How to Modify the Default IP Address of a Wireless Hosted Network
The default IP address of Windows 7 (and Windows Server 2008 R2) virtual Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) feature called Wireless Hosted Network is 192.168.137.1. Although, this address is highly unlikely to conflict with other addresses that you may have configured on your network still, you may wish to change it to another value. In order to be able to change this default IP address you need to modify a Registry setting as follows:
Categories: Admin, Tweaks Tags: access point, address, AP, IP, regedit, registry, wi-fi, wireless, wireless network
Configuring WFAS Rules
The best to way to understand WFAS (Windows Firewall with Advanced Security) is by setting up a test rule as we are going to see in this article. We will configure a firewall rule that accepts only authenticated RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) connections from hosts on a specific or same subnet:
Categories: Security Tags: connections, firewall rules, inbound, IP, IP address, protocol, RDP, subnet, TCP, WFAS, windows firewall
Creating Firewall Rules using WFAS
Windows Firewall and WFAS work together on Windows 7 computers. WFAS allows you to configure inbound and outbound firewall rules based on ports, programs, and services. In addition, it allows you to set a rule scope and authentication. In this article we will see the main configuration elements you need to know when creating firewall rules using the WFAS.
Categories: Security Tags: connection security rules, Firewall, firewall rules, inbound, interface, IP, IP address, outbound, rule scope, traffic, WFAS, windows firewall
IPv6 Compatibility Addresses
IPv6 provides a set of compatibility addresses that help users migrate from IPv4 to IPv6 and these are IPv4-compatible, IPv4-mapped, 6to4 and Teredo addresses.
IPv4-Compatible Address
An IPv4-compatible address consists of an initial colon-hexadecimal notation and an ending dotted decimal notation as we find in IPv4. For example, 0:0:0:0:0:0:w.x.y.z or ::w.x.y.z, the last four octets represent an IPv4 address. IPv4-compatible addresses are used by hosts that are communicating with IPv6 over an IPv4 infrastructure. When an IPv4-compatible address is used as an IPv6 destination, the IPv6 traffic is automatically encapsulated with an IPv4 header.
Categories: Networking Tags: 6to4, compatible, IP, IP address, IPv4, IPv6, mapped, teredo
Troubleshooting IP Configuration
Windows 7 retains the same command-line tools of its predecessors for troubleshooting IP configurations. The most basic tools are the Ping and Ipconfig utilities which help you determine your system’s IP configuration and test connectivity. There are more advanced network tools such as, Tracert or Pathping, Nslookup for DNS related issues, etc. These help you troubleshoot advanced network related issues but this article will only cover the basic command-line tools which are adequate for the Windows 7 average users.
Categories: Networking, Troubleshooting Tags: apipa, command-line, configuration, DHCP, DNS, IP, ipconfig, nslookup, pathping, ping, tools, trace route, tracert
IPv4 Configuration in Windows 7
You can view the IP configuration of your computer by using either the command-line tools Ipconfig or Netsh, or by using the Network and Sharing Center. The command-line tools display your computers’ network adapters IP settings including IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, subnet masks and the default gateway.
An IP address identifies a computer in a network and hence, each computer must have a unique address within the same network. Private IP addresses are used for internal networks while public addresses are used for the Internet. Since there are not enough public IP addresses to be allocated for every internal device, we use private addresses internally and use NAT to translate these addresses to a public address. An organization or individual that needs Internet access is allocated one or more public IP addresses through various agencies worldwide that are responsible for the distribution of public IP addresses.
Categories: Networking Tags: apipa, DHCP, ICS, IP, IP address, IP configuration, ipconfig, IPv4, IPv6, nat, netsh, RFC
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Sharing the Internet connection over windows 7 requires one computer called the host that is connected to the Internet and to the rest of the computers on the internal network (LAN). Then the computers on the network connect to the Internet via the host computer. The host computer Internet connection can be wireless, modem (Ethernet or USB), 3G card or any similar device. To use ICS make sure that the LAN connection on each computer is configured to get an IP address automatically. This includes the LAN connection of the host computer.
Categories: Networking Tags: DHCP, DNS, ICS, internet sharing, IP, LAN, local area connection, network adapter
