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Issue 199 June 2009
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Networking jargon explained Router Assigns IP addresses to PCs so that they can communicate with the internet, either wired or wirelessly. Modem Modulator/demodulator: a device that allows for the communication of internet traffic. DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol: the standard for assigning IP addresses. TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol: used by the internet to exchange data across networks. IPv4 The standard for IP addresses, generating millions of addresses.
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What's a MAC address? A MAC address (in networking terms) is a Media Access Control address – a unique machine number that's used to identify a specific device over a network. Anything that can be connected to a network (even network adaptors and routers) will have a MAC address which usually takes the form of 00.22.14.95.24.84.
MAC addresses are useful for two reasons. First, they're individual identifiers so you can see which devices are which, and second you can add those addresses to a safe list in your router for the best Wi-Fi security. Look for something called Safe list or MAC filtering in your router's admin panel to be able to add addresses to a list.
Every network device has its own MAC address
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Network your home
Joe Cassels explains how to get the most from your connected devices without breaking into a sweat
H
ome networks have become hugely popular, and it doesn't take a genius to see why. More and more devices can benefit from an internet connection, and the simplest and most cost-effective solution is to connect them using a home network. Networks also enable you to easily share data and peripherals such as printers. With today's games consoles routinely offering online multi-player environments and the ability to show streaming internet video on your TV, a home network looks an increasingly attractive investment. In the past, networking has involved wrestling with cables or wireless encryption, along with much
dark talk of IP addresses and other technical matters. These haven’t gone away, but the equipment and software has developed to the point where you don’t need to know these inside out to get a network up and running in just a few minutes. If you select the right router and have reasonably up-to-date computers, setting up your home network should be straightforward. To be honest, it's only old hardware and out-of-date software that's responsible for most networking headaches these days.
Get up and running We’ll take you through the process of setting up a simple home network and securing it – whether you opt to use cables or go wireless
– and help you to get other network-aware kit up and running. We’ll explain how to take your network on the road with you, courtesy of a mobile phone and some personal hotspot software, and show you how to keep your data synchronised when you take a laptop away from home, so you don’t end up using older versions of your important files. Yet even in these advanced times it’s still possible for the odd glitch to occur. That’s why we’ve put together a collection of the most common network problems together with their solutions. Consult these if you do run into any difficulty. We also demonstrate Windows Vista’s ability to diagnose and even automatically solve your networking problems.
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It's time to grasp the networking basics
Before you can extend your network you need a simple setup
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network involves two or more computers linked together so that they can exchange Do you want your printer data. All recently sold PCs available to all PCs on the are network capable and network without needing to include a wired network keep its host PC on? Buy a network printer with wireless adaptor that you can use to or wired connection plug an Ethernet lead into. direct to your router. While it’s possible to hook
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computers together without one, the most essential piece of networking hardware you should invest in is a router. The term router is applied to a number of devices, so it’s important to check their capabilities before buying. Most internet service providers (ISPs) supply a router when you sign up. A good router should
be able to connect to the internet, usually via your phone line, and act as your network’s gateway to the internet. It should feature a NAT (Network Address Translation) firewall, which protects your network from simple outside attack. It should include one or more Ethernet sockets for directly connecting your PCs to it and
NETWORK AND SHARING CENTER In Windows Vista this is the starting point for any network modification 1
Simplified network map
This simple map shows your computer and its relationship with the current network. You can see whether you’ve got internet access or not, but it doesn’t highlight other networked devices.
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Common network tasks
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Current networks
The networks that your PC is connected to are listed here. This tells you whether each network is private or public, and whether it provides local or internet access, or both.
The task pane part of the Network and Sharing Center includes the most common network tasks, including setting up a new network, connecting to an existing network and diagnosing network problems.
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Sharing and Discovery settings
This provides a simple summary of what items are shared with the network and what the sharing settings are. You can click each one to turn the option on or off, and expand to set more complex settings.
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See also…
Select one of these options for easy access to network-related features like the Windows Firewall. You can also tweak your internet options here and deal with mobile devices such as smart phones.
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4
Show me…
Click one of these options to see the files and folders that are being shared with the network in a Windows Explorer window.
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Connect your gear and share files it should also act as a wireless access point so that you can use wireless networking. Some routers won’t cover all these bases, which is why it’s crucial to check the specification.
The role of a router The beauty of getting a decent router is that it handles all of the most basic network tasks, providing you with a hub or switch, an internet gateway and wireless access. It also functions as a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server that automatically assigns IP addresses to connected devices. The practical upshot of this is that once you’ve plugged in your router and connected it to the internet, any PC connected to it should be able to go online without a lot of fiddly configuration. To fully benefit from Windows networking, you may
need to set up sharing and network discovery, which is easily done in the Network and Sharing Center in Windows Vista. You can now share individual folders on your computers and share printers. To share a folder in Vista, right-click it and choose Share. Select the people you want to share it with. Choose Everyone if you’re not sure who to include and the contents aren’t sensitive, then click Share. You can share printers from Control Panel. Choose Classic View > Printers. Right-click the one you want to share and choose Sharing. Tick the box next to “Share this printer” and provide a share name. Select “Render print jobs on client computers”. Complete the wizard and install the shared printer as a network printer on your other PCs. Your PC needs to be turned on for the shared printer to work.
STEP-BY-STEP Exploring your network
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Open Network
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Shared resources
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Network connections
In Vista click Start > Network to view active PCs connected to this network. In XP click Start > My Computer > My Network Places > View Workgroup Computers.
Protecting your PCs Run software to keep your system safe Your router should provide basic protection against internet attack, but it’s not enough to keep your PCs safe. Run a software firewall, anti-virus Keep malware at bay with the and anti-spyware on world-class – and free – SpyBot S&D each networked PC. Spybot S&D for Spyware Some ISPs provide even (www.safer-networking. subscriptions to security org/en/index.html) and suites as part of the deal. Comodo free firewall If you have more PCs (http://personalfirewall. than licences for the comodo.com). The software or your ISP Windows Firewall is doesn’t supply security adequate, but it doesn’t apps, there are free inform you of all outgoing options available. data activity, which Consider Avast Free Comodo does. It generates antivirus (www.avast. more alerts but keeps your com/eng/downloadsystem a little safer. avast-home.html),
You’ll see all the shared folders and printers available on the selected computer. Double-click a shared folder to see its contents.
Click Network and Sharing Center button > Manage network connections. In XP click View network connections. This displays available network adaptors.
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STEP-BY-STEP Securing your network
Going wireless Wireless is the neatest and often simplest way to a networked home
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Set up the router
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Wireless settings
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Copy to other PCs
Choose Start > Connect To and click “Set up a connection or network”. From the connection options shown, choose “Set up a wireless router or access point”.
Click Next, create wireless settings and save to a flash drive so that you can copy settings to other PCs. Enter a network name and let Windows assign a network key.
Click Next and plug in your USB drive. Select the drive letter of your flash drive and click Next. Plug the drive into each PC on the network and follow the prompts.
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ll recent laptops are wireless capable and many ISPs provide a wireless router as part of their connection deal, like the BT Home Hub. You may need to install a wireless network adaptor in any desktop PCs that you want to use the network, although in most cases you can simply set up the router in the same room as the PC and connect them with the patch lead that comes with the router. The only exception is where the phone socket isn’t easily accessible from the room containing the desktop PC, but you can either opt to buy a long Ethernet lead or a USB wireless adaptor. For security reasons most wireless routers need a wired connection for you to access their configuration pages. This prevents someone who doesn’t have physical access to the router from making configuration changes without your knowledge. If you can’t set up a permanent wired
connection to the router, you’ll need to temporarily connect a laptop to it when setting it up.
Wi-Fi security In most cases, setup is via a web page, details of which should be provided in your documentation, but it’s commonly found at http://192.168.0.1 and is often protected with the username admin and the password admin. You should change these as soon as you can. As well as containing internet connection details, your router will include encryption settings for your wireless network. There are several encryption standards in use, with WEP (wired equivalent protocol) being the weakest and WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access, version 2) being most robust. You should use the strongest form of encryption available that’s supported by all your devices. All encryption methods involve a password or key code that needs to be entered in a device for it to gain network access.
Use GRC’s Perfect Password Generator (www.grc.com/passwords. htm) to help you come up with strong WEP and WPA keys
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Connect your gear and share files Savvy manufacturers set up encryption for you and simply provide the password in your documentation. In many cases, though, you’ll need to set it up yourself. The length and complexity of the password will depend on the type of encryption you use. Select a strong password for best security. Consider using the perfect password generator at www.grc.com/passwords. htm. To avoid laboriously typing the password out for each device, try transferring it using a flash drive. See the walkthrough for details.
Try powerline networking Wired networking between rooms used to involve trailing wires everywhere. Wireless got rid of that problem but in certain properties Wi-Fi isn't the most stable solution. So powerline networking (which uses your home's electrical ring mains to transmit data) is the perfect solution for many. They simply fit into a wall
socket and one device connects directly to a router and the other to a PC or networked hardware device. The 'Homeplugs' automatically recognise each other and the data is automatically encrypted too. Good quality Homeplugs cost around £40-£50 each.
Powerline devices are easy to fit in the home
AVAILABLE WIRELESS NETWORKS Find local wireless networks and check you're using the right one 1
Security-enabled network
This network isn’t connected, but it’s broadcasting an SSID (service set identifier) so you can see it in this dialog. You’ll need the network key or password to join it.
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Connected network
The PC is currently connected to this network and its signal indicator shows that wireless reception is strong.
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Unsecured network
This network isn’t protected by encryption at all. You can join it without using a password, but so can anybody else. Other users of this network could access shared files and folders on your PC.
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Show/Hide networks
Use this drop-down list to display all networks, dial-up or virtual private networks or wireless ones. Opt to show only wireless ones when connecting using Wi-Fi.
Set up a connection
Some networks hide their SSIDs so that they’re not as accessible to hackers. Use this option to join such a network if you’ve been issued with the relevant details to do so.
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Disconnect
Click this button to disconnect from the current network. Select a different one and click Connect to join it. The button toggles between connect and disconnect.
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Get networking
Connect your gear and share files
Make more of networked kit A home network is far more than just hooking PCs together…
M
ore and more devices come WiFi enabled, giving them access to the internet or to the rest of your home network. Games consoles with internet access provide the opportunity to join multi-player games with opponents all over the world. Mobile phones with Wi-Fi connections enable you to browse the web or make Skype phone calls without racking up a huge data bill because you’re simply using your home internet connection when in range. Other hand-held devices such as iPods and PSPs use internet connections for web access or playing multiplayer games.
Even the TV is getting in on the networking act. Some video players can show any video file on your network played back over the TV. Personal Video Recorders have been network capable for years now, although the copyright issue has prevented most models from implementing this. There’s nothing stopping you from connecting a PC or laptop with a TV-out port to a television and using it for network video or streaming services like the BBC’s iPlayer, though.
Built-in networking As long as your router includes a DHCP server that has sufficient IP addresses for all your devices – and most do right out of the box – all you
need to do is connect your devices to the network for them to work. For wireless devices you’ll need to enter the encryption key or password. Wired devices can just plug into the router, provided you have cabling in place or a long enough lead. If you own a Wi-Fi capable phone, you could take your wireless network out and about with you, enabling you to use wireless iPods, netbooks or PSP consoles. You need to be running personal hotspot software that enables these devices to connect to the internet using your phone’s data connection. See the walkthrough to find out how to set up JoikuSpot on a Symbianbased phone.
Netbook This is a small laptop that's designed to be ultra-portable. It generally runs Windows XP because its smaller size means that it has reduced power, although some versions run Linux variants. Netbooks connect to your home network via wireless.
Take advantage of the Windows Briefcase Synchronise files between computers so it doesn’t matter where you work Synchronising data enables you to keep identical copies in two or more places. A little-known feature of Windows XP and Vista is the briefcase. It’s a folder that enables you to synchronise the files within it with their counterparts in a different location. To create a briefcase, browse to any folder using Explorer. Now select New > Briefcase from the File menu. Drag the files or folders that you want to keep using onto the briefcase icon. Right-click the briefcase and choose Rename. You can move this briefcase anywhere on your network and
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the files will be updated whenever you want. For example, if you have a netbook that you’ve networked with a desktop, you could set up a briefcase on the netbook containing your files. You can sync these while your netbook is connected to your home network before and after taking it on the road, to make sure that both versions of each file are the same. To do this, double-click the briefcase file – you’re shown which files need updating. Choose Briefcase > Update All to start the process. The Update dialog shows you which files will be altered. Click Update to confirm these actions.
Use the Windows briefcase to synchronise files between PCs
You can check the status of any file stored in a briefcase. Open the briefcase, rightclick the file and select Properties. Press the Update Status tab. If the file is synchronised with
the original, you’ll see an Up-to-date icon. If it isn’t synchronised then you’ll see a Replace arrow pointing to the version of the file that needs updating. Press Update to synchronise the two files.
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Set up a personal hotspot Browse your home network from your mobile phone
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Share data connection
Once installed, launch Joikuspot on your phone and agree to sharing your internet connection with other devices. If this is the first time that you’ve run the program you may need to specify your phone’s data connection at this point.
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Joikuspot Light
Browse to http://tinyurl.com/24q5lh and download Joikuspot Light. This enables you to share a web connection, but you need the premium version if you want to access email or other internet services. Install it on your Symbian phone following the manufacturer's instructions.
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Connect to the network
At the wireless device that you want to join your hotspot, browse for a wireless network. Select the Joikuspot network and then choose to join it. Note that the light version of the program provides only unencrypted connections.
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Check your clients
Back at your phone, choose the Clients tab to see the devices connected in this network. These include the phone itself and any other connected device. You can easily see if anyone else is trying to use your personal hotspot here.
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Hotspot status
Move to the Status tab to see how long your hotspot has been running and how much data you’ve transferred. Keep an eye on this, because mobile data charges can still be quite high. In the premium version you can also see encryption information here.
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Stop sharing
When you’ve finished browsing the web on your connected device, remember to stop Joikuspot otherwise you could continue to share your connection with passers-by. Choose Options > Stop and wait for the service to stop before closing the program.
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Get networking
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Troubleshoot your network With our help, you'll soon be able to root out those networking gremlins
T
he theory of home networking may be straightforward, but in practice there's a good chance you'll experience one or two minor hiccups on the road to networking nirvana. Hopefully, you'll find the solution here…
XP and Vista refuse to talk
Q
I've tried to set up a network with my Windows XP desktop computer and my new Vista laptop. Both connect to the router fine and can get online, but I can't get them to
see the shared folders on the local network. I've got Network discovery and sharing enabled on the Vista PC.
A
Your computers may be on different workgroups. The default workgroup name was changed from MSHOME in Windows XP to WORKGROUP in Vista. Your computers need to be on the same workgroup to communicate. Change your XP workgroup by right-clicking My computer, choosing Properties and selecting Computer Name. Click
Change and then enter the new workgroup. Click OK twice and restart the PC. In addition, ensure that both your computers are up to date in Windows update because there are some recent updates that are necessary for Windows XP and Vista to network comfortably together.
What are orphan files?
Q
When I tried to synchronise my briefcase, I received an error message telling me in my report there was an orphan file. It wasn’t
NETWORK MAP Vista can generate a full network map to help you track down problems
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Network tasks
Select a task to help troubleshoot your network. You can view all network devices, run Diagnose and Repair or find out why some devices aren’t displayed on the map.
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2
Gateway
This shows that the router provides access to the internet. Hover the mouse pointer over this icon to see the IP address of the gateway.
Wired PC
This computer is connected to the network using an Ethernet cable connected to the router. It’s shown here with unbroken lines between the PC icon and the next device.
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Wireless computer
This is a laptop PC that connects to the network wirelessly. Hover the mouse pointer over it to see its IP addresses and MAC address. The dotted lines indicate a wireless connection.
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Switch
This is actually a combined router and switch, but Windows displays it as two separate devices because they do slightly different jobs.
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Access point
This is a wireless access point that’s often combined in with the router. It enables wireless devices to connect to the network.
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Connect your gear and share files updated. What’s going on and how can I fi x it?
it back to its old position.
A
Q
An orphan file is one in the briefcase that’s linked to a file that you’ve subsequently deleted or moved away from its original location. When you try to synchronise, your briefcase looks for the file in its original location and, naturally, is unable to find it. Because it can’t find the file it can’t update it, hence the error message. To solve this problem you simply need to find the original file and move
HOT TIP! Lost Wi-Fi
It’s quite common for wireless networks to occasionally drop connection. Simply restarting the router or access point is usually all you need to do to restore service.
Missing devices I’ve opened a full network map from the Network and Sharing Center, but not everything’s showing up. My laptop doesn’t show when it’s turned off and I can’t see my Wi-Fi phone at all. Help!
STEP-BY-STEP Diagnose and repair in Vista
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The map shows computers and devices that are part of the Windows network. Anything that’s turned off doesn’t exist as far as the network’s concerned. Phones and other wireless devices that aren’t part of your workgroup but just connect to the internet via your network won’t show either. You can detect them at the router or by using packet-sniffing software, but they don’t show on Windows’ map. ■
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Diagnostics
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Simple fixes
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Send to the experts
If you have a connection problem, right-click the Network icon in the System tray and choose “Diagnose and repair”. Vista then checks the connection for problems.
Communication test Find out if there’s an IP connection between PCs
Q
I’m using a wired network so I know my PCs are connected. The lights on my router tell me there’s a connection, but I can’t browse to the other PC Ping provides you with a test to see if in the Windows your PCs are talking using TCP/IP network. How can I check that they’re actually connection to the PC communicating? you addressed, you’ll get a reply plus a report of the time it took for it The simplest network test is Ping, which lets to reply. If you can ping you know if connected PCs successfully but can’t browse the network in are sending and receiving Windows, your problem basic messages. Choose is most likely to do with Start > All Programs > file-sharing settings or Accessories > Command conflicting workgroups. Prompt. Now type ping Check your network followed by the IP address settings in each PC and of the PC you want to then try again. contact. If you have a
Any fix that can be applied automatically is offered here – click the option to apply it. Other advice may include checking cable connections or restarting your router.
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Where network diagnostics isn’t able to diagnose the problem, you’ll be offered the chance to send its details to Microsoft via error reporting.
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