Going Wireless in my Dorm
 

My university offers a nice ethernet connection, but it's not wireless. (Wireless is confined to classrooms, library, and outdoors). So, I don't want to be chained to a desk while I'm in my dorm nor do I want to have a 40 foot cable extend from my computer to wall while I'm using the computer on my bed.

Therefore, my question is: what type of device should I be looking into to gain that bit of freedom. I'm looking at an AirPort Express, but it's a tad expensive at $129, but it is nice and tiny. Any other small and cheap solutions?

I'd only buy the Airport Express if you wanted to use the music streaming option to play your tunes to a stereo in the room when you were away from your desk. Otherwise, there are plenty of general 802.11b routers out there that will work fine.

Though, just so you know, the AE is actually $10 cheaper for you, since you're a higher education student. Not a huge amount, but a little savings anyway.

If your dorm room is big enough to have a 40 foot cable stretching from your desk to your bed, you've possibly got the nicest dorm room I've ever heard of.

That said, pretty much any wireless router will work for what you want, just be sure to make the network secured with a non-default password to access it. Otherwise everyone else on the hall will be leeching your bandwith, and since most schools have bandwidth limitations nowadays, that could quickly get to be a problem.

And that means NOT JUST a WEP/WPA password to connect, but also be sure to change the administration name/password so that people with the know-how can't just log in and change the settings on it to, say, keep you out.

Haha, I remember being so tempted to do that to my neighbors' networks back when I was stealing internet off of them.

Okay. So the cable's 40 feet long, but the distance is really like 7 feet max.

Thanks. It's really up to my parents now. I'll keep the password changes in mind.

Find out if your dorm allows wireless networks in the first place.

Mine was pretty nazi about it, since everyone had ethernet ports in their rooms, and I'm sure there were various security reasons as well.

Well, there's a pretty easy way to take care of that. First, secure your router effectively when first setting it up (changing the default login/password, and setting up wireless security like WPA), and then turn off SSID broadcasting. That way you have to actually go in and specify the name of your router to connect, other people with wireless can't just "see" it automatically. Then, if you keep it discreet, there's no way anyone will know about it unless you tell them.

That doesn't prevent them from seeing a wireless router in your room, though.

Well, I think I'll invest in one and use it until the school says anything.

If you are going to go ahead with buying the router, make sure to put encryption on the wireless side. This is to reduce the risk of others using your connection. I would suggest you ask first thought otherwise if they do find out, you might find your ethernet port disabled.

Like I said, keep it discreet. With a power-adapter style one like the Airport Express (or the Linksys one linked earlier) it's even easier. Just throw it behind a desk. If your RA is searching behind there, you've got OTHER problems.

Okay. I have a question. Russ suggested this.

However, I found something a little cheaper. Any major differences. I really can't tell.

Dlink is ass. Just sayin'.

And with all that talk about encryption and such, I'd just use MAC address filtering, works like a charm. Sure, for everyone who's gonna use it you'll have to edit the list of allowed devices but it's pretty much one of the most secure ways of locking down your network. That's what I do in my apartment.

I think that there is also a pretty substantial price difference between the Linksys model and the D-Link model. Personally, I strongly prefer Linksys products, what with Linksys being owned by Cisco, but for your needs, you could probably get the D-Link and be satisfied.

Linksys makes great stuff EXCEPT Wireless G routers. I have had so many problems with WRT54G models of all revisions it's not funny.