This is probably a completely inane question.

I want to connect my pc to the internet through a cable 
connected linksys wrt160n and then occasionally use a laptop 
with a wireless connection to the internet via the linksys 
when the pc is switched off.

When the laptop is off and the only connection to the 
internet is through the pc cable connected linksys, is the 
linksys still broadcasting?

Ted

Ted wrote:

> This is probably a completely inane question.
> 
> I want to connect my pc to the internet through a cable
> connected linksys wrt160n and then occasionally use a laptop
> with a wireless connection to the internet via the linksys
> when the pc is switched off.
> 
> When the laptop is off and the only connection to the
> internet is through the pc cable connected linksys, is the
> linksys still broadcasting?
> 
> Ted

It would be possible for any suitably-equipped computer to connect to it, if
that's what you are asking.

Of course, encryption makes it virtually impossible for any data transfer to
take place.

If you are asking for a more obscure reason, (concern about the wireless
signal harming health perhaps), one slightly messy solution would be to use
a non-wireless modem/router in conjunction with a separate wireless access
point. You could then power down the AP when not needed.

Chris

-- 
Remove prejudice to reply.

Ted wrote:
> When the laptop is off and the only connection to the internet is 
> through the pc cable connected linksys, is the linksys still broadcasting?
> 

Yes. But barely.

It will be having a chat with your neighbours WiFi equipment until they 
(hopefully) mismatch your security passwords (WPA) and fail to connect.

You can reduce this activity by setting the "broadcast SSID" function to 
"off" so they won't find your router (but ensure your laptop does 
remember what SSID is in use!)

-- 
Adrian C

Adrian C wrote:
> Ted wrote:
>> When the laptop is off and the only connection to the internet is 
>> through the pc cable connected linksys, is the linksys still 
>> broadcasting?
>>
> 
> Yes. But barely.
> 
> It will be having a chat with your neighbours WiFi equipment until they 
> (hopefully) mismatch your security passwords (WPA) and fail to connect.
> 
> You can reduce this activity by setting the "broadcast SSID" function to 
> "off" so they won't find your router (but ensure your laptop does 
> remember what SSID is in use!)

I just powered up my laptop for the first time without 
having installed the wireless router and the laptop was 
connected to the internet! I assume I was picking up someone 
else's wireless network.

Ted

On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:15:41 +0100
Ted  wrote:

> I just powered up my laptop for the first time without 
> having installed the wireless router and the laptop was 
> connected to the internet! I assume I was picking up someone 
> else's wireless network.
> 
Can you see a printer share?  It would be responsible of
you to give them a clue how to secure their network.

Rob Morley wrote:
> On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:15:41 +0100
> Ted  wrote:
> 
>> I just powered up my laptop for the first time without 
>> having installed the wireless router and the laptop was 
>> connected to the internet! I assume I was picking up someone 
>> else's wireless network.
>>
> Can you see a printer share?  It would be responsible of
> you to give them a clue how to secure their network.

I really haven't got much of clue how to secure mine. How do 
I see a printer share and what would it tell me about where 
the leaking network is?

Ted

On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:10:44 +0100
Ted  wrote:

> Rob Morley wrote:
> > On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:15:41 +0100
> > Ted  wrote:
> > 
> >> I just powered up my laptop for the first time without 
> >> having installed the wireless router and the laptop was 
> >> connected to the internet! I assume I was picking up someone 
> >> else's wireless network.
> >>
> > Can you see a printer share?  It would be responsible of
> > you to give them a clue how to secure their network.
> 
> I really haven't got much of clue how to secure mine.

Just set up the encryption (WPA is more secure than WEP), limit
connection to specified MAC addresses (i.e. just your laptop, unless
you want to connect any other wireless devices), switch off SSID
broadcasting.

> How do I see a printer share

Look in My Network Places - Windows Network (I think that's what it's
called, I haven't used Windows for a while).

> and what would it tell me about where 
> the leaking network is?
> 
It wouldn't, but you could print something on it.  :-)

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:48:51 +0100
Ted  wrote:

> Rob Morley wrote:
> 
> > Just set up the encryption (WPA is more secure than WEP),
> Sounds good. What exactly is it that is being encrypted?

The data content of each packet sent over the wireless connection.
One other security measure I forgot to mention: change the SSID
that your router uses from the default to something obscure - hackers
may scan for default values as a quick way of finding networks that
have had SSID broadcast disabled (lots of hardware comes configured with
values like 'wireless', 'WLAN', 'linksys' etc.)
> 
> If there were a number of unsecured wireless networks within 
> range, what would my wireless enabled (but currently 
> unconfigured 'out of the box' xp pro) laptop pick up all: 
> all of them them, the first one it found, the strongest signal?
> 
It will see any network that has SSID broadcast enabled, whether
they're secured or not, and offer you a choice of which to connect to.
I'm not sure if yours connected automatically because the one it found
was the only network, the only unsecured network, the first unsecured
network ... I tend to use manual network settings rather than relying
on stuff like the Zero Configuration option and DHCP.

Rob Morley wrote:
> On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:48:51 +0100
> Ted  wrote:
> 
>> Rob Morley wrote:
>>
>>> Just set up the encryption (WPA is more secure than WEP),
>> Sounds good. What exactly is it that is being encrypted?
> 
> The data content of each packet sent over the wireless connection.
> One other security measure I forgot to mention: change the SSID
> that your router uses from the default to something obscure - hackers
> may scan for default values as a quick way of finding networks that
> have had SSID broadcast disabled (lots of hardware comes configured with
> values like 'wireless', 'WLAN', 'linksys' etc.)

FWIW This is all covered (rather well) in the user guide which I've just 
has a peek at. There is a "Wireless Security Checklist"

Also a link to <http://www.linksys.com/security> which features 'show me 
how' tutorials.

Looks a competant bit of kit!

-- 
Adrian C

Rob Morley wrote:

Thanks for your input - it's quite educational! There are a 
few more questions below but if you are growing weary of 
responding, not a problem.

> On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:48:51 +0100
> Ted  wrote:
> 
>> Rob Morley wrote:
>>
>>> Just set up the encryption (WPA is more secure than WEP),
>> Sounds good. What exactly is it that is being encrypted?
> 
> The data content of each packet sent over the wireless connection.

Right. So does that mean that the router encrypts the 
packets and that some decryption software is required to be 
installed on the laptop receiving the packets?

> One other security measure I forgot to mention: change the SSID
> that your router uses from the default to something obscure - hackers
> may scan for default values as a quick way of finding networks that
> have had SSID broadcast disabled (lots of hardware comes configured with
> values like 'wireless', 'WLAN', 'linksys' etc.)

So this would mean the router of the network to which I 
connected was broadcasting SSID and my laptop automatically 
picked it up and joined in the network?

Is there a way of preventing the laptop from connecting to 
broadcasting foreign networks?

If I turn off SSID broadcast on my router, presumably I need 
to configure something on the router together with a 
matching counterpart something on the laptop so that the 
laptop will find and connect with the router.

Ted

Rob Morley wrote:

> Just set up the encryption (WPA is more secure than WEP), limit
> connection to specified MAC addresses (i.e. just your laptop, unless
> you want to connect any other wireless devices), switch off SSID
> broadcasting.

Sounds good. What exactly is it that is being encrypted?

>> How do I see a printer share
> 
> Look in My Network Places - Windows Network (I think that's what it's
> called, I haven't used Windows for a while).
> 
>> and what would it tell me about where 
>> the leaking network is?
>>
> It wouldn't, but you could print something on it.  :-)

If there were a number of unsecured wireless networks within 
range, what would my wireless enabled (but currently 
unconfigured 'out of the box' xp pro) laptop pick up all: 
all of them them, the first one it found, the strongest signal?

Ted

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:48:32 +0100
Ted  wrote:

> Right. So does that mean that the router encrypts the 
> packets and that some decryption software is required to be 
> installed on the laptop receiving the packets?

The network driver handles the encryption and decryption - all you need
do is set the encryption key on the router and any wireless clients.

> So this would mean the router of the network to which I 
> connected was broadcasting SSID and my laptop automatically 
> picked it up and joined in the network?

Yes.
> 
> Is there a way of preventing the laptop from connecting to 
> broadcasting foreign networks?
> 
You can set it to only connect to your network (somewhere in the
wireless network preferences).  I think you can also set it to always
offer you a choice before connecting to anything.

> If I turn off SSID broadcast on my router, presumably I need 
> to configure something on the router together with a 
> matching counterpart something on the laptop so that the 
> laptop will find and connect with the router.
> 
Change the SSID on the router from the default that it comes with to
something less obvious, and put the new SSID in your laptop wireless
preferences.  If you can't figure out where to put it I can have a look
on an XP laptop, but I don't normally use either Windows or wireless.

Thanks for all that - very helpful.
One last(?) question: Will replacing the wired connection 
with a wireless change the settings that applied to the 
wired connection, that is, if I decided to abandon the 
wireless and revert to the wired connection, would it just 
be a matter of plugging in the wired modem again or would 
setting up the the wireless connection have changed the 
wired connection settings in the process? I am just trying 
to understand what's required for a fallback plan.

Ted



Rob Morley wrote:
> On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:48:32 +0100
> Ted  wrote:
> 
>> Right. So does that mean that the router encrypts the 
>> packets and that some decryption software is required to be 
>> installed on the laptop receiving the packets?
> 
> The network driver handles the encryption and decryption - all you need
> do is set the encryption key on the router and any wireless clients.
> 
>> So this would mean the router of the network to which I 
>> connected was broadcasting SSID and my laptop automatically 
>> picked it up and joined in the network?
> 
> Yes.
>> Is there a way of preventing the laptop from connecting to 
>> broadcasting foreign networks?
>>
> You can set it to only connect to your network (somewhere in the
> wireless network preferences).  I think you can also set it to always
> offer you a choice before connecting to anything.
> 
>> If I turn off SSID broadcast on my router, presumably I need 
>> to configure something on the router together with a 
>> matching counterpart something on the laptop so that the 
>> laptop will find and connect with the router.
>>
> Change the SSID on the router from the default that it comes with to
> something less obvious, and put the new SSID in your laptop wireless
> preferences.  If you can't figure out where to put it I can have a look
> on an XP laptop, but I don't normally use either Windows or wireless.
>

On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:42:20 +0100
Ted  wrote:

> Thanks for all that - very helpful.
> One last(?) question: Will replacing the wired connection 
> with a wireless change the settings that applied to the 
> wired connection, that is, if I decided to abandon the 
> wireless and revert to the wired connection, would it just 
> be a matter of plugging in the wired modem again or would 
> setting up the the wireless connection have changed the 
> wired connection settings in the process? I am just trying 
> to understand what's required for a fallback plan.
> 
Do you mean will it have changed the settings on the laptop?  The
Ethernet and WiFi interface each have their own settings, so if you
switch off the wireless hardware (most laptops have a switch on the
side for this) and plug in a cable it will use that connection.  If
both are active at the same time I don't think there's an easy way of
telling which connection will be used, but one or the other will be.

Rob Morley wrote:
> On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:42:20 +0100
> Ted  wrote:
> 
>> Thanks for all that - very helpful.
>> One last(?) question: Will replacing the wired connection 
>> with a wireless change the settings that applied to the 
>> wired connection, that is, if I decided to abandon the 
>> wireless and revert to the wired connection, would it just 
>> be a matter of plugging in the wired modem again or would 
>> setting up the the wireless connection have changed the 
>> wired connection settings in the process? I am just trying 
>> to understand what's required for a fallback plan.
>>
> Do you mean will it have changed the settings on the laptop?  The
> Ethernet and WiFi interface each have their own settings, so if you
> switch off the wireless hardware (most laptops have a switch on the
> side for this) and plug in a cable it will use that connection.  If
> both are active at the same time I don't think there's an easy way of
> telling which connection will be used, but one or the other will be.

I wasn't clear - I meant the pc. To set up the wireless lan, 
I need to connect the wireless router to the pc via cable in 
place of the cable connection the pc now has to the modem. I 
was wondering what would be entailed in terms of setting 
changes etc if I later wanted to change back from a wireless 
router connected by cable to the pc to a modem connected by 
cable to the pc.

Re your reply above, I had tried connecting the laptop to 
the modem but I couldn't get an internet connection. However 
I wasn't aware there was a wireless switch but I've now 
checked and I see there is and it was 'on' so that probably 
explains why I didn't get a connection (at least I hope it 
does)!

When I turn on the laptop (still as out of the box), I  have 
3 adapters showing in Network Connections:

- Wireless
- 1394
- Local Area Lan (ethernet)

The first 2 are showing as 'connected' (from someone's 
leaking router somewhere) and the last one is showing as 
'unplugged'. I can understand the Wireless and Lan but am 
not clear what the 1394 connection is and why it is showing 
as connected along with the Wireless.

Ted

Ted wrote:


> am
> not clear what the 1394 connection is and why it is showing
> as connected along with the Wireless.
> 
> Ted

Type 1394 in to Google.

Chris

-- 
Remove prejudice to reply.

Chris Whelan wrote:
> Ted wrote:
> 
> 
>> am
>> not clear what the 1394 connection is and why it is showing
>> as connected along with the Wireless.
>>
>> Ted
> 
> Type 1394 in to Google.
> 
> Chris

I did.

On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:54:32 +0100
Ted  wrote:

> I wasn't clear - I meant the pc. To set up the wireless lan, 
> I need to connect the wireless router to the pc via cable in 
> place of the cable connection the pc now has to the modem. I 
> was wondering what would be entailed in terms of setting 
> changes etc if I later wanted to change back from a wireless 
> router connected by cable to the pc to a modem connected by 
> cable to the pc.

Assuming the PC is using DHCP in both cases you won't have to change
anything.  Basically the PC broadcasts a request for connection
information, and the DHCP server replies with the settings it needs,
the PC doesn't care whether it's talking to a modem or a router.  You
will need to reboot the PC when you switch between the two, so it gets
its settings again.
> 
> Re your reply above, I had tried connecting the laptop to 
> the modem but I couldn't get an internet connection. However 
> I wasn't aware there was a wireless switch but I've now 
> checked and I see there is and it was 'on' so that probably 
> explains why I didn't get a connection (at least I hope it 
> does)!

Did you reboot the modem then the laptop after you connected it?  As the
modem only expects to talk to one machine it won't have issued new
network settings to the laptop because it thought it was still
supposed to be talking to the PC.
> 
> When I turn on the laptop (still as out of the box), I  have 
> 3 adapters showing in Network Connections:
> 
> - Wireless
> - 1394
> - Local Area Lan (ethernet)
> 
> The first 2 are showing as 'connected' (from someone's 
> leaking router somewhere) and the last one is showing as 
> 'unplugged'. I can understand the Wireless and Lan but am 
> not clear what the 1394 connection is and why it is showing 
> as connected along with the Wireless.
> 
IEEE1394 is FireWire, it's sort of like USB and is commonly used for
connecting to digital video devices or external hard drives.  The main
difference from USB is that it's peer-to-peer rather than
client-server, so you can hook two PCs together using FireWire as if it
was a regular network connection.  I guess it's showing as connected
because the interface is active.  You can disable it in BIOS or Device
Manager if you're not going to use it.