Introduction

4. Choose the “quietest” channel for your wireless network

In locations where homes or offices are close together, such as apartment buildings or office complexes, there may be wireless networks nearby that can conflict with yours. Use the Site Survey capabilities of your Wireless LAN Utility to locate any other wireless networks, and move your Wireless Router (or Access Point) and computers to a channel as far away from other networks as possible.

Experiment with more than one of the available channels, in order to find the clearest connection and avoid interference from neighboring cordless phones or other wireless devices.

Use the detailed Site Survey and wireless channel information included in your User Guide for more information.

5.Secure connections, VPNs, and AOL

Secure connections are connections that typically require a user name and password, and are used where security is important. Secure connections include:

Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections, often used to connect remotely to an office network

The “Bring Your Own Access” program from America Online (AOL), which lets you use AOL through broadband provided by another cable or DSL service

Most on-line banking websites

Many commercial websites which require a username and password to access your account

Secure connections can be interrupted by a computer’s power management setting, which causes it to “go to sleep.” The simplest solution to avoid this is to simply reconnect by re-running the VPN or AOL software, or by re-logging into the secure web site.

A second alternative is to change your computer’s power management settings so it does not go to sleep; however, this may not be appropriate for portable computers. To change your power management setting under Windows, see the “Power Options” item in the Control Panel.

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Belkin F5D7001 user manual Choose the quietest channel for your wireless network, Secure connections, VPNs, and AOL