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iv Table of Contents Introduction 1 How This Book Is Organized 3 Conventions Used in This Book 4 Windows or Mac? 4 Web Page Addresses 4 Products and Services 4 Special Elements 4 Let Me Know What You Think 5 I Getting to Know Wireless Networking 1 How Networks Work 7 Why You Need a Home Network 8 Sharing the Internet 8 Streaming Movies and Music 9 Sharing Media 10 Sharing and Backing Up Files 11 Sharing Printers and Other Equipment 13 Cutting the Cable 15 Playing Games Online 16 Understanding Network Technology 17 LANs and WANs 17 Things to Your Network 18 Everything Together 19 Transferring Data over the Network 20 Understanding Network Addresses 22 Different Ways to Connect 23 via Ethernet 24 via Powerline 24 via Wi-Fi 25 What Type of Network Is Best for You? 26 2 How Wi-Fi Works 29 Understanding Wireless Network Technology 30 Bands on the Radio 30 Routing the Signals 32
V Alphabet Soup: The Different Wi-Fi Standards 33 802.11 (Legacy) 36 802.11b 36 802.11a 36 802.11g 36 802.11n 37 802.11ac (Gigabit Wi-Fi) 38 802.11 ad (WiGig) 39 Wide-Area Wi-Fi 39 Which Wi-Fi Is Right for You? 40 3 How Bluetooth Works 45 Understanding Bluetooth Wireless 46 What Bluetooth Does 46 How Bluetooth Does It 47 Synchronizing, Automatically 47 Bluetooth in Action 48 How Bluetooth Is Used Today 50 Computer Equipment 50 Cell Phones 51 Automobiles 52 How Do Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Compare? 53 4 How Mobile Networks Work 55 Understanding Cellular Phone Technology 56 Cells in a Network 56 Carrying a Two-Way Radio 57 Pulling Some Gs 57 1G 57 2G 58 3G 59 4G 59 Sharing a Mobile Data Connection with Your PC 60 External Data Modems 61 Tethering Your Smartphone 61 Powering Your Home Network with Your Cellular Signal 63 Mobile Data Versus Wi-Fi: Choosing One or the Other 64 Mobile Service and Bluetooth: Learning to Co-Exist 64
Vi WIRELESS NETWORKING ABSOLUTE BEGINNER'S GUIDE II Setting Up a Wireless Network 5 Planning Your Network and Purchasing Equipment 67 Planning Your Network 68 Making a List 68 Mapping the Network 69 Adding the Necessary Network Equipment 70 Creating Your Network Equipment List 72 Choosing a Wireless Router 72 What a Router Does 72 Understanding the Nomenclature And the Specs 73 Examining 802.11 n Routers 74 Examining 802.11 ac Routers 75 Evaluating Ethernet Performance 77 Considering Other Features 77 Choosing Wireless Adapters 78 USB Adapters 79 Internal Adapters 80 Choosing Network Interface Cards and Ethernet Cables 81 Upgrading Your Current Network 81 Where to Buy Networking Equipment 82 6 Installing a Wireless Router 85 Before You Start 86 Making the Physical Connections 88 Setting Up and Configuring the Router 92 Advanced Router Setup 94 Opening the Dashboard 94 Navigating the Dashboard 95 Key Settings 95 Upgrading from an Existing Router 97 7 to the Internet 101 Understanding Internet Connections 102 Broadband DSL 102 Broadband Cable 102 FiOS Broadband 103 Broadband Satellite 103 Choosing the Right Internet Connection for Your Network 104
TABLE OF CONTENTS vii the Internet to Your Network 104 with a Wireless Router 104 with a Combination Modem/Router 106 Setting Up a Public Wi-Fi Hotspot 107 Turning Your Wireless Router into a Wi-Fi Hotspot 107 Setting Up a Wi-Fi Hotspot with a Wireless Access Point 108 Security Matters: To Share or Not to Share? 109 8 Extending Your Network in a Larger Home or Office 113 Revisiting Transmission Range 114 Upgrading to a More Powerful Router 114 a More Powerful Antenna 115 a Wireless Range Extender 116 a Second Wireless Router 118 9 Devices via Ethernet 121 How Ethernet Works 122 Speeds Vary 122 Ethernet Routers 122 NIC's Picks 124 Cable Time 125 When an Ethernet Connection Makes Sense 126 Speed Matters 126 Reliability Matters 127 Security Matters 127 There's No Wireless Option 128 via Ethernet to a Wireless Network 128 10 Securing Devices on Your Network 131 Facing the Potential Dangers of Wireless Networking 132 Different Types of Intrusions 132 How to Tell If Your Network Has Been Breached 133 How to Protect Your PC from Intrusion 133 Protecting Against Internet Intrusions with a Firewall 134 OS-Based Firewalls 135 Using Third-Party Firewall Software 135 Using Router-Based Firewalls 135 Enabling Wireless Security on Your Router 136 Different Types of Wireless Security 137 Configuring Your Network for Wireless Security 138
viii WIRELESS NETWORKING ABSOLUTE BEGINNER'S GUIDE Limiting Access to Your Network 138 Changing the Router's SSID 138 Changing the Password 139 Disabling SSID Broadcasting 140 Protecting Against Ma Iware 140 Understanding Viruses and Spyware 141 Practicing Safe Computing 141 Using Anti-Virus Software 142 Using Anti-Spyware Software 144 III Devices to Your Network 11 Home Computers 147 Computers to the Network 148 Windows 8 Computers 148 Windows 7 Computers 149 Windows Vista Computers 150 Windows XP Computers 150 Macs 151 Dealing with Network Locations, Workgroups, and HomeGroups in Windows 152 Setting a Network Location 152 Selecting a Workgroup 153 Creating a Windows HomeGroup 153 Configuring File and Printer Sharing 154 Enabling File and Printer Sharing in Windows 8 154 Enabling File and Printer Sharing in Windows 7 156 Enabling File and Printer Sharing in Windows Vista 156 Enabling File and Printer Sharing in Windows XP 156 Enabling File and Printer Sharing on a Mac 157 Accessing Other Computers on Your Network 158 Accessing Computers from a Windows PC 159 Accessing Computers from a Windows HomeGroup 160 Accessing Computers from a Mac 160 Managing a Windows Network 160 12 a Home Server 163 What Is a Home Server, and Why Do You Need One? 164 Exploring the Many Uses of a Home Server 164 Home Server or NAS: What's in a Name? 165
TABLE OF CONTENTS ix Shopping for a Home Server or NAS 166 Determining Storage Capacity 167 Choosing Networking and Backup Functionality 167 Selecting an Operating System 167 Making the Purchase 168 Configuring Your Server 169 Using Your Server for Media Storage 170 Backing Up to a Home Server 170 to Your Server from the Internet 171 13 Videogame Devices 173 Why Would You Want to Connect a Videogame Device to Your Network? 174 Wi-Fi Versus Ethernet: What's Best for Gaming? 175 via Wi-Fi 176 via Ethernet 176 an Xbox 360 Console 177 Is Your Xbox Wireless? 177 via Wi-Fi 178 via Ethernet 178 a PlayStation 3 Console 178 via Wi-Fi 179 via Ethernet 180 a Nintendo Wii Console 180 via Wi-Fi 180 via Ethernet 181 a Portable Videogame Device 182 Configuring Your Network for Optimum Gameplay 183 Getting Faster Broadband 183 Upgrading Your Router 184 14 Other Entertainment Devices 187 The Many Ways to Consume Web-Based Media in Your Living Room 188 an Internet-Capable TV to Your Network 189 a Blu-ray Player to Your Network 191 an Audio/Video Receiver to Your Network 193 a Network Media Player to Your Network 195
X WIRELESS NETWORKING ABSOLUTE BEGINNER'S GUIDE Configuring Your Router for Streaming Media 196 at 5GHz 196 Enabling WMM 197 Giving Priority to Streaming Media 197 15 Smartphones and Tablets 199 to a Wireless Network 200 Your Smartphone 200 Your Tablet 202 Using a Guest Network for Visiting Friends 203 Switching Between Wi-Fi and Cellular Networks 204 Why Wi-Fi Is Better Than Cellular 204 When to Connect via Cellular 205 How to Switch from Wi-Fi to Cellular 206 Using Your Smartphone or Tablet to Control Networked Devices 206 Using Your Smartphone to Control Things When You're Not Around 208 IV Using Your Wireless Network 16 Sharing Printers and Other Devices 213 a Shared Printer to Your Network 214 a Wireless Network Printer 215 Benefits of a Network Printer 216 Setting Up a Network Printer 216 a Printer via a Print Server 217 Installing a Shared Printer on Other PCs 218 Printing to a Network Printer 218 Using Google Cloud Print 220 How Google Cloud Print Works 220 Cloud Print Utilities 221 a Cloud Print-Ready Computer 221 an Existing Printer 221 Sharing a Printer 223 Printing via Google Cloud Print 224 Sharing Other Peripherals 225
TABLE OF CONTENTS xi 17 Sharing and Transferring Files 227 How File Sharing Works 228 Configuring File Sharing in Windows 229 Enabling Password-Protected Sharing 229 Sharing the Public Folder 230 Sharing Other Folders 230 Sharing Complete Drives 234 Accessing Computers on Your Network 234 Accessing Windows HomeGroup Computers 234 Accessing Other Computers from a Windows PC 235 Accessing Other Computers from a Mac 237 Using a Home Server for File Sharing 237 Backing Up Your Data Across a Network 238 Sharing Files in the Cloud 238 What Is Cloud Storage? 238 Why Use Cloud Storage? 239 Popular Cloud-Storage Services 240 Sharing a File with SkyDrive 241 18 Streaming Audio and Video 245 How Streaming Media Works 246 What's Good And What's Bad About Streaming Media 246 What's Good About Streaming Media 247 What's Not So Good About Streaming Media 248 Choosing a Streaming Media Device 249 Streaming Media on an Internet-Capable TV 249 Streaming Media on an Internet-Capable Blu-ray Player 250 Streaming Media on a Network Media Player 251 Streaming Media on a Personal Computer 254 Streaming Media on a Smartphone or Tablet 255 Streaming TV Shows and Movies 256 Hulu and Hulu Plus 257 Netflix 259 Amazon Instant Video 260 Blockbuster On Demand 261 itunes 261 Vudu 262 Veoh 262 Crackle 263 Vevo 263 Other Sites 263
xii WIRELESS NETWORKING ABSOLUTE BEGINNER'S GUIDE Streaming Music 265 Streaming Music Services 265 Internet Radio 268 Terrestrial Radio, Online 271 Cloud-Based Music Services 272 Streaming Media Across Your Network 274 DLNA 275 Apple AirPlay 275 19 Troubleshooting Network Problems 279 Managing Networked Computers (Windows Version) 280 Viewing a Larger Network Map 281 Changing the Type of Network Location 281 Configuring Advanced Sharing Options 281 Viewing and Managing Network Connections 282 Changing IP Addresses 284 Managing Networked Computers (Mac Version) 286 Configuring Network Preferences 286 Displaying Network Information 287 Speeding Up a Slow Wireless Connection 288 Checking Your Signal Strength 288 Moving Closer to the Router 289 Don't Hide Your or Adapter Router 289 Moving Devices That Might Cause Interference 290 Changing the Channel 290 Changing the Band 290 Upgrading to a Faster Router 290 Troubleshooting Bad Network Connections 291 Letting Your Operating System Fix the Problem 291 Disconnecting the Connection 291 Rebooting the Adapter or the Device 292 Rebooting Your Router 292 Checking the Device's IP Settings 292 Manually Assigning an IP Address 293 Checking the Workgroup Troubleshooting Name 293 a Dead Internet Connection 294 Checking the Cables 294 Rebooting the Modem 294 Checking with Your ISP 295 a Speeding Up Slow Internet Connection 295 Understanding Connection Speed 295 Understanding Browser Speed 296 Cleaning Your Cache 296
TABLE OF CONTENTS xiii Changing the Size of Your Cache 297 Managing Your Cookies 297 Don't Display Graphics 298 Uninstailing Unnecessary Add-Ons 298 Using an Alternate DNS Service 299 V Wirelessly Outside the Home 20 to Wi-Fi Hotspots 303 Where Can You Find a Hotspot? 304 Wi-Fi Coffeehouses and Restaurants 304 Wi-Fi Hotels 305 Wi-Fi Airports and Transportation Centers 305 Wi-Fi in Public Places 305 Wi-Fi Communities 305 to a Public Hotspot 306 Logging Onto a Hotspot 307 Manually to a Hidden Network 308 Changing the Order of Preferred Networks in Windows 309 Working Securely from a Public Hotspot 311 Troubleshooting Hotspot Problems 312 You Can't Connect to the Hotspot 312 You Get Disconnected from the Hotspot 312 You Connect to the Hotspot But Can't Access the Internet 313 You Can't Connect to Selected Websites 313 You Can't Send or Receive Email 313 21 in Your Car 317 Your Phone to Your Car for Phone Calls 318 Using Built-in Bluetooth 318 Using Add-On Bluetooth Car Kits 320 Your Phone to Your Car to Play Music 321 Listening with a Built-in System 321 Listening via an Add-On Bluetooth System 322 Using Your Smartphone to Access the Internet While Driving 323 Using a Wireless Router in Your Car 324 Installing a Wireless Router 324 Using a Mobile Hotspot 325 Looking to the Future: The Wireless Car 326 Index 329