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This chapter is a video presentation. [hidepost=1] [flv:http://pcmech.s3.amazonaws.com/BYON/06_setting_up_networking_software.flv 610 458] [/hidepost] [hidepost=2] Download video (MOV) [/hidepost]

In order to get your PC’s to talk, it is necessary to perform some simple configuration. Here are the items that will need to be visited:IP Addresses. Each network adapter needs to have an IP address. Luckily, this functionality is usually taken care of automatically by your switch or router. Installation of Microsoft Network Client software. This is the...

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If everything is working well on your wireless network, it is now time to secure it. The nature of wireless is that anybody within range can access the network. But, unless you’re feeling especially charitable, you probably don’t want people to be able to sit outside your house and use your network. If those people are knowledgeable and mischievous, they can...

OK, now it’s time to actually start doing some networking. Setting up an Ethernet network is usually very easy. The hard part usually comes in running the cables. If you are networking PCs that are in different rooms, then you have the joy associated with running wires through your attic, walls, etc. I’m not going to go into how to tear holes in your wall,...

When Apple came out with OS X Leopard, one of the more innovative things they included with it was Time Machine. This is, of course, the automated backup utility with a snazzy graphical interface which automatically backs up and archives your Mac. You can restore your entire Mac if needed or simply a single file. To use it, though, you need an external hard...

One thing which has always made me scratch my head is that wireless access points always seem to be more expensive than wireless routers. The range on an access point doesn’t seem to be much of difference, so why not use a wireless router as an access point? I set this up at work and it was a breeze. Basically all you have to do is plug the router directly...

A very recent post on PCMech.com touched on something that every Internet user needs to take notice of…’Net Neutrality.  While the article, “Metered Bandwidth = Bad Idea” was well written, it only scratches the surface of this important subject. ‘Net Neutrality is the notion that Internet users have the RIGHT to determine what content they...

1. It’s not Microsoft. 2. It’s not Apple. 3. It’s not Yahoo. 4. It works on any OS using almost any IM client you can think of (AIM client itself, AIM Lite, Trillian, Pidgin, Kopete, Adium, Digsby, Miranda, etc. etc. etc.) 5. Jabber still sucks. 6. MSN/Live still doesn’t work right and disconnects randomly. 7. Yahoo does the same...

A very useful command line tool which ships with Windows is Netstat. Netstat allows you to view all active network connections on your computer. This is a great way to make sure you don’t have anything unexpected on your computer sending or receiving network traffic. An alternate, more user friendly, version of Netstat is TCPView. From the web site’s...