Configuration of wireless network at student villages

Necessary equipment

If you have a regular network connection at home and wish to use this as a wireless network connection, two objects are required;
1. A wireless network card for your computer. (See configuration of wireless network in Windows XP.)
2. A router / wireless access point which your computer with its wireless network card can connect to.

A choice must be made between purchasing a router or a wireless access point. A router is more advanced than a simple access point, and as their price is approximately the same, we recommend purchasing a router. There are several brands to choose between, but if we were to make a suggestion, it would be for instance Linksys WRT54G. You can read more about this specific router at Wikipedia. It is important to keep in mind that what we refer to as a router in this context, actually serves three purposes: it functions both as a router, an access point, and a switch, all in one box.

When you have purchased a router and wish to set up your wireless network, it is important to configure it properly. This configuration procedure varies from product to product, so follow the accompanying manual! Here are some tips for the configuration of your router:

How should a router be connected to the network?

A router often contains a built-in device called a switch. The ports of the switch are called LAN ports, and are marked by a cross in the picture. Whether you wish to employ your switch or not, you must take care that it is the WAN port, and not the LAN ports, that is connected to the Internet (network outlet in the wall). The WAN port is framed in the picture, and is marked "internet". NB! If you are living at a student village, and connect a LAN port to your network outlet, usually the whole student village will loose their network connection.

Change your administrator password

Every router is delivered with a preset standard administrator password. This must be altered once the router is connected to the network. If not, anybody could simply just look up the password in the manual, and use it for malicious purposes.

When this has been done, the network must be secured. The IT regulations state that you personally are responsible for what your network connection is used for. This means that if you establish a wireless network and someone else uses it for malicious purposes, you will be the one to blame. Therefore, we highly recommend you carry out all the security precautions listed below as a minimum of protection.

WPA encryption

By applying an encryption to your wireless network, a greater effort must be put down by anyone who wishes to attack your network. We recommend WPA.WEP (another type of encryption) can be applied instead of WPA, but it is not nearly as secure. Please check out the Wikipedia collection of articles concerning wireless networking for more information.

MAC filtration

When applying MAC filtration, a list of all approved MAC addresses (specific ID of network cards) is made, increasing security by ensuring the user that only known addresses can access the network. Visit Wikipedia to learn more about filtration of MAC addresses.

Hidden SSID

All units who wish to communicate must use the same SSID. By hiding this ID, unauthorized access is made more difficult.

A final remark: If you after reading this article still are uncertain as to how your wireless network should be configured and secured, we highly recommend you not to establish a wireless network. Abuse of wireless networks is very likely and you are the only liable party.