So let me get this straight...

[coday182]

... can I just plug a network cable coming from my house's router into an airport station and get wireless internet?

I have a macbook but my house does not use a wireless router as there were no wireless computers until 3 days ago D). My dad isn't too keen on the idea of getting a new wireless router since al the desktops are old, don't have wireless cards, and plus anything that has to do with windows and setting up a network ends up with the Geek Squad getting a call. (I just turned my mac mini on when it was my first mac and it just worked lol. Same with my macbook.). So anyways, if I want to use the internet, i am confined to a pretty small space in my room where the network cable reaches. If I plug that network cable into one of those airport stations that looks like a power brick, will i get wireless internet in my house (with a certain radius of course)?

 

[epochblue]

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: yes, but you'll probably want to go to a little bit of trouble to secure the router just in case.

 

[coday182]

Ok thanks, but what do you mean by securing the router?

 

[thejadedmonkey]

WEP/WPA passwords, MAC address filtering, SSID Hiding, etc.

 

[epochblue]

WEP/WPA passwords, MAC address filtering, SSID Hiding, etc.

Yep - that's the kind of thing you'll want to setup. WPA/WEP will encrypt the traffic between the router and the wireless device, and I recommend WPA over WEP (WEP is really easy to crack if someone wanted to). MAC (not to be confused with Mac) address filtering will only allow certain computers to use the router, and while it can be a hassle when friends come over, it's much more secure. And SSID hiding will just keep your router from broadcasting the name of your network making it just slightly more difficult to detect.

All of these are a good thing to have, but by no means necessary. Go to the trouble to do all 3 if you're a little paranoid, mix-and-match if you're not quite as paranoid, or don't do any of them if you don't care

 

[dolphin842]

Also, the risk depends on where one lives. Out in a rural area, there's less to worry about, whereas in a place like an apartment complex with a high population density, properly securing a connection is a must.