Key Post: Can't get onto internet on wireless network

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hi H,
Couple of things. I have an option on my router to not broadcast the router name, that way if anyone searches, they wont see it. Of course, you know its there.

I read up on the hacking a secure wireless network before i got mine and the opinion is it can be done. however, someone would have to sit outside your house for days on end with a packet sniffer, decoding software and some sort of algorithm checker to see if theres any pattern in the messages youre sending. They then work out your security keys from megabytes of logs. They then have to hope you dont change your encryption keys. Youd have to ask yourself would anyone be bothered, if you think they would be I wouldnt get a wireless NW. Google for hacking wireless network to read more.

While security isnt my strong point, I too had ZA and AVG running but have stopped ZA and left the router firewall on. I think the principle is that hackers get in via an I.P address, NTL assigns you a dynamic IP, but your router takes that one and then assigns you your 192.168.X.X IP and so the hackers cant see you. (hope Im right on that and it doesnt come back to haunt me)
Leave AVG running tho. (at least the anti virus bit of it, theres a firewall in there too)

Also, if youre trying to set up a home network, running ZA can cause problems with the clients seeing each other. Got caught on that and it was the main reason I turned it off.

You know if you turn on WEP, that WEP keys are generated on the router? you then have to use one of these on your client else you wont be able to connect to the network. If youre using WPA you should be alright tho.

hth...
 
Re: ..

Thanks a lot car. Very useful info. Now I understand why WEP wasn't working!

Right now my wireless network is just me and my laptop. It just gives me the ability to roam about the house. So no problems as of yet with ZA but I might turn it off when more computers come into the network (as they will in the future).

I knew that you could turn off broadcasting, but forgot. I'll do that too. Good idea. Thanks.
 
Re: ..

I have an option on my router to not broadcast the router name, that way if anyone searches, they wont see it. Of course, you know its there.

Actually that's not quite true. Switching off network name (SSID) broadcasting does not necessarily switch it off in all cases. See FAQ 2.3.5 . In addition switching it off will mean that Windows XP host using the Windows Zero Config service for wireless networking will not see the network unless you switch to vendo specific utilities to manage connectivity etc. See here.

When I set up wireless routers/Access Points I tend to
<!--EZCODE LIST START--><ul><li>Change the default SSID</li><li>Disable SSID broadcast if it doesn't cause problems for hosts (as above)</li><li>Change the default administrator password on the device</li><li>Enable WPA/PSK or, failing that, 128bit WEP.</li><li>Enable MAC address filtering to lock out all but known hosts.</li></ul><!--EZCODE LIST END-->
 
wireless

Switching off network name (SSID) broadcasting does not necessarily switch it off in all cases Agreed, but it does stop your average next door neighbour picking it up. I should have made that clear. if someone is determined to hack your network, they'll eventually do it, its just up to the user to make it as hard as possible.
I subscribed to these rules when setting up my wireless n/w. I initially did set up the MAC table but removed when got peed off changing it when a couple of friends came round for some gaming
 
Re: wireless

Good list of wireless security tips. MAC address filtering can be a hassle but that's part and parcel of security - it often militates against ease of use (even by legitimate users) and bypassing it because of this can simply create a weak link in the chain. No access point that I've come across has had the ability to configure groups of MAC addresses and selectively enable access by these on an ad-hoc basis as oposed to having to enter them each time. That would be handy for your sort of ad-hoc changing setup.
 
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