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Difficulty Level: Easy
What You Need:
>> A router (either AirPort Extreme 2009 or another dual-band brand)
>> Extra Ethernet cabling (if not using a dual-band wireless router)
>> An existing wireless or wired network
Increasingly, we depend on internet access to run our lives, and when we have guests over to our house, apartment, or workplace, normally we either have to open our wireless network or give the guest our network password. Either way, you open up your wireless network to security risks.
No worries--we’ll show you how to easily setup your own guest network using either an AirPort Extreme (early 2009 model) or another brand of router (we’ll use a Netgear). On newer routers that have two antennas and therefore support dual bands, the tools needed to create a guest network usually already exist in the provided software. However, you’ll need to check your particular router to see if this type of functionality is provided.
Clicking Manual Setup lets you manually manage your AirPort Extreme.
On your Mac, navigate to and open the AirPort Utility, an application used to manage your base station, found in /Applications/Utilities. Click the Manual Setup button and enter your management password.
Want to let your guests' Macs talk to each other? It's more social that way.
Click the AirPort tab, and then the Guest Network tab. In this area, you’ll be able to configure your AirPort for guest access. Check the Enable Guest Network checkbox and type in an identifiable name for your guest network. Computers connecting to it will not have any access to your personal network and won’t be able to communicate with each other. However, if you check the box that says “Allow guest network clients to communicate with each other,” guests will be able to exchange files with and otherwise connect to one another.
When encrypting your wireless network, we recommend using WPA encryption, because it’s more secure and less vulnerable to attacks.
In the Guest Network Security dropdown, you can select between different types of encryption. When you do this, you will be able to enter a password for your guest network. Don’t use the same password as you do for your main network, obviously, or this whole exercise will have been pointless.
After a short restart, guests will be able to connect to the wireless network that you just created.
Once you’ve entered all of the required fields, you can click Update. After your AirPort Extreme restarts, you should see an additional wireless network appear with the name you specified in Step 2. Guests can now log in to that network using the password you chose in Step 3 and access the internet. Again, guests won’t have access to your personal network and shared resources (network printers, disks, and so on).
Next Page: Netgear Router >>
dougstrickland
April 30, 2010 at 5:19pm
I have this set up on my D-Link DIR-655 using the 'Guest Zone' - and it works really well.
But how can I create a 'landing page' that my guests see when they go through my network? Like what happens at a Starbucks or other hotspot?
dougstrickland
April 30, 2010 at 5:20pm
http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446240462&afsrc=1&site_refer=GGLBASE001&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=ParentItem0452500341587
These look like something that my parents threw out after a garage sale in the 1980's...
feinberj
April 27, 2010 at 7:49am
The article and comments have been dropping hints, but so far nobody has come out and said that the Time Capsule supports guest networks. I will say that it definitely supports guest networking, provided that it's one of the newer models with dual networks. An Apple tech note specifically discusses guest networking on the "early 2009" airport extreme and time capsule:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3477John FNew York, NY
desabraw
April 26, 2010 at 4:55pm
I have airport extreme 802.11n ver 7.4.2 but no guest set up option in the manual configuration panel.
tarkin
April 22, 2010 at 10:29am
My G5 iMac has a WiFi network setup with a password. Anyone with an iPod touch can connect to it no problem. However I've never been able to get a Windows laptop to connect. Would setting up a guest account fix this?
ppuu
April 21, 2010 at 6:45pm
What a great idea, excellent tips dude.
Lou
www.ultimate-privacy.at.tc
kermudgn
April 21, 2010 at 3:31pm
I have the router that Apple calls a Time Capsule.
After I click Manual Setup in step 1, I do not see Guest Network as shown in step 2.I thought this "Time Capsule" was a dual band router.
Is it not as good as a "Airport Extreme?"I am a recent convert from Windows and I like my Mac even with the childish names that Apple gives to its hardware.
jiubreyn
April 22, 2010 at 3:44am
To answer your question directly, the Time Capsule is no better or worse than the Airport Extreme Base Station. The Time Capsule is essentially an Airport Extreme Base Station with a hard drive for wireless backup built-in. Apple tends to upgrade their hardware and software on a regular basis, therefore depending on when you purchased your Time Capsule, it may not have dual-band capability.
wildmomo
April 21, 2010 at 2:02pm
I have a WGT624v3 Netgear, and I am not seeing any options for guest networks. Can you elaborate more on the version of this device. I am using the firmware from April, 2008 which seems to be the latest and greatest for the 624v3.
Thanks!
