Apple p44-49 ユーザーズマニュアル

W H I C H ?  

J A N U A RY

2 0 0 6

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A home network
connects computers
to other computers
and to the internet.
It can also send
music and video to 
a hi-fi or TV.

Wireless networks

are particularly
handy. You can
wander to the shed
with a laptop, say,
and stay connected
to the internet.

To set up a

wireless network,
you need adaptors,
known as WiFi, for
your computers
(unless they have
built-in WiFi). You
can buy a router 
to connect them
wirelessly to your
internet modem.
And if you want to
send music or video,
you need a special
box that plugs into
your hi-fi or TV.

If you like, you

can also add a
media PC. These
tend to have built-in
wireless links and
they can receive and
record TV.

WIRELESS LINKS

A good wireless 
link will be quick
enough to send
music and keep up
with a broadband
connection – even if
you’re a couple of
rooms away.

If you want to

send video, a
wireless connection
will be just about
watchable in the
same room. 
At greater
distances, you
need a type of
cable called an
Ethernet cable.

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Where you put your router is obviously limited
by where you have telephone or cable
connections for the internet. But the other
consideration is what gets in the way. Some
types of wall and floor are harder for wireless
signals to pass through than others; brick walls
get in the way much more than plasterboard.

Wireless signals pass easily through wood. 

If you’ve got wooden floors you’ll probably get
better reception up and down rather than side to
side. If the house has three floors, put the router
on the second floor for the widest reception.

If the signal doesn’t reach as far as you’d like,

buy a ranger booster (or ‘booster station’) for
around £60 – choose the same brand as your
router to make sure they’ll work well together.

And remember that if you want to send video

through your network, you’ll get a much better
picture with a cable. You connect this from your
computer, through the router, to other devices.

Find the best place

for your router

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The problem with wireless links is that people
can potentially piggyback on your internet
connection or snoop on your online activities.

However, there are a few steps you can take 

to make your network more secure.

REDUCE THE POWER

The most basic way to protect yourself is to
make sure that the signal strength of your
wireless base station is no higher than it needs
to be. You adjust the signal strength using
computer software that comes with the router.

This requires a bit of experimentation. If you

can turn the power down and still get a decent
signal throughout the house, it’s worth doing.

It will make it harder for people to spy on you

and lessen the chances that your wireless
network will interfere with your neighbours’.

PASSWORDS AND SETTINGS

There are a couple of passwords and settings to
go through. The software settings are rather
difficult to find for some routers but it’s pretty
straightforward once you’ve got them on screen.

First, change the name of your network, 

which people need to know before they can 
use it. You do this by changing the ‘service set
identification’ setting in your software.

Then change the password. In your settings,

this will be described as the ‘WiFi protected
access’. It’s often pre-set as the manufacturer’s
name, which is easy for a hacker to guess.

You can also control which computers your

router will agree to talk to. To do this, change the
‘media access control’ settings. Turn all your
computers on and they should all appear in the
settings; then select only your own computers
and deselect others that pop up.

Make the

network secure

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