Wireless (wi-fi) Internet Questions Routers/adaptors & home security equipment

[techiemon]

Wireless (wi-fi) Internet Questions Routers/adaptors & home security equipment

Ok, I've been uses ethernet stuff for years, but never really understood how wi-fi really works..

So let me know if I am on the right page here...

If I want my whole house to be wireless I'd buy a wi-fi or wireless router such as one of these things right? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127241

I'd love to do that, but seems a bit risky with security, though I know we can and should use strong passwords.. The biggest issue for me is the location of my current modem is in a corner behind my UPS and my PC on a shelf. Basically the above type just wouldn't work at all.

What I want this for is pretty much one reason, I use a smartphone with wi-fi capability and do not want to use the 3G settings at home to download apps or use apps etc from the phone.

So what I was thinking was to buy something that just plugged in to the USB port on my pc and then could make the signal wireless? Is this possible, is that what these little things are for? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833381002

Perhaps even, I could use my pc as a hub and let my wife run off of this little thing above too? But that would mean we would be sharing the bandwith with my pc rather than through the ethernet cable that goes into the wall? I know it ends up being all the same as the ethernet cable can only handle just so much traffic anyway, but would like to find a viable solution.

My wife uses a notebook in differnet areas of the house, so it would be nice to put an adaptor on a longer cable just outside my office door so she could get access to it, and especially for the wi-fi use on smartphones.

Am I on the right track here? I have never bought anything wireless before, I have used wifi before, but do not really know all that much about it. I am not a computer idiot, but this is something I just never felt secure using due to security issues, but with the purchase at the beignning of the year of a smartphone and the fact I don't want to pay the telcom comnpany bucko bucks for 3G usage, it make sense to use wi-fi at home if I can.

Anyway... let me know. Thanks!

Oh and one other thing while I think of it, I have been consider to install a couple of these things in the house to monitor things while awhile, what sort of equipment would I need to run several pan / tilt cameras that are accessible via the web? Obviously there is more security risk here because these are accessible over the net.

 

[Neuromancer]

If your smartphone supports WPA2 just get a router and use a strong password. You can also use a mac filter in the router and disable SSID broadcast to make the system less noticeable to passerby.

For cameras, you can get a card for your PC that will control camera, pan/tilt significantly raises the price but seems like once a week woot.com is selling a monitoring system with 4 or more cameras. With good placement and enough cameras you shouldnt need to move them.

 

[Knufire]

You can use a desktop as a router.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Using-ICS-Internet-Connection-Sharing

 

[techiemon]

But which type of wireless router? The USB pen looking thing (adaptor) that plugs into a usb port will work well enough for the smartphones right?

I have an HTC sensation XL not sure if it has WPA2 or not... I'd have to read up on the mac filter, really not that familar with the idea of routers, this will be the first time I have really tried to use one.

The camera thing would just be for when we are away on vacation we can check up on the pets from afar and see what they are up to. It would be nice if they had sound also. So they would have to be able to be operated remotely, but as I know these have to be plugged into a wireless router and have additional security because if not anyone would be able to control the cams and see what they are seeing.

 

[Knufire]

It should be enough. Basically the computer creates an Ad-Hoc (Computer to computer) network and uses the wireless adapter to broadcast that. It then shares the internet connection from ethernet with the ad-hoc network.

If you want to use cameras though, you probably want a dedicated router.

 

[Automata]

Don't do a MAC filter or hide the SSID; they literally provide no additional security and updating the MAC list is tedious. With a secure password, people aren't going to get in.

 

[techiemon]

Alright well for 12 bucks today I bought a Toto Link N150UA 150mbs 802.11N USB adaptor. It can send and recieve, it was the only one they had so I figured I would give it a try...I think this brand is Korean, never heard of them, but it was the only one they had in the USB form that was send/recieve. Most of them are recieve only so it would have been useless to me.

I found it to be, until now, very complicated. There are so many screens and I don't know where to start.. I need to go to their website and see if there is an English manual to this thing because even though the software menus are in English I have no idea what I am looking at. I attempted to put a password in etc and then use my smartphone to get the signal, apparently this thing is not plug and play like I expected, there seems to be quite a big of set up to get it to work.. I had no idea...