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Question Profile
| DATE | Mar 7, 2007 |
| TICKET | #333513 |
| STATUS | Closed |
| SUBJECT | Macbook c2d Bigtime wireless issue |
| CAT | Home/Business Network and/or Internet Connection |
| TYPE | Wireless Networking, WiFi |
| DESC | |
| DESC | |
| PLATFORM | Apple Macintosh (Intel) |
| MODEL | Apple MacBook |
| PROC | 2ghz |
| RAM | 2gb |
| DRIVE | 120gb |
| NAME | Dave |
| USERNAME | xxldave |
| TECHNICAL | Lots of Experience |
| ISSUE | Need Second Opinion |
Question Details
TICKET ARCHIVE -> Macbook c2d Bigtime wireless issue
xxldave - Mar 7, 2007 - 1:08 pm
Hello,
Recently purchased a Macbook and am having wireless issues. Extremely slow performance when running OSX and all other computers(PC) on network are fine. Switch over to XP Pro (bootcamp) and wireless performance is excellent. Range great as well. Switch back to OSX and it feels like I'm on dial-up. Using a Linksys SRX-400 router. Friend has a Linksys WRT54G that we tried and works great with both OS's. Next question, I bought the Macbook primarily for traveling, how will this correlate with any other wireless connection e.g. airports, coffee houses, hotels, convention centers ect... Am I going to have the same issue (just not at home)? I read on another forum that manually setting the DNS server addresses will solve this problem. Have not tried this yet.
Recently purchased a Macbook and am having wireless issues. Extremely slow performance when running OSX and all other computers(PC) on network are fine. Switch over to XP Pro (bootcamp) and wireless performance is excellent. Range great as well. Switch back to OSX and it feels like I'm on dial-up. Using a Linksys SRX-400 router. Friend has a Linksys WRT54G that we tried and works great with both OS's. Next question, I bought the Macbook primarily for traveling, how will this correlate with any other wireless connection e.g. airports, coffee houses, hotels, convention centers ect... Am I going to have the same issue (just not at home)? I read on another forum that manually setting the DNS server addresses will solve this problem. Have not tried this yet.
- Mar 8, 2007 - 9:09 am
Since it works on your friends Linksys WRT54G and is slow on your Linksys SRX-400 then you just logically identified the problem on your own. I would recommend upgrading the firmware on your Linksys SRX-400 and hopefully that will improve the performance of the MacBook when you are home.
More often then not, there's a bug or flaw in the Linksys programming code that is written on a flash chip. This is called firmware. You should periodically check the firmware version against the latest available version from Linksys. They are in the habit of updating the firmware frequently both for security reasons and to fix bugs.
There are no reports of MacBooks having wireless network problems in the field. i.e. while traveling. Most sites will work properly. However, some sites may have issues from time to time. Not much anyone can do about that. It all depends on the sysadmin who setup the router and if that router is being properly maintained and updated. Some corporate WinXP users who tried to VPN into their companies from various hotels have reported issues with the hotel network blocking their VPN access. There are many configurations on routers and network gear in general, it takes a trained professional to set them up and unfortunately, far too many are not properly configured. I suppose it's directly related to the boom of wireless technology as a result of it's low cost. Anyone can buy and setup a wireless router nowadays and do it for cheap. They are not willing to pay a Cisco Certified Network Engineer to do it the right way, unless they are a large corporation.
I'm on wireless right now and I can see 21 different networks, most of which are completely unsecured. If I wanted to I could join those networks and intercept the network packets on those networks. I could then glean email account passwords, website passwords, etc. I could remotely connect to their PC's and access their files, etc. When I connect to the wireless I am not doing it from the Internet but from a neighbors private wireless network. This means I am behind their router firewall. I might as well be sitting in their living room. I can use their network to hack other networks or to surf child porn or perform other illegal activities and the FBI will come knocking on their door and not my own. It will all be traced back their cable or dsl modem IP address not mine. Perverts have been arrested outside suburban homes using a laptop and surfing child porn on open wireless connections with their pants down in a parked car!
Be sure to secure your router! Set a new password, change the SSID (network name) - Setup up at the very least WEP 128 and turn on MAC filtering. i.e. only allow specific MAC addresses (every network card has a unique MAC address -- If you filter by MAC you only allow those MAC addresses that you define -- your laptop, your friends laptop, etc). If possible use WPA2 security instead of WEP 128 as WEP 128 has been hacked for years and it's very easy to break the encryption and join the network.
Be cautious of public wireless networks, you don't know what sharks may be swimming in the same wireless pool! Wireless data predators are out there and they are looking for unsecured laptops to hack. Make sure you always run the Mac OS X firewall and that you only open up those ports that you really need. If you are on a public wireless network, shutdown the Personal File Sharing, Windows Sharing, Personal Web Sharing, Remote Login, FTP Access, Apple Remote Desktop, Remote Apple Events, Printer Sharing, and Xgrid. Check the Firewall and make sure any non-disabled (grey) checkboxes are not checked. i.e. iChat Bonjour, iTunes Music Sharing, etc. Always make sure you are running the latest version of Mac OS X along with all the latest security patches and updates.
Do not do anything that requires security when you are on a public wireless network. i.e. don't do online banking, or stock trading, etc. The only exception to this is if you establish a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or SSH connection while connected to the public wireless. This will encrypt your data traffic and protected it. Even your email account is unprotected, so unless you want that weird guy in the corner of Starbucks reading your private email, I would not even check my email unless I was sure it was an encrypted connection i.e. SSL. Most POP3 and IMAP email connections send the password in plain text so anyone intercepting and filtering packets can search for it and save it to a text file. Encryption means the password is scrambled with a code so it's undecipherable. SSL is the most common email connection encryption. Same as a secure website when you have the lock in Safari or FireFox. The traffic is encrypted. If you have .Mac you can check the "Use SSL" checkbox and your email connection will be encrypted using SSL. Other email providers like most ISP's generally don't offer this, call their tech support and ask.
More often then not, there's a bug or flaw in the Linksys programming code that is written on a flash chip. This is called firmware. You should periodically check the firmware version against the latest available version from Linksys. They are in the habit of updating the firmware frequently both for security reasons and to fix bugs.
There are no reports of MacBooks having wireless network problems in the field. i.e. while traveling. Most sites will work properly. However, some sites may have issues from time to time. Not much anyone can do about that. It all depends on the sysadmin who setup the router and if that router is being properly maintained and updated. Some corporate WinXP users who tried to VPN into their companies from various hotels have reported issues with the hotel network blocking their VPN access. There are many configurations on routers and network gear in general, it takes a trained professional to set them up and unfortunately, far too many are not properly configured. I suppose it's directly related to the boom of wireless technology as a result of it's low cost. Anyone can buy and setup a wireless router nowadays and do it for cheap. They are not willing to pay a Cisco Certified Network Engineer to do it the right way, unless they are a large corporation.
I'm on wireless right now and I can see 21 different networks, most of which are completely unsecured. If I wanted to I could join those networks and intercept the network packets on those networks. I could then glean email account passwords, website passwords, etc. I could remotely connect to their PC's and access their files, etc. When I connect to the wireless I am not doing it from the Internet but from a neighbors private wireless network. This means I am behind their router firewall. I might as well be sitting in their living room. I can use their network to hack other networks or to surf child porn or perform other illegal activities and the FBI will come knocking on their door and not my own. It will all be traced back their cable or dsl modem IP address not mine. Perverts have been arrested outside suburban homes using a laptop and surfing child porn on open wireless connections with their pants down in a parked car!
Be sure to secure your router! Set a new password, change the SSID (network name) - Setup up at the very least WEP 128 and turn on MAC filtering. i.e. only allow specific MAC addresses (every network card has a unique MAC address -- If you filter by MAC you only allow those MAC addresses that you define -- your laptop, your friends laptop, etc). If possible use WPA2 security instead of WEP 128 as WEP 128 has been hacked for years and it's very easy to break the encryption and join the network.
Be cautious of public wireless networks, you don't know what sharks may be swimming in the same wireless pool! Wireless data predators are out there and they are looking for unsecured laptops to hack. Make sure you always run the Mac OS X firewall and that you only open up those ports that you really need. If you are on a public wireless network, shutdown the Personal File Sharing, Windows Sharing, Personal Web Sharing, Remote Login, FTP Access, Apple Remote Desktop, Remote Apple Events, Printer Sharing, and Xgrid. Check the Firewall and make sure any non-disabled (grey) checkboxes are not checked. i.e. iChat Bonjour, iTunes Music Sharing, etc. Always make sure you are running the latest version of Mac OS X along with all the latest security patches and updates.
Do not do anything that requires security when you are on a public wireless network. i.e. don't do online banking, or stock trading, etc. The only exception to this is if you establish a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or SSH connection while connected to the public wireless. This will encrypt your data traffic and protected it. Even your email account is unprotected, so unless you want that weird guy in the corner of Starbucks reading your private email, I would not even check my email unless I was sure it was an encrypted connection i.e. SSL. Most POP3 and IMAP email connections send the password in plain text so anyone intercepting and filtering packets can search for it and save it to a text file. Encryption means the password is scrambled with a code so it's undecipherable. SSL is the most common email connection encryption. Same as a secure website when you have the lock in Safari or FireFox. The traffic is encrypted. If you have .Mac you can check the "Use SSL" checkbox and your email connection will be encrypted using SSL. Other email providers like most ISP's generally don't offer this, call their tech support and ask.
TechSupport - Mar 11, 2007 - 10:10 am
We apologize for not being able to resolve the issue you asked of us. It is the absolute worst case scenario for us to do this. In our review of why this happens, it generally is related to either the particular issue being addressed or frequently, incomplete or incorrect information provided. We hope by moving your request to the public forums that you will be able to get a solution without leaving you empty handed.
Your ticket has been closed with our support team. Your request has just been posted to Mac OS X System & Mac Software and is available for your viewing at:
http://macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292476
Again, thank you for using Macosx.com. We hope you will consider using us again in the future.
Your ticket has been closed with our support team. Your request has just been posted to Mac OS X System & Mac Software and is available for your viewing at:
http://macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292476
Again, thank you for using Macosx.com. We hope you will consider using us again in the future.
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