There are many advantages and a few disadvantages of having a wireless network set up in the home. Wireless networks allow the user to be able to have access to the internet easily without having any nasty wires attached to the computer. This guide is a step by step tutorial to installing a wireless router and providing a home with wireless internet capabilities.
The way this works is by having a modem installed first. The modem is the central point of the internet connection and should be provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once the modem is plugged into the wall and the coaxial cable is plugged into the back of it, then it would be time to go out and get a wireless router from a local electronics store such as Wal-Mart or Best Buy. The next step is to plug an Ethernet cable into the back of the modem in the “WAN” port. After plugging that end of the Ethernet cable into the modem, locate the other end of that cable and plug it into the “LAN” port on the back of the new wireless router, preferably the “LAN1” if available. If the modem was originally hooked into a desktop computer then the next step would be to have another Ethernet cable running from the port “LAN2” on the back of the router to the Ethernet port on the back of the desktop computer that will be used for internet access. After this step, everything must be reset, including the modem and the router. The way to do this would be to unplug the router and then the modem, respectively, from the back of each device. Once this is completed, wait thirty seconds and plug in the modem first, and then the router. This resets them both so that the internet access can come from the modem and go into the router which then provides wireless access throughout the home. The router sends out a signal that lets any device capable of wireless internet access pick it up so that it can connect. It is a lot more efficient because you can be anywhere in the home and be able to have access to your favorite web sites. Another advantage of having wireless internet access throughout a home is the ability to participate in the online gaming community. What is meant by online gaming community? This refers to certain video game consoles that have the ability to connect to the internet and allow the player to compete in matches in certain games online against friends all over the world.
The disadvantages are outweighed by the advantages though. One of the disadvantages is that other people would be able to connect to your network and steal bandwidth which would make it harder to load web pages as fast. The only way to prevent this from happening would be to make sure that there is an encryption key activated whenever setting up the router for wireless access. This key is usually already set with the router once installed onto a computer. If this is the case, then the user can change the key at anytime to whatever they may want it to be. Another disadvantage would be that the speeds may be slower connecting through the wireless network because of the distance the signal has to travel. Location is very important when wireless internet is being used. The wireless signal can only be sent so far and then it will become weaker until there is no signal at all from the router to the laptop computer or other electronic device being used. Electronic devices usually inform the user if distance becomes an issue for the router so that they can return to within the range of the wireless signal.
