Internet is slow via WiFi router
 

I have a TP-LINK TL-WR542G 54M Wireless router connected to a cable modem. when my Macbook is connected directly to the modem the internet is lighting fast. however, when I connect the router to the modem and then the laptop to the router (wither by cable or WiFi) it is extreamllllly slow. the technician who installed the modem also set up the Router but it seems that he didn't know what he was doing.
I reset the router and re-entered the relevant info in the quick set up and for about 1.5 minutes the computer was lighting fast via the WiFi but after than it is now even slower then before.
P.S
I tried to turn it of and on and for about 1.5 minutes it is again as fast as it should be but only for a short time.
any suggestions? at the moment it is set to be on Dynamic IP. what numbers should I get from my ISP to better set it up?
thanks

You could try entering your ISP's DNS server address's into router config or your network settings.

when and if you are directly connected to your modem make sure you have a firewall on.

Why??? And why shouldn't I be as careful with the WiFi connection (my router's firewall isn't on! should I turn it on?

Routers generally come with firewalls turned on.....you need it on IMO.
You should have wifi security on as well preferably with WPA2 security But WPA will do.

Sounds like the "network person" did not really know what was gong on !

Do you have neighbors with wifi? Try changing to an unused channel.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11753/istumbler

now I am completely confused. my wireless security is wep (because that is what I could remember from another router I had once) where can I find a tutorial with all this important info?

I don't think you need a tutorial - just go into your router's config pages and change the security/encryption to WPA2

Changing the channel did improve the performances but still it aint what it should be ;(

but the WPA2 ask me to inpot numbers and other things I have no idea what they are so I prefer learning a bit about it and the differences.

Did you download istumbler to see what channels are used?

yep.
what is the "noise" parameter in iStumbler?

so in that case the higher the % of noise the less good it is????

Yes, you want more signal than noise. It's like trying to listen to one person talking in a crowd. The quieter the crowd, the easier it is to listen.

I have 73% signal and 8% noise, care to comment on how to improve it? The router is behind the wall which is about 12 cm thick and 5 meters away form my macbook.
by the way I want to stress that changing the channel really did improve the speed but not enough. (did a little experiment and put the laptop near the router and got 94% signal)

Signal seems good. Have you looked at your DNS settings? Does the page load quickly, but after a delay?

You need to tell us exactly how you are measuring the "speed".

not so quicly but aafter a long delay. you can watch it on the little video I prepared

Try using a public DNS.

Having suffered the same problem, I've had good luck with OpenDNS.

A router provides a very important barrier between your computers and the outside world in the form of something called NAT, or Network Address Translation.

You may notice that your computers, when they are behind a router, have an IP address that begins with 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x. (There's also a third possible series of addresses behind NAT, but they are less-often used.) These banks of IP addresses are known as 'unroutable', because they cannot be found on the Internet as a whole, only behind jillions of NAT routers.

Because your IP address is not routable from the internet as a whole, crackers that want to break into your computer when it is behind your NAT router have to go through a whole bunch of difficult gyrations to indirectly attack you. Being behind a NAT router makes any attack on you hundreds of times more difficult than when you are connected directly to the modem, where they can attack your computer directly.

So, that's why you need a hardened computer to be directly on the internet (I'd say a lot more than just turning on your firewall--read and follow the NSA guide to hardening OS X if you want to be directly on the internet), whereas behind a NAT router, it's a lot of hard work and persistence for a cracker to attack you, and they may as well just look for easier fish.

Trevor

thanks for the clarification.

WEP is a old form of wireless 'security', and it was never very good--just a rushed-to-market hack to give wireless networks something, anything to keep out the bad guys, but today is completely and utterly broken. A cracker parked outside your house can break your wireless network using WEP within minutes. It's really pointless. Even WPA (the original, not WPA2) is beginning to get a few cracks to it. You should really be using WPA2, although as agentx says, WPA is still (barely) acceptable for a little while longer.

Trevor

Wikipedia: Wi-Fi Protected Access

Trevor

wow, that is so much great info but unfortunatly i have no idea how to apply it.
where can I find out my isp dns server number? and where should i type it in in the router settings?
What is WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK???
if I chose WPA2 what type of encryption should I choose: TKIP or AES
what is the radius server ip, radius port, radius password (I mean what kind of password should i put in) and group key update period???

To turn on WPA2 in your TP-Link TL-WR542G router, first log in to the configuration page. Look at the left nav bar, under Basic Settings, go to Wireless > Wireless Settings >
1. click "Enable Wireless Security", then
2. set "Security Type" to WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK, then
3. set "Security Option" to WPA2-PSK, then
4. next to "PSK Passphrase", type in a password, that you are now creating, for your wireless network. Make it at least 12 characters, but something memorable to you. For an example method of making a good passphrase, take a song that is well known to you, and use the first letter of each word of the chorus. Let's say for example that you really like Hey Jude by the Beatles. Your passphrase could be
Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song
and make it better.
Remember to let her under your skin
...gives you
HJdmibtassamibR2lhuys
It's long, memorable, not found in any dictionary, a mix of capital and lowercase letters, and even a number thrown in.
5. Click "Save". Now, on your computers and other wireless clients, enter the WPA2 passphrase, and they can connect.

To manually set your DNS servers, log in to the router's configuration page, then look at the left nav bar. Go to "Basic Settings" > "Network" > "WAN" > click "Use these DNS Servers" > enter the IP addresses of a primary and secondary public DNS server under "Primary DNS" and "Secondary DNS".

Trevor

Hai,
 

You go to the Google search and type how to increase the speed of the wifi router U will find the solution for your problem.And then u can check your internet speed through the website [ URL="http://www.ip-details.com"]http://www.ip-details.com[ /URL]

just wanted to add that in the end it was a faulty router that caused all the problems

I too have switched to OpenDNS and have no issues using it. However, like the OP, I feel my WiFi with Snow Leopard is a bit wonky.

Didn't ask - are you still using Tiger. Leopard, Snow Leopard.... Is this with a new set up?