Wireless Router security -- again

[Sombeech]

OK, so I've got a wireless router, but I'm only using a hard wired connection with it. I've got 2 PCs, hence the router, so, I'm not using the wireless connection.

Now, I want to make sure my WEP is set, or some kind of security. But from my PC, I'm not getting any kind of wireless configuration because it's on the Cat5 cable, and I don't have a wireless card.

How can I configure my Linksys wireless router without this configuration tab in my Network Connections settings?

Unless there's somewhere else to find it....

[CarpeyBiggs]

Doesn't your router have a default IP address that you can type into your web browser and access the control panel with, even through the Cat5 connection? Usually this is a 192.168.x.x number, and you can configure everything from there....

[Iceaxe]

Carpey's correct..... you just type the default access address into your browser. My router actually requires you to be hardwired to change the settings.

[jumar]

Usually this is a 192.168.x.x number

Look at your default gateway for the ip address of your router.
(ipconfig at a command prompt).
If you're not using the wireless, the most secure thing would be to disable the wireless feature, at least for the time being.
When you want to use the wireless you can enable WEP, don't broadcast your SSID and maybe even do MAC filtering.

[Alex]

What everyone else said, but what you are looking for in the ipconfig is the default gateway IP, that is the IP of your router. Then type that IP in the browser and login.

[Jaxx]

What you have to do if you want it really secure is take the screws out of the bottom. Open the router and there are some black, red, mabey green wires in there. You get a small padlock and put it around as many wires as possible, you may need extra padlocks (the kind you use on luggage works great). When that is done I like to screw the screws back in with loctite and then duct tape the whole outside of the router. Don't forget to cut holes in the duct tape so you can plug into the now secure router. If you wan't even more protection, then get a couple pieces of chain and cross them over the router and screw them into the desk. These instructions are a sure fire way to keep people off your router.

Disclaimer: If you do this to your router I am not responsible for the damage that will be caused.

J/K Everyone said what I was going to say and I am trying to get my post count up

[KillEmAll]

J/K Everyone said what I was going to say and I am trying to get my post count up

Hey, me too!

[Gutpiler_Utahn]

jumar has the right idea. If nobody is using the wireless, then you can disable it by going to 192.168.1.1 (usually the default gateway address, though you can find out for sure by going to a command prompt and typing ipconfig /all and finding the actual number there) and unchecking the box that enables the wireless signal to be sent. If ever there IS somebody who needs to go wireless, you can either setup a WEP at that gateway address or you could again go with jumar's suggestion and enable MAC filtering.

[sparker1]

I need post count, too. Why secure that sucker. I have been using some anonymous neighbor's network for weeks now. Really pissed me off when he went away one week-end and turned it off.

[greyhair biker]

---stay off the porn sites...that's about as secure as youre gonna get...

[Gutpiler_Utahn]

Sparker, believe it or not, but if your neighbor finds out about it, and decides to be an @ss about it, the can press charges against you for theft of service. Stupid as it may seem, I had a neighbor call the cops because I put my mcdonald's trash in his trashcan. Psh... Hated that guy. And by the way, findingo ut if somebody is connected to your wireless network, secured or not (I found an article on the web on hhow to crack 128bit WEP protection), is a simple matter of checking the connected systems listed on your wireless router (168.192.X.X).

[Sombeech]

Thanks fellas. I have a Qwest router, and then this Linksys, so it was 192.168.1.1

I took a wild guess on my username and password, and got in.

[denaliguide]

I took a wild guess on my username and password, and got in. [/quote]

let me guess. admin, admin?

[Sombeech]

let me guess. admin, admin?

No, the USERNAME was admin, and the PASSWORD was admin. Other way around.

[denaliguide]

i must have had a dsylexic moment.