Multiple Wireless Networks

[Pocket User]

Hi: I've got a new wireless network set up and it works fine...some of the time. I notice that my ppc often wants to connect to my neighbors network (I live in a townhouse and recieve his signal nearly as strong as my own). Is there anything I can do to force my ppc to always connect to my own network? Do I need extra software for this?

Thanks

[Steven Cedrone]

Hi: I've got a new wireless network set up and it works fine...some of the time. I notice that my ppc often wants to connect to my neighbors network (I live in a townhouse and recieve his signal nearly as strong as my own). Is there anything I can do to force my ppc to always connect to my own network? Do I need extra software for this?

Thanks

Get rid of your ISP and sponge off of him for free!!!... :lol:

Change your SSID.
Use MAC filtering.
WEP.

Steve

Also, Make sure you don't broadcast your SSID....

[Dave Beauvais]

Get rid of your ISP and sponge off of him for free!!!... :lol:

Change your SSID.
Use MAC filtering.
WEP.
:lol: I've often wished that one of my cable-equipped neighbors would get wireless since I still have dial-up. But seriously, the only way Pocket User's stuff should be connecting to his neighbor's network is if their two SSIDs are the same or if he's using "ANY" as his SSID on the wireless client(s). If he's using a unique SSID, he should only be able to associate with his network even if, by some chance, his neighbor's signal was stronger. Unique SSIDs won't stop him from seeing the other network; it will just prevent his equipment from associating with it.

Whatever Pocket User decides to do, I urge him to at the very least enable some level of WEP encryption and ot urge his neighbor to do the same. It's not rock solid security, but it will help to keep Joe Wardriver from driving by and stealing his bandwidth. Turning off SSID broadcasting is an excellent idea, but it will break things like WinXP's "Zero Configuration Wireless" feature and will require anyone using the network to manually enter the SSID of his network.

--Dave

[Pocket User]

Thanks for the info.

Both my neighbor and I are using different SSID's. And we both have WEP encryption turned on. Yet, sometimes, my ppc still list his ID when I run the utility that came with my Netgrear CF card. It almost seems like the configuration program is loosing my SSID value when I turn the unit off and defaults to "ANY" when I turn it back on. But it doesn't seem to happen every time and why it wants to connect to his network instead of mine in those instances is a mystery. Does it have anything to do with the fact that we are using the same channel?

Thanks again.

[Steven Cedrone]

Thanks for the info.

Both my neighbor and I are using different SSID's. And we both have WEP encryption turned on. Yet, sometimes, my ppc still list his ID when I run the utility that came with my Netgrear CF card. It almost seems like the configuration program is loosing my SSID value when I turn the unit off and defaults to "ANY" when I turn it back on. But it doesn't seem to happen every time and why it wants to connect to his network instead of mine in those instances is a mystery. Does it have anything to do with the fact that we are using the same channel?

Thanks again.

Could be... Change the channel and see if it continues to do it...

Steve

[Janak Parekh]

Hmm, something is weird with the wireless card's software here. It shouldn't forget your SSID no matter what. But you should also be running on different channels anyway to maximize throughput.

In any case, if Steve's suggestion doesn't work you should get in touch with your neighbor and make sure he turns off SSID broadcast. If it still picks it up after that, well, you have AirSnort functionality built in 8O

--janak

[Dave Beauvais]

Another thing you might try is to remove the Netgear driver, soft reset, then reinstall it. Also check to ensure that you have the most recent driver version. Netgear's site lists the current driver as v1.1 for the MA701 CF card. The release date seems to be last February (2002), so you probably have that version already.

As for channels, I always suggest using 1, 6, or 11, as those are the only three that do not overlap in frequencies at all. Most consumer wireless devices seem to ship using 6. Personally, I use 11 without problems.

There was a version of Socket Communications' CF card driver that sometimes didn't save the entered SSID unless you pressed Enter at the end in whatever input method you're using. Just entering the SSID and tapping OK or Apply didn't work. Stupid, yes.

--Dave

[ctmagnus]

but it will help to keep Joe Wardriver from driving by and stealing his bandwidth.
--Dave

Actually, true wardrivers don't connect. They wardrive for the same reason birdwatchers watch birds, namely to see how many APs (or birds) can be found in a given area. Or something like that. But connection is frowned on by the wardriving community.