How to Setup a Home Router
Adding a router to your home network may sound kind of scary. But actually it is a great way to help secure you home computers, and allow everyone to get online at the same time. Broadband and DSL is in almost every home these days. By connecting your computer to a broadband and DSL line, you immediately expose your computer to the harsh elements of the public Internet. This is just like stepping outside the front door of your house. You are immediately expose to a huge number of random factors going on in the environment, storms, rain, snow, stranger both friendly and not so friendly. You need to protect yourself when you go outside.
Just like going outside, you need to protect your home computers when they go out on the Internet. A Home router provide a nice secure barrier for your home computers. They can go out but the bad guys can't come in.
So how do you setup a home router?
Most consumer home routers are very similar and aren't too terribly hard to setup, but if you've never set one up it could be a bit intimidating.
Almost all home wireless routers have the same ports on the back where you can plug things into. The thing is that each manufacturer may call them something different. For example, they all have a WAN (Wide Area Network) interface, uplink port, or some port that is used to connect to your DSL or cable modem.
Also, most home routers include a 4 port switch. This is for the LAN side (Local Area Network). This is usually a group of four port or data jacks very close together on the back of the router. This is where you would plug in your laptop.
From here you would need to insert the installation disk that came with the router and follow along with the installation instructions.
If you don't have the CD that came with the router... you should be able to login to from your web browser by doing the following
1. Connect the router to your cable/DSL modem. Turn on your router.
2. Connect your laptop or desktop to the router. Turn on your laptop/desktop.
3. Open your browser and enter "http://192.168.1.1" (without quotes) in the address window (where you would normally type a website name).
4. You should connect to the default login webpage for your router.
5. Login in with the user/name and password.
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