Problem with wireless config - help

[rockymtngirl]

So I went into set up security on my home wireless network, then couldn't get access, so I reset to factory settings thinking that would work, no. My computer shows I have a connection (wireless) and the proper light is lit up on the wirless box - still nothing. Tried to reconfig by manually typing in the IP address, etc. Now it tells me that 10.0.04 is managing this device - what the ?????

So if there are any super techies out there - any ideas?

I have an email into Netgear tech support but who knows how long that will take.......I've been working on this for about 4 hours now. Luckily I have a mobile wireless card so I can get in here and ask all of you!

Thanks RMG

[macgeoghagen]

Heres a reprint of a post I left on another site.

On base, theres this colonel who leaves his wireless network WIDE OPEN. anyone who wants to surf porno on his internet can do that. anyone who wants to change his settings around can do that. its like leaving your car running in your driveway with the doors open. anyone who wants to come by and go for a ride can. Here are some friendly tips on how to set up your wireless network so people like me don't come in and fill your network full of porn and molest your router.

these are for a linksys router, by the way.

1. change the name of your router/network. nothing says "i bend over and take it" like a network named "linksys". when im looking for networks to be a parasite on, i geneally choose one with a default name. changing the name over to something else makes you a little less of a target.

2. set a username and password for the admin. leaving this open will get you screwed, just like col. bender. changing stuff around on somebody else's router is fun.

3. deny admin access through wi-fi and internet. if you make it so the admin has to be physically plugged into the router you can get rid of 99% of your unauthorized admin problems. i do this on my own router

4. use WEP encryption. no brainer. this keeps people from getting on without a randomly generated password. the computers that get on usually store their WEP key so you dont have to type it every time.

5. set your IP range to something no bigger than the total number of computers that get on your network. or set static IPs. if a parasite cant get an IP, he cant use your internet.

6. turn the SSID broadcast off. this doesnt broadcast your network name, so people looking around for a spot to get a connection won't see your network, and theyll look elsewhere. be sure to turn it off AFTER all your computers are set up and ready to go. if you turn it off before your computer finds it, it won't find it. if you turn it off after your computers are connected and know theres a network you won't have problems with this one.

7. MAC filtering. presumably this only allows certain MAC addresses on the network, but I can't make it work.

8. deny telnet and ping. this presumably keeps hackers from the internet out of your router. i think its only useful if you combine it with no. 3 above.

having a router can help you keep wierdos out of your computer. the linksys assigns a private IP to every computer that it serves. it uses an IP from the ISP for its aggregate port. when somebody inside sends packets requesting data from the internet, the router acts like a middleman, using its ISP given IP for the internet, then delivering the data to the computer on a private IP. a wierdo will see the "public" IP and may try to send it some crap, but the router cant run a computer virus, so it ignores it. if somebody wants to get to your private IP, the router will also ignore it. in theory, this works to keep crap out of your computer, but a router is only one part of an overall security plan that should include a firewall, antivirus, antispyware, and a registry cleaner.


end of re-post

if you have a linksys router I can walk you through it step by step.

[rockymtngirl]

Hi Mac - I agree with all of your suggestions. An update on my end - tried getting internet access via another computer (a Dell) it's a little more sophisticated in running self diagnostic - and shows that there is a connection to the wireless router, but from there it is not connecting to the DSL modem. So I'm going to call DSL provider today to see if they can get this fixed. Once I get this done maybe I can try the security set up again.

I have a Netgear router and it is currently set on a static IP but I still need to set up the WEP and admin access. Hopefully this time it won't screw everything up again! Will post with my results and thanks for all the tips - I'll make sure to cover all the points!

RMG