If you’ve recently signed up for a paid Xbox Live account and are unable to connect, experiencing severe lag or an inability to play online at all then your MTU settings may be affecting performance.

Whilst you can tweak this value in your router, the issue may be caused by a number of possibilities which we’re going to explore here.

The Best MTU Settings for Xbox Live

MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Unit, and it is a value set on your router. Chances are you’ve never had to mess around with it before, and much of the time an Xbox Live MTU error reveals (on closer inspection) nothing wrong with your configuration whatsoever.

This is naturally, quite perplexing. Your router’s MTU value stipulates the largest possible chunk of data (in bytes) your router can transfer outwards, to the big bad internet. If this value is below 1364 your Xbox 360 console will not be able to even connect to the Xbox Live service. If yours is below this, then you’ll want to change it to a value above this number.

On the other hand, 1500 is the largest value allowed by Ethernet at the network layer so increasing the value beyond this will benefit very few, especially those on already-wired connections.

You can access your router preferences (in most cases) by visiting routerlogin.net. The website should automatically point you to your router’s login page where you can login with the credentials you have used in the past. If this website isn’t working for you consult your manual or try searching for your manufacturer’s defaults.

Once you’ve logged in, you’ll probably find your MTU settings can be changed in your Internet or WAN settings (it was under Advanced on my Netgear DGN2200). If you’ve had to change the setting from a lower number you might find your issues have disappeared, if your MTU settings were already fine then there’s a couple of other possibilities to explore.

Full Power Reset

Your MTU rate can be affected by your internet service provider (ISP) experiencing temporary issues. If this is the case then your MTU woes will probably alleviate with time, though you can try resetting your equipment to see if the blockage clears.

You’ll need to do a full power-off, make yourself a cup of tea and then power-on a few minutes later. If you’re still having problems then it may be wise to check your ISP service status or give them a call.

It might be wise to remove all devices from your network except the Xbox 360. If your MTU configuration works, add each additional network device one by one until you discover the source of the problem.

Wireless Issues

A poor wireless signal can also be the cause of MTU-related issues. If you’re using a 360 with a wireless adapter then you might need to optimize your setup to get the most out of your hardware. Poor wireless reception will result in poor transfer speeds between your console and the router, potentially limiting the MTU rate.

You can instruct your console to test your network connection (with signal strength indicator) under System Settings.You can also test whether your wireless causing the issue is to connect directly via Ethernet. A really long Ethernet cable is handy at this stage, for obvious reasons.

Poor wireless performance is often caused by interference from other household devices and items. Try moving your router off the floor (if it is positioned so) and away from too much metal (desks, filing cabinets and so on). If possible reducing the distance between your console and the router should help your strength and speed.

The usual wireless troubleshooting moves will all work here. Turning on and off other wireless devices (cordless phones, Bluetooth) and changing the channel your particular network uses can all potentially improve your network speed. If you’re using an old wireless adapter (up to 54Mbps) then a new wireless-n (up to 300Mbps) adapter should help (even a third party one), provided your router supports the new high-speed standard.

Port Forwarding

Whilst unlikely on newer routers, there’s a chance you’ll need to open some ports in order to communicate with the Xbox Live servers. If you’re experiencing an MTU issue in some sort of dormitory or shared internet connection then this may very well be the cause.



If you’re able to access your router admin interface (again, routerlogin.net) the ports you will want to forward are as follows: 88 (UDP), 3074 (UDP and TCP), 53 (UDP and TCP) and 80 (TCP).

Finally

If you’re still having problems after checking your preferences, trying an Ethernet connection, re-arranging your house and network hardware and giving your ISP a good grilling you might want to consider the possibility that your router is dying.

If possible test a spare (working) router before making the purchase, just to be sure. Good luck and happy gaming!

Have you had any Xbox Live issues? Are your MTU settings stressing you out? Let us know in the comments.

Let’s run over this list of alternative firmware for routers (firmware is just another name for software that runs on specific hardware) to see if you would benefit from the extra features it provides.

Why Use Alternative Firmware?

First of all, if you are not comfortable with voiding warranties, this article is not for you. Installing custom firmware can and will cancel that warranty, so if you have sunk all of your money into a new $150 router then it might be safer just to keep your manufacturer’s firmware on the device. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. There is also a chance you might brick your router.

If you are still reading this, I’ll assume you are cool with that and are willing to roll up your sleeves.

Turn A Regular Old Router Into An Enterprise Class Device

The first and main reason you might want to install alternative firmware is that you are adding features that although are possible on the consumer-grade hardware you purchased, the manufacturer decided not to add for a variety of reasons. They want to keep it simple and easy for Joe-consumer to configure and also because they sell much more expensive hardware to people who want those features. Luckily for you, people have been working on ways to get the fancy software on this plain hardware!

Some features that these alternative firmwares offer are:

• QoS – Quality of Service – Allow some types of traffic to take priority over others.
• Wireless Bridging.
• Ability to Turn Into A Hotspot.
• Adding SNMP (Monitoring protocol).
• Detailed Diagnostic Tools.
• And More…

Which Routers Will Work With Alternative Firmware?

This question greatly depends on the make and model of your router. By and far the largest consumer manufacturer of wireless routers is Cisco (formerly Linksys). Most of the alternative firmwares are made for these models since there are simply more of them out in the wild than any other kind. But, that being said, the chipsets which are the brains behind the routers are also used in other models, so sometimes you will see a crossover even to some brands that hardly anyone uses. But you are safest with one of the tried and true models that have been tested with each particular alternative firmware.

Bottom line is that you should check with each firmware to see which models it supports.

Let’s continue on to the different firmwares that are available:

DD-WRT

DD-WRT is by and far the most well known, distributed and tested of the alternative firmwares. It has been in development for a number of years now and is very stable. It is easy to install from your firmware upgrade page and include all of the features listed above. It is free and available for a number of routers – in fact probably the widest number of routers compared to other firmwares.

You can check to see if your router is supported by visiting their router database.

Tomato Firmware

Tomato works just like DD-WRT, is easy to install, and is under active development. Tomato isn’t quite as feature-rich as DD-WRT but makes up for it by being very user friendly while at the same time giving you advanced features like QoS and a shell.

Tomato is also not available on as many routers as DD-WRT. Check their homepage to see if your router (and version number, that is important as well) is listed as being compatible.

OpenWRT

OpenWRT is billed as the open router platform. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, they have built a platform that others can then build packages onto. OpenWRT has a package management system that allows you to expand your router in any way you can think of, should you have enough knowledge and time to program it.

OpenWRT itself does not have a GUI (Graphical User Interface) built in. X-WRT is the extension which adds this functionality, and includes the ability to monitor your router as well as perform maintenance tasks over the web interface.

FreeWRT

FreeWRT is a fork of OpenWRT. It focuses more on having an open platform that experienced developers can build upon. It only has a command line, so it is not really geared for consumers. However if you have a need for a cheap remote access point, this might work for you.

Chilifire

If you want to run a Hotspot, Chilifire is the firmware of choice. This professional firmware allows you to offer for-pay or free hotspot access from your consumer router. The downside? They have a free version which supports limited methods of access and up to 10 users per month. If you want to offer more than that, or a pay version of a hotspot, they take a percentage of your revenue.

In return, you get a very professional firmware which will take the headache out of managing such an enterprise. Their firmware is available on many different routers, check their website for full compatibility information.

Gargoyle

Gargoyle is another firmware which adds bandwidth management quotas and network access rules to WRT54G and other routers. The web interface looks a bit dated, but the functionality is all there. It is a good alternative if you are looking for something different.

Whatever Works For You

Each package has its pros and cons. Obviously you are limited to what hardware you have or are willing to buy, but beyond that the choice is yours. If you are looking for firmware that is easy to use, check out Tomato. DD-WRT definitely has the most features and the most community support so is a great choice as well.

Do you have another alternative firmware for routers that you think would be good to share with our users? Let us know below!

Image credit: jaygooby

Last week, I talked about how you can tell if someone is stealing your Wifi – but today I’d like to show you how to let others share your Internet – with a Wifi Hotspot. Setting up a public Wifi Hotspot is great for small businesses who want to attract or offer additional value for customers, but you might also want to try it in your neighbourhood if you have a particular product or service to advertise.

In the set up we will look at today, the first page users will see is a page with banner advertising and a little about your company or service, as well as usage terms – once they click “agree”, they can use the Internet.

What You Will Need:

A DD-WRT Flashed Router

A DD-WRT flashed router is the basis of this and any future DD-WRT tutorials. If your router is compatible, generally you can download the appropriate version and simply upload through the web interface. There is a long list of compatible routers and instructions in the DD-WRT wiki, but we cannot cover installation procedures here due to the sheer variety. Bear in mind that different routers have different levels of compatibility, and some features will not be available on your router if it cannot handle the full DD-WRT firmware install due to memory limitations.

If you do decide to go forward with DD-WRT and explore the other features it can offer you, it’s best to buy a new one that you know is fully compatible. I purchased a high power 802.11n router that was listed as 100% compatible with easy installation for around $150.

A Free Authentication Provider Account

In addition to configuring your DD-WRT router, you need to have some kind of user authentication system. Today we will be using a service called HotSpot System, which you can use for free to manage a basic free Wifi Hotspot with your own customized landing page.

A Twitter Account

Since HotSpot System is offering a free service, they do ask for a little self-promotion. For this you need to follow their Twitter account, and tweet about their service. Feel free to make a new Twitter account just for this purpose.

Getting Started: HotSpotSystem

Though there are a few different providers you can use to manage the user authentication side of things, I’ve picked out HotSpotSystem as it’s fairly user friendly and setup is built into the router firmware. They offer a range of plans depending on what your HotSpot requirements are, but a basic free Wifi Hotspot with splash page is free. Paid plans allow you to charge users for access, or print special coupons for paying customers. Next time I will show you a free service that allows you to charge for access, but let’s concentrate on a free hotspot with splash page today.

Sign up for a free account here, and make sure you choose the “HOTSPOT SPLASH” account option. Follow the instructions for connecting with your Twitter account and posting a quick tweet. Then add the details of your new location and your business / contact information.

From the customize section, you can create a new skin based off an old skin, and completely adjust the CSS and HTML as you wish. I’m going with the default for now.

Set Up Your Router

Log into your DD-WRT screen and access the Service -> Hotspot screen. Enable the HotSpotSystem option, and enter your operator username you got when registering. Your location number will be 1 if you’ve only set up a single location. You also need to Enable Special Settings and Enable “Login on Splash Page”. Save and apply settings.

At this point, you will automatically get an email from HotSpotSystem saying your hotspot has been set up. I also needed to adjust the Wireless Settings to change the SSID of my free hotspot (by default it’s set up as HotSpotSystem.com-location or something horrible like that), and to remove the existing password I had on the network. Here’s the page of my Wireless Settings in case you have problems too.

If you still can’t get it working, it may be best to put the router back to factory settings and start from a clean slate. Follow the set up guide from HotSpot System.

It Works!

You should now be able to see your open Wifi network, but anything you attempt to do on it will take you to your user registration splash page like this! Congratulations, you can now begin to customize the page to promote your own sites or business by logging into the HotSpotSystem site and selecting Customize.

Alternatives

If you’d rather charge for Wifi access or earn money from persistent advertising, I’ll be writing a tutorial for those soon so subscribe to the MakeUseOf RSS feed or keep an eye on the front page.

As ever, let us know how you get on in the comments. Will you be setting up a wifi hotspot? Are you totally against the idea of sharing your Internet connection? Too complicated?

That’s not the case with Virtual Router. Virtual Router essentially turns any Windows 7 (or Windows 2008 R2) computer into a WiFi hotspot using Windows 7′s Wireless Hosted Network (Virtual WiFi) technology. It’s really simple to set up and it works well, so if you’re looking for a way to create a secure wireless hotspot using your laptop, you’re in luck.

What Is Virtual Router?

Virtual Router is a free, open source software based router for PCs running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Using Virtual Router, you will be able to wirelessly share any Internet connection, whether it’s WiFi, LAN, cable modem, cellular, or even dial-up, with any WiFi-enabled device, like laptops, smartphones, netbooks, iPods, iPads, wireless printers, etc. These devices will connect to Virtual Router just like any other access point, and the connection will be secured using WPA2 encryption, which is considered the most secure type of wireless security.

Virtual Router can be used anywhere. It’s completely free, has no ads, and it does not track your web traffic. As I just mentioned, the wireless network created or shared with the program uses WPA2 encryption, which cannot be turned off. This feature is actually built into Windows 7 and 2008 R2′s wireless hosted network API to ensure maximum security.

How Does It Work?

As I mentioned earlier, Virtual Router “makes use of” Windows 7′s Wireless Hosted Network aka Virtual WiFi technology”. Okay, so what’s that?

Since 2002, Microsoft has been looking for a way to virtualize the WiFi adapter, turning a single piece of hardware and radio into virtually unlimited adapters. Years later, all that research worked its way into Windows 7′s networking capabilities.

In essence, Virtual WiFi works very similarly to how virtualization works for operating systems. There is a transparent sharing of limited hardware resources to many operating systems. Virtual WiFi, therefore, is a software layer that abstracts the wireless LAN card hardware into multiple virtual adapters. The result is an operating system that acts like you have multiple WLAN adapters working independently, even though you only have one.

How Do I Use Virtual Router?

Using the application is extremely simple. Just head over to Virtual Router’s homepage and click the Download button off to the right. Download, install, and run the application to start using it.

When you open Virtual Router up, you’ll see the first and only window you’ll need to start broadcasting a wireless signal.

You can change the network’s SSID to whatever you’d like it to read when users locate the connection on their devices, and you can set the password to anything you like, as long as it’s at least 8 digits.

Then all you have to do is select which connection you would like to share from the drop-down menu (Local Area Connection or Wireless Network Connection) and click the Start Virtual Router button to start your connection.

Now you should be able to see your newly created connection on your WiFi devices. Just type in the password you set and you will officially be connected to the Internet.

For such a simple program, Virtual Router really comes in handy at times. I was very impressed with how easy it was to use and how well it worked. What do you think of this application?

Image Credit: Macs Peter

A static IP address however, is one that doesn’t change. Your computer decides upon the address it wants, and it tells the router. Why would you want to set up something like this though, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? Is there a better solution?

What Is A Static IP?

When we talk about IP addresses of home computers, we are usually referring to two types of address. One is your external IP address – the one that the world sees as your Internet connection. Then you have your private IP addresses internally on your home network. Even if you only have one computer on your home network, it will have a private IP given to it by the router. Private IP addresses cannot be routed over the Internet and are strictly for private use. There are a few possible ranges of private IP address, but for most home users this will be 192.168.*.* (where * can be anything).

Your router interface, for instance, is likely accessible through 192.168.0.1 – this is a private address. Your home computers might then be anything from 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254. Most routers will just assign internal addresses on a first come first served basis. The first computer you plug into the router will send out a network request saying “I need an IP address, my hardware address is x.x.x.x.x.x” and will be assigned 192.168.0.2, then the next will get 192.168.0.3.

Your external IP address is not something you can change – it will be given to you automatically by your Internet provider. You can purchase a static external IP address, but they are incredibly expensive. If you do need to access your home network from a remote location, consider getting a dynamic address that will update itself when your IP changes.  For a home network though, you are free to assign static, non-changing IP addresses to whatever computers you want, so let’s a take a look at when you would do this.

Why Would I Need A Static Private IP Address & What Are The Advantages?

Essentially, you need a static IP anytime you are trying to forward certain packets from the Internet to certain computers or devices on your home network. For example:

A Local Web Server

In order to set up a web server on your home network that is accessible by anyone in the world, you need to forward incoming requests on port 80 to your web server machine. If the web server was to restart and get a new IP from the router, the special rule that you created to forward requests on port 80 to the old server IP address wouldn’t work anymore, and your server would break.

Remote Torrent Management

A few weeks ago I showed you how to manage your torrent client from a remote computer or mobile phone, but it involved forwarding requests on port 9091 to the machine running the torrent client. We found out the address of the machine and created a rule based on that, but again, if the address was to change, the remote management wouldn’t work.

Gaming

For some older routers and gaming setups, you needed to forward certain ports to your xBox or PC to play online multiplayer games. More recent routers include an automated setup procedure called uPNP which eliminates the need to set up rules by hand.

Disadvantages Of A Static IP

Static IPs need to be configured manually, and often you will need to make a few changes to your router configuration too. In this respect, they are said to have an “administration overhead”, because you need to keep track of the settings yourself. For home networks, this usually isn’t an issue with only a few machines to worry about – but for corporations and companies this is quite a problem.

Without correct router configuration, you are also likely to see more IP address conflict errors. For example, if you set one of your machines to the IP address 192.168.0.10, and your router continues to hand out IP automatically, then at some point, another machine will be given the same IP! Basically, static IPs can be quite problematic.

The Solution: Reserved Addresses

Instead of having to manually configure the settings on every PC we want to give a static IP address to, we will simply “reserve” the address we want to give them in the router’s automatic IP address system. By doing this, we ensure our machines have an IP address that will never change, without actually assigning a “static” IP address as such, which would complicate things. To do this, open up your router configuration page and look for a section on DHCP or LAN IP.

Look at the section labelled Static Leases or Reserved Lease Info. There are two or more fields that need to be filled in. First is the hardware address (6 pairs of alphanumeric characters), which is unique to every network device in the world, and second is the IP you wish to assign it. You should be able to see your hardware address in the list of current “leases” (a lease refers to the address that the router has automatically lent to your device) next the IP it is currently assigned. If not, type IPCONFIG /ALL (from Windows command prompt) or IFCONFIG (from an OS X Terminal) and look for either the Ethernet or Physical Address.

In this case, I want the device with the hardware address E0:CB:4E:A5:7C:9D, currently with IP 192.168.0.10, to stay that way forever. Enter this information to create a new reserved address.

You can also change the IP address from here if you’d like the reserved one to be different to what it is currently, but you will need to restart the device in order to get the new address. You are basically “tying” a particular local IP address to a particular piece of hardware.

That’s it – now your address won’t change after a restart and you can keep your special routing rules the same. Confused? Problems? Feel free to ask in the comments, and I will endeavor to answer as best as I can – but remember that every router model is slightly different.

Image credit: Shutterstock 1, Shutterstock 2

Check the devices associated with your router

This method is 100% guaranteed to see any devices registered on your network, but not every router contains this valuable info. Log in to your router by typing it’s IP address directly into the browser address bar. In most setups, either http://192.168.0.1 or http://192.168.1.1 should work, or it may be written on the router itself, along with the username and password you need to log in with. If you can’t find a password anywhere, and don’t remember changing it, then check the database of default passwords here, or phone your ISP (assuming they gave you the device).

Once logged in, look around a section called Attached Devices or Device List. On DD-WRT flashed routers, this is under the Status -> Wireless screen. You will find a list of all the IP addresses currently being used.

On my standard Virgin Media router, I found a list under the IP filtering section.

Of course, not all your devices will have helpful names, so you’ll need to figure out the IP address of each computer and WiFi device you own in order to cross-check them against the list. I covered how to find your IP address a few days ago when I showed you how to control your torrent client from your mobile. Don’t forget that an iPhone or Android phone will also have it’s own IP address if it’s using your WiFi, so you’ll need to account for those too.

Track Them Down Physically

This may be taking it a little far, but running the MoocherHunter live CD tracking suite will enable you physically hunt them down by triangulating network signals. Scary stuff, indeed. You’ll a directional antenna for this to work best.

What to do about it

Basic Security – Stop using WEP

Any router purchased in the last 5 years or so should be able to support a more secure authentication protocol, so log in to your router again and find the Wireless Settings screen.

Change the security options to either WPA or WPA2. WPA2 is more secure, but I find it’s incompatible with some of the devices on my network so I chose the option that allows for both. Don’t choose the Enterprise option as it is designed for companies with authentication servers. When choosing your password, make sure it is at least 15 characters long, includes upper and lower case letters, numbers, and punctuation.

There are some other methods that people will typically advise you to take, but put simply – they don’t work:

Hiding your SSID: You can hide your network name so it won’t be seen, but freely available hacking tools such as Backtrack will reveal them instantly.

IP filtering: This blocks out a specific IP, but changing IP is as simple as refreshing the connection.

MAC filtering: More secure since it blocks a device via the unique hardware address that is given out when it’s manufactured, but again, anyone trying to steal your WiFi can easily “spoof” their MAC address.

Funny – Turn their internet upside down

For anyone with a spare PC or who doesn’t mind messing with the command line, you could create an open WiFi network specifically for these freeloaders, and run everything through a Linux proxy. The proxy can setup to cut directly into their internet stream, and one interesting outcome is that you can turn all their images upside down.

Profit – Run a paid WiFi portal

If you install the open source DD-WRT, you can run a paid WiFi Hotspot portal. Set your own rates, never worry about payment processing (they handle everything), then just collect your check if someone has used your hotspot – you’ll get 75% of the money paid. Remember, you’ll need to live in a big city for this to be viable with lots of potential customers. I’ll look at this option more at a later date to show you exactly how you can set one up if you’re interested.

Conclusion:

So your WiFi is feeling a little sluggish? The truth is that someone probably isn’t stealing your WiFi. More likely your computer is running slowly, or your router needs rebooting. You could also try boosting the WiFi signal.

Oh, and let us know in the comments if you’ve found people stealing your WiFi before, or have any amusing WiFi stories to tell.

Image Credit: ShutterStock

OK, so here’s the situation.  You want to share the Internet but not your personal stuff.  There are actually several different ways of doing this.

Get A Router That Supports Guest Browsing

What’s that?  They actually make routers with this ability already built in?  Yes they do and some of them are really easy to use.  You may think that it would have to be one of those extremely expensive routers but you’d be wrong.  For instance there is Cisco’s Valet which costs about $100 and is supposed to be quite easy to set up and use.

Finding a router with the ability for guest browsing is the easiest way how to make a wireless router into an access point and keep your own network secure.  However, money is involved and we all know how we feel about that around here.

Use One Non-Wireless Router & Two Wireless Routers

You may be asking why I would suggest such an answer when the previous tip fits the bill with only one router.  What if you have some extra  hardware sitting around and you don’t want to go out and buy one of those new-fangled routers that support guest browsing?

OK, so the idea here is to run the Internet connection through the non-wireless router and then connect the two wireless routers from their WAN ports to LAN ports on the non-wireless router.

As long as you don’t add any static routes to the non-wireless router, you will actually be running two wireless networks that can’t “see” one another.  Use one as your own secure wireless network and the other can be the public access point.

Install Firmware On Your Wireless Router That Supports Guest Browsing

Firmware is basically the program that runs on your router that allows it to do what it does.  There is an open source firmware that is compatible with many routers called dd-wrt.

In Jorge’s article about how to turn an old router into a wireless bridge, he is kind enough to explain the process of installing the firmware on your router.  I will caution you the same way he did and say that you really need to follow the instructions for your router type very carefully because it is possible to render the router useless.

There are tutorials out there to show you how to configure the public access point feature (this one is quite easy to follow).  Once finished, you should have a public access point similar to those coffee shop connections with a splash screen and all.

Get Fonera 2.0 & Make Some Money With Your Public Access Point

Visit Fon.com and get an idea of what they are trying to do with their router offerings.  Built in is the ability to make a a few bucks by sharing your wifi signal.  The idea is that when a non-Fon user logs on, they have to pay and this is when you get paid.

Fon spots (what they call their public access points) are free to other Fonera owners so just purchasing one gives you access to any of the one million other Fon spots in the world.

Check out the video introduction.

Now you have no excuse to leave your wifi open and insecure for the world to use.  I gave you four methods how to securely make a wireless router into an access point and I even included one way to possibly make some money doing so.  So tell me, how will you securely share your wifi?

Depending on what you want to do, there are a few options to build a local area network which doesn’t involve buying a router.

The most common functionality for a network without a router is to be self-contained and have no point in or out. This is a secure network as it has no connection to the Internet and is good for keeping two or three computers linked up for sharing financial documents or a QuickBooks database.

We can connect two computers directly with a cross-over cable and have a LAN without a router. Computer 1 can access computer 2′s resources, printers and file shares. Computer 2 can access computer 1′s resources as well but this setup limits you to having only two computers connected.

If this is all you need, then you can connect the two machines up together and be good to go.

You can see an example of this setup below:

To build a local area network with this setup, you will need to set both of them to have an IP address in the same subnet. A subnet is a group of machines that can call out to each other. For example, you can set one of your computer’s IP address to be 192.168.0.1 and the next one as 192.168.0.2 or you could set one to be 192.168.1.100 and the other to be 192.168.1.101.

Make sure you use the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. By using this subnet mask, we can use any address between 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.254.

You can see the example shots below for a visualization of how the TCP/IP settings should be set up.

The second computer should be set up like this:

By keeping both machines in the same subnet, they can ‘talk’ to each other. In the example above, you can use 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.254 if you keep the subnet mask the same at 255.255.255.0.

Once this is set up, you can share resources on both machines and be able to access them by launching the Run window and entering the other computer’s IP address in this format \\192.168.1.1, like so:

Now if you get a window that looks like this instead of the window above, you will need to setup your folder’s security. You can do this by right-clicking on the folder you’re trying to share/access and choosing Sharing and security. From here, you can give the appropriate permissions.

If you are using default accounts like Administrator on both machines, make sure both accounts have the same password. You can set the password by hitting Control + Alt + Delete and clicking on Change password. You can change it on that form. Then go ahead and try to connect again and this time, it should connect.

If you are using different user accounts, like ‘Karl’ on one and ‘Sophia’ on the other you will need to setup a ‘Karl’ and a ‘Sophia’ account on both machines with the same passwords. This usually does the trick.

Now if we want to print to a printer connected to the remote machine instead of connecting to a shared file, type in the IP address for the remote computer in the Run window and this time, choose Printers and Faxes like so:

Then by double-clicking on that folder you can double-click on any of the printers. That will open a printer window like below:

Your computer will add the printer and you will be able to use it from any application on your (local) machine.

We can also set up a wireless network without a router using something called ad hoc mode. To set this up, you will need to have a wireless card or adapter on each of your machines. You can connect up to 9 machines using this method.

Start by opening your Control Panel. Choose Network and internet connections. Next, click on Network connections and right-click on your wireless network adapter. It should be called Wireless network connection.

Choose View available wireless networks. On this screen, hit the Advanced button as you see in the screen shot below:

Next, click on the wireless network tab at the top of the window and then on add like shown below:

After hitting Add you will see this screen:

Make sure you tick the check box at the bottom of the screen to make the connection an ad hoc network. Then click OK. You will need to set up the IP addresses to be in the same subnet. You can refer to images in the beginning of the article on how to do that. Next, just connect to the ad hoc network from a client computer and you will be on the same network. You can then perform the same actions like we did above including Printer and file sharing.

I have done a MakeUseOf article in the past on how to setup a LAN with just a Windows Mobile Device here. Do you have another means of setting up a router-less network? We would love to hear about it in the comments!

There are many advantages to having a wireless network over just a wired network. You can still plug machines into your router via an Ethernet cable but you also gain the additional benefits of having a wireless network.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration such as security, widest range and best speed. MakeUseOf has done a Networking Guide in the past and it will be a good starting point for you.

A normal topology for setting up a home wireless network would look like this:

The wireless router gets connected to your Internet modem and servers out your Internet to connected computers.

Wireless networking has come a long way since I first set up my 802.11a network about 10 years ago. To begin we will need to take an inventory of what equipment you have and then see what you will need to purchase. Let’s make a list of computers and what type of wireless adapter they have in them.

• Karl’s Laptop N
• Karl’s Netbook G
• Karl’s Desktop N
• Sophia’s Laptop G
• Kayla’s Laptop B

So my fastest machines have a N adapter in them and my slowest has a B adapter in it. So I would want a wireless router that can handle 802.11N as well as be backwards compatible to 802.11B. If I wanted to save money I could find a 802.11N router and not be able to achieve the fastest speeds on my 802.11N machines.

If any of your machines do not have wireless cards you can look into buying USB WiFi adapters, internal PCI cards for the Desktop or Mini PCI cards for a laptop. The USB WiFi adapters do not look like they used to. They can be incredibly small. Check out this one from Buffalo for $30:

I went looking and found this LinkSys Router for $60 here on Amazon:

This router has multiple radios meaning it can serve multiple machines at the same time. It is also very high tech looking! The router comes with four Ethernet ports so you can connect it to your Internet modem.

Now we need to assess where the computer will be and find a middle ground to set up the router. You want the router to be in an area that does not block either antennae. Their path should not be hindered, placed near electrical equipment like micro-ovens or cordless telephones and not be in a room that is closed off. This may take some trial and error and you will probably want to first try setting up somewhere near your Internet modem.

Setting up the router is a breeze. Most modern routers (this one included) comes with a setup CD. You simply pop the CD into your computer that has the Internet. Chances are you will be directly connected to your modem. The CD will then have you unplug your computer from the modem and connect the router to the modem. You can then plug your computer into the router to continue setting it up.

Most routers are set up to be 192.168.1.1 but some of them use an IP of 192.168.2.2. Your set up utility should tell you what your URL is to access your setup. Below you will see the set up page from my Wireless G Linksys Router.

By default there will be NO SECURITY – this is a NO NO! You will want to enable WPA or at a minimum WEP. Both of them can be hacked but then so could your dead bolt. Some security is better than none!

Once you set the security on the router you will want to rename your SSID. That is what your wireless network will be called. Then you will connect to your wireless router from each client and configure the same security that you set up on the router.

Next I suggest turning off SSID broadcasting so people walking by your house cannot see or steal your network (without a bit of effort that is!)

That’s it! You now have your very own WiFi network! You can print wirelessly by sharing out a printer, check recipes in the kitchen or stock quotes in the backyard. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back! Good job.

If you have any problems setting yours up, let us know in the comments and we’ll see if we can help.