- Allow only the 3 MAC addresses which are my machines, to be able to access the router.
Well, there's really no point in enabling this for the computers that are physically connected. (There shouldn't be an option for them anyway.) It's pretty easy and straightforward to do. I'll assume you already know how to access your router...
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Click on the 'Wireless Client List' button and you'll see all of your wireless clients. (So long as they are turned on and have access to the router.) Just put a checkmark in the associated box and click 'Add' to add the device's MAC address to the address list. Then be sure to enable the filter and
ALLOW access of the device(s) in the list and save your changes.
If your model doesn't have an auto-add feature, you'll have to manually look up the MAC addresses for you devices and add them in to the MAC address table manually. <- A pain in the ass.
- Allow file-sharing in Windows (Right-click on drive --> Allow sharing, is that it?)
I won't lie. This part can be seriously painful depending on how your computers are configured.
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In Windows 7 (Vista?), go to Control Panel > Folder Properties. You'll be able to find this option. Turn it on. In XP, look for 'Use Simple File Sharing' in the same location.
Using simple file sharing is by far the easiest way of doing things. "Advanced" file sharing is painful to the inexperienced and has
a lot of points to go over, so I'm simply not going to cover them. (Google and Windows Help are better suited for this anyway.)
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Now, go to the Network and Sharing Center (Vista/7). Click 'Advanced Sharing Settings' (left pane). Turn on 'File and Printer Sharing'.
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For XP (and older), go to the network device's networking properties and make sure 'File and Printer Sharing' is installed and turned on.
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Now bring up your system properties and go to the 'Computer Name' page. Click 'Change' and set every computer on your prospective network to the same workgroup ID.
Now you just need to share some folders and the various computers on the network.
- Make the WiFi network hidden (of course, should still be accessible from my laptop).
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This is accessible by right-clicking your access point and selecting 'Properties'. I can't remember where a similar page is in XP. Just turn on 'Connect even if not broadcasting... blah blah blah...'.
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Then turn off the SSID Broadcast on your router.
NOTE: Some devices
must have the SSID in order to connect. If you have to turn it back on, it's no big deal. You already only allow specific MAC addresses to connect wirelessly and hopefully have a strong (and AES encrypted) password set on the router as well,
right?
- Arrange security precautions so that this private LAN is only accessible by the 3 machines which are mine.
If you've performed the above, you're good to go. The weakest link is the router itself as you can generally get internet and network access by plugging an RJ-45 cable in, but at the same time, that doesn't matter. If you see a networking cable plugged in to your router that leads out the window, you're probably being h4x0rd... by Naix.
Oh yeah, be sure to have a password set to actually access your router. You may also want to turn off the ability to log in to the router via wireless:
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