Wireless Broadband

[TEAK36]

I have a 1.5MB cable broadband conection which I use with my lpersonal laptop.I now also have a company laptop which I will be using to connect to my companys database.I want to set up a wireless conection where I can have both laptops connected to broadband at the same time,one linked to my companys server,and the other for general Internet surfing and downloading.I understand I need a wireless router and 2 network cards,but I have no idea how to connect it all up.Is it easy to do?Also, there are so many different routers with different speeds,that I am completely lost.Are there any security issues with wireless connectivity.I use online banking and would hate for my details to be compromised.Any help would be most appreciated.

[Gandy]

The answer to all of your questions is yes.  You can get "wireless network in a box" kits from lots of high street electronics retailers now.  All will contain everything you need to get up and running.  I set mine up in about 30 mins.  In terms of what speed to get, all of the popular current standards (802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11a etc) offer faster connection rates than your broadband connection is at the moment (and likely to be for a few years).  Security wise, 802.11g is more secure than 802.11b but I think that most routers now support both.  When properly encrypted a wireless network is fairly secure.  Only folk with specialised knowledge and equipment that happen to be passing outside your house may be able to hack in.  How likely is that?

[rjbriggsy]

if you turn on the wireless security which all good routers have it will be nearly impossible to gain access to your network. some devices can use 256bit scurity, when you think that some online services only use 128bit security it shows how strong your network will be.

But remember to choose secure passwords and network keys.