Wireless Routers

Wireless Network Routers

Use this link for more information on Wireless Routers in our Learning Center

Home wireless routers allow you to connect your home computers together into a network. If you want to use your router as a firewall also, make sure you purchase one that has a built-in firewall. Otherwise, you can purchase a firewall separately. Wireless network routers will allow you to connect computers, notebook computers, PDAs and printers without wires. They are also useful for connecting laptops to the Internet and other networks, such as at work or at home.

If you want to use a wireless network router, you need to have a wireless network adapter installed in any computer that you connect to your network. If these are not already in the computers, you'll need to purchase them and add them in. To network your home computers to each other, you can use an access point instead, but we recommend routers because you can also use them for Internet sharing and firewall security. Also, home routers tend to be less expensive than access points.

The Importance of Security with Wireless Network Routers

Security is especially important when using a wireless network. Basically, anybody within the range of your network who has the right equipment can access it. It is very easy for them to use a network detection program to access your network. Therefore, use WEC or MAC address filtering. This is a unique hardware identifier that gives each network device its own identity.

WEP, or Wireless Encryption Protocol, is another way to identify your network devices. It establishes a shared key between the access point and clients, using the key to encrypt and de-encrypt the data that is transferred between them. This is enough security for most home network uses.