuration. 

See Also:

• How does automatic wireless network.
• Automatic wireless network connections

How Does Automatic Wireless Network Configuration Work?

By default, windows xp attempts to connect to wireless networks in the following order:

1. Available networks that are in the preferred network list ( in order of listing)
2. Preferred networks not in the Available list( in order to listing)
3. Other networks depending on Advanced settings chosen

In Windows XP with Service pack 2 (SP2), each network (even Preferred networks) can be configured individually to bypass automatic configuration. To enable or Disable automatic configuration on a per- network basis, respectively check or unchecked the "connect When this network is within range" check box within that network's Connection properties.

Wireless XP periodically checks for new available networks. If it finds a new network listed higher in the Preferred set that is enabled for auto configuration, Windows xp will automatically disconnect you from the lesser-preferred network and re-connect you to the more preferred one.

Advanced Automatic Wireless Configuration

By default, windows xp enables its automatic wireless configuration support. Many people mistakenly assume this means your laptop will automatically to any wireless network it finds. That is untrue. By default, windows xp only auto-connects to Preferred networks.

The Advanced button on the Wireless Networks tab of wireless Network Connection properties controls the default behavior of windows xp automatic connections. One option on the Advanced window, " Automatically connect to non-preferred networks", allows windows xp to auto-connect to any network on the Available list, not just Preferred ones. This option is disabled by default.

Is Automatic Wireless Network Configuration Safe to use?

Yes! The Windows xp wireless network configuration system limits automatic connections by default to Preferred networks. Windows xp will not automatically connect to non-Preferred networks such as public hotspots, for example, unless you specifically configure it to do so. You can also enable / disable auto- connection support for individual Preferred network as described earlier.

In summary, the automatic wireless Internet / network connection feature of windows xp allows you to roam between Wi-fi networks at home, school, work or public place with a minimum of hassle and worry.

See Also:

• Automatic-wireless-network-connections
• Wireless-troubleshooting

Automatic Wireless Network Connections in Windows XP

windows xp (either professional or home Edition ) allows you to establish a wireless network connection to Wi-Fi network routers and access points automatically. This feature helps you to make wireless Internet / WiFi network connections more easily with laptop computers and is highly recommended for those who roam between multiple locations.

Does My Computer Support Automatic Wireless Network Configuration?

Not all windows XP computers with wi-fi wireless support are capable of automatic wireless configuration. To verify your windows xp computer supports this feature, you must access its wireless Network Connection Properties:

1. From the Start Menu, open Windows Control Panel.
2. Inside Control Panel, Click the "Network Connections" option if it exists, otherwise first click "Network and Internet Connections" and then click "Network Connections".
3. Finally, right click "wireless Network Connection" and choose "Properties".

 In the Wireless Network Connection properties window, do you see a "wireless Networks" tab? If not, your Wi-Fi network adapter lacks so -called windows Zero Configuration feature will remain unavailable to you. Replace your wireless network adapter if necessary to enable this feature.

If you see a "Wireless Networks " tab, click it , and then click the "view wireless Networks" button appearing on that page. A message may appear on the screen as follows:

"Windows cannot configure this wireless connection. If you have enabled another program to configure this wireless connection, use that software....".

This message appears when your wireless network adapter was installed with a software configuration utility separate from windows xp. The windows xp automatic configuration feature cannot be used in this situation unless the adapter's own configuration utility is disabled, which is generally not advisable. 

Enable and Disable Automatic Wireless Network Configuration

To enable automatic configuration, ensure the "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings " check box is checked on the wireless Networks tab of the Wireless Network Connection Properties window. Automatic wireless Internet / Wi-Fi network configuration will be disabled if this checkbox is unchecked. You must be logged on with windows XP administrative privileges to enable / disable this feature.

What Are Available Networks?

The Wireless Networks tab allows you to access the set of "Available" networks.Available networks represent those active networks currently detected by windows xp.Some Wi-Fi networks may be active and in range but not appear under Available networks. This occurs when a wireless router or access point has SSID broadcast disabled.

Whenever your network adapter detects newly available Wi-F- networks, you will see an alert in the lower- right corner of the screen allowing you to take action if necessary.

What Are Preferred Networks?

In the wireless Network tab, you can build a set of so-called "preferred" networks when automatic wireless configuration is active. This list represents a set of known Wi-Fi routers or access point you wish to automatically connect to in feature. You can "Add" new networks to this list by specifying the network name (SSID) and appropriate security settings of each.

The order Preferred networks are listed here determines the order that Windows XP will automatically attempt when seeking to make a wireless / Internet connection. You can set this order to our preference, with the limitation that infrastructure mode networks must appear ahead of all ad hoc mode networks in the Preferred list.

Next:


how does automatic wireless network

See Also:

• wireless-troubleshooting
• 80211-wlan
• how to convert laptop into wireless hotspot

TEW-692GR 450Mbps Simultaneous Dual Band Router

Trendnet launches TEW-692GR the fastest dual band wireless router delivering the high speeds up to 450Mbps each band concurrently

i was wondering why Trendnet didn't introduce wireless N750 dual band router, the router with concurrent dual bands delivering the high speed up to 450Mbps in 5GHz band and up to 300Mbps in 2.4 GHz band like it's competitors Linksys, Netgear and Belkin. Finally I realize that Trendnet would like to be the fastest router delivering the high speed up to 450Mbps each band concurrently. It's not a wireless N750 but the first wireless N900 router.

Linksys launches the new E4200 N750 router in January 2011 and shipped the router before Netgear did its WNDR4000 N750 router into the market. Around April 2011, Belkin also shipped its new generation Belkin N750 DB router. After being showcased in concurrently in jan 2011.

What this Product Does

The Tew-692GR is the first router with the speeds up to 450Mbps in each band concurrently. Many of you are familiar with the N300,N450, N600 and N750 routers, but this one should be the first N900(450Mbps+450Mbps) routers in the market.

Like other new generation of wireless routers, the TEW-692GR supports Wireless Protected Setup (WPS) to help you connect the clients (with WPS enable) to the network by just pressing a button. It supports the strongest wireless security encryption up to WPA2-Radius.

Like other high performance wireless routers, the TEW-692GR includes gigabit Ethernet ports for LAN (4x) and WAN (1x) interfaces for fast wired speed. You can utilize the gigabit Ethernet ports to connect to your computers with Gigabit NIC ready for optimum data throughput.

Multiple Guest Networks

This is interesting , the TEW-692GR supports up to four (4) virtual networks (SSID) each bands for totally eight SSIDs it can support. We know that Netgear supports guest network each band for totally four SSIDs. Linksys and Belkin supports up to 3 SSIDs.

Unfortunately, the router doesn't support USB port for shared storage or shared printer. Like its competitor Linksys E4200 and WNDR4000 that support the shared storage with built-in media server, with the absence of USB shared storage you need to manage the storage differently. This is the disadvantage side of this router so far. 

See also:

• top-5-wireless-routers
• wireless-troubleshooting.
• 80211-wlan