Configuring the Odyssey Client for home use

The Odyssey Client is a great tool to use for accessing your home wifi network - here are some general instructions for configuring the Odyssey Client to work with most home wifi setups.

Double click the odyssey icon in the taskbar or click Start>Funk Software>Odyssey Client>Odyssey Client Manager to open the Odyssey Client configuration interface:

Click on the text labeled "Networks" and in the subsequent screen click on the button labeled "Add" to add a new network.

In the "Add Network" interface you will be asked for information associated with your home wifi network. You will need to know the SSID of your home network, and if you are using WEP encryption you will also need to know your WEP key(s).

Type in the text of your SSID, and a short description on the network. Most common home networks will be using the following settings:

NETWORK TYPE: Access point (infrastructure mode)
Association mode: open

If your home network is not using any form of encryption simply click OK to finish adding your home network. If your home network is using WEP encryption select WEP from the dropdown box labeled "Encryption method:" If you select WEP you will then need to input the pre-configured WEP keys in the lower portion of the dialogue box.

For Linksys wireless routers you can input the four values that are automatically generated when you choose to autogenerate a WEP key in the router settings interface. Be sure to choose "ASCII characters" from the dropdown menu before you begin inputting the values. After you have finished inputting the WEP keys click OK.

If your home network is using some other form of association mode, or an authentication profile please talk to the geek who set it up for assistance in connecting to it.

Be sure to turn on your wireless card, or internal wifi radio, and also be sure to enable the Odyssey Client. In the toolbar click on the link labeled "Settings>Enable Odyssey". (If the Odyssey Client is already enabled you will not see and option to enable the client, you will only see an option to disable it.)

Click on the text labeled "Connection" in the Odyssey Client Manager to browse back to a listing of all the preconfigured networks on your machine.

Select the network that you just added, and be sure to check off the checkbox labeled "Connect to network:". After selecting your home network you should see a status indicator that will indicate your successful connection to your home network.

ADDITIONAL TIPS AND NOTES:

1. USING THE ODYSSEY CLIENT EXCLUSIVELY/DISABLING OTHER FORMS OF WIFI NETWORK MANAGEMENT - The Odyssey Client is a great tool, and if used properly it should be the only form of wifi network management that you need to use on your computer. In order to achieve this you should disable the other forms of wifi network management that may be installed on your machine (for instance any software based network management utilities that came bundled with your wifi card, or your operating systems built in wifi management utility.)

For example, in Windows XP you should disable Windows internal handling of wireless networks by clicking "Start>Control Panel>Network Connections>", then right click on your wireless network connection and click on the tab labeled "Wireless Networks". You will see a checkbox labeled "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings" - be sure that this box is NOT checked.

If the box is checked, or you do not disable any other wifi network management software you will see your wireless connectivity constantly disconnecting and then reconnecting. This is an indication that the Odyssey Client is struggling with another wifi network management client and that the other software should be disabled.

2 - USING ODYSSEY TO FIND OTHER NETWORKS - The Odyssey Client can be used to connect to networks and find SSIDs at public wifi hotspots and conferences. In order to seek out and connect to networks click on the button labeled "Scan". You will see a listing of all the networks SSIDs that you are in range of. Select a network to connect to. Please note that public wifi networks may not be secure - you should not send sensitive information across public wifi networks unless you are protected by a VPN client.

3 - HOME WIFI TIPS - Home wifi networks are inherently insecure - you can take additional steps to make them a bit more secure. Namely, not broadcasting your SSID, using WEP encryption, and restricting access to your access point by MAC address.