Laptops All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies- P55 docx

Sharing Devices and Internet Connections 514 This instructs the computer to search for this folder each time it is turned on. 7. Click Finish. Some security firewall software or hardware may be set up to automatically block access to shared folders; Windows Vista may stop to ask your permis- sion before making a connection. Read and understand the instructions for any firewall or other security software to learn how to use it properly. Do this to remove the mapping of a network drive: 1. Open any Windows Explorer window. 2. Choose Tools ➪ Disconnect Network Drive. 3. Select the icon for the mapped drive you want to disconnect. 4. Click OK. Sharing Devices and Internet Connections Devices on LANs can be shared in one of two ways: ✦ If they’re equipped with their own NIC, they can be directly addressed by laptops and desktops. ✦ If they’re directly attached to a computer on the network, they can be shared by other computers that have been given proper permission. In many offices, this means a workgroup or several workgroups can share a single printer or connect to the broadband connection from a modem attached to a network router or other similar hardware. Sharing a printer A printer with its own Ethernet interface attaches to your network hub or router and can get instructions and data from any computer on the network. As long as the printer and the router are powered, any laptop or desktop computer with proper access can sign on to the network and use it. Because a network printer is meant to exist independently (unassigned to a particular computer), it may be configured by using your browser to go to a Web-like page located within the machine, or it may have a control panel located on the printer itself. There is no operational difference between a wired and a wireless network in the office. A network can be one or the other, or use a mix of both means of communication. And devices, from computers to printers or modems, can “attach” to the network physically or over radio waves. 40 140925-bk08ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 514 Book VIII Chapter 2 Managing a Windows Network Sharing Devices and Internet Connections 515 If you attach a printer directly to a computer with a USB or other type of cable, you can make that printer available to other computers on the net- work anytime the computer is turned on, Windows is running, and the printer is on. Enabling a printer for sharing under Windows Vista Do this to share a printer attached to your computer: 1. Click Start ➪ Control Panel ➪ Network and Internet ➪ Network and Sharing Center. See Figure 2-10. 2. Click the Printer Sharing drop-down arrow. The section expands. 3. Click Turn on Printer Sharing. 4. Click Apply. 5. Go to the Control Panel. 6. Click Printers. There you see the names or icons for any attached printers. 7. Right-click a device. 8. Select Sharing. The Properties dialog box opens. 9. Click Share This Printer. Now the printer’s available on the network. Figure 2-10: Windows Vista’s Network and Sharing Center opens the door to printer sharing. 40 140925-bk08ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 515 Sharing Devices and Internet Connections 516 Enabling a printer for sharing under Windows XP Do this to share a printer attached to your computer: 1. Go to the Control Panel on the computer with an attached printer. 2. Click the Printers and Faxes icon. 3. Click to select the printer you want to share. 4. Right-click. A pop-up menu appears. 5. Choose Sharing. Alternately, you can choose File ➪ Sharing. The Properties dialog box opens. 6. Choose depending on your needs: • To enable sharing: Click to put a check mark in the Share This Printer check box. • To disable sharing: Remove the check mark from the Share This Printer check box. If you choose, you can give the printer a name. 7. Click OK. A shared printer’s icon changes to show an outstretched hand beneath its picture. Sharing an Internet connection You have two ways to share a broadband Internet connection: one involves hardware and the other, Windows facilities that simulate the hardware with software. Using a hardware router For superior performance and ease of use, purchase a router that sits between the cable modem or DSL modem and the computers on your network. The router can communicate with computers in the network by an Ethernet cable or wirelessly. Today’s routers have many upsides: ✦ They are relatively inexpensive — generally in the range of $50 to $100 — and quickly pay for themselves by sharing the cost of an Internet connection. ✦ They are also relatively easy to configure. 40 140925-bk08ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 516 Book VIII Chapter 2 Managing a Windows Network Sharing Devices and Internet Connections 517 ✦ Once set up, they shouldn’t need any further attention until time comes to replace them with the latest, greatest, next new thing. ✦ Once enabled and connected to the Internet, the router can operate independently; any computer on the network can use it, regardless of whether any other machine is powered on or signed onto the network. This is the most significant advantage of using a hardware router. In theory, each additional machine that shares an Internet connection is taking a slice of the incoming flow of data on the pipe. Depending on the pipe capacity, a finite amount of information can flow in each direction at any one moment in time; if that amount is X and eight machines share the pipe, the possible result could be a reduction to X / 8. However, in practice, it’s relatively rare for two or more machines to make a demand on the incoming or outgoing pipe at the same moment. Most users send out a request to view a Web page and then sit and read the screen; it takes only a few fractions of a second to download a page full of information. The most likely situation where a shared network connection can slow down: when two or more systems are using streaming audio or video. But with a fast cable or fiber-optic connection, enough stuff is moving through the pipe to support several concurrent streams, as well as many additional occasional demands. If overall Internet performance slows down to an unacceptable level, you may be able to upgrade the speed of the connection (for a price); contact the provider to see if they offer a faster service. Or you could install addi- tional incoming connections. Using software to share an Internet connection Windows Vista and Windows XP offer a software-based means of sharing an Internet. Although you save the cost of a hardware router, this solution has several disadvantages: ✦ The computer running the sharing utility will need to be powered up and running to allow it (and other computers on the network) to use the Internet. ✦ Activities on the computer itself may slow down the process of sharing the Internet feed to the network. With Windows Internet sharing, any computer on the network can locate and use an Internet connection through its Network Connections window. Here’s how to enable Internet sharing under Windows Vista: 40 140925-bk08ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 517 Sharing Devices and Internet Connections 518 1. Click Start. 2. Right-click Network. The Network and Sharing Center opens. 3. Click Manage Network Connections. The Network Connections window appears. 4. Right-click a listed Internet connection. 5. Click Properties. The Properties dialog box for the selected networking scheme opens. 6. Click the Sharing tab. See Figure 2-11. 7. Choose based on your needs: • To enable sharing: Enable the Allow Other Network Users to Connect Through This Computer’s Internet Connection check box. • To disable sharing: Disable the Allow Other Network Users to Connect Through This Computer’s Internet Connection check box. 8. Click OK. Figure 2-11: The Sharing tab allows enabling and disabling Internet Connection Sharing. Consult the help screen to make any needed changes to network properties. 40 140925-bk08ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 518 Book VIII Chapter 2 Managing a Windows Network Automated Network Diagnostics 519 To use software-based Internet Connection Sharing, most systems need to enable Internet Protocol Version 4 or 6 (TCP/IPv4 or TCP/IPv6) for each com- puter on the system to obtain its own IP address automatically. Follow the instructions displayed on the Sharing tab. Here’s how to enable this software solution under Windows XP: 1. Click Start ➪ Control Panel. 2. Click the Network Connections icon. 3. Click one of these icons: • Internet connection • Modem • ISP 4. Right-click. A pop-up menu appears. 5. Choose Properties. Or choose File ➪ Properties. The Properties dialog box opens. 6. Click the Advanced tab. 7. Choose based on your needs: • To enable sharing: Enable the Allow Other Network Users to Connect Through This Computer’s Internet Connection check box. • To disable sharing: Disable the Allow Other Network Users to Connect Through This Computer’s Internet Connection check box. 8. Click OK. Automated Network Diagnostics Windows Vista introduced a set of advanced automatic diagnostics and troubleshooting tools that should help most users determine the cause of most problems with network connectivity. If a computer on the network loses Internet connectivity, do this: 1. Go to the Control Panel. 2. Choose the Network and Sharing Center. A display indicates which connection is down. 3. Click the task pane on the left side of the windows. Diagnose and Repair tries to determine the cause of the problem and find possible solutions for automatic or manual repair. 40 140925-bk08ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 519 Book VIII: Networking and Linking to the Internet 520 40 140925-bk08ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 520 Chapter 3: Going Wireless In This Chapter ߜ Cutting the cord to local networks and the Internet ߜ What’s to do with a WiFi connection? ߜ Understanding WiFi technology ߜ Equipping your laptop for wireless communication ߜ Configuring a WiFi network ߜ Cellular, Bluetooth, and infrared networks W hen the personal computer arrived, one of the biggest complications was the thicket of wires and cables and protocols you had to manage to get your machine to communicate with a printer, a modem, or to another computer. Sometimes the incompatibility was physical: 9-pin serial, 9-pin CGA video, 15-pin VGA video, 25-pin parallel, 25-pin serial, 36-pin Centronics parallel printer, 50-pin SCSI, 50-socket disk drive, 68-pin advanced SCSI . . . I could go on and on with a nearly endless list of different designs for the wiring and the hardware at each end. And sometimes the incompatibility was electrical: A cable might plug per- fectly into a receptacle of a matching shape, but in the early days of comput- ing there was no guarantee that a specific pin in the computer would deliver a particular signal. There were entire books written about plugs and cables and there were pieces of hardware that could convert one type of plug to another, one type of cable to another, and the vaguely threatening class of devices nicknamed “gender benders” that could change a male plug (pins out) to a female receptacle, or the other way around. These were the facts of personal computing life that began with desktop machines and continued on through the first few generations of laptops, too. I have in my closet an early portable computer that came equipped with a parallel port, a serial port, an output for video on an external monitor, a mouse port, a modem port, and a set of three audio inputs and outputs. Today the primary means of wired communication for a modern machine is the USB port, a nearly universal means of connecting most computer-related devices to each other. The USB has replaced standard serial and parallel ports for printers, scanners, memory card readers, and all manner of devices. 41 140925-bk08ch03.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 521 Doing What with a Wireless Network? 522 In theory, a USB port could be used for just about anything. They’re not on the market yet, but designers have come up with LCDs and monitors, sound cards, and networking devices that can do their thing with the serial string of 0s and 1s sent their way from a USB port. Doing What with a Wireless Network? In many ways, laptops and WiFi were made for each other. Here are three ways laptop users have cut the cord . . . and lived to brag about the produc- tivity it has brought them. Expanding your home or office facilities It’s no secret: I do the bulk of my work on a conventional desktop machine that is connected to the Internet and to other machines in my office by a wired network. I also own and use several laptops, and they’re not just for travel. ✦ I can take a laptop anywhere in my office or anywhere in my home and continue my work without benefit of wires. If I want to go over my investments with my financial advisor, we can meet at the dining room table or out back on the deck and bring a full-speed network connection to my laptop. ✦ When a carpenter comes over to the house to discuss remodeling our kitchen and bathroom, we can sign onto the Internet from the worksite and look at sinks and vanities and appliances. ✦ I’ve entertained guests throughout the house with a laptop that streams Internet music or a changing display of digital photographs from the col- lection on one of my desktop hard drives. One of the advantages of a wireless network in a home or office is that they often do not require any substantial changes to the structure; you don’t need to drill holes in walls or floors to string cables. That can be messy, and in some situations expensive if you need to bring in an electrician or a carpenter. Becoming a road warrior My various laptops have allowed me to wirelessly connect to the Internet from the North Pole, Cape Horn, Australia, the South Pacific, all through Europe, and just about anywhere in between. I’ve used the facilities of Internet cafés, public access sites in libraries and public buildings, and latched onto a signal offered as a courtesy by businesses and government agencies. 41 140925-bk08ch03.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 522 Book VIII Chapter 3 Going Wireless Doing What with a Wireless Network? 523 A few years ago, wireless hotspots were rare and exciting; you could find designated areas where users could latch onto a signal in airports, hotels, coffee shops, and many other public and private places. Today they’re pretty common, almost to the point where users complain to eateries, hotels, and businesses when they can’t find them. Some hotspots are free and open to the public while others require payment of a daily or monthly subscription fee. When I am on the road, I read my e-mail (including audio attachments of voicemail from my telephone), upload files to my clients, send messages to my family, use voice over Internet telephone services to place calls, and con- sult essential web sites including banking (where I can pay bills and monitor deposits). I’m also able to use the Internet to check on my home alarm system and to read critically important news, including the Boston Red Sox standings. Visiting business clients One of the problems business and personal laptop users have when they arrive at a client’s office or a friend’s home is finding a way to use their machine without having to make changes to their own system or their host’s equipment to deal with security issues and compatibility. Plugging into a wired network is often difficult to accomplish. The wired router may not be easily accessible, it may be fully in use without any avail- able ports, or the system administrator may have set up firewalls or other blockades to prevent unauthorized users from signing on. By contrast, most wireless networks are designed to be readily available to outsiders. In a business setting, it is very likely that the administrator has enabled security settings but as a guest it should be easy for you to obtain permission to sign on; you need to be given the network SSID (its name) as well as a user ID and a password. Once you’re on the network, your privileges may be unlimited or you may be restricted only to access to the Internet which may be all that you need. If you need to read or write files or folders on the network, you need to be given access to them; similarly if you want to use a printer or other piece of hardware it will have to be shared with you. Sharing files, folders, and equipment like a printer on a wireless network is done in the same way these are made available on a wired network. See Book VIII, Chapters 1 and 2 for details. 41 140925-bk08ch03.qxp 4/8/08 12:51 PM Page 523 . a conventional desktop machine that is connected to the Internet and to other machines in my office by a wired network. I also own and use several laptops, and they’re not just for travel. ✦. of two ways: ✦ If they’re equipped with their own NIC, they can be directly addressed by laptops and desktops. ✦ If they’re directly attached to a computer on the network, they can be shared. other, Windows facilities that simulate the hardware with software. Using a hardware router For superior performance and ease of use, purchase a router that sits between the cable modem or DSL modem