Since now in each apartment there are several computers and mobile devices with Wi-Fi, often ordinary users have a question about how to set up a wireless network. In this article, we will shed light on this slippery question. As an example, we will set up a wireless network in Windows 7.
First you need to configure the host computer of our future network. It can be either a laptop or a desktop computer. To do this, activate the Wi-Fi adapter on our computer. Then we open the Start button menu and right-click on the computer, where we click on the properties in the context menu. After that, we go into the additional parameters of the system and click on the computer name, and in the column "Description" we give our description, for example, "Computer of Vladimir Ilyich". Next, select "Change" and give a name to this device, which should not be duplicated by others on the network. In the column "Workgroup" indicate the name of this group, which should be the same on all devices on our network, and reboot.
When the computer restarts, the wireless setup continues. Select the wired icon and go to "Network Management", where we click on "Wireless Network Management". In the menu that appears, select "Add" and then go on to configure the wireless network computer to computer. Here you must also come up with a name for your network, whatever you want. Then select "WPA2 Personal Security." If the network contains devices based on Windows XP, then select "WEP".
After that, set the password, click "Next" and in the new dialog that appears, enable Internet sharing for network computers, and then close the window.
But this is not the end of the wireless network setup . Now our task is to configure the rest of the computers on this network. Turn on the wireless adapter, open the Start button menu. We continue by clicking on the "Computer" icon on the right of the manipulator, where we select "Properties and advanced system parameters." Now click on the "Computer Name" section and give it your individual name. Next, specify the name of the group, which should correspond to the name of the group on the host computer.
Again we go to network management, where we go to the section "Changing the adapter settings" and select "Properties", after which we jump on the version 4 protocol line. Here we mark the item for setting the IP address. In the column "IP-address" we assign our own to this computer, and this must be done, starting from the IP of the main PC. For example, if the IP of the main device is 192.168.0.1, then the IP of all computers will be the same, except for the last digit. It is very important that the network does not have the same IP. In the column "Subnet Mask" we print 255.255.255.0, and in the line "Main Gateway" will be the IP address of the main computer. In the fields "Preferred DNS server" and "Alternative DNS server" indicate the addresses of the provider.
After all these manipulations we accept the changes. And only now we go into network connections, select our network, enter the password, and that’s it. If there are no more computers on the network, this completes the wireless network setup. If there are still some computers or laptops, then in this case it is necessary to repeat the procedure for setting up the last computer.
I would like to add some recommendations on how to ensure network security. Recently, incidents of intrusion into wireless networks of unauthorized users have become more frequent. Be sure to install an antivirus program on the host computer. Also come up with a long and complex password with uppercase and lowercase letters mixed with numbers. This will increase security and minimize the risk of interference with the work of unauthorized persons, as well as prevent the theft of valuable information and the loading of extraneous software.