Extend your Wi-Fi reach

To get started, remove your old 802.11b router from the network and connect your desktop PC to the first Ethernet port on the back of the new router via an Ethernet cable. Next, using another Ethernet cable, connect your cable or DSL modem to the router's WAN port. Now, plug the router into an AC outlet, power on your PC, and wait for the router to come online; this should take a minute or two.

On your PC, open a Web browser window and type in the Buffalo router's default IP address. (You'll find it in the manual.) When the router's configuration screen appears, you can change the router's Service Set Identifier (SSID), WEP key, and channel settings to match your old router's. Leave the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) feature enabled and select one channel the router will always use. Apply your changes, then exit.

Change a new router's factory SSID settings and add encryption immediately to ward off unwelcome Wi-Fi freeloaders.