Take Control of Wi-Fi Networking and Security

Get more from your Wi-Fi network

Version 2.0, updated January 16, 2024

Setting up and securing a Wi-Fi network can be complicated and confusing. This book helps you over every hurdle involved in picking gateways, setting up a network, adding devices, and securing the network and connected phones, tablets, and computers. It’s useful for those who have set up networks in the past and want to replace them with new gear, as well as people who have never built a Wi-Fi network before.

Perhaps you already have a Wi-Fi network running in your home and office, but you’re dissatisfied with it. Or maybe you’re setting up a new house, apartment, business, or school room with Wi-Fi and need to know the basics about what to get and how to configure it. In either case, this book is for you. After over 18 years of writing regularly about Wi-Fi and answering reader questions, author Glenn Fleishman finds that the same issues still crop up:

• How do I spend the least money to the best effect?

• What’s the best place to put my Wi-Fi gateways?

• Is a mesh network a good idea—and if so, what do I need to know?

• How can I get both high throughput (speed) on my network and solid coverage across everywhere I want to use Wi-Fi?

• What can I do to secure my network against outsiders near my house and elsewhere on the internet?

• How do I add networked hard drives and printers?

• Interference is slowing my network; what can I do to reduce it?

• What’s the best way to extend my network to a garage, yard, or nearby building?

• What’s different about the latest standards—Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7, and 802.11be?

This book answers those questions in depth, as well as many others related to Wi-Fi, including how to set up a personal or mobile hotspot with all major operating systems, how to access computers on your network remotely, and why you should use a VPN (virtual private network).

If you have any question about overhauling your network, setting up a new one, or just finally figuring out something that’s never worked, this book has the answer.