SimonH

Recently bought a Belkin WAP and PCMCIA card so I can use my laptop around the house. All very plug and play and the network works fine. Only snag is I can't setup any security on it.
The paperwork talks about typing an IP address into IE to access the setup program but that just gives me a Page not found error. I'm running zonealarm on both computers.

Anybody have any ideas? This is just a home network and I'm not an IT geek so please don't baffle me with science!

Roland_STI

Wireless is no less secure than fixed line from internet attacks, and you have Firewalls so thats fine. Only issue with wireless is from location hacks, where someone uses a laptop very close to the property broadcasting the information. If you are a home user and your data isnt super sensitive, I doubt anyone would target you

Seriously, as long as you have firewalls you will be fine with wireless.

sti555

if you want more security, try activating WEP or MAC filtering, you will need to get onto the device to set this up (through IE on the preset IP adress), problems though, try clearing out your temp folder/cookies disable firewall, have similar probs with symantec hardware, just to make things easy to setup, will make it harder for people scanning & trying to hack the base station etc.

It's good practise to change the following from factory default:

Channel (change from default channel)
Disable BSID (broadcasts station network ID)
Activate WEP (64bit/10 digit in either hex or binary will suffice & not effect speed much)
Activate MAC filtering (allow only your computers mac address to pass through your hardware)

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Simon

1st off, what type of home network? Have you allocated fixed IP addresses or let the wireless router sort it out.

The reason you are unable to connect to the router is that you are probably NOT in the same IP range as the default setup for it. So, try and give one of your machines a fixed IP that is in the right range, then try accessing

ie

Router Default 192.168.0.1

Set your machine to 192.168.0.2

Then you should be able to access it.

If you are still unable to, turn off Zone Alarm & try again. If that is the case, then you need to re-set ZA & get it to ask permission b4 making connections. It may be that internal web access is not allowed, though external is. I have had ZA cause me a pita b4 now on router setups.

Rest of advice as per sti555 but probably wouldn't worry about MAC addresses. Deffo disable BSID & use 64bit encryption on your name or something easy to remember, 'cos as he said, you're unlikely to be hacked as it takes physical pressence as opposed to random chance on the internet.

R1916v

I'm testing soem wireless kti for work and part of it was spent with a laptop card and copy of netstumbler.

Drove from Paignton to Torquay (approx 3 or so miles each way), it picked up abour 30 netowkrs, with over half unsecured.

Now, coupled with some packet sniffing softwre I woudl be able to grab all the data from these connections (havent got it setup yet though).

It also picked up a belkin access point at the end of my road, I was able to connect to the network and browse the net using this connection! So even if they don't intercept any data they can still hog your bandwidth!

AlexM

Yep - implement mac address filtering and disable SSID broadcast unless you want to be generous with your internet connection!.

SimonH - open a dos prompt, and type ipconfig/all

What values do you have for IP address, net mask, default gateway etc?

JayPSC

Yeah I have wireless with netstumbler & GPS, can pick up close to 50 networks during an 1/2 hour drive round my town. 75% are unsecured but more worryingly one is located at the local police station lol.