Need an access point

Apr 05, 2005 6 Replies
Need an access point open original image

I'm looking for an access point to connect my wireless Thinkpad to my dsl modem. I have only the one computer, so I don't need a router.



Could anyone recommend a good one?



Thanks,



Charlie in San Francisco



Hi Charlie,

You may wish to investigate the Cisco Linksys "Interactive" Home Wireless Network Tutorial:

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Sincerely,

Brad Reese BradReese.Com Cisco Resource Center Toll Free: 877-549-2680 International: 828-277-7272 Website:

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Charlie,

Actually, the Cisco Linksys Configurator would be more helpful to you:

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Sincerely,

Brad Reese BradReese.Com Cisco Repair Worldwide

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Just get a simple router with built in wireless. By far it is the easiest and best solution

Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, Belkin

I agree! A router will also eliminate a switch which you will need if you get an access point. Both are good depending on what your application will be. It all boils down to what you want to do and where do you want to take it.

BradReeseCom said the following on 4/5/2005 5:12 PM:

I'm now set up with a Thinkpad running XP SP2, with a Cisco Systems PCI Wireless LAN Adapter. The adapter talks to a Linksys BEFW1184 router, which talks to a Westell Wirespeed DSL modem. It all works.

The Linksys tutorial says I should change the SSID, disable the SSID broadcast option, change the default password needed to access a wireless device, and enable MAC address filtering. However, it doesn't tell me how.

Can someone steer me in the right direction?

Thanks,

Instructions should be in the manual, which you can download from the Linksys web site

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. (I think your model number is acutally BEFW11S4.) As for the recommendations in the Linksys tutorial, the first and third (unique SSID and password) are solid; the second and fourth (disabling SSID broadcast and MAC filtering) are pretty worthless. What you need is encryption -- WEP or (preferably) WPA.

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