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Wifi question
- Thread starter chperplt
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CP,
How many computers do you have on your network? Just two?
By "connection speed" do you mean the network connection speed or your Internet connection download/upload speed? What software or tool is providing the data?
How far apart are the computers? Walls or floors between them?
Are you cable modem or DSL?
How many computers do you have on your network? Just two?
By "connection speed" do you mean the network connection speed or your Internet connection download/upload speed? What software or tool is providing the data?
How far apart are the computers? Walls or floors between them?
Are you cable modem or DSL?
chperplt
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Thanks for the reply
Two computers on the network, one running a wifi connection. (the other connected from the router to a network card.
The wifi laptop is about 75 feet max from the router. I'm referencing the Wireless Network Connection Status box on my toolbar. (running WinXP) Sometimes says 11Mbps and then 5.5 at other times. Usually the signal strength is "very good."
I'm using a cable modem.
Thanks again!
Two computers on the network, one running a wifi connection. (the other connected from the router to a network card.
The wifi laptop is about 75 feet max from the router. I'm referencing the Wireless Network Connection Status box on my toolbar. (running WinXP) Sometimes says 11Mbps and then 5.5 at other times. Usually the signal strength is "very good."
I'm using a cable modem.
Thanks again!
bobbysamd
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Wireless networks
We had a wireless network in our law office for a while. The thing was terribly slow - about the speed you mentioned. We changed to a hard-wire network with server and speed improved immediately.
My cable modem feeds at something like 200 meg bps, if I got the number of zeros right. At least three times faster than DSL, which I had previously. Your wireless router is undoubtedly the bottleneck.
Hope that helps a little more.
We had a wireless network in our law office for a while. The thing was terribly slow - about the speed you mentioned. We changed to a hard-wire network with server and speed improved immediately.
My cable modem feeds at something like 200 meg bps, if I got the number of zeros right. At least three times faster than DSL, which I had previously. Your wireless router is undoubtedly the bottleneck.
Hope that helps a little more.
I'm no propeller-beanie-head, but I have a Wi-Fi network in my home office, and I read a lot of computer magazines.
Even though 802.11b, which I presume is the flavor of Wi-Fi you have, is advertised as good to up to 300 feet, that's probably in an open field on a clear day. My guess is the combination of the distance between the two computers plus any obstacles (walls, floors, ceilings, studs, etc.) between the two. In many home and office Wi-Fi setups, even computers that are in relatively close proximity to each other sometimes can't even connect because of obstructions or even the layout of the building.
Try placing the laptop next to the router and see if the connection speed ever varies. My guess is it'll be rock-steady.
If it's not, the second possibility is that your Wi-Fi signal is not secure and someone, maybe a neighbor, is tapping into your signal to surf the Internet. Happens all the time. Heck, I've accidentally logged on to my neighbor's Wi-Fi network several times. You are then sharing your network bandwidth with a third computer, which could theoretically be halving the connection speed. I'm not sure how technically accurate this theory is -- just an educated guess.
A third possibility is that cable modem speeds vary greatly depending how many people using the node in your neighborhood are surfing at a given time. This shouldn't affect your network speed, but who knows.
Even though 802.11b, which I presume is the flavor of Wi-Fi you have, is advertised as good to up to 300 feet, that's probably in an open field on a clear day. My guess is the combination of the distance between the two computers plus any obstacles (walls, floors, ceilings, studs, etc.) between the two. In many home and office Wi-Fi setups, even computers that are in relatively close proximity to each other sometimes can't even connect because of obstructions or even the layout of the building.
Try placing the laptop next to the router and see if the connection speed ever varies. My guess is it'll be rock-steady.
If it's not, the second possibility is that your Wi-Fi signal is not secure and someone, maybe a neighbor, is tapping into your signal to surf the Internet. Happens all the time. Heck, I've accidentally logged on to my neighbor's Wi-Fi network several times. You are then sharing your network bandwidth with a third computer, which could theoretically be halving the connection speed. I'm not sure how technically accurate this theory is -- just an educated guess.
A third possibility is that cable modem speeds vary greatly depending how many people using the node in your neighborhood are surfing at a given time. This shouldn't affect your network speed, but who knows.
chperplt
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bigD
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Interesting...my connection status indicates 11Mbps regardless of signal strength, which of course isn't true, but to me says that the 11Mbps indicator isn't very reliable for actual throughput.
If you're transferring data between the two computers and speed is an issue, as others have mentioned, it's best to connect them directly to get the full 100Mbps instead of 11Mbps at best. But if you're just doing internet stuff, you'll max out your cable modem before you hit even 5.5Mbps.
But the comments about other people sharing your connection are dead on - password protect that mofo!
If you're transferring data between the two computers and speed is an issue, as others have mentioned, it's best to connect them directly to get the full 100Mbps instead of 11Mbps at best. But if you're just doing internet stuff, you'll max out your cable modem before you hit even 5.5Mbps.
But the comments about other people sharing your connection are dead on - password protect that mofo!
Without a router firewall, anyone within range can tap into your Internet connection. My "sniffer" software picks up the network names of any nearby signals. Even if the network is password protected, I can often still use their Internet connection. Most routers come with firewall settings to keep people from leaching off your signal, but I'll be **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ed if I can figure out how to work mine.
A separate issue is your vulnerability to someone hacking into your computers. Both your Wi-Fi router and your cable modem connection provide two easy entry points for hackers, network passwords be **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ed.
Go to www.zonealarm.com and download their free firewall program. It's good and easy to use. ZoneAlarm, once you configure it, will secure your computers.
A separate issue is your vulnerability to someone hacking into your computers. Both your Wi-Fi router and your cable modem connection provide two easy entry points for hackers, network passwords be **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ed.
Go to www.zonealarm.com and download their free firewall program. It's good and easy to use. ZoneAlarm, once you configure it, will secure your computers.
bigD said:Of course, I'd never actually *use* this information...
There's a tactic called "war driving." When I'm on vacation, I'll fire up the laptop and have the missus drive us around a city until I find an unprotected Wi-Fi signal. We were in Alaska last summer and I ended up sending emails from a laundromat in Homer. I suspect the computer store across the street had a signal.
I was standing on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, was pulling in 7 signals, found 2 unprotected ones and was soon "hanging ten" on the Web!
I love Wi-Fi!
chperplt
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CA1900
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You might also consider changing the channel your base station uses. Some (like the Apple ones) can automatically select a clear channel, but my cheapie D-link required me to pick one. The default one gave me slow speeds and frequent disconnects, but when I changed channels (from 6[default] to 2, if memory served), the connection problems disappeared and the speed jumped dramatically.
Other base stations on the same channel and 2.4GHz cordless phones can both interfere with 802.11b/g. Try changing channels and see if it helps as it did for me.
Other base stations on the same channel and 2.4GHz cordless phones can both interfere with 802.11b/g. Try changing channels and see if it helps as it did for me.
chperplt said:
The best Wi-Fi "sniffer" I've found is WiNC from Cirond. www.cirond.com
Twenty bucks -- well worth it. (Chopper, pm me on this one)
Fire that puppy up and it'll show you every Wi-Fi signal in the air.
As far as hotels/Starbucks/etc., when you try to logon from the sniffer program, you'll find out right away whether it's an open public network or a subscription network like Starbucks, some hotels and every airport except PIT uses, where you have to pay-to-play.
Best bet is, before leaving home, log on to one of these web sites that list free Wi-Fi networks in most cities.
www.wifinder.com
www.freehotspots.com
www.wififreespot.com
http://intel.jiwire.com/
www.wi-fizone.org
www.freenetworks.org
www.wardriving.com
Wankel7
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http://www.netstumbler.com/
Your best bet also for finding signals. Then using them to your advantage.
I read some news artical somewhere that the growing amount of wifi networks concerns the fbi. Aparently, you could do bad things using somebody else's wifi network. Then the tracability to you would very difficult. Maybe it is impossible? I really do not know that much about it.
Wankel
Your best bet also for finding signals. Then using them to your advantage.
I read some news artical somewhere that the growing amount of wifi networks concerns the fbi. Aparently, you could do bad things using somebody else's wifi network. Then the tracability to you would very difficult. Maybe it is impossible? I really do not know that much about it.
Wankel
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