Networking

Switching to WPA2 Wireless Encryption

October 19, 2008 By Terry Stockdale

OK, after reading Improving Your Wireless Security about WPA2 wireless encryption, you’ve downloaded the WPA2 encryption patch for Windows XP — or you’ve installed XP Service Pack 3, which includes the patch.

How do you switch to it? It’s easy.

First, we need to get to the router to make the change there. The procedure will vary by brand, but should be fairly obvious. The steps are to:

1. Use your web browser to log into your router
2. Select the Wireless Security settings tab
On the Linksys WRT54G, that’s Wireless < Wireless Security
3. Now, change the Security mode to WPA2 Personal (the name varies by manufacturer —
...

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Filed Under: Communications, Networking, Security, Terry's Computer Tips, Wireless

Improving Your Wireless Security

October 16, 2008 By Terry Stockdale

If you’ve read some of my other articles about having an open, unsecured wireless network versus securing your wireless network so that others can not get into it, you know that I believe in security.

I recommend that everyone secure their wireless network to the extent possible. It’s impossible to completely secure a wireless system, but you can block out most users. You can make it difficult for others to use your network.

The point is to make the process hard enough that the visitor — the unauthorized person who is trying to use your network for normal Internet usage or illegal and/or immoral actions — decides to use someone else’s network.

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Filed Under: Communications, Networking, Security, Software, System, Terry's Computer Tips, Vista, Windows Updates, Windows XP

Setting Up Your Router

September 26, 2008 By Terry Stockdale

Setting up a router for your home network, or even to protect the one computer you are connecting to a cable modem or dsl modem, can be very straight forward. Most people will plug it in, turn on their computer and see everything works — and not even think about the manufacturer shipping it in an insecure mode so that startup is easy.

After you hook up your router and see that it works, there are some basic security settings that you need to change, whether you’re setting up a wireless router or a wired router.

The first thing to remember when setting up a wireless router is that you will have to connect one computer to the router via an Ethernet cable, at least initially and periodically.

You configure the router via the network. So far, so good. But, when you try to configure the router using a wireless connection…

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