Can someone tell me how to enable security on a wireless system in the house? It is a Lynksys router, toshiba cable modem. Thanks
1) Update the firmware on your router to the latest version (go to Linksys site or use the update feature which may be in your router's setup page) 2) Only allow MAC addresses within your network access to the router 3) Use static IP's as opposed to IP ranges and DHCP 4) Make sure you have enabled encryption. WEP encryption is weak and easily broken, but it's better than nothing. If your router supports WPA encryption, it's much better. 5) Disable router administration via wireless if you can do so. 6) Don't broadcast SSID and change the default SSID. 7) Change the admin username/password for your router from the default to something else that's not too obvious, but not something so wild that you forget.
DoD- Thanks. I won't lie though, you may have just confused me more than I was before. Point-by-point, to be sure: 1) Update the firmware on your router to the latest version (go to Linksys site or use the update feature which may be in your router's setup page) Can't seem to find any update info on the router set-up or lynksys page. It is currently using FirmWare Version 1.44.2, Apr 16 2003. Where exactly would the update info be? Is it free? I may just not know exactly what to look for. 2) Only allow MAC addresses within your network access to the router How do I do this. 3) Use static IP's as opposed to IP ranges and DHCP I see an option to change to Static IP and to change the DHCP Server to disable. Do both of these? 4) Make sure you have enabled encryption. WEP encryption is weak and easily broken, but it's better than nothing. If your router supports WPA encryption, it's much better. I see a WEP: Enable or Disable option. You're saying Enable, correct? Where would I tell if there is WPA encryption - I see no option for that on the set-up page? 5) Disable router administration via wireless if you can do so. What exactly is/How do I do this? Would it mean I can't administer my router settings via wireless, essentially meaning you'd have to be in the house to do it? Sounds good, but don't see that option. 6) Don't broadcast SSID and change the default SSID. Ok, I see the option to turn off broadcasting and had already changed the default. Yeah, I can understand something. 7) Change the admin username/password for your router from the default to something else that's not too obvious, but not something so wild that you forget. Two in a row. I see how to do this. DoD, I appreciate the help. I'm no computer expert, so some of these things are above me. On a side question, what does UPnP Services mean? I've read something about this in relation to bit-torrents, which I've always had problems downloading. I have it currently disabled.
Go to Linksys' site (www.linksys.com) to get any updated firmware - yes it's free. Once at the site, click on the "Support" tab at the top of the page. Then click on "Technical Support". Then click on "Product Pages" link. In the "Search For" dropdown, select "Driver/Firmware" and press "Search". On the next page, select your product and your OS. The product/model number is usually on the bottom of the router. Press the "Downloads for this Product" button and you'll be taken to a page where you can download the manual, drivers, etc. for the router. The manual may help answer the "how to" questions you have for the rest of the stuff. What is your model number anyway? A lot of this stuff is set up in the admin page of the router. You can usually access that by going to the following address in your browser : http://192.168.1.1 (it's different for different routers, but I believe that should work for Linksys routers). Since different routers have different setups, check your manual. For the MAC address of your computer, you can drop to the command prompt (DOS window) and type the following : ipconfig /all You may see a line that reads "Physical Address" followed by something that looks like : A0-A0-A0-A0-A0-A0. It won't be that, but it'll be in that format. That's your MAC address. For WEP Encryption, just enable that. Your firmware/router may not support WPA. Disabling router administration via wireless. You got it. It's so if somebody manages to get on the network, they can't take over the router and configure it. They'd have to physically do it from a pc connected to the router. How you do this depends on the router. Check the manual.
Related question: When I go to update my firmware, I am prompted to select the firmware file to upgrade. I too have a Linksys but have no idea where my firmware file is located, even after doing file folder searches. Can anyone help me locate the file ... which folder is it under for a linksys router (there isn't a linksys folder anywhere)?
I just added a wireless access point. But if I do not broadcast the ID my laptop won't let me connect to it . How do i manually connect to the access point? Thanks Mark
I actually did all of that ... got to the part where I was given the option of downloading the firmware or updating the firmware. For some reason when I try to download the firmware I get timed out and no response. When I try upgrading the firmware, it asks for the firmware file on my hard drive that needs to be updated. I cannot find the folder containing my linksys software ... so I was wondering what folder it is under when it is installed onto your PC. I hope this makes more sense to what I am asking. Basically, where is your linksys folder located on your hard drive? If I were to browse for the file, where would I go, b/c I have had no luck in my searches.
You download the firmware from their site. You update the firmware and when it asks you for the folder, you enter the folder where you downloaded the updated file. That file you downloaded is the update. Try downloading again later.
DoD's all over this-- one caveat to add, you might not want to do step 3 in his instructions if you anticipate having guests over who will want to access your wireless network and you're not willing to go through the (minor) hassle of determining their MAC address and adding that to the wireless router's access list. I would just follow his instructions, but wanted to FYI that one point.
If I do the limit MAC address step... do I even need to do any other steps? Since then only certain computers can log in, there's no need for WEP right?
