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FOR PC, MAC & MOBILE DEVICES CES The Complete Home Networking Manual The essential step-by-step guide to mastering your home network and smart devices Pen & Papercut Prana a The Complete Manual Series Available on Readly Thecompicte ams ye 1cBoc Me ice a iPad &iPadOS@ Robes User Manual The Compiate joogle User Manual ‘WhatsApp Manual Codin ispberry moa fee 3 er Phe compute Instagram User Manual ie Networking 9 Computing 9 Manual Manual (6 vay ©) Papercut For a full list of titles available please visit: www.pclpublications.com The Complete Home Networking Manual Your home network is constantly under pressure to serve volumes of data to your computers, smart TVs, games consoles and more. While most of the time they work without too much hassle and interference, there are times when the router will drop its connection to the Internet, or your Wi-Fi stops working altogether. These are the times when knowing a little bit more ‘about how it all works will help save you a lot of headaches - mostly from ‘other members of the family! This book will help you get to grips with the technology involved in creating your network. What equipment is needed, and what it does, and how you can get the best from every piece of the networking puzzle. Inside you'll discover how best to setup a home network, how to improve it, and how to secure it. There are sections on protecting yourself online, how to avoid viruses and malware, how to encrypt your data, how to recover from a digital disaster, and how to become more internet and social media aware ‘and secure. There are in-depth guides on using a Virtual Private Network, ‘advanced tips and tricks on Windows networking commands, and how to protect your data when out and about. If you want to improve your networking, and digital security knowledge, then. this is the book for you. £3) Papercut www.pclpublications.com HOME NETWORKING & SMART DEVICES Introduction to Home Networking 30 Getting the most from Wired Networks 8 YourHome Network 32 Benefitsof a Wired Network 10 Routers: How do they work? 34 Toolsand Equipment Needed 12 Switches: What are they, how do they work? 36 HowtoWire and Ethemet Cable 14 WiFi: Whatisit, how doesit work? 38 Installing Your Wired Network. 16 Powerline Adapters: Extend Your Network 18 Network Extenders: What are they, howdo they work? eee 20__ Getting the most from Wi 42 Networkngan Entertainment System 22 Benefits ofa wireless Network 44 TheGoogleHome Collection 24 Makinga Plan 46 Google Hore First Time Setup 26 Wireless toWired and Back-CreatingaWitelessBackbone 48 -—_AlLAbout Google Stadia 28 Improving Wi-Fi Security - - —~ ee eo © @ @ @-e° € - GI boede cd 54 Windows Networking Command Cheat Sheet 56 LinuxNetworking Command Cheat Sheet 58 Troubleshooting Your Wi-FiNetwork 60 Troubleshooting Your Wired Network 64 Typesof Security Risk 66 Hackersand You 68 TheVirusTopTen To BeSmart 72 Setting Up Windows Security TA Why Updatingis important 76 — Whatto Keep Updated and How 78 Howto Secure Your Web Browser 80 Howto Secure Your Home Network 82 Whatare Wireless Security Standards? 84 Howto Secure Your Wireless Network 86 — Whatis Encryption? 88 Encrypting Your Windows Laptop 90 Top Ten Encryption Tools for Windows 92 WhatisaVPN? 94 HowCana VPN Improve Windows Security? 96 Top Ten VPNs 98 Using VPN for Added Security and Privacy 102 How Does information Move Around the Internet? 104 HowCan Intemet Data be intercepted? 106 10 Tipsto Protect Yourself Against Interception. 108 Howto Secure Your Devices 110 Howto Secure Yourself on Facebook vn OS hase ak emia 12 14 116 1s 120 How to Secure Yourselfon Twitter How to Secure Yourselfon WhatsApp What to Avoid when Creating a Password Password Generators and Tools Top Ten Password Managers ‘ShoppingOnlineand Security How to Removea Virus or Malware from a Windows PC Coane eed 128 130 132 134 136 138 140 1a 144 146. 14s. 150 152 154 156 158 160 Windows Privacy Settings How to Check which Apps are Sending Information What isa Firewall? Improving the Windows Firewall Creatinga Security Plan Windows Security Checklist What isa Sandbox? Running Windowsasa Sandbox Installing VirtualBox Installing Windows in VirtualBox Creating VirtualBox Snapshots of Windows Creating a Windows Recovery Drive How to Back Up Windows How to Create a Windows System Image Extreme Windows Lockdown Tips yber &WWindows Quiz What the Experts Say VirtualBox Your Home Network Your home network is something most of us don’t even consider when we power on our devices and computers and surf the Internet; however, there’s more to it than you think. How do we get on the Internet? How do we print from all our devices? How does it all work? Let's have a look. Consider the average user: they contact an Internet Service Provider (ISP, signup for ‘broadband deal, andina day or ‘wo they receive their outer through the post This they hook upto their existing. telephone line, power up, then waitas the lights on theroutertuma cetaincolour indicating thata connections made, ‘They can then turn on their computer or device locate the Service Set -Mentifer (SSID, the router's name), enterthe wireless password and connecttothe Internet, ‘After that, they tendo forgetallabout the router and what's soingon.Uniessthere's a problem, then usuallya quickreboot ofthe router wil sve the issue ‘Thereisalot more going on inthe background though andifyoutakethe timeto lear litle about how networking E works, thenyou'll discover that you're ableto get more outof your network This a Includes beter speeds, more capability suchas setting up ahome entertainment system, bettersecuty, and you'tbe able to ‘quickly diagnose any problemsshould they ever aris. In short, creating and maintaininga good homenetworkill make your digital and online ie sigrificanty beter in the long, Getting the most from your network Wile you may thinkyour network stunning peretly ne, there ae undoubtedly ares ofimprovement. These areasinlude surfing the internet online gaming, watching steaming vdeo services, watching contenton multiple devices around the home, beingable to getacessto your network fromthe extremities ofyourhome or garden, and more ll thes elements can be enhancedonitsjustkrowing what to teak and howto get the most rom whatyou have avaliable, Before we begin to look at how toimprove your network, ts worth ning thatyoudo havea physcallimiton whatyou can achieve. There's only seomuch bandwidth availabe to your hom from your SP so while you can streamline youraccess tothe Intemet, you're nt going to be able te incraze that mit. Likewise, the data that maves around yourhome ‘llao hia physical limit. Most wireless devices il fd the fastest possible connection to your router, and wired devices using an Ethernet cable) and computers willcommunicate a ether 100Mb/sor 10004 /s (oF 1Gb/}. 1's possbe to improve the connection but not increase the limits ofthe actuathardware. A good ule ofthamb to always remember ‘when networking ether ona homenetwork, office networks or the ‘emt Interne, isthat the connection speed isonlyasfast asthe slowest componenton the network x CD Soe eer ae eee CS ee Internet act, ene gga ban 12 Sa Ua ae, Ee eee eet} et eet eee eee eee Oy eine eer eed) Pe eee ees Se eee Sete ey Cer eee eee EE ety ART ‘ sy ee ee eat Cees —— a ence Ce eee Perec nee Cent eed peed eee ee Be ors eee eC leed ere ee ees bi To makethingsalitleeasigfinthe eee Peete ee es per second the samfas ected Rete eee a ern emt ee ee ine advertised at 75 Mbpscan ne aT] 8 ee eat ee cee ey Se een res De ee eee eee sc megabytes pee secor ene Pee en ee ee ee eee ee ey ‘ascable quality, noise onthe tine and soon can have an afecton the open es See ee td netwovkisin astip top shape as posible i's working well, then you'll ee nee a Introduction to Home Networking Routers: How do they work? Every Internet connected home, office, and multi-site megacorporation in the world uses a router to connect to the Internet. The router is the bridge that gaps your home network to the wider world of the Internet, as well as being the hub of all your connected devices. Arouteris simply apiece of hardware that’s designed to interconnect one network to another. They canbe used to connect twoindividual office networks together, othe teams neach an share resources, but more specifically, in terms ofthe home user, they're used to connect al your devices to eachother and ultimately the Internet. Routers come in various shapes and sizes, offering many features; wth some ofthe higherend modes offering more. Typically a router, the one {youl receive from your SP when you sign upto a broadband deal wll be able todo the flowing Connect to the Internet Your router vilfuncton as abridge between your computer andthe Internet via the ISPs network What this means yourISPhas ent you device that's configured to acess theirnetwork, sowhenyou connect itat home itwllbegin to transmit and receive data toand rom your computer andtheISP. The SP itself wil havets ownconnection tothe Intemet averybigone, and wil share that bandwidth out wthallts customers. With you being a customer, youll get share ofbandwdth ‘equaltothe broadband package you're paying fr Assign Individual IP Addresses to Connected Devices (One ofthe outer'spimary functionsisto allocate IPaddresses An IP adressisa unique network dente that allows communication across ‘the network every computerconnected tothe Internet has aunique IPaddess. These adresses workin muchthe same way asa postal address they contain the information needed to get to here they're sg0ing and wheretoretum, There aretwotypes of P address, thefts Pv Pye uses 32 binary bts tocreste asingle adress onthe network. An Pvt addressis expressed by four numbersseparatedby dots Each numberisthe decimal representation fr an eight cit binarynumberalsocalled anoctt. For example: 192.168..180 |Px6 uss 128 binary bits to create a single unique adress onthe network An IPv6 address i expressed by eight groups of hexadecimal numbers separated by colons, asin2300:23c.c87dO:e6alsc3d7baTb: 17. Groups of numbers that contain all2eos are omitted to save space en viewing the adress, leavinga double colon separator to mark the spp, such as fos0:t6fe ab fffEd15, Eachofyourdevces athome willcannect tothe route, andthe outer wil allocate an Pvt and IP adress from ts available pool of addresses. The router itself hasits own IP adress which tconnects totheISP with, cofwhichthe ISP wilhave purchased large groupsof P adresses fom the ANA (ntemet Assigned Numbers Authority) Forma Layer of Security to Protect Your Home Network Your router wicontain abut firewall whichis designed tohelp top unwanted acces to the devices onyourhome network, Forel, a hacker rom the inteet will ned ge pas yourrouter’ real security before that can acess your home net Offer Wireless Connectivity to Devices Cte sn obviousone thi The outer have bitin proticls and ariennaeo communicate and alocteadrssestoany wireless devices that have ered he passworsinge. ‘ABuitin Sith, so Multiple Devices can Connect via Ethernet Cables ost outers wil featur a four pot switch (moreon switches ater), that allows multiple wired computers and devices connectonto the router The switch wl automatically sense the networkspeed ofthe device connected and communicate with t accordingly Network Address Translation (NAT) NetworAddres Translation translates thelP addresses of computers inthe home networkto single IP address That single address ispart ofthe ISP range of adresses, Basically, NAT conserves the numb of public addresses used within an organisation, anit allowsfor ster controlof accessta resources on both siesof the router Forexample advice insides network makes arequestto acomputeron the Intemet. Routers within the networkrecognise thatthe request isnot fora resource inside the network, so they send te request tothe firewall The firewall ses the equest om the computer withthe inteallPt ther makes the same request othe Intemet using its ‘own public addres, and retumsthe response fromthe Intemet resource tothe computer inside the private network, Fromthe perspectiveofthe resource onthe Intemet,itis sendinginformation tothe adress of the frewall From the perspective ofthe workstation, itappearsthatcommunicaioniscrect withthe site onthe ntemet When NAT wed inthis a, al users ini the home network access the Internet wth the same publicIPaddess. That means onlyone public _addtessis needed for hundreds or even thousands of users Resource Sharing Astherouter connects lithe devices the same network thoy ar al ‘let intercommuniate with eachother and torre share resources For example, all devices can printto yout home's networked print. Parental or Safety Controls More modem outers now offerbetterparentalcontrosto lp cr the amount ef tie younger people have acestothe nee. Aso they can beusedtolimithe webstesthatyounge people can have acrsto Port Forwarding Por forwarding sate bend the scenes proces tat the router tates on Rntrceps tat and om hore networked dees tothe inemetandcanreiretthemto spec device onthe network Allnetwork connections include a port umber, Port 80s used for HTTP requests, nd these ports define what the services. For example, if youwant tohostaNinecraft server, you would need toallow outside Minecraft users acess toyour server. They would connect to your RoutersIP addres and the specie Mnecraft port, which tel the router what computeris hosting the Hineraftserver Upgradable Firmware stlecommunication: protooleadvanc, aed as secu Nows are discovered an SP has responsiblity to ensure that allthe routersithassentouttots customers sxe upto date ThelSP can dothiby satomaticaly upgrading the sftwereon the router, called the femware.Thenew Siormare willcontain updates patches and ‘upgradesto secur, and ill add new features and improvementstothe router => Introduction to Home Networking Switches: What are they, how do they work? Most modern routers contain at least a four-port switch built into the back of the unit. These ports allow for physical, Ethernet connection to the router from networked devices. But what are they, and how do they work? all offering just few ports to connect to, hile othersused mainly by ‘companies, can have tensof pots Inthe simplest terms, a snitch ‘enables multiple computers toconnectto anetwork using physical cable, called an Ethernet cable or Ru4S cable}, achcomputerisconnectedto the ‘itch, and multiple switches can be connected to eachother Thisallows hundreds ofcomputes let'ssayon the Noor of an office building tobe connected tothe floors above and below, aswellasto the company'sserversand routers, ‘itches also come with lfferent backbone speeds which sthe physical limitthe data can travel toand from eachofthe ports. These speeds range rom 104s, to 100Gb/s. The most popula, nd the one that’s likely bultinto your routes 1Gb/s although 100Nb/sés stil possibleto ks ™~ find on some routers While theme isthe primary connection port type, altof witches willalzohave bre por connections too, whichis much {aster Thisallows multipleswitches toconnect1o each otherand forma ‘rch faster bandwidth backbone connection ‘The primary function ofa snitch ito transport data around the network, usualy rom areas ofthe networkthat are outof rach from ts core For example, youcan have all your computers connected to your routers with, butfyou wantthe computers upstairs connected, you'll needto factor ina siteh You would purchase a switch with the required number of ports, use one ofthe ports for cable that wll un downstairs tothe routers switch, then connect your upstairs computerstothe new switch, You've now created a multswitch networks the one upstarsisconnected ‘othe itch thats bit into the router, and allthe computers can happily sainaccessto the network an theInteret. ‘That's very simplistic example butts not too different fom how a real-world skuaton will work Intheofce you would have multiple foes, teams rooms ard soon. Eachof those probably hasits on switch, which 'sinturnconnected tothe man itch that the companys serves are connected to. Naturally, dependingon thesize ofthe company and how ‘many computers printers and soon ae connected tothe netvork, the setup can quickly become quit are, involving many stches across ‘multiple floorsand even buildings. Managed Networks Another ore funn of sich iso manage the network Tis means thatasitchiscapabe of bulnga mapos connected devices and ensuring that the corectdtaisentothe conc devin eit tie as posible and as cleanly as posible the shortest rte ‘Agpod example sf computer Aneedsto send something to Computer £8. Both computersare located indiferent partsofthe network. Asitch Isabletomonitr and deliver the data package rom computer Adrectly to computor B without having tinterogate anyother connected device ‘onthe system. Should computer Aor be moved in thefutue, the stch canintoigentyaltrits understanding ofthe location of the devies and _change the route accordingly, building a map the network or better ‘ficiency and avoiding pacetcollsions onthenetwork, which wll reatly detrade the verallspeed ofthe network “Thetypes ofsutches found built into routers are usualy unmanaged, ut this doesn't mean they don't manage the network to some smal degre. “Anunmanaged snitch wilstil automatically learn and map the network, avoiding cllsions by routing datato tsintended devices, theyjustwor't feature some of more complex elements ofa managed switch Switches at Home Hyeuhavenowieless dvcesinyourhome,then using stchesto convectalithecomputersonthenetwokisyourbest bet. Aswteh cul thereforebe postloned uta fecingtothe builtin sitchin the route anotherouldbe load nthe gargs eeding tothe ote, ard another culdbeinyourshed atthebettom ofthe garde, gain fesdngintothe ste Thera now be lckngn pons s00ne mores orthe dorsal wills any comptersconnectd TH, anew ito the router. Inti gs" Min scenario, everythings “%, connected toeach otter andultinately thereto They canals each then aswelas sin acesstothe C ‘Switches: What are they, how do they work: Cal fevers eee eee These ayers perform diferent operations depending upon the layer type, and they generally gainin complet the higher the eats A tayert layer 1 switch transfers data, but does nat manage any ofthe Se et eae ant eee ete eee oe etn eee ee ne eee repeated asitflowsin. Arepeater hub can therefore only receive and forward ata single speed. Since every packets repeated Se ee eee ee ured Renee eat neon ee Se ee eee ae Cee! eee eee ees may interconnect devices ina home or ofc. The bridge learns eee ee ee ee Se eee Cees pene) ee een er eee) performed by arouter Most network suitches, however, re ee eee eee eee Seen ae etree eee ed over Layer A suitches commonly offer Network Address Translation, Eee aL oS ee ae ee eee ee CS Pera eee et erat Se ee een Tee Pee ae ngs sey Wi-Fi: What is it, how does it work? It's not that long ago when wireless communications across the network was akin to witchcraft. Atthe time we had coaxial cables networking everything, then Ethernet, and then Wi-Fi began to emerge, and it was utterly brilliant. 2, Wetake WiFi and wireless connectivity for granted these days. The phone that most = ofuscarry around, wit its = ability toconnect toa network, ‘or Bluetooth pairto another device i simply an amazing piece oftechnology. Aswessidin the intr wasntallthatlong ago when connecting to anetwork overa jan Wireless setup was simply out ofthe question Whitt has existed since the early seventies, as UAF wireless packet networking, itwasn't worth the exorbitant costofinstallation, setup ‘and maintenance. But WiFi, which stands for Wireless Fidelity, has comea long way in ashort time. In essence, as you aleady suspect, W-Fis witless connectivity the ability toconnect toa network analtherefore the Intemet wirelessly ts asetof protocols and data packet exchangesthatenablea PG laptop, tablet and soon, to connect crety to arouteror other Access Point using a numberof avaiable radio frequencies, ‘These frequencies range from 908He, through tothe 3.6GH, 4. 9GH, Scile,59GH, and 60GHz bands; and recalled channel. They usea set of protocolscalled IEEE 802.1, and spt into standards such asa, ,n,ac anda. These standards basically denote the age ofthe wireless device, where 802.1 vas the fist standard and created in 1997, 802.1La camenextin 195, then 802116, 80211g, 802 11n 802 1a¢ and finaly 802.1. You can alo get 802.11p and 802.1Laday, but these are reserved for higher rate communications acho these standards connecttoawiteless access point such as your route, at diferent speeds, 24GHzis the most ‘common connection channel and canoffer up atheoretcal speedof Mb/s. Dualband WiFidevices are ableto connecton both 24GHe and Sz channels andhavea maximum throughputof up {076b/s{althoughin theory, its saiditcan hie 1266/9, With Wi being constantly updated, there are fequentincreasesin| the connection speed between wireless devices, Generally an accepted Improvement flemone virles standard to the nxt often means a performance increas of round 20 to 40% from the previous generation stander. There are other factors at worktoo, such as MU-MINO (ut- User Multiple Inpt, Mutple Output) which increases the numberof ‘antennas ina router for transmitting and receiving data thusimproving the capacity or wireless connections Working with Wi-Fi /Aiiruter wotks by convertngthe networkcommunicatons signals itor waves than tranritingthem arousal creating com smalLoal Aes Network hich incidental scald WLAN, Wireless oc ra Network cH E TN i ‘ Devices thatean pickup and receive theradiosignal such asatabet ‘orphone are ableto connect tothe WLAN and decade the radio waves back nto areadable form of networkcomminzations. The power of the router's Wi-Fi very strong, and doesnt havea ot ofrange, but itdepends.on the frequency beingused as to how fr you're ableto communicate witha reute For example, a2.4GH band canreach upto round 160 fet and SGHz can reach even further However asrouters re placedinsideourhomes there's at of interference for the sgnalto get through Wal, doors and even some furniture (no, Christmas ights dont affect your Wi, il rapily degrade the signal, so while the theoretical stances sound good at several hundred fet, in realty youll lucy to peta god signal within thity to forty fet ofyourrouter ‘Ontopofthat, the signal willbecome weaker theengerthe dstance, and ist to drop in power very quickly too. Dueto this, yourruter needs (_ Wi-Fi: Whats it, how does it work Cal tohave several antennae in oder to transmit and receive the signal, and they need tobe powerful enough to push tha inal as faras posible before itnaturally starts todrop. Interesting, one ofthe key features of seepingthe signalascleanas possible wascreated asa by productofafailed experimentto detect exploding miniblack holes the size ofan atom pate; nd was invented by an Australian radio astronomer called Dr.John 0 Sulvan, together with his colleagues Terence Pera Graham Daniels, Diet Ostry and John Deane The Future 11829, Nikola Tesla theorsed the World Wireless System and he said, “Weshall be able to communicate with one another instantly, respective ‘of distance, Not ony this, but through tleision and telephony we shall see and hearone another as perfectly asthough we werefacetoface, despite intervening distances of thousands files; and the instruments ‘through which weshallbe able todo hiswl be amazingly simple ‘compared with our present telephone. Amanllbe able to carryonein bis vest pocket” Tesla may have had his wn personal demons tattle, but you haveto adiritthe man was pretty muchon the ball Butwhat does the future hold for Wi? been ong thought thatthe future of WiFi willbe tighter frequencies, but with cetraordinaly boosted power, This entra power wile able tocut through most ofthe obstacles thatface current WiFi frequencies, ad throughthe use of more secure resming hotspots, wellbe permanently connected toaWi-Fi networks we move around ‘There are even conceptsbeing workedonby ‘communications companies to eventually remove wie telephony, nd instead ourhome routers will communicate diet viaWi-Fito the SP. Ofcourse, althatis some years Untthen, well enjoy the ever Increasing speeds of Wi anditseaseofuseinourhomes. => Introduction to Home Networking) Ty Rs Ay Powerline Adapters: Extend Your Network if your home network doesn’t reach the furthest corners of your house, maybe because some rooms are too far from the router, ora thick stone wall blocks your Wi-Fi signal, powerline adapters are a potential solution. But what are they, and how do they work? ‘There ae many reasons why your home WiFi networkdoesn'treach into every part of your house. The routers wireless signal might not have ‘the range to get to the furthestroome, or the walls mightbe very thick and heavy, which makes iif for Wi F to penetrate. Somaybe you need to make a cabled conmectiontoone of the routers Ethernet ports, but don't wanttotrail Ethernet cables through the house, Powerline adaptersare a potential olution fr extending both your wireless and «abled network using your home's electrical cabling as data cables, ‘Apowerlne adaptrkit comes with at east two plug adapters which are small devices that pluginto your electrical sockets, They usualy have at leastone Ethemet port and they might alsohave WiFi access points and through ports; whereby you can plug an electrical device into the adapter, and thususeitwithout losing a socket. One of those plugs shouldbe fited near yourrcuter Plugs with hrough-ports are ‘very useful here, 2eyou can plug the powerine deviceintothe mains, then plug the router intothe powerline adapter. An Ethemet cable ~ hich shouldbe supplied with your powerline adapterkit~ should bbe used toconnectthe adapter tothe router. The secand powetine adapter should be positioned elsewhere inthe house, somewhere yourcurrenthome network cant each. Alitle more setting up might be necessary, probably using fee software supplied by the powertine adapter’s manufacturer When you'e done, the two powerline adapters communicate with eachother and can transfer data between ther, Vomettoting ety using the household electrical cabling as data cables the adapter that's not connected to your router offers aWieess Access Point, 2 WiFicnabled device can connect tot and get online and also onto yourlocal network, ofcourse), by connecting wirelessly tothe powerline adapter This adapter then connects tothe routers powedine adapter, ‘through the house's electrical cables, and thustothe router. itsounds complicatad, butt et. just works Cabled Connectivity Wie ost tere eves onnecttoyour router sing Worse things you might prefer acabled connection Agames console or example, ight beef om the adkitonal sabi fered by Ethemet, andor shows eur butferdueta congested wiles networks hugging an theretcabl might she your problems Fyouroitr isclos enough the devin question there's problem imply connect the two with anthem cable. Unfortunate thsisoten not thease. The console or Smart might be aang distance the router pssiblyna diferent room ent Tiss wher poverine adapterscomein handy Instead of walling Ethemet cables through the house, and dling holesin ‘the wallsto pass them through to the nextreom, you canuseapowertine adopter setup. With an adapter connected to your router you simply need to plugthe second uniter the device you want to connect through Ethernet. You then connect the console, TV video streamer orather such

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