If you have ever wanted to setup a wireless network in your home or office, you may have become overwhelmed. The number of hardware choices available can seem overwhelming. There are countless hardware base stations available from dozens of vendors. The most popular in the Mac community is the Airport Base Station.

With Apple’s Airport technology, you simply add a wireless card to your computer and add a Base Station to your wired network (other hardware manufacturers refer to this type of device as a Wireless Access Point). The Base Station broadcasts a signal that the wireless cards use to communicate with a wired network. The computer communicates with other computers, and the Internet, as if it were attached to a standard network cable.

Most people don’t realize that it is not necessary to buy an Apple Base Station, or other wireless access point, in order to set up a wireless network. Built into Mac OS X 10.2 is the ability to use your Mac as a Software Base Station.

If you have an Airport card installed in your computer, the process of activating your Base Station is amazingly simple. Open the System Preferences and click on the icon for Sharing. Click on the Internet tab and you will have access to everything you will need to get up and running. Just check the box that is labeled “Share your Internet connection with AirPort-equipped computers.” Next click the start button. You’re done! Assuming your Mac is attached to a wired network, anyone who connects to it via wireless Airport will have access to the same network that the Base Station does.

Just because you are up and running, doesn’t make your network secure. In this day and age, you have to worry about hackers attacking from just about anywhere— even in your own home. Your computer is now broadcasting a network signal that will likely extend beyond your home or office. While still in the Internet tab of the Sharing Preference Pane, click on the Airport Options button. Here you will find options to make your wireless network more stable, and far more secure.

First of all, you can give your network a custom name. This is the name that wireless users will see when they get a list of available wireless networks within range. You can adjust the Channel to try and optimize your network performance. Some channels are cluttered with interference from cordless phones or microwave ovens. Changing the channel will help you get the best network connection possible.

Pay special attention to the WEP key menu. This lets you specify the encryption used to secure your wireless network. The higher you set the encryption level, the more secure your data is while being transmitted wirelessly. Keep in mind that you are essentially broadcasting data the same way a CB Radio sends audio. It only takes someone nearby listening on the correct channel and they can essentially hear everything you say. When you encrypt the data that is transmitted, it doesn’t matter if someone is listening on the same channel. All they hear (or see, as the case may be), is nonsense and garbled information.

Next set the password. This is the password users must have in order to access your wireless network. If they don’t know the password, they can’t access it. It is that simple.

If you simply activate your Base Station without setting the password or activating the encryption, it is only a matter of time before someone finds that wireless signal and gains access. In the best-case scenario, they will simply get free Internet access at your expense. In the worst case, they will have access to your network, and all of the data that it contains.

In its typical fashion, Apple has made it as easy to create a wireless network, as it is to access one. Be sure to follow the security steps and feel free to play with your settings. Wireless access is cost effective to implement, and Apple has made it easy to set up. If you are interested in more advanced wireless networking, watch for a future article detailing the setup and advantages of a hardware Airport Base Station.