h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Cause I have just bought a wireless router and it is great. Trouble is a mate came around with his laptop and was able to access the web just like that!

The instructions are totally incomprehensible so what do I do to make it so someone has to enter a password before using my bandwidth?

normally the easy way, for a small home network, is to go into your Access Points admin and tell it which MAC addresses are allowed to use it. Add the MAC address of your machines and bingo. OK so someone could, technically, hack their way in - but they would need to know one of your MAC addresses. For most casual Wardrivers this will sever them from it. Hope this helps, until later...
BCNU - Crescent

err what is a MAC address? I no virtually nowt about computers

got any more info. What version of Windows (if you are not a Mac or other OS user) are you using - Windows XP SP2 comes with a handy Wizard for setting up wireless networks, including sercurity.

What make of router are you using?

On my router - a Netgear - I have done what Cresent said - You can get the MAC code usually from a sticker on the actual network card - or in my case my router told me what MAC codes were attached - I then copied and pasted that into part of my Router control pages that only allowed those to connect.

However a dedicated hacker can break this, as when your PC tries to connect it transmits its MAC - so anyone listening in can pick it up if they know how.

You can also hide you SSID (I think that is the accroym) this is the name of your network, and is needed to connect - so people have to try a bit harder to connect. - Again can be overcome with effort.

You could encrypt the signal - usually with an encyption called WEP, however, again it can be broken if people tried hard enough. Plus when I had this switched on I couldn't share files between my Win98 laptop and WinXP destop - both could connect to the internet OK though.

That's just a quick reply, there are tonnes of web sites out there, but hopefully you know a little bit more now to help you search.



CHawke

Well my PC is using XP with SP2 installed and is wirelessly connected to the router via a "Safecom usb 2.0 802.11b/g adaptor" and the router is a "2.4 ghz 802.11g"

The downstairs PC is running Windows ME but I am changing that to 2K tommorow.

Could you reccomend any good sites that are designed for non experts?

Have you seen the "Set up wireless network" wizard in XP - it is in the control panel? Seemed to me to be very good - I'd already set mine up way before XP SP2 but still was curious.

Chawke

Yeash it says it cannot do it with my Hardware and I should set the network up from the router.

Trouble is if you don't know about PCs it is stupidly hard.

Did the router come with any documentation at all? There should be an address to type intoyour browser that will access your routers config - what brand is it exactly (rather than the type)?

CHawke

It is a "linksys" one, I have got that page up but I have little idea of how to use it.

OK, somewhere you should see something like "SSID (Service Set Identifier)" and a box for you to change it. First off change it to something personal - you'll need to make a note of it as you need to enter it into your PC. - Windows XP makes it relatively clear where you type this in.

Then, hopefully, you'll have a box that say " Allow Broadcast of Name (SSID)" or something like that - these are taken from my netgear setup so it could be totally different. UNCHECK this - this way no-one will know the name of your network, especially if you have changed it from the default.

Somewhere else you may have an option to limit the attached devices. On mine this is called simple "trusted PCs" this is where you can limit connection to trusted PCs by the MAC address. Google "finding MAC address" for a host of help pages.

Hopefully you can then add these to this list and block other PCs.

Nothing will stop a really dedicated hacker, but these will stop other normal home users connecting.

Now, food and a weekend

CHawke

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/it/itaids/factsheets/misc/MS-004.html#nt
probably the clearest instructions on findin MAC

Give me a few mins, I'm just knocking up some instructions.

Ferretbadger, You may want to print this posting off if you think it'll help Although I've tried to keep it simple, it's still a little weighty



A MAC address is the hardware address for networking address such as network cards, routers, access points and other bits and bobs. It looks like a 12 digit hexidecimal number (such as for example 12-0A-9C-F4-E7-90). It's a hardware address because it's almost always embedded directly into the networking kit's memory. There are methods to change this address, but that's just complicating matters for what we need to do.


To find out your MAC address (which windows helpfully calls a physical address) you can do one of the following:

1. Look at the label on your network card.

2. Under NT, 2000 and XP open a command prompt and ype in "IPCONFIG /ALL". The MAC address will be listed amongst other bits and pieces such as your computers IP (network/logical) address, subnet mask and default gadeway.

3. Go to "Control Panel" and choose "Network Connections". From there double click on the icon that corresponds to your wireless network card. Click on the "Support" tab at the top of the window, then on the Details button. Your MAC address is at the top of the list.

Make a note of this address for your computer and any other computer that you want to allow to use the network. You'll need them later.



Right, now comes for the fun bit Configuring security on your Linksys wireless router

I'd recommend you do any router configuring by connecting your computer directly to the router using a network cable rather than using the wireless. This is because some of the configuration will cause wireless devices to disconnect, and if this happens when you've made a mistake, the only ways to correct it are to physically connect your computer to the router, or factory reset the router to its default settings. Don't worry though, it's more annoying than serious


*Open up a web browser window, type in 192.168.1.1 and enter the username and password for the router.


1. MAC Filtering

*Click on the "Wireless" link, then on the "Wireless MAC Filter" link below it.

*As you only want to allow certain computers to use your wireless network, click on the "Enable Wireless MAC Filter" button, and then on "Permit access to only those PCs listed"

*Click on the "Edit MAC Address" list button. A popup window will appear asking for the MAC addresses you want to add. Make sure you check and double check that they are correct, since if they are not you'll not be able to access your router with that wireless device. Once you've added them, click on the "Save Settings" button to save this list.

*Click on the "Save Settings button on the main screen to save your changes. Any wireless devices that aren't in the MAC Address list will be immediately disconnected and denied access.


2. WEP Encryption

*Click on the "Security" link at the top, then the "Wireless" link below it

*Where it says "Security mode", select WEP from the drop down list

*Where it says "WEP Encryption", select "128 bit 26 hex digits". This is more secure than 64 bit encryption.

*Type in a passphrase in the "Passphrase" box between 6 and 16 characters long, then click the "Generate" button. The four key fields will then be filled with keys created using the passphrase as a seed.

*Make a note of the keys generated (you're probably best printing it out and keeping it in a safe place), and choose which one of the four keys you want to use by clicking on the relevant "Default Transmit Key" button.

*Click on "Save Settings" to save the security setup. Any wireless devices currently using the router will be immediately disconnected. They will still see the wireless network but will be denied access until they are told manually to use the relevant WEP key that is being used currently by the router.


3. Configuring WEP on your PC

*Go to "Contol Panel" -> "Network connections". Right click on "Wireless Network Connection". Select "Status".

*Click "Properties" and click on the "Wireless Networks" tab.

*In the "Preferred Networks" section you should see your wireless network. Click on it and click "Properties"

*Click the "Association" tab then:
Select Network Authentication : Open
Select Data Encryption: WEP
Enter in the network key your router is currently using.
Confirm the network key that your router is currently using
In the Key Index section, choose the key number your router is currently using.

*Click OK, OK again and then on Close. You should have wireless access again


It is good practice if you're using WEP encryption to rotate your keys on a regular basis. By this I mean say use key 1 as your Default Transmit Key one month, key 3 the next, and so on. Also it's advisable to change the keyphrase used often just to be on the safe side. I know that means messing about with setups every now and then, security and peace of mind is a tradeoff with convenience and blissful ignorance.