[RESOLVED] Recommendations for wireless network?

[KatMac]

OK, Eric, I think we're up and running!

Kept my Laptop connected directly to ethernet (router>Cable Modem>Ethernet cable) and got it all cleaned up. (Many varied scans done and found Smitfraud and a Dropper Trojan, plus some deeply hidden spyware.) All clean now, runs very smoothly. crunchie thinks my hijackthis log looks good, but I posted a Silent Runners log at his suggestion and he'll take a look.

So I swapped back: hooked Desktop up to router, re-inserted adaptor into notebook. First try I got "page cannot be displayed" although notebook had a good connection showing. A reboot fixed that.

Had trouble with printer, took me an hour or so of reading posts here and web articles to figure out I missed some very basic steps, and will post for anyone that might benefit in future. It was a combination of firewall settings and Network ID (SSID).

First mistake: I did not enter my IP addresses as "Trusted Zones" in Zone Alarm. So in Desktop I entered Notebook IP as trusted, and in Notebook I added Desktop IP as trusted. (I always have left XP firewall off, and made sure it was still off on both machines-- it was.)

From the Desktop, I went to Printers and Faxes Properties>Sharing tab and shared the printer. XP wanted to fight with me on putting a share name in, but just kept trying till it worked (for some crazy reason there was nothing in "share name" box and it wouldn't accept what I put in, but finally after repeated attempts Windows automatically put in the correct printer name.

Next I went to Notebook Control Panel>Printers>Add Printer. That's where I ran into trouble. No matter what I tried, the Wizard did not list my printer, and Wizard kept hanging when searching for one. I sat here thinking about it and it dawned on me, it must be the Network name (so basic!) The laptop already displays the SSID name in the Netgear Configuration software. But the Desktop didn't display it anywhere. So I went into Desktop Network Connetions>Local Area Connections>Properties and changed the name from "Local Area Network" to the same SSID I used for the router. Once I did that, I went back to the notebook, sailed through the Add Printer wizard and there was my printer listed.

So, in a nutshell, the two basic things I neglected to do were 1) assign the firewall permission to communicate with each computer and 2) make sure that the desktop and notebook shared the same Network ID/ SSID.

Anyway, this is resolved (for now!) If you want to mark the thread resolved, can we wait a couple days, make sure I keep the connection on the notebook? I'll post back whether I encounter problems or it's continued smooth sailing.

Thanks for the assist, I greatly appreciate it!

~Kat

[ecross]

Thanks for the feedback! For your information, you can mark your thread resolved under the Thread Tools.

[KatMac]

Ah, I thought 'resolved' was a Mod only feature

Things seem to be going OK for the moment (still holding my breath a bit!). Carried notebook to various rooms/levels of house last night and this morning, getting a good strong signal and good connection. Probably sounds like I've been living in computing dark ages, but I get a kick out of being able to send files to the printer via wireless (feel like I got a new toy )

Have a quick question re: firewall and IP addresses.
My desktop IP ends in .1.3
My Notebook IP ends in .1.2
Default gateway ends in .1.1

Yesterday trusted zones I entered were .1.3 and .1.2 per each machine. This morning I attempted to log onto IE from Desktop, and ZA gave me an alert that program svchost.exe was attempting to connect from source IP 1.3 (desktop) to destination IP .1.1 (default gateway). I thought I got svchost.exe covered yesterday when I put green checks under all categories except Internet Server, which got a red X. Anyway, to correct the issue, I put a trusted range in ZA, from IP address ending in 1.1 through 1.3, to include both machines and the default gateway. (I read up on default gateway but am still a bit confused about it. ) Is that OK/safe to use that range?

[ecross]

Yes, it's safe because anything in the 192.168.x.x range is a private ip address. Your getting these addresses from the DHCP server (router) which also acts like a firewall. However, those addresses can always change.

[KatMac]

Am I going to have to keep an eye on the IP addresses and perhaps reconfiguring the router if/when addresses change, or should I just put a larger range in there to cover changes? (Trying to cover all preliminary bases here.) And thanks, BTW, for the education I'm getting here.

[ecross]

You can decrease the number of DHCP users on the LAN setup page in the router.

[KatMac]

Hey Eric,
Just wanted to let you know that after a week, all is still well. So I think it's safe to say the wireless networking has been a success! Thanks so much for all your input and time, I greatly appreciate the assist!

~Kat

[ecross]

You're welcome!