Traversing The Net Without A Wire
(November, 2004)
A
few years ago, I had the privilege of witnessing Tino Wallenda and other members
of the Flying Wallenda family perform their famous high wire act in person. The
Wallenda family has been famous for decades for their skill and courage
traversing the wire high above the ground without a safety net.
There is little question that my acrophobia will preclude wire walking any time
soon. However, I can see a time when I will be traversing the net
without a wire. I’m referring of course to “WI-FI”, short for ‘Wired
Fidelity’, synonymous with wireless networking. Most people shy away from
attempting to build a home PC network, and fewer still would consider going
wireless. But I can see trends changing; as hardware prices come down and
advances in technology and operating systems begin to take some of the magic and
mystique out of wireless networking, I suspect it will not be long before more
people resin up their hands and make the leap into wireless. And the good news
is leotards are not required.
Why would a person go wireless?
Consider the multi-computer home. There was a time when we were growing up that
a family only owned one car and probably only one TV. Now, TVs might be found
in nearly every room in the house, and three-car garages are no longer
uncommon. It will be that way with computers too. You’ll want to share that
internet connection with multiple PCs, which means a home network. Or maybe the
best spot for that PC is not where a phone jack or a cable outlet exists.
Perhaps you have a laptop and want the freedom to park yourself on the recliner
and read your emails without the fuss of dragging a cable with you. And if
you’re a real fanatic, you may want to cart that laptop or PDA down to the local
coffee house and use your wireless-enabled unit to surf the web while sucking
down a mocha-chino.
Many folks are already tapped into wireless. I recently had an opportunity to
assist a woman in our community with a couple of minor computer issues, and I
have to admit I was surprised to find this active grandmother moving about her
house with her un-tethered laptop in hand, trading emails from the comfort of
her couch. I also had the opportunity to listen to a presentation at a
New Bern Computer User Group meeting delivered by Tom Dougherty, who retired
recently from a career that included network consulting for the likes of
colleges, communities, and a certain unnamed Orlando amusement park featuring a
mouse. Tom clearly knows his stuff. He helped the group wade through the
technicalities of wireless, and explained that its origins go back to our old
friend Alexander Graham Bell.
In a nutshell, wireless devices use radio frequencies to stay connected to other
devices without being physically attached to them. These devices may operate at
different frequencies and offer different transmission speeds, depending on the
type of technology employed. These networking standards are referred to by
nomenclature such as 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g. Now I’ll admit that to me
these all sound like tax forms I forgot to file. Suffice to say that 802.11b is
the most widely used technology and has the highest likelihood of being able to
talk with other wireless devices, but new PC adapters are being introduced that
are able to talk all three ‘languages’, which should ensure the widest range of
interoperability and highest possible speed.
Protect Yourself and Others - Turn On Encryption
What do you need to enter into the wireless world? In most cases, you’ll need
either a device called an ‘access point’ or a wireless router, plus you’ll need
a wireless adapter for your desktop or a wireless PC card for your laptop. Put
in a little bit of time spent loading the software and you’re there. But Tom
points out something very important. As he said, most people get to the part of
the manual where it says ‘Congratulations! You’ve now installed your network’.
They never turn the page to where it talks about how to turn on encryption. Tom
has done random surveys where he has identified 20 wireless sites, with as few
as 4 of the 20 being encrypted (blocked to unauthorized use.) If you’re reading
this and you’re running a wireless network, ask yourself if you’ve turned on
encryption. If not, your little home PC could be a portal for a fellow with a
wireless laptop and the right software parked out front of your house. You may
someday have folks knocking on your door asking why you’re transmitting
porno-spam out into the web. They traced it to your net address, because that
mobile spammer used your connection. Scary, yes, but it’s easy to prevent with
a minimum of effort, if you just turn on that encryption key. Read the manual,
folks.
ISPs here in New Bern are getting into the wireless act. Sometime around
November 2004, Esisnet (www.esisnet.com)
should be rolling out its new wireless product. Subscribers will receive their
internet feeds via radio signal. The service expects to offer higher speeds at
lower costs than cable or DSL. Jim Ebright, one of the principals behind the
ISP and an active member of the New Bern Computer User Group, has the lofty goal
of “making New Bern the largest WI-FI ‘hotspot’ in the world.” (A hotspot is a
location where a person can tap into a wireless broadband connection.)
Sounds cool to me.! Then I can enjoy my mocha-chino and latest jib-jab cartoon
anywhere near the confluence of the mighty Neuse and Trent rivers. Yes, it’s
definitely time to start laying the groundwork with Mrs. M. for that new
wireless laptop.
If you’d like to delve deeper into WI-FI, check out the slides from Tom
Dougherty’s NBCUG presentation at:
http://always-online.com/nbcug/wlan.pdf