Top 10 Wi-Fi Boosts, Tweaks and AppsPost Date: 2007-10-03 |
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Robert
Newbie Digital Storm Customer Service Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 133 |
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Topic: Top 10 Wi-Fi Boosts, Tweaks and Apps Posted: 03 Oct 2007 at 7:22pm |
10. Improve Coverage with Better Placement While there are several software and hardware hacks for boosting
your Wi-Fi signal (see below), there are also a few simple adjustments
you can make to an unmodded access point to get the best coverage. The NY Times says:
Still not getting enough bars in the basement? Have to perch yourself on the windowsill to get a usable signal from your neighbors? Get yourself a wireless signal repeater (or turn your own router into one) to extend your coverage even further. For those of you with wired devices far from the access point who need a little connection love, a wireless bridge (sometimes called an Ethernet converter) can be used to convert your wireless signal and provide a few plugs for wired devices (like your media center in the living room.) On a wireless network and want to take a peek at some of the data passing through the air? Previously mentioned Wireshark (formerly Ethereal) is a handy packet sniffer for those of you interested in seeing the nitty gritty on your wireless network, as shown: Wi-Fi security isn't very secure at all, but if your access point is more secure than others, evil-doing crackers are more likely to move on. In the spirit of "best of what's offered" security, most wireless access points are set to use WEP encryption to password their connections, but WPA (supported on most modern routers and computers) is less easy to crack than WEP. To switch to WPA, on your access point's administration page, change the security level and set your WPA passphrase to something long and difficult to crack. Along the same lines, you can limit exactly what devices can connect to your wireless network by creating a device access list of MAC addresses. (A Media Access Control address is a unique identifier for networked devices like laptops, phones, repeaters, etc.) Head on into your access point's configuration screen to set what MAC addresses can use it (like, say, all the computers in your house). Don't want to advertise your network in the surrounding area? Turn off SSID broadcasting, which will keep regular old laptops and other devices from listing your network as one of the detected options. To do so, in your access point's administration page, uncheck "Enable SSID Broadcast." Like the other security measures mentioned above, just because SSID broadcasting is off, it won't prevent users with the right software from seeing your access point—just users with default wireless detection their computers. Speaking of the right software... The excellent free NetStumbler software for Windows will detect all the wireless networks in your area, whether or not the SSID is broadcasted, whether or not they're passworded and how strong the signal is. Great for war-driving or internet cafe hunting, Mac users should check out MacStumbler. In a hotel room with one Ethernet jack and two laptops? Plug one computer in and have it share the internet connection wirelessly with the other. Here's how to share a wired internet connection with other computers wirelessly. If high placement isn't getting your signal as far as you'd like, break out the Reynold's wrap. This video shows how a little tinfoil fashioned into a "Windsurfer" parabola can increase your signal strength several decibels. < height="350" width="425">< name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sUTT8wdN_VA">< name="wmode" value="transparent">< ="http://www.youtube.com/v/sUTT8wdN_VA" ="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"> Boost your signal, throttle bandwidth for certain applications, turn your regular old router into a signal repeater and more by installing the fabulous Linux-based DD-WRT firmware which unlocks tons of configuration options on your Wi-Fi router. Here's how to upgrade your router with the DD-WRT firmware. Edited by skyR - 22 Oct 2007 at 7:01pm |
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Kelly
Senior Member Digital Storm Customer Service Joined: 13 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 791 |
Quote Reply Posted: 11 Oct 2007 at 3:59pm |
I've been using the ddwrt apps with my router for about 2 years now.
it's awesome.
just google 'how to turn your $60 router into a $600 router'. neat stuff
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Danisher
Newbie Joined: 04 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1 |
Quote Reply Posted: 04 Jun 2011 at 10:00pm |
great tutorial =)
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