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Netgear Wireless Security
Old Man 43
Posts: 6,214
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My Mum connects to the Internet using a wireless connection to a Netgear DG834Gv3 router.
I am not going to bore you all with the whole story but lets just say that the router is still set to factory settings.
This means that the wireless security is disabled.
I want to enable it and put a password in.
I have gone into the router set-up using the http link that is printed on the router and I have got to the wireless security set-up page.
Am I correct if I use the WEP key and use the Automatic Key Generation (Passphrase).
Or should I use some other encryption method or am I going off in the wrong direction.
My Mum’s Internet supplier is AOL and I don’t want to mess anything up with how that works.
Also my Dad’s desktop is connected to the same router by an Ethernet cable.
Help please I need to understand what I am doing before I do something wrong.
I am not going to bore you all with the whole story but lets just say that the router is still set to factory settings.
This means that the wireless security is disabled.
I want to enable it and put a password in.
I have gone into the router set-up using the http link that is printed on the router and I have got to the wireless security set-up page.
Am I correct if I use the WEP key and use the Automatic Key Generation (Passphrase).
Or should I use some other encryption method or am I going off in the wrong direction.
My Mum’s Internet supplier is AOL and I don’t want to mess anything up with how that works.
Also my Dad’s desktop is connected to the same router by an Ethernet cable.
Help please I need to understand what I am doing before I do something wrong.
0
Comments
Use Wpa-Psk rather than WEP, it is safer.
http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/166/~/instructions-to-set-security-on-wireless-dg834-routers
Use a hard to guess pass phrase.Random combinations of numbers and letters and other characters are best. But whatever you do DO NOT do this using a WiFi connection from the laptop, use a cable connection! Once you save the pass phrase into the router it will kick all WiFi devices off. So if you can't remember the pass phrase you could be stuffed!
You will of course have to enter the pass phrase into the laptop to reconnect it via WiFi. So what I do is copy and paste it into a text file and save that to a USB stick that can be plugged into the laptop and you can then copy and paste the pass phrase from the file into the password entry box when you try to connect the laptop again. That way there is less chance of you getting it wrong.
You are very unlikely to screw anything up. The settings only affect WiFi they have no effect on a cable connection and provided you don't mess in any other section of the config you shouldn't screw up the connection to AOL. And if you know the AOL log in details you can always set the router back to it's default settings by poking the hidden reset button on the back near the WiFi aerial.
just cut and paste into a document the password while you set everything up as 64 charcters of gibberish is hard to write down
but hardwired aka cabled links to routers are fine as theres nothing really transmitted into the ether
First setup your security passwords as per messages above and make sure the laptop is connecte. Then in my DG834G v2, select "Wireless Settings", then "Setup Access List" and under the "Available Wireless Stations" select your laptop and click "Add". Then make sure "Turn Access Control" check box is ticked.
If you need to add another trusted device, just repeat that process selecting the new device from the "Available Wireless Stations" list.
This is not compulsory but offers another bit of protection and stops unwanted devices stealing your bandwith.
My Mum's laptop keeps disconnecting from the router.
Could someone give me some idea what the problem is.
MAC filtering isn't worth the bother - the added security is totally negligible since it is easy to sniff out the MAC address of a connected device. Once the MAC address is seen in the clear, it takes a few seconds to 'forge' that legitimate MAC address in the wireless Ethernet settings for an attacker's machine. Use WPA2 and a good password.
Regarding the dropping of the connection, you could install the free utility inSSIDer on the laptop. The network tab will then show the wireless signal from the router and all those others that might be nearby. It will allow you to see the strength and the channel number - it might help to see if the connection drops due to poor strength or maybe somebody else nearby using the same channel with a stronger signal. http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/
Poor signal/interference in location (Use inSSIDer and orientate antenna).
Crappy drivers / firmware update required on router.
Try the first suggestion then let us know if it doesn't solve it before attempting the latter.