How to secure your wireless network
Having an open (non-secure) wireless network seems to be rather common these days. We love to find them when we’re away from home, and love it on vacation when someone has an open wireless to attach to. But what is the down side of having an open wireless access point? Well, for one, you’re paying for it. This may sound selfish, but what you pay for, you are responsible for. In other words, you pay for your internet access, and someone attaches to your open wireless, and does some illegal activities (Hacking, downloading music/movies illegally, etc.). Guess who’s going to be liable if that person’s activities is logged, and persecuted? YOU ARE! Say nothing about anyone that my bank online – you do this on an open, unsecure wireless network, or even a wired network that has an open wireless attached to it you’re asking for trouble.
So, how do you secure your wireless access point? The process is actually very easy to do, and only takes a few minutes to do. Each manufacturer has a slightly different configuration page, but are all similar enough that the process is easily done.
Before we begin, you should make all configuration changes while hard wired to the device. Do not make changes to the wireless settings if you are using the wireless. This can be done, but is more difficult, and not covered in this How-To.
For examples, we will look at Linksys, Netopia (AT&T DSL) 2Wire (AT&T DSL) and Netgear (Charter Cable). First, you need to know to things; 1) the IP address of the wireless, and the username/password [ list of default passwords for routers ]. Don’t know the IP address? Press the + R key to open the Run Command window. Type in and press Enter. In the Command Prompt window, enter this command: ipconfig
What you are looking for is the Default Gateway. In the example above, the gateway is 192.168.1.254 – This may vary, but is usually one of the following:
192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1, or 192.168.1.254
Now that you have the IP address, open the Run Command window again (+ R), and enter http://192.168.1.254 (The same IP address as your Default Gateway)
Your default web browser will open, and depending on the manufacturer, may prompt you for the username / password of the device. Remember, if you don’t know what the password is, you can find a list of default passwords for routers.
Now, on to actually configuring the wireless router. Below are several brands of wireless devices. If yours isn’t listed, you should be able to use these as a guide, as they are all similar, and use the same wireless technology, just different administrative portals to change settings.
Linksys
Linksys default IP is 192.168.1.1 in the Run Command (+ R) type in http://192.168.1.1 and press enter. The most common default username / password is admin / admin or admin / password.
Once logged in to the configuration page, click the Wireless menu option on the top of the page. Here you can change the name of your wireless network (SSID). the default is Linksys, but I recommend changing it. Once you change the SSID, click the Wireless Security menu option.
Choose the Security Mode that you wish to use. WEP is the least secure, and WPA2 is the most secure (although it may be incompatible with certain clients, like Nintendo Wii). I recommend either WPA2 Personal or WPA Personal. RADIUS, WPA Enterprise & WPA2 Enterprise is for a business environment, and not for home use.
Once the Security Mode modes is selected, (WPA2 in this example) choose the WPA Algorithm TKIP+AES for the most secure option, and enter a WPA Shared Secret. This is your wireless key – or password. You will use this to connect any wireless clients to the wireless network. Make sure you click the Save button to apply your changes.
Now you are ready to connect your clients (See below for Client configuration)
[ Linksys Support ]
Netgear (From Charter Communications)
The default IP address of most Netgear devices is 192.168.1.254, so enter http://192.168.0.2 in the Run Command (+ R). Enter the default username / password (admin / 1234 or admin / password) or see list of default passwords for routers. Once authenticated, click Wireless Settings on the left menu.
In the Wireless Settings page, enter the SSID (Name of the wireless Access point). Scroll down, and choose the Security Option that you wish to use. WEP is the least secure, and WPA2 is the most secure (although it may be incompatible with certain clients, like Nintendo Wii). Enter a Passphrase and Click Apply.
Now you are ready to connect your clients (See below for Client configuration)
[ Netgear Support ]
Netopia (From AT&T DSL)
The default IP address of any Netopia device is 192.168.1.254, so enter http://192.168.1.254 in the Run Command (+ R). You will not be prompted for a username / password. Note that this is all the more reason to secure the wireless, as anyone can make changes to the Netopia device if they are on the local network (wired or wireless).
On the main configuration page, click on Wireless on the left menu list. Here, make sure the check box is check to enable wireless. Next, enter the SSID (The visible name of your wireless access point). Next, pick the level of security that you want to use. WEP is the LEAST secure, and WPA PSK is the most that this device supports. Once you pick a level of security, you will have to enter a Pre-Shared Key. This is the Wireless “password” that all wireless clients will have to use.
Click Submit to save your wireless settings. You will notice a message above the wireless configuration. Click the 
icon, and choose to Save and Restart.
Now you are ready to connect your clients (See below for Client configuration)
[ Netopia Support ]
[ AT&T DSL Support ]
2Wire (From AT&T DSL)
2Wire is probably the most secure, out of the box anyway, wireless access point. By default, 2Wire turns on WEP encryption, and the wireless Key, or password, is on a sticker on the bottom, or side of the device.
If you wish to change the wireless security, which I recommend, or just make sure that it is enabled, open the configuration webpage. The default IP address of any 2Wire device is 192.168.1.254, so enter http://192.168.1.254 in the Run Command (+ R). You will not be prompted for a username / password.
Click on the Home Network tab on the top, then Edit Settings in the right panel – under the Wireless Settings heading.
Now you are ready to connect your clients (See below for Client configuration)
[ 2Wire Support ]
[ AT&T DSL Support ]
TRENDnet
The default IP Address for TrendNet wireless routers is 192.168.1.1, so enter http://192.168.1.1 in the Run Command (+ R), and press enter. Enter the default password (admin/admin) or see [ list of default passwords for routers ]. Once the configuration page opens, click Wireless in the left menu choices.
Enter the SSID (Name of the wireless Access point) and click Apply. Next, click Security on the left menu choices. Change the Authentication Type to the level you wish to use. WEP is the least secure, and WPA2 is the most secure (although it may be incompatible with certain clients, like Nintendo Wii). Enter a Passphrase, confirm it, and Click Apply.
Now you are ready to connect your clients (See below for Client configuration)
[ TRENDnet Support ]
Belkin
The default IP Address for TrendNet wireless routers is 192.168.2.1, so enter http://192.168.2.1 in the Run Command (+ R), and press enter. There is no initial password. Once the configuration page opens, click Channel and SSID under Wireless in the left menu choices. You will be asked for a password – Default is no password, so just click submit.
Enter the SSID (Name of the wireless Access point) and click Apply. Now go to Security in the left menu, and select the security mode you wish to use. WEP is the least secure, and WPA/WPA2-Personal is the most secure (although it may be incompatible with certain clients, like Nintendo Wii).
One very nice feature of certain Belkin devices, is the Wireless Guest Password. Enter a guest password, like Welcome and your guests can connect to your WiFi, but will only have access to the Internet, and not the other computers on your network (both wired and wireless)
Now you are ready to connect your clients (See below for Client configuration)
[ Belkin Support ]
Client Settings
Now you have your wireless access point setup with encryption, you are ready to configure your wireless clients.
Windows XP
Go to Start, Control Panel, and open Network and Internet Connections, then Network Connections. Next, right click on the Wireless Network Adapter, and choose View Available Network Connections.
Next, select your wireless access name (SSID) and click connect. Enter your Wireless password you set above, and confirm it again. Now you’re connected!
Windows Vista
In the bottom right corner next to the time, click the Network Icon, and choose Connect or Disconnect. Choose the wireless SSID you setup above, and choose connect. Enter the Passphrase you created, click Next, and Finish.
Windows 7
In the bottom right corner, next to the time, click the Network Icon, and choose the SSID that you setup, enter the passphrase you created, and Connect.
Apple
From the applications folder, open Internet Connect. In the Network window, click the AirPort button on the left. Choose the SSID that you created above, enter the password you created.
Wii
Note that the Wii will not connect to WPA2 encrypted access points.
The easiest way to connect your Wii console online using your wireless router is through the "Search for an Access Point" function of the Wii console. This method is highly recommended.
Search for an Access Point
1. On the Wii console’s main menu, click on the "Wii button" in the lower left corner.
2. This will take you to the settings screen. On this screen, click on "Wii Settings".
3. In the "Wii System Settings", click on the blue arrow on the right to reach the second screen of options. On this screen, click the "Internet" button.
4. Select "Connection Settings".
5. Select an open connection, indicated by "None", as shown:
6. Select "Wireless Connection".
7. Select "Search for an Access Point".
8. At this point, the Wii console will search for any identifiable Access Points nearby. Once this search as completed, you will be direct to choose the Access Point that you wish to connect to, as shown. Click "OK" to display the list of available Access Points.
![clip_image007[1]](http://everydaynerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/clip_image0071.gif "clip_image007[1]")
9. Select your Access Point from the list of available SSID Names. Enter your passphrase when prompted.
10. Click "Save" followed by "OK" to save your connection settings.
11. Select OK again to start an automatic connection test.
Once the test succeeds, Internet setup is complete and your Wii console is wirelessly connected. (Now you can connect your Wii to the Internet for free, via the Internet Channel).
Other Wireless Clients
Most wireless clients have some sort of wizard to search for available wireless access points. Just start the search, select your SSID, enter the password, and you should connect.
Reference
For support of your wireless device, please see your manufacture’s website. If your wireless access point was provided to you by your ISP (Cable or DSL) you can contact them for support as well.
Also, remember, Google is your friend. If you have a question that I didn’t answer here, just enter your question in Google – chances are someone has already answered the question for you.
Of course, I’m always for hire, so feel free to contact me too 
