Computer Guru's I need some help to set up wifi i.

[Acipenser]

I need to be able to have wireless access for a Iphone, Ipod touch, a Nintendo wii, a laptop and a P.C.

Will a router do all that or do I need something else ? It needs to be able to reach a few rooms in the house but I do not want to share with my neighbors.

[airbaggedmazda]

Yes a router will do this for you. Make sure to password protect it when you connect your router. It is pretty easy to set up even if you have never done it before.

[jobber604]

Best to enable your router to only allow certain MAC address devices access to the WIFI connection.

[monkE]

do not cheap out on your router or you will regret it. Routers definitely seem to be a get what you pay for kinda item

Get something from Linksys

usually in the box you will recieve all the instructions to set up your wireless network as well as password protect it

[effox]

It's easiest to set it up with the CD provided, but you can access it as a gateway, usually by typing in "192.168.0.1" into your web browser (username admin, password is blank). I'd stick with Linksys as its a Cisco product, and haven't gone wrong in buying one yet.

Cheers,
Chris

[rescuepenguin]

A few things to keep in mind.

Set up a password to access the settings
Use WPA-PSK encryption. It works well and the PSK works well for home use.
You will see an address that looks like 192.168.0.1
Don't change the 192.168. you can change the 0, I always do. any number from 0 to 253.
The last digit will be assigned to the individual device.
If you changed the third number to 155 you will see something like the following
iphone 192.168.155.100, ipad 192.168.155.101, laptop 192.168.155.102

SSID This will be a name that your network will broadcast so you can find it. TIP: keep it family oriented, your neighbours will see it.

Best to buy a dual channel 2.4 and 5 and make sure it is an "N" router. They are as cheap as $30, but I recommend you start looking in the $80+ range. The signal may have to penetrate walls at an angle. The greater the angle the thicker the wall "appears" to the signal and the stronger it needs to be.

Depending on your needs you can get them that will allow you to set up a second or third for relatives and friends, so the don't have access to your network. For example I have an external hard drive on my network. If I give a friend the password to my main network, they will have access to that hard drive. The secondary network, they won't.

The previous advice listed in this thread are very good tips. The one that refers to listing the authorized MAC address does have a draw back. Every time you want to add a device, you need to go into setup and add it's MAC address to the list.

Always feel free to ask questions.

Steve

[chimdon]

If you're looking for a place to purchase the router or computer related equipment, I would recommend NCIX for their larger selection and pricing compared to Best Buy or Futureshop. Although, most of the time I find a cheaper price on Bestdirect and pricematch at NCIX to pick up locally. I find shopbot.ca very handy for this purpose.

[Slopster]

A few things to keep in mind.

Set up a password to access the settings
Use WPA-PSK encryption. It works well and the PSK works well for home use.
You will see an address that looks like 192.168.0.1
Don't change the 192.168. you can change the 0, I always do. any number from 0 to 253.
The last digit will be assigned to the individual device.
If you changed the third number to 155 you will see something like the following
iphone 192.168.155.100, ipad 192.168.155.101, laptop 192.168.155.102

SSID This will be a name that your network will broadcast so you can find it. TIP: keep it family oriented, your neighbours will see it.

Best to buy a dual channel 2.4 and 5 and make sure it is an "N" router. They are as cheap as $30, but I recommend you start looking in the $80+ range. The signal may have to penetrate walls at an angle. The greater the angle the thicker the wall "appears" to the signal and the stronger it needs to be.

Depending on your needs you can get them that will allow you to set up a second or third for relatives and friends, so the don't have access to your network. For example I have an external hard drive on my network. If I give a friend the password to my main network, they will have access to that hard drive. The secondary network, they won't.

The previous advice listed in this thread are very good tips. The one that refers to listing the authorized MAC address does have a draw back. Every time you want to add a device, you need to go into setup and add it's MAC address to the list.

Always feel free to ask questions.

Steve

Steve you have now overloaded this person
slow down pls, and wait for them to catch up......

[rescuepenguin]

Steve you have now overloaded this person
slow down pls, and wait for them to catch up......

Take a deep breath and deal with the items one at a time. I spent days trying to get my first wireless router working. Linksys (before Cisco) refused to answer questions.

All this was over my head once too. I took it one thing at a time. Always feel free to ask questions.

Steve