Straightfoward question : Wifi range/connectivity

A friend has a Hewlett Packard laptop and is wondering how far away from a base it can operate effectively, using it's own internal antenna. How about an external antenna ?

Also.....if he "piggybacks" by using someone else's connection, is it possible for that person to somehow detect his passwords to various sites he logs in to ?

 

Wifi range depends on the specific notebook and the specific router. Walls shorten this range, drywall doesn't hamper it much, however concrete/brick walls aren't very friendly- think of it as trying to get radio reception in the basement. I've also heard that foil-backed styrofoam insulation kills wifi signals.

You can use multiple wireless routers for different parts of the house, and you can set up bridges (relays) to cover an area w/o access to your wired network.

The novice computer user isn't going to be able to get at your passwords/information if you're using their network. I doubt they'll even notice you're logged on, seeing as they didn't even password protect the router. It is possible, however.

Oh, and I can quite easily get on my network upto about 2 blocks away from my house. Houses, walls, etc will reduce the distance significantly.

Also note that using someone's network w/o their permission is unneighborly, and illegal in most places.