ive just hooked up an actiontec wirless router but i dont see any
instructions on how to make it secure....its open at moment....what do
i do...thanks

"gram" <grampage@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1174605032.263098.11530@l75g2000hse.googlegro ups.com...
Since you didn't give a model number, I found this one.
RTFM, which may be found here;
http://www.actiontec.com/support/bro...su-1_faqs.html

The FAQs on that page should answer most of your questions.

In the event that isn't your model, then go here and select the correct one.
http://www.actiontec.com/products/br..._products3.php

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
gram <grampage@hotmail.com> wrote:

* Change the SSID to something of your choosing rather than the default
* Turn off SSID broadcast
* Implement the highest level of encryption supported by all your wireless
equipment, and use a long - not easily guessable key
* Turn on MAC address filtering, and specify the MAC addresses of all your
wireless cards so that *only* they can access the router
--
Cheers,
Roger
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"Roger Mills" <watt.tyler@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:56hrejF28f670U1@mid.individual.net...
In addition, change the default password on the router.

Honu

Roger, for the people who know little about the obscure world of network
setup, do these changes effect ones ability to roam (airports, internet
cafes etc)?

If so, would you please explain how to setup to be secure but still
roam?

Thanks
___
"Roger Mills" <watt.tyler@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:56hrejF28f670U1@mid.individual.net...

"none" <nospam@bogusaddress.com> writes:
Roger's list of stuff is basically a list of how to make your home
access point secure, so that unauthorized people can't "roam" using it.
You want it to be as secure as practical all the time.

On the other hand, laptops typically have multiple different wireless
setups and they are designed to switch easily between them. There will
be some sort of wireless security control panel (either part of the
operating system, or provided by the wireless card vendor) that allows
you to scan for all the wireless networks in your area, select one,
configure its security, and then use it.

So, at home, you'd have to configure your laptop to know the SSID of
your router, and provide the correct encryption key for access to the
network. But when you visit your nearest cafe or airport, you would
select their public access point and configure it for unsecure,
unencrypted access (unless the cafe provides you with different
instructions).

Configuring the cafe's access is done without modifying the saved data
for your home router, so when you return home you just switch to using
your own router again and all the necessary data is still there.

Dave

"Roger Mills" <watt.tyler@googlemail.com> writes:

Generally good advice, but Microsoft recommends leaving SSID broadcast
on. There's an article about this in their knowledge base somewhere,
which I can't find at the moment. The reasoning goes something like
this:

Disabling SSID broadcast means that someone who simply turns on their
laptop while parked in the street in front of your house won't see it
pop up in their list. But anyone monitoring traffic can still get your
SSID whenever any of your own computers are talking to your router, so
this doesn't provide much security.

On the other hand, if you disable SSID broadcast on your router, that
means that all of your computers have to actively try to connect to that
"silent" router. Your laptop will automatically do this anywhere in the
world. So someone monitoring traffic in airports could collect lots of
SSIDs. If your router broadcasts SSID, and your laptop knows that this
network uses a broadcast SSID (you can tell recent versions of XP this,
and I assume Vista as well), then it will never try to connect if the
SSID is not heard.

So making your router noisier makes your laptop quieter at the same
time.

I also found that my XP laptop, using the Windows wireless networking
control panel, would automatically reconnect to the house network if it
had SSID on, while I had to tell it to manually connect on each boot
when SSID broadcast was off.

Dave

Be aware that some Wireless NICs (network interface cards ... includes
all forms of network interface devices, e.g. USB & PC Cards as well as
PCI cards) will not work if the SSID broadcast is turned off. Turning
it off IS a good idea, IF the wireless NICs that you are using will
tolerate it.


Dave Martindale wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
none <nospam@bogusaddress.com> wrote:

I think others have probably answered this adequately. Briefly, the security
measures which I listed are designed to prevent unauthorised users from
connecting to your router. They don't stop your laptop from connecting to
*other* routers. It's reasonably easy to set up 2 or more wireless profiles
on the laptop - one for home use and one for roaming at airports etc.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Peabody <waybackNO784SPAM44@yahoo.com> wrote:

Yes, you're absolutely right. I simply listed the measures which are often
recommended by the pundits on a belt and braces-type basis.

In order of priority, I would use:
* WPA encryption with long pass-phrase (essential)
* MAC address filtering (highly desirable)
* No SSID broadcasting (optional - even considered by some to be
undesirable)
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Roger Mills wrote:
I will add that the 'pass-phrase' should not appear in any dictionary in
any language.