How can I make my new wireless system secure?

[bigcut77]

I got a new wireless system (linksy) and when I hooked it up it says unsecure in my internet menu. Can some one walk me through on how to make it secure so others can't jump on.

[bigcut77]

anyone?

[GREENMACHINE]

128 bit ssl encryption.

[Angelis]

NO they cannot just walk on I believe you need a password to hook it up... did you need to put in a password the first time you connected to the wireless router?

[bigcut77]

NO they cannot just walk on I believe you need a password to hook it up... did you need to put in a password the first time you connected to the wireless router?

No, I just pluged in the linksy to my cable modem and my laptop wireless picked right up on the signal. When I pull up the available wireless networks in my area I pick up like 3 diffrent neighbors systems. All of theres say secured wireless but mine says unsecured?

[bigcut77]

By the way I am no computer expert so if you have any suggestions could you please specifically tell me how to go about fixing the problem.

[bigcut77]

128 bit ssl encryption.

How do I go about getting that?

[fitnessguy]

There should be a network key (10 digit password) under wireless network properties i believe. try that. someone else has to type that network key in to get online access...

[bigcut77]

There should be a network key (10 digit password) under wireless network properties i believe. try that. someone else has to type that network key in to get online access...

Is that key already there or do I have to get the 10 digit number off of the wireless router and punch it in?

[bigcut77]

There is a section that says network key which is blank and another section that says confirm network key which is also blank. Where do I get the network key from to secure the network?

[max2extreme]

First...place your router as far away from windows and doors, etc as you can. The closer it is to the outside walls, the farther out into your surrounding areas the signal will go, allowing for a larger area to connect.

another thing you need to do is change your admin password. All linksys wireless routers come with the same password.

enable mac filtering. to get your mac address, pull up the dos prompt window and type: ipconfig /all The mac address is listed as the "physical address". then go to your advanced tab in the web based admin tool for your access point. check enabled. check 'allow pcs with mac listed below'. and type in your mac address(es).

disable SSID broadcasting...in the same place, advanced tab on your admin tool under the wireless tab, click "disable" under broadcast.

also set up WEP...to do this, go into your setup page, and make wep mandator. then go to the wep setting page and generate the encryption keys in the admin utility for the access point. set encryption to 128-bit.

[bigcut77]

thanks max I will give that a try.

[Psychotron]

Uh, there should be an option for enabling a KEYin the router. You will also want to change the default login info from just the p/w being admin. You then gotta enter the key in the network properites for your wireless card.

[bigcut77]

Thanks for the help guys....I got the problem fixed.

[got fina?]

Yeah i never really like the wireless conectors. Ive had them in the past and always go back to the good ol wires.

I live in a building and its funny cause im hooked up to wires to get to my cable modem. My girlsfriend on the other hand has a laptop and is getting signals from somebody else in the building so she has had free cable modem now for like 2 years...lol

[arthurb999]

Yep. As the others stated, it's all about configuring the router correctly. Mac address filtering, turining off the broadcast, turining on the hardware firewall, WEP, passwords, only x amount of users at a time, etc. Also, keep windows, windows firewall, antivirus, and spyware programs all updated.

[xtc75]

max2extreme said it best