The Internet For Dummies, 14th Edition

Chapter 5

Setting Up Your Own Network or Wi-Fi Hotspot

In This Chapter

Setting up a network at home

Creating your own Wi-Fi hotspot

These days, lots of families have more than one computer — perhaps one in the office, one in the family room, and one in their teenager’s bedroom. Hey, one of us has one in the kitchen for our family’s calendar and address book. And that’s not to mention the road warrior laptop.

Luckily, you don’t need a separate Internet connection for every computer. Instead, you can connect the computers into a network — with cables or through thin air with wireless Wi-Fi connections — and then set them up to share one Internet connection. This chapter shows you to set up both types of networks.

Just One Computer for Internet Access? Naah

Many years ago, back when computers were large, hulking things found only in glass-walled computer rooms, a wild-eyed visionary friend of ours claimed (to great skepticism) that computers would be everywhere, and would be so small and cheap that they would show up as prizes in cereal boxes. We’re not sure about the cereal boxes, but it’s certainly true that the last time we went to put an old computer in the closet, we didn’t have room because of all the other old computers in there. Rather than let them rust in your closet, you ...