Setting up a wireless network not hard

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) are not hard to create. All that's needed is an access point or router to serve as a middleman between the computer and the DSL connection. The only other necessary components are PCs or laptops that are WLAN ready as well.
Most laptops being sold today come with a built-in WLAN antenna. If a laptop doesn't have integrated WLAN, then it can be retrofitted to include it, often through WLAN cards to fit the PCMCIA slots.
If no PCMCIA slot is available, then there is still the option of using a WLAN USB stick. "There are cards for desktop PCs that are plugged in like sound cards," explains Wolfgang Boos from Stuttgart-based "connect" magazine.
WLAN is usually set up via an Internet browser. As soon as the router is plugged in and the WLAN function activated on the end device, the user can enter the browser's IP address (provided by the manufacturer) into a browser to open the configuration interface. his is primarily intended to protect a private WLAN against unauthorised access.
"Otherwise people can log in and cause damages in my name," explains Peter Knaak from the German consumer-testing organisation Stiftung Warentest in Berlin.
To protect the WLAN, the user must use the configuration interface to set a password for the wireless network and select an encryption method. No password or encryption is set by default. That makes it easier to set up the WLAN.
It also makes it all the more urgent to use a network cable for the first configuration session to prevent spying eyes within broadcast range from stealing the plain text password.
The encryption should be in place before calling up the first website. The new WLAN owner simply selects an encryption style using the configuration interface. Only one is considered safe and secure from hackers. It's called Wireless Protected Access (WPA) or WPA2.
"All current routers support this method," says Wolfgang Boos from "connect".
For users who are away all day or who don't need the Internet at night, it's not a bad idea to simply switch the router off. Many models offer an automated function for this. That prevents anyone from accessing the router, and saves electricity too.