Wireless Network Tips

There are some obvious and not so obvious factors for wireless interference. This write-up should help you figure out the causes of interference on your wireless network and learn what to do around them.

There are other sorts of wireless interference that are not so obvious. If you live in an apartment creating and are surrounded by neighbors who too have wireless devices in their apartments there's a fantastic opportunity their wireless signals may be interfering with yours. An simple fix for this is to adjust the channel your wireless router is on. Wireless-G routers frequently have 11 channels you possibly can choose from. Most of these channels overlap with adjacent channels so if your neighbor is working with channel 6 it is most beneficial to go with channel one or channel 11 on your wireless router. A lot of new wireless N routers and several G routers have an car-switching function which automatically detects the channel that is many open and switches to that.

A Wireless-G router essentially lives on the 4 GHZ frequency band. Unfortunately a great deal of one's other wireless devices also occupy that frequency band. Microwave ovens, baby monitors, garage door openers and cordless phones at the same time operate on the four GHZ frequency band and are capable of causing a lot of interference issues4 with your wireless router. It's top to maintain your access point and your wireless devices at the very least 6 to 10 feet away from these devices.

As wireless technologies becomes more mature interference is being much less and less of a concern. We at this time have Wireless-N routers which enable us to use the 5 GHZ frequency band and stay clear of a great number of of these interference issues altogether. Most Wireless-N routers and a number of Wireless-G routers use something referred to as MIMO which sends and receives multiple signals at as soon as and almost floods the whole area with a wireless signal. This gives various paths for the wireless signal to follow which makes it much less susceptible to interference.

If your wireless signal appears to work superior in several locations of the household and not in other people you are probably experiencing interference issues4. Make confident to check not simply the a number of obvious and visible causes of interference however the not so obvious an invisible factors as well.

Obviously any solid object is going to trigger a few difficulty for radio signal. Typically objects such as plaster, drywall and wood have little impact on wireless radio signals. On the other hand objects such as metal, concrete and glass can have a large effect on your wireless signal. The human body which is produced mostly of water can interfere significantly having a wireless signal. The absolute worst place to install a wireless router is an region that is full of metal objects such as a kitchen or laundry room. Strangely enough some wireless routers that are installed as part of the house for the duration of construction are surrounded by metal objects and are consistently rendered useless.

An fascinating truth to note is the angle at which a router and its access point are placed when it comes to a wall can as well produce a huge difference. To a router and access point placed at a 90 degree angle to a 6 inch thick wall that wall will appear to be 6 inches thick. Change the angle to 45 degrees and that identical wall will appear to be a foot thick. This is why moving an access point a couple of feet in 1 direction or a different can develop such a significant difference.

Protecting Home Wireless Network

While the security problems associated with wireless networking are serious, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. The following sections describe these steps.

Make Your Wireless Network Invisible
Wireless access points can announce their presence to wireless-enabled computers. This is referred to as “identifier broadcasting.” In certain situations, identifier broadcasting is desirable. For instance, an internet cafe would want its customers to easily find its access point, so it would leave identifier broadcasting enabled. However, you’re the only one who needs to know you have a wireless network in your home. To make your network invisible to others, see your access point’s user manual for instructions on disabling identifier broadcasting. (In Apple wireless networking, this is called “creating a closed network.”) While this kind of “security through obscurity” is never foolproof, it’s a starting point for securing your wireless network.


Rename Your Wireless Network
Many wireless access point devices come with a default name. This name is referred to as the “service set identifier” (SSIS) or “extended service set identifier” (ESSID). The default names used by various manufacturers are widely known and can be used to gain unauthorized access to your network. When you rename your network, you should choose a name that won’t be easily guessed by others.


Encrypt Your Network Traffic
Your wireless access point device should allow you to encrypt traffic passing between the device and your computers. By encrypting wireless traffic, you are converting it to a code that can only be understood by computers with the correct key to that code. For more about encryption, see the US-CERT Cyber Security Tip “Understanding Encryption,” http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-019.html.


Change Your Administrator Password
Your wireless access point device likely shipped with a default password. Default passwords for various manufacturers are widely known and can be used to gain unauthorized access to your network. Be sure to change your administrator password to one that is long, contains non-alphanumeric characters (such as #, $, and &), and does not contain personal information (such as your birth date). If your wireless access point does not have a default password, be sure to create one and use it to protect your device.

Use File Sharing with Caution
If you don’t need to share directories and files over your network, you should disable file sharing on your computers. You may want to consider creating a dedicated directory for file sharing, and move or copy files to that directory for sharing. In addition, you should password protect anything you share, and use a password that is long, contains non-alphanumeric characters (such as #, $, and &), and does not contain personal information (such as your birth date). Never open an entire hard drive for file sharing.

Keep Your Access Point Software Patched and Up to Date
From time to time, the manufacturer of your wireless access point will release updates to the device software or patches to repair bugs. Be sure to check the manufacturer’s web site regularly for any updates or patches for your device’s software.


Check Your Internet Provider’s Wireless Security Options
Your internet service provider may provide information about securing your home wireless network. Check the customer support area of your provider’s web site or contact your provider’s customer support group.