Despite the current hoopla about wireless communication, the technology is really nothing new. In fact, it’s been around since your grandparents’ day, when it was called radio. But today’s wireless technology brings with it the promise of freedom: the ability to surf the Web, send and receive e-mail, or play electronic games from anywhere within the range of a wireless access point.

Not so long ago, installing a home network meant running cables through the walls or ceiling, futzing with balky or incompatible hardware and software, and generally disrupting your life. Today’s wireless options eliminate much of that tedium, and often work right out of the box with little tinkering. But as you’ll see, a few post-installation changes are unavoidable.

Simply put, Wi-Fi is a method of transmitting data from one computer to another with radio waves. Currently, the two most popular standards are 802.11b and 802.11g, which we’ll refer to as “b” and “g” in this article for simplicity’s sake. The “g” standard can theoretically transmit information four times faster than “b,” but real-world speed rates are usually about half the rated speeds. For most home users, the “b” standard is fast enough, but since “g” is now nearly as cheap, you might as well choose it for your installation.

Getting started

As mentioned earlier, installing a wireless network has become much easier as the technology has matured. Because manufacturers must strictly adhere to wireless standards, any “b” or “g” wireless device should work seamlessly with any other—theoretically. But for practical reasons, including having just one contact point for technical support, most network analysts recommend buying all your networking hardware from the same manufacturer. Both “b” and “g” equipment are available in a number of brands, including Belkin, Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, and Microsoft.

Let’s say you want to connect your desktop computer in the den with another PC down the hall. You’ll need two pieces of equipment to get started: a wireless router for your desktop and a receiver for the other computer. Think of a router as a switchboard for your network, directing and monitoring its traffic and making sure that all data reaches its destination intact, whether it’s a Web page loading on your desktop PC or a digital photo you’re sending to another computer on the network.

A word of advice: If you want to avoid many of the headaches that can arise during a wireless network installation, use Windows XP (either the Home or Pro edition) for your operating system on all PCs you intend to connect. It’s possible to cobble together a wireless solution using Windows 98 or Me, but XP was designed for networking from the ground up and will smooth your transition considerably. For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume you’re using XP. But if you’re not, installing a wireless network is a great excuse to upgrade.

Step one

Each PC you plan to connect to your wireless network must have a receiver. There are two main types: a wireless card that requires you to open your computer’s case to install, and one that simply plugs into a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. If you’re uncomfortable poking around inside your PC, get a USB receiver. If you have a laptop, opening the PC isn’t even an option. Instead, you simply plug a wireless PC card into the correct slot, and after a bit of configuring, you’re ready to go. Many laptop computers now come with wireless connectivity built in.

Once you have all your equipment in place, you’re well on your way to wireless freedom. In our example, your desktop PC will serve as the primary computer on the network. Ideally, it will be centrally located and within 100 feet of all other computers on the network, which is about the maximum indoor range of both “b” and “g” equipment.

Step two

Now you need to set up the router, which usually is plugged into the network port of your primary PC with an Ethernet cable. Your computer’s Ethernet port looks like a phone jack, but is a bit larger. If you have a cable or DSL modem, it will plug into the router. Every piece of computer equipment in your home should be plugged into a surge protector, including the telephone line to your modem.

Step three

The next step is to install a network card or plug a USB receiver into each PC you want to wirelessly connect to your network. Once that’s done, place the setup CD that came with the receiver into your CD-ROM drive and follow the onscreen instructions, which will lead you through the process of setting up the receiver. As soon as you’ve completed that task, go back to your desktop PC and double-click the “My Network Places” icon– you should see a network name. It will probably be the same as the manufacturer of your networking equipment: “Netgear,” “Linksys,” and so on. Your computers are now “talking” to each other wirelessly.

Securing your network

You’re almost done—there are just a few more steps designed to secure your network against prying eyes. To get to your router’s configuration screen, most network vendors require you to type an Internet Protocol (IP) address into a Web browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. This is where you’ll change some of the default settings so hackers can’t snoop around in your network.

A word about security: Your router or access point ships from the manufacturer in essentially a wide-open mode, which means it’s easier for you to install, but also easier for someone to gain access to your system. It’s absolutely essential that you change your default settings as soon as possible after installation, because leaving everything as it came from the factory is like placing your computer at the curb and inviting anyone who happens by to take a gander.

The increase in wireless networks in homes and businesses has given rise to the practice of “war driving,” (from the movie War Games, in which Matthew Broderick used a “war dialing” program to gain access to military computers). A war driver goes from neighborhood to neighborhood looking for unprotected wireless networks using a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop or a device called a network sniffer and tries to connect to them. Some war drivers just want to sit at your curb and surf the Web for free using your Internet account, but others have more unscrupulous intentions. Whatever their reasons, once someone has broken into your network, it’s possible for them to wreak several kinds of havoc.

All wireless routers and access points come with security protocols, which scramble your data before sending it over the network and descramble it at the other end. That keeps casual snoops from stealing credit card numbers or any other sensitive information you might be transmitting. But security is only as strong as its weakest link, and the older security standard, called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), isn’t very strong at all. WEP once was considered a relatively bulletproof security protocol, but with a host of WEP-cracking software freely available on the Internet, it is now less so.

Poised to take its place is Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), a more secure alternative to WEP. WPA is being quickly adopted by wireless manufacturers and will soon come standard on all routers and access points. But even if you have an older unit, chances are it may be upgradable. You can visit your equipment vendor’s Web site and check to see if there’s a software patch you can download that will give your router WPA capability. But the most important thing is to turn on some kind of security option rather than leaving your network wide open to mischief-makers.

Back to the configuration process: If you’ve followed the previous steps, you’ll now be looking at your router’s setup screen. One of the entries you’ll be asked for is a Service Set Identifier (SSID). This is your network’s “name,” something to distinguish it from other networks. Make it something you’ll recognize without giving away much information (i.e. “JFWFNET” instead of “JONESFAMILYWIFINETWORK”). Be sure to enable WPA protection if it’s an option. If not, at least select WEP encryption, which will keep most casual snoopers out of your network. Many home users never enable any security at all—a recipe for disaster.

Once you’ve configured your router and receivers, you should be up and running. Now you can share printers and other devices on your network and, if you have a wireless laptop, surf the Web from a hammock in your back yard or check your e-mail from the sofa while watching TV. Your grandparents never had it so good.