Some of the members brought their laptops to try out the CompUSA wireless network that we had permission to use. Richard Hall started the meeting discussing CompUSA hardware that was available at the store.

Ken discussed the three wireless standards 802.11a, b and g. He talked about how you can change the antennas on the wireless router if you want to empower the neighborhood. Ken drew and explained a picture of a network. He showed the Wireless Access Point, WAP, connected to modem which is a DHCP server. He said the maximum length of signal is about 150 feet. Microwave transmissions are effected by leaves and rain because water absorbs the signal. He said there are boosters that cost about $40 that can boost the signal. You can get another card PCI or PCMCIA card with a bigger antennas, or reposition the antenna to get a better signal. You can also explore different antennas that are available on the internet, such as those found at http://www.freeantennas.com/.

The system he explained was a home or office Infrastructure Mode. You can set up an Ad Hoc mode that is two computers with wireless adapters doing peer to peer.

Ken explained software that will let you manage protect and check your system. Ken uses AirSnare from Digital Matrix, http://home.comcast.net/~jay.deboer/airsnare/. Don Greer uses Netstumbler, http://www.netstumbler.com/.

Ken used Windows programs to Configure and set up Network Connections. He used ipconfig in Win XP and Win 2000 and winipcfg in Windows versions before WinXP

For security Ken had the following recommendations:

1. Do not broadcast SSID
2. Use WEP (Wired Equivalency Protocol) if card and router support it, or use WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) if it is available, it is the newer encryption
3. filter your MAC address inside the router to only let these addresses in

For more information on the Tulsa Computer Society click here