Which safer, router wep pw or computer pw

[Sand]

I have Linksys wireless router WRT54Gvs.2.2 EXG and am trying to make my computers (Thinkpad and Lenovo) safer.I have a strong pw on my shared computers but not the router;just the temporary one they set me up with. I don't know how to change it and Linksys Support will not talk to me now because I'm out of warranty. I've spent much time online looking for sites that explain how to do this and trying to understand it, but before I get into it again for the long haul [because I am not computer knowledgable], I would like to ask first if the router pw is primary or secondary to the computer pw security-wise or will the computer pw be secure enough? I tried to change from WEP to WPA2PSK but when I went to use the new pws, they would not work.It is all so confusing to me.
I had two people tell me they picked up my wireless on their cell phone and this is what is prompting me to be concerned.

I would really appreciate anyone's answers,

Sand

[Marin85]

A few things:

1. WEP/WPA etc. is not the same as the router password.
2. The router password is the password that is needed to access the router settings from outside. You can do that by typing 192.168.1.1 in your browser in the place of http://... Then you will be prompted to provide username and password. That´s the router password.
3 WEP/WPA/WPA-PSK are just the types of the encryption your router/network uses to protect the data transfers between your computers and the router from intruders/unauthorized access. To successfully implement WPA or WPA-PSK, your computers (actually their wireless cards) need to support this encryption. Not every wireless card is capable of all WPA standards, or even if it is capable of it in theory, in practice it may not cope very well with it.

If you want to change the encryption type used by your router, you will first have to make sure that it´s supported by all wireless devices in your network. just google for the specs of these devices, there you should be able to find the supported encryptions for each of them. After you have made sure that the preferred encryption type is well supported, log on in the router like in (2), and there you should be able to find the encryption types listed (under wireless or similar). Choose your preferred encryption, type in the key you want to use and apply the changes. After having applied the changes, your connection to the router should drop, wait a few seconds and try to reconnect your computer to your network using the new type and key (windows should be able to automatically recognize the encryption type). This should work

Good luck

Marin

[basketb]

In addition to what Marin wrote, here is the manual for your router. It describes everything in detail.
Some things to keep in mind:

• - change the router's default password to a personal one
  - set up the router so that it does not broadcast its SSID
  - enable only the MAC addresses of your computers that you want to allow access to the router
  - choose the highest level of encryption that all of your computers support

(this does not mean your router is unbreakable, it only makes its much harder to break into)

[Superego]

I can't really add too much to what was suggested above but here's one more thing: be sure to disble remote administration (it may be disabled by default but you should check). This will prevent anyone connected wirelessly from modifying your router's settings. Of course, a strong router password and wireless encryption are a must.

[beGi]

- set up the router so that it does not broadcast its SSID

This can cause problems on some devices. You can leave the name (if hiding causes problems), but don't name it after your router model or something like that...

Be sure to use atleast WPA for encription (WPA2 is currently the safest choice), because WEP can be broken in few minutes (literally, i've done it myself)...

If your hardware doesn't support WPA or WPA2 and you have no other choice than to use WEP, then use maximum key (password) length supported (with special characters, lower and upper case letters and random letter series, do not use words), also be sure to enable MAC filtering...

[jdhurst]

If this is your own router and few (if any) other people will use it, you can do three things (two already suggested):
1. Give the router a strong password (include at least two special characters, $ being most common).
2. Turn off SSID broadcasting. The purists will yell that they can sniff through this and they are correct. But it stops casual bystanders.
3. Enable MAC filtering. Again the purists will yell, but it is a worthwhile step against casual onlookers.

Then on the wireless front, use WPA/PSK unless your network cards can't do this. Already suggested.

Nobody accesses my equipment. They would have to park on the street in front of my house for hours, if not days.
... JDH

[killer]

I go along with jdhurst. Unless you live miles from anywhere then secure your network. In parts of the US anyone in router range is also within easy rifle range so you can probably pick off the baddies. It is not so simple here.

[Sand]

Thank you for all the help and suggestions
I have printed your answers and will follow each through. Hope I can come back if I run into trouble.

I will feel much better when my computer is safe.

Thanks again,
Sand

[Sand]

I have good news and bad news. I was able to set up the new router information on my laptop and it seems to be alright. Although at first, I was unable to get on the internet from one day to the next but after following the automatic help from my ISP I got the laptop up, but still not the desktop. I can't get online on the desktop to get to my browser to make the router changes to this computer.
I have called Lenovo again but they will only help with hardware and since they were able to ping it they said it was good from their side. Linksys again said they could not help me because I was out of warranty, but did ping it and also said it was responding.
It says it is connected for a second but then unconnected, and goes back and forth but will not stay connected. I tried many times to set up a new wireless connection but it tells me that it cannot find a server or something.But I was told that it should pick up the wireless router pw automatically. When I go into my Wireless Network Connections it shows two different connections; one is Intel Pro 2200 BG Network Wireless connection 2 Shared .
anyway I called Charter my ISP and they said it's not their service if the laptop is working fine. Long story short I decided to accept their offer to switch from the Linksys and get their router/modem combo and then they will help me with any connections in the future.
Does this sound good to do?
Sand

[SafeHarbor]

Hi, Sand,

Which computer has the wired connection from the router? What operating systems are you using here?

A somewhat common problem you may encounter is that a PC can connect wirelessly to the router and seems to be passing some data when you view “Status” for the device, but the web browser can’t reach any web pages.

This can mean that the computer was set up by default for wireless networking (with Microsoft networks, of course), but not for Internet access. It is, however, easy to fix.

Windows XP: Start → Connect To → Show All Connections. Select the “Wireless Network Connection” by right-clicking it and selecting “Properties.” Under the General tab, in the main window, you’ll see “This connection uses the following items.” Scroll down to see if “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” is in the list. If it is not, click the “Install” button and then “Protocol.” You’ll see “Internet Protocol TCP/IP” in the list and can highlight it and click OK to add it. (If you see “Microsoft TCP/IP version 6” in the list, it’s fine to add it as well.) Back in the Properties dialog, scroll down and find “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" in the list. Highlight it and then click the “Properties” button. “Obtain an IP address automatically” and “Obtain DNS server address automatically” should both be checked. Click OK to close the dialog, and then, for best results, reboot your PC. When it restarts, connect to the network, and you should able to browse the web.

Vista: Start → Network → Network and Sharing Center (or Start → Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center) → Manage Network Connections. Right click “Wireless Network Connection” and proceed as described above for Windows XP.

Windows 7: Start → Control Panel →View Network Status and Tasks → Change Adapter Settings → Wireless Network Connections. Right-click Properties, and then the steps are the same as in Vista and Windows XP.

In each case, remember to do the same steps (enable automatic IP and DNS) for Internet Protocol version 6 as well before saving and rebooting.

***

I copied this information in from my article "How to Set Up Simplified Home Networking in Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7." If you're interested, you can read it here:

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hard ... 26291.aspx

Lamar