Windows Vista Security: Praxisorientierte Sicherheit für Profis

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Chapter 14: Setting Up Your Network

On the other hand, if you are using an integrated network card in your machine that

has not been enabled, reboot the system into the Basic Input Output System (BIOS).

Most OEMs use the Delete key. Press the Delete key every second or so after the

reboot to enter the main BIOS section. Usually, you can find the network card set-

tings under Integrated Devices. Once you have found the network card settings in

your BIOS, select the desired device and enable it. If you need two network cards

and the board has two network cards, enable each one. Very rarely will you need this

type of configuration on a standard home system. Once you have enabled the

device(s) on your system, save the changes in the BIOS and reboot the system into

the operating system.

After installing or enabling the network card physically or logically, allow the system

to boot into the operating system. When you have completed this task, click the

Start button, right-click on the computer icon, and select Manage. This opens the

Computer Management window, which allows you greater flexibility in managing

the different aspects of your system. Once Computer Management starts, click the

Device Manager node in the left pane. In the main pane, expand the Network Adapt-

ers node by clicking on the “+” icon to view the network adapters installed in your

machine. Right-click on the adapter you previously installed or enabled, and select

Properties. On the Driver tab, verify the Driver Provider details. As necessary, install

the device driver as discussed in Chapter 5.

If you do not see a network adapter listed in the Device Manager

screen under Network Adapters, you should verify that the device

does not show up under Other Devices as a network controller. If this

happens, don’t worry. Simply install the device driver as discussed in

Chapter 5.

Installing Ethernet Routers, Hubs, and Switches

Installing an Ethernet router, hub, or switch requires you to remove the device from

the packaging and plug it into a power source using the power cable provided by the

manufacturer. After you plug in the device, you should see it begin to flash green and

amber-colored lights. The network device will accept connections and begin trans-

mitting data when the initialization process completes. You can tell that the initial-

ization process has completed when the lights on the unit quit flashing.

After the initialization process completes, you need to connect the network cables to

the Ethernet router to provide connectivity to the computers and devices that you

want to network together. To establish an Internet connection, connect a network

cable between your cable/DSL modem and the Ethernet router’s Internet port. Cable

modems should automatically assign an IP address to your router for external con-

nectivity to the Internet. DSL modems usually require a client username and pass-

word. You should have received this information when you signed up for Internet

connectivity, or you can contact support and receive this information from your ISP.