| In the first two parts to this article series I | | | | £75 on one yourself. |
| discussed how to go about getting broadband | | | | At this point all you and your friends need to do is |
| internet for student housing, when you strike out | | | | plug in a wireless adaptor to your PC and |
| on your own in your second year you are left to | | | | sometimes you won't even have to do that since |
| find your own provider with most landlord treating | | | | most modern laptops have built in wireless cards. |
| internet supplies as a luxury. This guide has shown | | | | In some student houses you may find the signal |
| how to get the telephone line activated in yours | | | | gets pretty weak the further you are from the |
| and your housemate's names and how to look for | | | | access point, in which case it would be best to |
| broadband suppliers. The second part discussed | | | | invest in a Wireless N router. Different generations |
| what steps to take in order to let your new | | | | of broadband routers provide different levels of |
| broadband provider take over from the previous | | | | strength, in most cases the previous generation, |
| tenant's provider. | | | | Wireless G would be sufficient and fairly cheap to |
| Now in this final part I'll cover what steps you'll | | | | get for a typical house, however if you're finding |
| need to do in order to make sure that the single | | | | the signal isn't reaching everyone in your house |
| internet connection in your house is distributed to | | | | then you may have to invest in a wireless N |
| everyone who lives in your house through | | | | router and adaptors. |
| wireless networks. I'll go into how to get | | | | The only remaining issue is the security of your |
| everyone online and make sure no one steals | | | | network, you want to pay for yours and your |
| your internet! | | | | housemate's internet, not for your next door |
| Now you've sorted your connection out now you | | | | neighbours, so securing your wireless network is |
| need to go about sharing the internet amongst all | | | | vital in order to limit who can connect to your |
| the residents. This is typically done by plugging | | | | network. |
| your modem into a router instead of a single | | | | The easiest way to protect your network is to |
| computer, in the past these things used to mean | | | | lock it down with a private key; this essentially |
| trailing wires everywhere to connect all the | | | | puts a password on your internet access which |
| computers to the wired router. If you're a | | | | only the authorised people know. In a student-filled |
| student and you're coming in at stupid o'clock in | | | | area this is vital since if people can get something |
| the morning, stumbling in the dark is going to be | | | | without paying for it then they'll surely try their |
| made more treacherous with all these cables lying | | | | luck. I've known people who've connected to |
| everywhere and is bound to cause a bruise or | | | | unprotected networks as well as people who |
| two; thank god for wireless routers! | | | | have had people trying to use their internet |
| Wireless routers do the same job as a wired one | | | | without asking. If someone uses your internet |
| but don't have the cables encroaching throughout | | | | then it may end up experiencing a drop in speed |
| your house. Plus there's no limit to the amount of | | | | which is definitely not something you'd want. |
| devices that can connect to the access point too, | | | | One issue you may find with sharing a low speed |
| you aren't restricted to five connections which is | | | | connection is that it may not be quick enough to |
| great for modern computers as many people will | | | | provide acceptable speeds to all the people |
| now have a computer and maybe a video games | | | | connected so you may end up having to look into |
| console that connects to the internet too. Some | | | | upgrading your speed. Use a broadband speed |
| broadband suppliers offer routers as a part of | | | | test to see if you're getting an acceptable speed, |
| broadband deals so keep an eye out for these | | | | if not then your house may need an upgrade! |
| offers; they can save you having to shell out | | | | |