Wireless router?

Question

Can someone explain to me the whole process of a wireless router and how secure or unsecure it is? I'm not sure how it's supposed to network, etc.

Answer 1

Everything posted above looks to be correct. Although when securing your wireless network it's best to choose WAP encryption. WEP encryption has been broken and anyone Linux savvy can easily break it.

It's very important to password protect your router when establishing a network. If someone get into your router it doesn't matter how strong your WAP password is b/c they can change your setting from the router. Protect your router with a strong pword (Alphanumeric, special characters if accepted and numbers).

Within your router you have the options to:
limit the time of day ppl with ur network access the net
the number of computer on ur network (DHCP limiter)
the specific computers to access your network (MAC filtering)
type of traffic to go inbound/outbound on your network

Answer 2

A wireless router works exactly like a wired router....Only with no wires. :)

A router is basically a network switch, which directs trafic to the computer it is suppose to goto, with a built in DHCP Server, the thing that assignes an IP address to a computer so it can keep track of the computers to route the right info to were its suppose to go.

The router also has an Internet, or WAN, port to inable it to connect directly to your internet provider via the broadband modem so it can share the internet traffic with more then one computer.

Now since a wireless signal can be accessed by anyone with a computer equipted with a wireless adapter there needs to be some sort of security encryption. WEP and WAP, in its various forms, is what was come up with. I wont depate how good they work, lets just say that if someone really really wants to get onto your wireless network they will no matter what security you use. But they are strong enough to keep out the usual neighbor.

Answer 3

Many great answers above. Just wanted to add a suggestion regarding security. As mentioned, the 2 main types of encryption are WPA and WEP. All of the routers avalible today have WPA and alot have WPA2. Old stuff has only WEP.

These encryptions are for the wireless signal. Do not use WEP as I cracked someone around me to see how hard it was and with a quick google I found a free program that captures all the wireless key codes until it decripts the code. Very simple and I could connect to someone around me's system.

Using WPA is simple and although hackable, is much more difficult (like trying to hack though a NAT router). The code changes before it can be pieced together.

To sum it up: Wirless LAN using WPA is as secure as your WAN side.

Answer 4

A wireless router allows access to the Internet via a PC "Laptop/Desktop" using a wireless Ethernet card. The basic setup is as follows. A customer signs up for Internet access with the ISP of their choice. This ISP will offer Internet access via Cable, DSL or satellite. The provider will provide a modem that connects directly to the ISP installed Internet drop "Cable/DSL etc." The modem will have two ports, 1 to attach the ISP access drop and 1 to connect the user’s internal network. "1 connection will be an Ethernet connection" Without a wireless router the Internal network will be restricted to 1 simultaneous connection. This is due to a few factors. 1 the ISP will provide 1 IP address via an upstream DHCP server thus only 1 device can connect at any one time. Adding a wireless router with an internal switch "Built in Ethernet switch" will allow multiple simultaneous connections. The router will allow the end user to configure a NAT overload "Many to one NAT, which simply allows the one IP address provided by the ISP via an upstream DHCP server to be translated into multiple IP addresses. Also the internal switch and the wireless ability of the wireless router will allow for multiple simultaneous physical connections,

As far as security a wireless router configured with wireless encryption as well as a unique SSID that is not broadcast will allow sufficient security for a home user. I do not recommend using WEP as WEP can be cracked "Broken into" in a matter on minutes. "My record is 5 minutes including gathering the necessary data packets required to crack the WEP encryption code. Configure either WAP or AES encryption if you install a wireless router.

There are many wireless router models on the market. Net gear and linksys has the lion’s share of the home wireless router market. However, I have a Cisco pix firewall "501" and a Cisco aironet Wireless access point on my network. I recommend the Cisco products however the Cisco products are much more expensive than the linksys or net gear equipment.

Also, I am a network engineer and I am Cisco certified thus I am in the minority of home internet users which have Cisco hardware on the home network.



P.S.

the average Joe on the street does not have the skill to crack WEP. Thus WEP may work for you on your home network.

If you use WEP, I suggest you encrypt any sensitive data stored on your home computers. "ID numbers, financial information etc...” This can be done with 3rd party data encryption software or if you are running XP or higher the OS offers a decent encryption algorithm itself.

I hope this has answered your question.

Answer 5

It can be made very secure if setup correctly and using WPA. Basically you get a router that can do wireless, and WPA security, I recommend the D-link 4300 gaming router. You connect to a computer by cable to set it up. Once it's setup okay, then a computer with a wireless adapter (all laptops these days have it built in) can now hook up to the signal and network and share connections.

The important settings are SSID, which has to be unique, the security and encryption system type used, and the passkey.

My advice: if you can connect with wires, do so. Wireless is not as reliable and simple as wired!!!

Answer 6

A router allows you to connect multiple computers into a single network. It also allows for NAT (Network address translation) which allows all of the computers connected to it to use a single internet connection.

The wireless portion does exactly the same thing, just without the wires. It can be protected, using one of several methods supported byu the router, and is mostly secure from the everyday person.