I finally broke down and bought myself a laptop, complete with a wireless router.  That's some cool stuff.  I get about 200 feet of range from the router, so it can go anywhere in the house, out to the yard, into the shed, etc.  

I was impressed with the speed, even on the low end 54 mbps unit I got.  By the way, Netgear blows.  Numerous connection problems and the so called customer service was horrible.  The service is farmed out to some middle eastern sounding location.  The phone connection was crappy and their Engrish was marginal at best.  I returned the Netgear and picked up a Linksys, which was up and running quickly.  

So, are y'all wired or wireless.  Any input of what type of encryption you like to use?  I was amazed to find a few unencrypted signals in my area.  

Encrypt...at least WEP 128.  Chose WPA if its supported.

I live in a condo, wired.

I'm both... 6 Desktops are wired and my lappy is on a WirelessG through linksys all on my 8Mb/1Mb cable internet.  I use WEP for encription.  Doesn't really matter what security you use, it can get broken.

Encription, like security, only keeps the honest people out.

And get yourself a copy of NetStumbler for some wireless fun with your laptop  Always fun to attach myself to their printer and scaring the bejesus outta them by printing out "LOCK YOUR WIRELESS DOWN!!!"

I'm completely wireless around the house, yeah even a PSP so I can surf ARFCOM in the "Library".  Sometimes my legs fall asleep I'm in there so long.

And on the road if I'm being cheap I will pull into the parking lot of a hotel with wireless service and surf ARFCOM, do some banking, surf more ARFCOM, that sort of thing.

If you want to have your eyes really opened get a wireless signal detector and use it in some of the places you find yourself on a daily basis.  You'll be surprised at what you find out.

There are a lot of Starbucks coffee shops around here and the trendy thing for them to do is set up wireless networks to draw regulars that want to surf and drink joe.  Some other smaller businesses also have them, like local sandwich places, the weirdo Hill area in Seattle is practically crawling with signals.

Most are not secured, because they're being purposefully shared (i.e. college kids) or set up by yuppie dumbasses that just want convenience and get plug-and-play setups... skipping the security.

Caveat: don't wardrive... that's slang for driving around and snooping around unsecured systems.  

That's wrong.

Most Linksys stuff comes with an upgraded version of WEP (WPA), use it.  My wife used to hunt hackers for a living, her coworkers had some horror stories about WEP vulnerability.  BTW, I use Linksys and it's hacker-hunter-wife approved.

One last thing about wireless that's overlooked.  Remote storage and print servers, you can hook up specially-made "servers" to your printer or large hard-drive to use them remotely in your home. They use the same security that your network does (on the same key) and can be tucked out of the way where you won't have to see them.  Print something up without having to hookup the laptop again, and hide that ugly printer.

Have fun.

My .02.

Thanks for the info.  I'm wireless challenged.  

Wireless is easy, just make sure you've got a firewall and up to date security and that's about it.  I laugh that McStarbucks charges for wireless but 4 independent coffee shops around my house all have free wireless.  Even my car dealership has wireless so you can work or browse the web while having your oil changed.  

Quoted: If you want to have your eyes really opened get a wireless signal detector and use it in some of the places you find yourself on a daily basis.  You'll be surprised at what you find out.

Caveat: don't wardrive... that's slang for driving around and snooping around unsecured systems.   That's wrong.

Not to mention illegal in at least some states.

Florida man charged with stealing Wi-Fi Practice is fairly common, but arrests are unusual Updated: 8:41 p.m. ET July 6, 2005 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Police have arrested a man for using someone else's wireless Internet network in one of the first criminal cases involving this fairly common practice. Benjamin Smith III, 41, faces a pretrial hearing this month following his April arrest on charges of unauthorized access to a computer network, a third-degree felony. Police say Smith admitted using the Wi-Fi signal from the home of Richard Dinon, who had noticed Smith sitting in an SUV outside Dinon's house using a laptop computer. The practice is so new that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement doesn't even keep statistics, according to the St. Petersburg Times, which reported Smith's arrest this week. Innocuous use of other people's unsecured Wi-Fi networks is common, though experts say that plenty of illegal use also goes undetected: such as people sneaking on others' networks to traffic in child pornography, steal credit card information and send death threats. Security experts say people can prevent such access by turning on encryption or requiring passwords, but few bother or are unsure how to do so. Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, has enjoyed prolific growth since 2000. Millions of households have set up wireless home networks that give people like Dinon the ability to use the Web from their backyards but also reach the house next door or down the street. It's not clear why Smith was using Dinon's network. Prosecutors declined to comment, and a working phone number could not be located for Smith.

Quoted: Florida man charged with stealing Wi-Fi Practice is fairly common, but arrests are unusual Updated: 8:41 p.m. ET July 6, 2005 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Police have arrested a man for using someone else's wireless Internet network in one of the first criminal cases involving this fairly common practice. Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, has enjoyed prolific growth since 2000. Millions of households have set up wireless home networks that give people like Dinon the ability to use the Web from their backyards but also reach the house next door or down the street.

LOL, not being fidelitous with wireless fidelity?

I'm wireless right now at the Anchorage AK terminal.  Waiting for my flight on the way up to Barrow AK.

I'm wireless at Marymoor Park in Redmond.

With high enough taxes, at least it's free access!

All your wireless belong to me....  


Seriously... Hop on my net anytime, I leave one open just for you. Do your banking.... surf your porn....

My logs are good henchmen... I can't believe what some people will send on a strange connection.

Quoted: I'm wireless at Marymoor Park in Redmond. With high enough taxes, at least it's free access!

Tax money didn't get Mayrmoor wireless, Microsoft did.  

Quoted: I'm both... 6 Desktops are wired and my lappy is on a WirelessG through linksys all on my 8Mb/1Mb cable internet.  I use WEP for encription.  Doesn't really matter what security you use, it can get broken. Encription, like security, only keeps the honest people out. And get yourself a copy of NetStumbler for some wireless fun with your laptop  Always fun to attach myself to their printer and scaring the bejesus outta them by printing out "LOCK YOUR WIRELESS DOWN!!!"

 

Quoted: Quoted: I'm both... 6 Desktops are wired and my lappy is on a WirelessG through linksys all on my 8Mb/1Mb cable internet.  I use WEP for encription.  Doesn't really matter what security you use, it can get broken. Encription, like security, only keeps the honest people out. And get yourself a copy of NetStumbler for some wireless fun with your laptop  Always fun to attach myself to their printer and scaring the bejesus outta them by printing out "LOCK YOUR WIRELESS DOWN!!!"

pretty easy to do. which smiley means what - i need a stumbler to figure out what people think here.. sheesh


Computers are easy... humans are too stupid too understand.

Mine is not encrypted!

But then again, theres no building in range that can get it. Wireless at the office is encrypted though, to many hacker wannabes.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm both... 6 Desktops are wired and my lappy is on a WirelessG through linksys all on my 8Mb/1Mb cable internet.  I use WEP for encription.  Doesn't really matter what security you use, it can get broken. Encription, like security, only keeps the honest people out. And get yourself a copy of NetStumbler for some wireless fun with your laptop  Always fun to attach myself to their printer and scaring the bejesus outta them by printing out "LOCK YOUR WIRELESS DOWN!!!"   pretty easy to do. which smiley means what - i need a stumbler to figure out what people think here.. sheesh Computers are easy... humans are too stupid too understand.

I know exactly what stumbler does, and it does not allow you to connect anything. It tells you AP's in the area, The name of AP and MAC address. Windows will do that. Oh yeah it will tell you if it is encrypted or not also. Windows does that too. Check out remote-exploit.org if you want to have fun with somebody. That and Tom's networking will get you maybe going.