- 1). Make sure all your computers have wireless cards. Think of wireless internet like radio airwaves. Your router will send out an internet signal through the air, just like a radio. Your internet signal will go through your house, and possibly to a couple of neighbors. With a radio, in order to pick up the signal, you must have an antannae. With wireless internet, your antannae is a wireless card.
All new computers come with wireless cards already installed. However, if you are working with an old computer, you will need to check. Look at the back of your computer. You will likely have a phone jack, but if you have a wireless card, you will have another connector that looks like a phone jack, only is slightly bigger. If you have this, you are wireless enabled.
To set up a wireless network, all computers must be wireless enabled. There is one exception. One computer is allowed to be non-wireless enabled. This computer becomes the "host" computer, and the whole network is set up around this one. - 2). Once you have determined that your computers are wireless enabled, the next step is to set up your modem. Wireless internet only works with broadband internet, so your internet service provider should have given you a modem. Set up your modem per their instructions. They will have given you a CD to go through, that should be self explananatory.
- 3). Once your modem is set up, then you need to add in the router. Disconnect the computer from the modem. Instead, using the same ethernet cord, connect the modem to the router.
- 4). Using a different ethernet cord, connect the router to the computer. Install the router on the computer using the CD it came with. The router will ask you to create a key. This is a password that will allow you to get in to your internet. Because internet signals can be picked up several houses away, it is very common for people to use an internet signal from their neighbors.
There is no way to know if people are using your signal, and it does not effect your browsing in any way. However, a good computer hacker can use an unprotected signal to get into your computer and steal personal information. Always protect your signal. - 5). Now, run through the Set Up Wireless Internet wizard on your Windows software. You will need to run through this on the host, and all other computers.
- 6). Once you have run it through all computers, you are finished. You should be able to pick up signal from all computers in the house. If your host computer is wireless enabled, you should be able to disconnect it from the router. If it is not, then you are ready to go.
previous post