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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,931 Likes: 34
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As long as nobody is serious about sniffing your connection you should be OK but there are tricks using coffee cans or DSS dishes that let them reach out to pretty much anything they can see. The thing you have to worry about is someone getting into your system if you have file sharing turned on.
Greg Fretwell
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Joined: Jun 2007
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This network will consist of one laptop. Nothing else. My desk top will serve the DSL Modem and Router physically connected. Then the only thing left for wireless will be her laptop, and occasional use by my Daughters when they visit. I plan to password protect, consider any security suggestions from you guys, security suggestions from the router manufacturer and what I can find online. Once again I appreciate you working with me. Your help is so valuable, and FREE!!!!.........John
PS.....I do not plan to share files? I mean, what is on my wifes PC and whats on my PC will remain private/separate.
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 745
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You'll be fine. It isn't often that files really get shared in home networks. Most of the time, people just copy documents onto floppies, CDs or USB "thumb" drives to transfer files between computers. Even if you add a network printer, that's not really considered file sharing. I'm using a D-Link #DIR625 router that offers the best of both the wired and wireless worlds. I've had it for about two years and couldn't be happier with it. I'm sure that there is a new and improved version by now, but who knows....You might find one on E-Bay. Free? You didn't receive my invoice yet?......
---Ed---
"But the guy at Home Depot said it would work."
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,931 Likes: 34
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Gearxs.com has several wireless routers in the $20-30 range. I think I paid $28 the other day shipped for one I sent my daughter.
I use file sharing a lot on my network. I have one machine that is basically a server and has a RAIDed backup set that also has music and TV files on it. I used to "sneaker net" files around on diskettes but the size of files made that impossible. I went to a SCSI drive in an AS/400 "shoe box" but that requires SCSI cards in all of your machines. Once I got my replay TV a router was necessary and the network grew from that. I usually have 8 to 10 machines connected at any given time. There are 4 in the living room.
BTW a network printer is probably the first thing you will want. You can get one of those little print servers that will hook to just about any printer.
Greg Fretwell
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Joined: Mar 2007
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You can also share printers, although you'd need to leave the "host" computer on in order for the shared printer to be accessible by your other computers. Otherwise, there are portable print servers that will turn a USB or Parallel printer into a networked one.
Be careful with GearXS; a lot of the stuff they sell is OEM or surplus and doesn't include the full packaging, even though their pictures show otherwise. While that doesn't mean the product will be defective, manuals and software discs generally aren't included. I've also been burned by them on a returned defective keyboard; sent it back and they claim they never received it, and USPS delivery confirmation does not provide enough information for them to say whether they actually received it or not.
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,931 Likes: 34
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I have been OK with them so far but there are plenty of places out there. I was suggesting the stand alone print server, not a PC attached printer. In fact some printers even have the server built in or as an option but the plug in server works for me. We gave my granddaughter one of those Disney/Acer notebooks for Christmas. She thought it was cool hitting print on her machine and having a page pop out back in my computer room. I didn't want to tease her with my MP3 and video library that is in the file server since it wouldn't be at her house. One thing I like is anything on my Replay TV DVR is also accessible on the network and you can play them with the VLC player. That makes any PC a TV monitor. I suppose if I turned on the WiFi my neighbors could watch too.
Greg Fretwell
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Joined: Jun 2007
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I have the lynksys (Cisco) "Wireless-N Broadband" router. Model WRT160N. 300Mbps. I got it at Tigerdirect for around $70.00. I was told that it was a good price?
Got good news today. The laptop has shipped. I am probably more excited than my wife is. lol! It was her Christmas gift. But I was also tired of waiting my turn for PC use. Now she has hers and I have mine.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443 Likes: 3
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John, Is that Linksys router brand new? I used to own a Linksys WRT54GL gateway some time back. I had heard at the time that Cisco Systems was canning the Linksys brand.
It was a really good unit, until it was killed by a voltage spike.
Just be aware that this could be a counterfeit copy. I'm not saying it is, but these days, it's really hard to tell.
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Joined: Mar 2007
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Most of it is cobranded as "Linksys by Cisco" with both logos. I think they (Cisco) is using Linksys more as a consumer line of products, rather than a subsidiary brand.
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Joined: Oct 2006
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Cisco bought Linksys a few years ago. They still market under both brand names with Cisco being targeted at the higher-end commercial users and Linsys being more for the consumer/soho market.
Oh and John, the price you paid is fine. Even after shipping and handling costs, you still probably paid a bit less than you'd have paid at a retail outlet.
---Ed---
"But the guy at Home Depot said it would work."
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Posts: 356
Joined: August 2006
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