Unsecure wireless network?

Question

My laptop is wirelessly connected, through a netgear roter to our broadband internet, our desktop pc is connected by a wire, how do I make my wireless connection secure or do I need to, I have read other answers and quite honestly it may as well be in another language. Does anyone have the patience to provide an idiot proof guide please. Thank you

Answer 1

u need to find the adress to enter the routers configuration page ... 192.168.1.1 maybe .... then set up security .. make a wep key .. make a password for the router ... go to ur wireless adapters properties and enter the key u just made ...

Answer 2

Change the System ID: Devices come with a default system ID called the SSID (Service Set Identifier) or ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier). It is easy for a hacker to find out what the default identifier is for each manufacturer of wireless equipment so you need to change this to something else. Use something unique- not your name or something easily guessed.

Turn on (Compatible) Encryption: All Wi-Fi equipment supports some form of "encryption." Encryption technology scrambles messages sent over wireless networks so that they cannot be easily read by humans. Several encryption technologies exist for Wi-Fi today. Naturally you will want to pick the strongest form of encryption that works with your wireless network. To function, though, all Wi-Fi devices on your LAN must share the identical encryption settings. Therefore you may need to find a "lowest common demominator" setting.

Disable Identifier Broadcasting: Announcing that you have a wireless connection to the world is an invitation for hackers. You already know you have one so you don’t need to broadcast it. Check the manual for your hardware and figure out how to disable broadcasting.

Enable MAC Address Filtering: Each piece of Wi-Fi gear possesses a unique identifier called the "physical address" or "MAC address." Access points and routers keep track of the MAC addresses of all devices that connect to them. Many such products offer the owner an option to key in the MAC addresses of their home equipment that restricts the network to only allow connections from those devices. Do this, but also know that the feature is not so powerful as it may seem. Hacker software programs can fake MAC addresses easily.

Restrict Unnecessary Traffic: Many wired and wireless routers have built-in firewalls. They are not the most technically advanced firewalls, but they help create one more line of defense. Read the manual for your hardware and learn how to configure your router to only allow incoming or outgoing traffic that you have approved.

Patch and Protect Your PC’s: As a last line of defense you should have personal firewall software and anti-virus software installed on your computer. As important as installing the anti-virus software, you must keep it up to date. New viruses are discovered daily and anti-virus software vendors generally release updates at least once a week. You also must keep up to date with patches for known security vulnerabilities. For Microsoft operating systems you can use Windows Update to try and help keep you current with patches.

Lastly make sure you have a good software firewall. Zone Labs has a good fre one.

Answer 3

If you check netgear's site they should have a step by step with pictures for setting up anything on the router. That would probably be of the most help to you. It is a very good idea to set up security for your wireless connection.

You will need to know the model of your router.

Answer 4

Here is a blog entry that goes in-depth (using English that normal people can understand) on how to set up a wireless router, secure it, and troubleshoot several common problems:

http://cubicspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/setting-up-wireless-network.html

Answer 5

find the maker of the router and email them 4 instructions on how 2 do it,i did with belkin and they were very quick replying