Finally! ADSL at home! Now...securing my WLAN!?

S

sh4rpz

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Hi,

just got my adsl set-up and working with my Netgear DG834G Wireless Router and afrihost account (thanks to everyone who assisted me with comments and advice over the last month or so) - I had just used the routers default settings to connect to the internet and make sure everything was connecting fine and placing the router in a spot where I could get the best signal throughout the house etc. I now want to set-up some security for the wireless network. I know this is done via the netgear router set up page (192.168.0.1) -

would just like to hear some comments about what the best security settings would be as WEP and WPA sound greek to me! don't understand them at all!

I have successfully set up the wireless connection from the router to my laptop and to my PS3. Would now like to secure those. What and how would be the best settings config to use to secure this network?

Thanks in advance.

R
 
I'm not sure if the devices (both the PS3 & router) supports it, but the I would recommend using WPA2 encryption/password protection and a MAC address filter - allowing only registered MAC addresses on the Wireless AP.
 
WEP is an older standard for securing wireless networks. Very basically, it is an encryption protocol. It is unsecure, and can be hacked in under a minute using tools freely available on the internet.

The minimum you should use is WPA. Even better WPA2. I think going with a mac address filter is a bit extreme for a home network. I prefer leaving it off so that its easy for friends and family to connect. All they need is the network key (pass-phrase / password).

The first and most important thing is to change the username and password used to access your router. The default is usually "admin" and "password" respectively. Make sure you change it ASAP. Otherwise your router can be hacked quite easily, and your ADSL access details can be stolen and used by someone else.
 
ToxicWazte said:
WEP is an older standard for securing wireless networks. Very basically, it is an encryption protocol. It is unsecure, and can be hacked in under a minute using tools freely available on the internet.

The minimum you should use is WPA. Even better WPA2. I think going with a mac address filter is a bit extreme for a home network. I prefer leaving it off so that its easy for friends and family to connect. All they need is the network key (pass-phrase / password).

The first and most important thing is to change the username and password used to access your router. The default is usually "admin" and "password" respectively. Make sure you change it ASAP. Otherwise your router can be hacked quite easily, and your ADSL access details can be stolen and used by someone else.
Click to expand...

thanks for the advice on WPA. Will set that up now on my router and devices. have already reset those passwords beforehand ;)
 
I use WEP less of a hassle on cellphones and the like. Who cares if they break into my wifi i usually only have about 500mb to steal :/
 
Vegeta said:
I use WEP less of a hassle on cellphones and the like. Who cares if they break into my wifi i usually only have about 500mb to steal :/
Click to expand...

My 2 year old Nokia N95 works fine with WPA2... I think as long as you're updating your phone with the latest firmware, you should be covered for WPA2.

It's not the AMOUNT of data that matters, its the QUALITY. Usernames and passwords, banking details, ID numbers, etc... Its that kinda stuff that will fit into a 1kb text file that needs securing.
 
WEP is a dead cause. not dying, dead.

WPA2 is the way to go, with WPA being min. funny i find Windows XP ony some of my hardware and WPA2 just dont like eachother. I have to default to WPA
 
rurapente said:
WEP is a dead cause. not dying, dead.

WPA2 is the way to go, with WPA being min. funny i find Windows XP ony some of my hardware and WPA2 just dont like eachother. I have to default to WPA
Click to expand...

If you install all the Service Packs, then XP will play nicely with WPA2, in most cases.

There's one laptop that I can't get to work with WPA2 - it's a pretty old Meccer laptop, and uses one of those PCMCIA WiFi cards. It's running XP Home SP3, but can't connect to my WPA2 network. I wonder if its the drivers that are causing problems..
 
Mac lock is the way to go. I personaly choose to use both and friends devices normally connect via cable or I will take the time to enter their mac address on my router.
 
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