Home Networking Annoyances

Description

Need a cure for the headaches associated with running a home network? This book tackles all the common annoyances your network dishes up--whether it's wired or wireless. With a friendly, off-the-cuff approach, this book guides you safely through common home networking glitches, including file sharing, printing, security, and more. Take a stand against annoyances now: just as the bestselling PC Annoyances brought peace and happiness to PC users everywhere, Home Networking Annoyances is your ticket to serenity.

Full Description

The beauty of a home network is that it can make life so easy--what could be better than sharing an Internet connection so that everyone can be online at the same time? With home networking you can move files from one computer to another, share resources, print to a single printer or multiple printers from any computer in the house, and IM the kids when they're holed up in their rooms. And the downside? Anyone who's ever had to troubleshoot a network glitch doesn't need to ask that question. The simple words, "Why can't I print? Why can't I get to the Internet? Why does my computer say 'Access Denied' today, when it worked fine yesterday?" are enough to send the home network administrator running for cover. And the concept of "network security" can keep the soundest sleeper tossing and turning all night. Currently, more than 8 million homes in the US have installed a network of some kind, and within five years, that number is expected to jump to 37 million. This speaks to the availability of easy-to-install home networking products. Unfortunately, there's also a glut of potential headaches that can occur after installation (and during, sometimes) with no warning label on the box saying, "This product sure to cause annoyances." But help is here. Home Networking Annoyances will ease the headaches and annoyances of anyone who runs a home network. This book tackles all the common annoyances associated with running your network--whether it's wired or wireless, or a combination thereof. Its friendly, off-the-cuff approach will put you in a position of power over those home networking glitches, including file sharing, printing, cabling, security, and much more. You'll find dozens of on-target tips, workarounds, and fixes that will help you improve your home networking experience in every way possible. Whether you're a mainstream business user or a home user with newly installed network hardware, you've probably had your patience tested by frustrating network maintenance issues. Take a stand against annoyances now: just as the bestselling PC Annoyances brought peace and happiness to PC users everywhere, Home Networking Annoyances is your ticket to serenity.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Hardware Annoyances
1. NETWORK ADAPTER ANNOYANCES
2. ETHERNET HARDWARE ANNOYANCES
3. PHONELINE HARDWARE ANNOYANCES
4. POWERLINE HARDWARE ANNOYANCES
5. WIRELESS HARDWARE ANNOYANCES
6. TROUBLESHOOTING AND TECH-SUPPORT ANNOYANCES
Chapter 2 Software Annoyances
1. CONFIGURING NETWORK ADAPTERS
2. CONFIGURING ROUTERS
3. CONFIGURING AND MANAGING USERS
4. CONFIGURING THE DESKTOP
5. INSTANT MESSENGER ANNOYANCES
6. SOFTWARE SUPPORT ANNOYANCES
Chapter 3 Network Access Annoyances
1. FINDING COMPUTERS ON YOUR NETWORK
2. TROUBLESHOOTING NETWORK CONNECTIVITY
3. MY NETWORK PLACES NEEDS HOUSEKEEPING
4. MAPPED DRIVES
Chapter 4 File-Sharing Annoyances
1. ACCESSING FILES ON REMOTE COMPUTERS
2. MANIPULATING FILES ON THE NETWORK
3. NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS
Chapter 5 Network Printing Annoyances
1. SHARED PRINTER ANNOYANCES
2. INSTALLING REMOTE (NETWORK) PRINTERS
3. MANAGING NETWORK PRINTING
4. TROUBLESHOOTING NETWORK PRINTERS
5. USING PRINT FILES
6. NETWORK PRINTING AND MS-DOS
Chapter 6 Shared Internet Connection Annoyances
1. ISP RULES: CUTTING THROUGH THE CONFUSION
2. DIAL-UP CONNECTION-SHARING ANNOYANCES
3. SHARED BROADBAND ANNOYANCES
4. BROADBAND TECHNICAL SUPPORT ANNOYANCES
5. EMAIL ANNOYANCES
6. AOL ANNOYANCES
Chapter 7 Security Annoyances
1. FIREWALL
2. VIRUSES, WORMS, AND OTHER SLIMY CREATURES
3. WIRELESS SECURITY ISSUES
4. FILE AND FOLDER SECURITY
Chapter 8 Network Maintenance Annoyances
1. DOCUMENTATION AND RECORD KEEPING
2. BACKING UP INFORMATION
3. UPGRADING THE NETWORK

Appendix Expanding the Network
1. CREATING A BLUEPRINT
2. MINIMUM EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
3. COMPATIBILITY ISSUES
4. SIGNAL INTERFERENCE ISSUES
5. NIFTY NETWORK DEVICES
6. MULTILINK PHONE MODEMS TO INCREASE SPEED
7. HOME ENTERTAINMENT DEVICES
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Product Details

Title:

Home Networking Annoyances

By:

Kathy Ivens

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Ebook
Safari Books Online

Print Release:

January 2005

Ebook Release:

February 2009

Pages:

224

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-00808-6

| ISBN 10:

0-596-00808-2

Ebook ISBN:

978-0-596-10459-7

| ISBN 10:

0-596-10459-6

Customer Reviews

About the Author

Kathy Ivens

Kathy Ivens has spent more than 20 years as a computer consultant, and has been writing computer books for more than 10 years. As a result, relatives, friends, and neighbors beat a path to her door for help. Thankfully, she has decided to share her pearls of wisdoms with the rest of us. In addition to books, Kathy also writes about computers for a variety of magazines and newspapers, and is a Senior Contributing Editor of Windows IT Pro magazine.

View Kathy Ivens's full profile page.

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. Emily Quill was the production editor and proofreader for Home Networking Annoyances. Audrey Doyle was the copyeditor. Emily Quill did the typesetting and page makeup. Matt Hutchinson and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Reg Aubry wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book using Adobe Illustrator, and produced the cover layout with Adobe InDesign CS using Gravur Condensed and Adobe Sabon fonts. The cover was based on a series design by Volume Design, Inc.

Patti Capaldi designed the interior layout using Adobe InDesign CS. The text and heading fonts are Rotis Sans Serif, Lineto Gravur, and Myriad Pro; the code font is TheSans Mono Condensed. Julie Hawks converted the text to Adobe InDesign CS. The screenshots and technical illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop 7. The cartoon illustrations used on the cover and in the interior of this book are copyright® 2004 Hal Mayforth.

O'Reilly Books & Videos

Home Networking Annoyances

How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Home Network

Chapter 1 Hardware Annoyances

NETWORK ADAPTER ANNOYANCES

ETHERNET HARDWARE ANNOYANCES

PHONELINE HARDWARE ANNOYANCES

POWERLINE HARDWARE ANNOYANCES

WIRELESS HARDWARE ANNOYANCES

TROUBLESHOOTING AND TECH-SUPPORT ANNOYANCES

Chapter 2 Software Annoyances

CONFIGURING NETWORK ADAPTERS

CONFIGURING ROUTERS

CONFIGURING AND MANAGING USERS

CONFIGURING THE DESKTOP

INSTANT MESSENGER ANNOYANCES

SOFTWARE SUPPORT ANNOYANCES

Chapter 3 Network Access Annoyances

FINDING COMPUTERS ON YOUR NETWORK

TROUBLESHOOTING NETWORK CONNECTIVITY

MY NETWORK PLACES NEEDS HOUSEKEEPING

MAPPED DRIVES

Chapter 4 File-Sharing Annoyances

ACCESSING FILES ON REMOTE COMPUTERS

MANIPULATING FILES ON THE NETWORK

NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS

Chapter 5 Network Printing Annoyances

SHARED PRINTER ANNOYANCES

INSTALLING REMOTE (NETWORK) PRINTERS

MANAGING NETWORK PRINTING

TROUBLESHOOTING NETWORK PRINTERS

USING PRINT FILES

NETWORK PRINTING AND MS-DOS

Chapter 6 Shared Internet Connection Annoyances

ISP RULES: CUTTING THROUGH THE CONFUSION

DIAL-UP CONNECTION-SHARING ANNOYANCES

SHARED BROADBAND ANNOYANCES

BROADBAND TECHNICAL SUPPORT ANNOYANCES

EMAIL ANNOYANCES

AOL ANNOYANCES

Chapter 7 Security Annoyances

FIREWALL

VIRUSES, WORMS, AND OTHER SLIMY CREATURES

WIRELESS SECURITY ISSUES

FILE AND FOLDER SECURITY

Chapter 8 Network Maintenance Annoyances

DOCUMENTATION AND RECORD KEEPING

BACKING UP INFORMATION

UPGRADING THE NETWORK

Appendix Expanding the Network

CREATING A BLUEPRINT

MINIMUM EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS

COMPATIBILITY ISSUES

SIGNAL INTERFERENCE ISSUES

NIFTY NETWORK DEVICES

MULTILINK PHONE MODEMS TO INCREASE SPEED

HOME ENTERTAINMENT DEVICES

Colophon

Kathy Ivens