i want to secure my wireless router to my laptop, so that i am safe, i have netgear router and hp laptop, how?

Answer 1

Encrypting is a good idea. I'd also suggest you use the MAC Address filter. Basically every communication device made contains a unique number to identify it. You can set your router to allow only this number to connect and use it.

To figure out your MAC Address take a look at this link:

Windows only:
http://help.stargate.net/broadband/ipconfig.shtml

Windows and everything else:
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/ASCC/documentation/macaddrss.html

Answer 2

You definitely want to configure encryption on the wireless connection. WEP is better than nothing, but these days it's considered unsecure. You'll want to check with both Netgear and HP to make sure that both the router and the laptop will support the encryption scheme you choose to implement. For home use, I recommend WPA-PSK with TKIP enabled. That will give you fairly robust security as long as you use an appropriate key. For more information, I highly recommend visiting Steve Gibson's website, specifically his Security Now! webcasts, paying attention to episodes #10 and #11.

He'll also address why MAC filtering should *not* be used as a security measure.

Answer 3

Encrypt the connection. There are instructions with the router that tell you how or you can call netgear directly. This will have the added bonus of preventing anyone else from using your connection thus pulling resources from you.