Getting AOL broadband to work wirelessly when you are 400 miles away from the modem

Hi,

My elderly sister has just had AOL broadband installed. She lives 400
miles away and I know nothing about AOL or the router that they
supply.

It has been installed but the wireless component hasn't been set up.
Probably because the PC she has doesn't have a wireless USB adapter
and the installer couldn't be bothered getting one.

So she is now using the PC in the hallway connected by ethernet cable
to the modem. Not the most comfortable place to surf the web from.

I want to send her an appropriate wireless USB adapter and clear
instructions on how the wireless connection and WAP security should be
set up. I suspect that it is currently broadcasting insecurely.

If someone can point me in the direction of such instructions and
recommend a suitable wireless USB adapter I would be most grateful

David

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Hi,
>
> My elderly sister has just had AOL broadband installed. She lives 400
> miles away and I know nothing about AOL or the router that they
> supply.
>
> It has been installed but the wireless component hasn't been set up.
> Probably because the PC she has doesn't have a wireless USB adapter
> and the installer couldn't be bothered getting one.
>
> So she is now using the PC in the hallway connected by ethernet cable
> to the modem. Not the most comfortable place to surf the web from.

Ethernet cables of 10-20m are very cheap, and may well be an easy
solution, you know ethernet works already.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote in message
(E-Mail Removed):

> Hi,
>
> My elderly sister has just had AOL broadband installed. She lives 400
> miles away and I know nothing about AOL or the router that they
> supply.
>
> It has been installed but the wireless component hasn't been set up.
> Probably because the PC she has doesn't have a wireless USB adapter
> and the installer couldn't be bothered getting one.
>
> So she is now using the PC in the hallway connected by ethernet cable
> to the modem. Not the most comfortable place to surf the web from.
>
> I want to send her an appropriate wireless USB adapter and clear
> instructions on how the wireless connection and WAP security should be
> set up. I suspect that it is currently broadcasting insecurely.
>
> If someone can point me in the direction of such instructions and
> recommend a suitable wireless USB adapter I would be most grateful

To give her accurate instructions for configuring the router, I think we
need to know its make and model. It *may* be a Netgear DG834G(UK) - I know
at one time PC World stocked a DG834G budled with an AOL installation CD, so
presumably they've validated this combination and so maybe this is what they
supply as standard.

For the DG834G:

1) Use Internet Explorer to browse to 192.168.0.1, and log on as user=admin
/ password=password (I hope the engineer hasn't set the password to a
different value without telling her...)
2) In the Wirless Settings menu:
a) change the SSID from "Netgear" to some non-default value: this is the
name that the PC will "see" when scanning for networks
b) set the region to Europe
c) leave the channel on its default value (6?), but be prepared to change
it to 1 or 11 if other networks are detected on the default channel
d) Tick "Enable wireless" and "Broadcast SSID"; untick "Wireless
Isolation"

(Omit steps e and f, leaving the wireless unencrypted, until a connection
is established with the PC, then go back and perform them)

e) In "Security", select "WPA-PSK"
f) Type in a suitable network key - ideally a short phrase with a few
random digits and punctuation signs

g) Press "Apply"

A USB wireless adaptor such as Netgear WG111 will come with instructions on
how to install the software CD, then plug in the USB device (after
installing the software and maybe after a reboot), and then how to configure
the correct region - probably Europe. The procedure for other wireless
adaptors is probably very similar. Having installed and configured the
software and device, you scan for the network, maybe set the encryption
(WPA-PSK TKIP) if it's not detected automatically, and supply the encryption
key configured at the router. Having established a connection, you will
probably need to save a "profile" of the chosen SSID (network name) and WPA
key to allow automatic connection after the PC is rebooted.

For extra security, you could turn off "Broadcast SSID" (step d) once you've
proved that the PC can connect OK.


If you are at all concerned about being able to talk your sister through
this successfully, you may want to get a local computer consultant like what
I am (!) to do the job. Look for adverts in local parish magazines or ask in
local PC shops.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Hi,
>
> My elderly sister has just had AOL broadband installed. She lives 400
> miles away and I know nothing about AOL or the router that they
> supply.

Having tried to help too many family members with wireless networking I
would advise letting her learn for herself. You can certainly send her some
URLs but there's nothing more headbangingly infuriating that trying to sort
out someone's networking problems out over the phone when they don't have a
grasp of how to do any of it themselves.

When she gets *really* fed up with trailing wires she'll have the incentive
to learn how to set up wireless networking.

Of course, maybe age makes this an unreaonable expectation but she'd be far
better off developing a relationship with someone local than relying on you
when you're 400 miles away.

Been there, done that, got the emotional scars from it. :-(

Tim

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) writes
>Hi,
>
>My elderly sister has just had AOL broadband installed. She lives 400
>miles away and I know nothing about AOL or the router that they
>supply.
>
>It has been installed but the wireless component hasn't been set up.
>Probably because the PC she has doesn't have a wireless USB adapter
>and the installer couldn't be bothered getting one.
>
>So she is now using the PC in the hallway connected by ethernet cable
>to the modem. Not the most comfortable place to surf the web from.
>

Probably the simplest way to get your sister more comfortably on-line is
as follows:

1. Buy a couple of Solwise 14 Mbps HomePlug Ethernet adapters from
http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline.htm
These adapters allow you to make an Ethernet connection through the
house mains wiring.

2. Plug one of the adapters into the mains near the modem/router.
Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the computer and plug it into the
adapter. (i.e. you are now connecting the modem/router direct to the
adapter).

3. Plug the other adapter into the mains near to where your sister would
like to use her computer. Then plug one end of the Ethernet cable
(supplied with the adapter) into the adapter, and the other end into her
computer.

That's it. She should now be on-line, without having to do anything
else.

(If you're really paranoid, the adapters come with software that lets
you change the default password that is used for encrypting the traffic
between the adapters. You really only need to do this if you suspect a
neighbour might also be using mains Ethernet adapters).

I have been using a couple of these adapters for about a month now,
connecting two points that would otherwise have been impossible with
ordinary Ethernet cables or wireless. Setting everything up (including
changing the passwords) took less than five minutes, and it all works
perfectly.

P.S. If your sister is using the computer connected direct to the modem
at present (i.e. without a hardware router), make sure she knows how to
set up the Windows firewall.

--
Ian