Monday, October 8, 2012

Network Address Wireless Problem

Network Address Wireless Problem:
If you are having problems with your wireless connection network address then there are certain steps, which you can take yourself, which may help to rectify the problem, without having to turn to an expert for help. Below we provide you with a few steps that you may want to try if in the future you have a network address wireless problem.

First off, check the connection between the wireless router with that to the modem you are using. You need to make sure that all the cables have been inserted correctly and that the lights, which show the connections status, are on.

If you discover that there is a problem between these then you need to spend some time checking the following:-

1. If you can replace the cables that are connecting the wireless router to the modem as this may have become damaged. It is important that you check in the manual that come with your router to see that in fact you are actually using the right cables.

2. After replacing the cables you discover that the status lights remain off then it might be an idea to try and connect another device to the network to see if this is affected at all. If this does not work then it is a good idea to check the port configurations at either end of the network and reconfigure if you need to in order it is running at the right speed and using the right duplex mode.

3. Even after you have carried out all the above and you still find that you have no network connection then check to make sure that the wireless adapter, which has been, installed n your device is working correctly. For those who are running Windows applications on theirs you just need to go to control panel, then network connections and verify that it is showing as enabled.

4. Next you will need to check and verify that the settings on your Wireless LAN are correct. This will also help you to identify the actual port IP address as well as the subnet.

5. After checking and verifying the LAN settings you now need to move on and check/verify the TCP/IP settings. To do this you will need to once more go into the network connections panel. After going into the TCP/IP settings you need to click on the repair button and hopefully this will help to rectify the problem that you may well be having with your network address.

However if you find that after trying the various different things mentioned above you have not been able to fix the network address wireless problem it may be time you looked more closely at the hardware you are using. Often you may find it is a simple case that the wireless adapter, the router or the modem you have in place are not functioning correctly and need to be replaced.

How to Protect Your Wireless Network

How to Protect Your Wireless Network:
How to Protect your Wireless Network

Having a home wireless network means that you can say goodbye to Ethernet cables forever and turn every room into your office. But if you don't have the right security half your neighbors could end up poaching your broadband.

Protecting your network is essential if you want to keep your broadband fast, private and hacker-free.
There are a few ways to protect yourself and there are also different levels of security, from basic to the more advanced. But once these settings have been saved you will be safe and secure and ready to log on wherever you are.

Wireless encryption
To protect yourself from hackers you need to set up a WEP or WPA Personal (WPA-PSK) key.
  • WEP is a simple 64 or 128Bit encryption but offers limited security and is relatively easy to break
  • WPA-PSK, in the forms of WPA-TKIP which offers better security and is backwards compatible with older routers and USB keys, and WPA2-AES which offers the best security and better wireless performance but which is not compatible with all older hardware
You can set up your encryption key when setting up your wireless router, and there should be an explanation of how to do so in your instruction manual.

Internet security
In addition to having an encryption key, you also need to install a few other things:
  • A firewall
  • Anti-virus software
  • Anti-spyware software
  • Anti-phishing software
You also need to ensure that any software that you have installed is always up-to-date. Hackers are continually updating their methods and developing new viruses so make sure that you regularly run live updates on the internet to make sure that your version of windows and your anti-virus software is also up-to-date.

Name your wireless
Giving your wireless signal a name, or a service set identifier (SSID), is an easy way of identifying it and can be set at the time of installation. Doing this will also allow you to enhance your security settings using wireless isolation.

Wireless isolation
This is a way of hiding your wireless network so that other people cannot "see you", making your network more private. Once you have set your SSID then you can change the settings on your router to isolate your wireless, making you "invisible".

Access lists
Access lists give an added level of security to your network. As well as having to have the password for your network, any user's computers would also have to be on the access list. They would be identified by the computer's MAC code (like a fixed address) via the router.
Now that you have set your security, you can rest assured that no one else is using your broadband or hacking into your files.

Home Networking Secrets - How To Do It the Easy Way

Home Networking Secrets - How To Do It the Easy Way: More and more of us are adding devices to our home networks - an extra PC for the kids, Xbox or Wii, a media sever to store all our music and photos. The ability to share music, photos and videos across all the PCs in your house has never been easier.

Yet with all this growth, a recent survey conducted by ABI Research showed one in three consumers reported difficulty in setting up and maintaining their home network. 25% of all wireless devices are returned to the store simply because it was too hard to setup and not a defective product. This notion is further enforced by Best Buy's Geek Squad founder Robert Stephens who acknowledged that the complexity of installing a wireless network is evidenced by the fact that return rates on wireless networking devices drop to nearly zero when his installers do it. Really there are a lot of great network products out there, but unfortunately they do not always do a good job of explaining very simple to set up.

This is one of the reasons that big stores love home networks, it seems complex and hard to set up. Its easy to get frustrated with it. So if you return a wireless router to the store how hard do they have to sell you on letting them ease your frustrations by having them install it for you.

Another reason they love home networks is the time it can take to set up a network. Usually there's software to install, the PC will need a reboot, add security passwords and need another reboot and we all know how long that can take. So if you have two PCs on your network the time needed is doubled, want to add a printer you can all use, time doubles again as more software is added to each pc and yet more reboots.

Final reason is maintenance. Want to add a new pc or printer they will gladly come out and spend more time adding the new device. If the network stops working do you know where to start troubleshooting?
Truth is home and small business networking is not that difficult if you have some technical knowledge. Setting up times and maintenance can be greatly reduced with the right software. With great software you do not even need the technical knowledge to get a multi-device network running.

Whenever I go to someones home to set up a network I show them them Network Magic. This software is by Cisco, one of the leading companies in business high tech networking. I explain how by using this software their network can be set up quicker, be more secure and easier to maintain

Setting Up
Simply install Cisco Network Magic to each PC in your home. The Essentials version has licenses for up to 3 devices. The Pro version lets you connect up to 8 devices. Cisco Network Magic adds a level of simplicity to many of the most common setup problems encountered. These issues include enabling wireless security and discovering and adding each device to the network, whether wired or wireless. With Cisco Network Magic, you can instantly connect all of your devices to the network, without the usual difficulties.

Once your network is up and running, Cisco Network Magic makes it easy to see what is happening on the network through a Network Map which is a visual representation of of all the devices that are connected to your home network, as well as possible intruders. The map also provides additional details about those devices, including IP addresses, connection status, alerts about software updates, as well as easy access to any tasks related to each device. By utilizing the features of the map, you can view and control many aspects of your networked devices, without having to go to each device individually so no more running back and forth.

File and Printer Sharing
ABI Research has also found that more than 33% of home network owners said they use their network for file sharing, and 40% share a printer among multiple computers. Cisco Network Magic helps make the process a snap, with built-in file and printer sharing tools.

To share files with your other computers, simply click on "Share a Folder" and a software setup program known as a "wizard" walks you through the steps. If you want to see what folders are shared on one computer, or all of your networked computers, you can do that as well. Cisco Network Magic even puts a shortcut on your desktop, making it easy to access all the music, photos, videos and other files available on your networked computers. With multiple computers in a household, it becomes very cumbersome and expensive to outfit each one with its own printer. If you want to share a printer among multiple computers, Cisco Network Magic has an easy setup process. The program will make the printer available to all computers on the network, and will even automatically install the printer drivers on the different PCs for you.

Parental Controls
If you're like millions of concerned parents, you worry about the content that your children are exposed to on the Internet. Perhaps you would also like to control when your children have access to the Internet. With the Internet Access Controls in Cisco Network Magic, you can do all of this and more.

Cisco Network Magic offers controls that allow you to manage when and where your networked computers access the Internet. You can restrict Internet access to certain times of the day, making sure your kids are doing their homework and not surfing the web or chatting with their friends online. All of this can be done remotely, via a password-enabled tool so the controls you put in place stay there.

Computer Reports and Network History
The reports feature of Network Magic offers a convenient way to keep track of what sites have been visited on your connected computers. The program can be setup to email a link to a detailed report each day, showing when the computer was online, the programs that were used (and when they were used) computer health status, each website that was visited, and the Internet bandwidth consumed by each computer. Network history shows you which computers and other devices have connected to the network, along with any intruders that may have attempted to connect.

Troubleshooting
One of the most frustrating aspects of managing a home network is troubleshooting when one of your devices gets disconnected. Your computer's operating system offers limited solutions for fixing a problem with the PC, and no help for reconnecting other devices like game consoles or Internet-connected TVs. Network Magic offers a variety of troubleshooting solutions for your network connection, as well as file and printer sharing. When your connection is lost, the Network Map will clearly show you where the break is. Click on the "Repair Connection" button from the map to have the software walk you through a step-by-step guide to fix your network connection. The "Troubleshoot Sharing" task will do the same when you have file and printer sharing problems
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If you're still having trouble after using Network Magic then its worth having someone come in and help you. So why do I recommend Network Magic to my clients if it means less work and money? Because I would rather my clients only need to call on me as a last resort and to know that when I a working for them I'm not wasting their time and money on tasks that can be made simple and easy.

Top 5 Home Network Problem Areas:

  1. Wireless Network Connection 
  2. Printer Sharing 
  3. Troubleshooting 
  4. Connecting New Devices 
  5. Wireless Network Security
  6. Cost. Network Magic reduces all of these. Its a great price and is a one off fee, no yearly subscriptions like some software.
Bonus Secret: Most times when your network is down, a simple restart will get everything back; just follow this procedure.
  1. Shut down all the pcs and network devices
  2. Shut down your router
  3. Shut down the box provided by your cable company or phone company for internet access
  4. Wait 5 minutes and then start up the cable/phone box again
  5. Wait five more minutes and start up your router
  6. Wait 5 more minutes and startup your pcs one by one

Fixed Wireless Broadband

Fixed Wireless Broadband:
Nobody could have predicted the popularity of the internet today. There are many different ways to access the internet, from dial-up to DSL to broadband internet to fixed wireless broadband. As you probably know, for the best online experience you need a fast connection. Dial-up access is notoriously slow, especially by today's standards. If you plan to do anything more than check your email, it's almost a requirement to have high-speed internet access. Broadband, or high-speed internet access, has a speed at least ten times that of dial-up.

DSL and Cable choices for broadband internet access run over existing telephone and cable lines.
Another choice in broadband internet is wireless broadband, which uses radio waves to eliminate cables. The choices here include fixed wireless broadband and mobile broadband. Fixed wireless broadband includes a system setup in a specific location, such as your home as office. This system requires no wires, unlike dial-up, DSL, or cable internet. Fixed wireless broadband is also gaining popularity for use in remote areas where no cables already exist. The solutions are better than wired internet because you can move around the space without worrying about whether your laptop is connected via cables to your internet access. Wireless technology is easy to install. Commonly known as WiFi, fixed wireless broadband offers high speeds for internet access. Wireless internet access is available through many phone companies, and it is becoming more available each day.

Fixed wireless broadband uses state of the art technology to deliver internet availability in a convenient package. With wireless internet, you'll no longer be tied to the places where your internet access cable can reach. Imagine surfing the internet while laying in bed or lying on the couch. These are just a few of the possibilities with fixed wireless broadband, which frees your internet access from cabling, allowing much more mobility. Although the signal can be slowed by walls or other obstructions, there are not any serious downsides to fixed broadband so long as the signal reaches everywhere you need it to.

When setting up your broadband, you'll need to select those computers that can access the network, while maintaining your privacy. Make sure your broadband network is not visible to anyone you don't know, or anyone within the vicinity of your network will be able to use it.