wireless router

[berbs91]

wireless routers
I was thinking of purchasing a wireless router....

I currently have a Dell Laptop with a True Mobile 11Mbps wireless LAN adapter

I only have one computer
Use the internet to read the paper, check out uscho, read my mail, and the occasional game of crib or euchre
My wife uses the net for her IM and business in which photos are frequently downloaded

Because I live in a largely residential area with many grad, med, law, and pharmacy students, I am concerned about the security or the system and interference.

Since I own am 11MBps card, would it be pointless to get a router faster then that?

Anyone have an reccommendations or experience with this??

[mccullmw]

You can either use 802.11b at 11Mbps or 802.11g at 54 Mbps. The b's are really cheap, and will be more than perfect for what you are using. If you're in a populated area, definately enable WEP encryption and set it to accept connections only from computers you allow.

Netgear makes good stuff, I have a MR814v2 which does all of the above, and is pretty cheap.

(This topic should probably be moved down to The Coffee Shop)

[Chaz]

Uhhh, yeah. Then sit down and have your favorite beverage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

[scottcomstock]

[This has been moved to the Coffee Shop.]

If all you have is an 11mbps (802.11b) card, it would be pointless for you to purchase a 54mbps (802.11g) router, unless you figure on upgrading your cards in the near future.

Security-wise, you will probably want to go with WPA-PSK if your gear supports it -- most wireless stuff can use it, or can be upgraded. If you have to use WEP, use the longest key length your gear supports, and change that key early and often.

WEP is easily broken, and MAC address restriction won't keep hackers out for long -- a passive scan will yield tons of "authorized" MAC addresses, and it is fairly trivial to change the MAC address on a network card to one which is "authorized".