Wireless Net Surfing - Who Pays?

Question:

When you go to a public place with your laptop and are able to find a network available and connect to it. Is it actually free?

Answer:

Yes, it is actually free. Many businesses allow their customers free Internet access on their network. Once you connect to it, you will have Internet access.

Firewire networking transfer rate very slow

Question:

I have a Firewire network cable between my desktop running XP Pro and my Notebook running XP Home both have SP2.

The network is connected and shows 400mbs and files transfer each way but transfers extremely slow.

Possible solution:

I have seen that an incompatible firewall can create this type of behavior. Try uninstalling your firewall, test the network transfer rate and if all is well, install a different firewall to your network.

How to connect printer to wireless network?

What you will need is a piece of hardware called a 'Wireless Print Server'.

It should be noted that if you are using an all-in-one printer/scanner/fax, wireless print servers typically only support the print function.

Can Bluetooth and Wireless LAN (WLAN) work with each other?

Yes. Both can and do co-exist fine together. The reason is that Bluetooth devices use Frequency Hopping while most WLANs use Direct Sequence Spreading techniques so they both appear as background noise to each other but this should not affect performance.

Are WLANs secure?

Yes, they can be highly secure depending on how you set them up. WLANs have DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) technology on the hardware side and WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) on the software side.

See our networking page or contact us to find out more about wireless networking.

How many computers can I connect to a Wireless Access Point?

In theory, you can set up 254 computers to one access point.

IP addresses 0 thru 255 are assigned for private use, but since the numbers 0 and 255 are assigned as "special" numbers, that would leave 254 addresses available for private use. However, after 20 or 30 computers being setup, the signal becomes so diluted that adding additional computers is just not recommended from a performance stand-point. As a matter of fact, most will agree that no more than 10 should be connected to one access point for optimal performance.

Is 802.11g compatible with 802.11b standard?

Yes, they both operate at 2.4 GHz range. The difference is that 802.11b operates up to 11 mbps and 802.11g operates up 54 mbps (megabits per second).

What is an 'Access Point' ?

Wireless LAN transmitter/receiver that acts as a connection between wireless clients and wired networks. Many WAPs (wireless access point) can be connected together to create a larger network that allows "roaming" without losing their connection, which is similar to a cellular phone.

What is WEP?

Wired Equivalent Privacy, provides 64-bit or 128-bit Wi-Fi encryption. It is an optional security mechanism defined by the IEEE 802.11 committee and implemented in most WLAN products. It is an encryption system that encrypts data on wireless networks that can only be read by authorized users with the correct decryption key. Since radio-based systems present completely different security issues than those of their "wired" counterpart, WEP can only serve to protect the network from casual access.