How do I secure my wireless network?

dingbat

Have a Belkin router and a little Belkin USB WiFi adapter. I've hooked it all up and it's working sweetly (apart from the fact that, when installing the USB adapter, it kept telling me that it wasn't XP-tested... I ignored it. Wise?).

When I look at the connection status, it tells me that it's an "unsecured connection". I tried to use the XP Wireless network setup utility to create a secure network (printed out the instructions as it told me to do) but I'm unsure what to do from here.

Help?

oscarBravo

dingbat wrote:

Have a Belkin router and a little Belkin USB WiFi adapter. I've hooked it all up and it's working sweetly (apart from the fact that, when installing the USB adapter, it kept telling me that it wasn't XP-tested... I ignored it. Wise?).

Yes. XP certification isn't so much a guarantee that the driver works correctly, as an indication that the manufacturer has paid their Microsoft Tax.

dingbat wrote:

When I look at the connection status, it tells me that it's an "unsecured connection". I tried to use the XP Wireless network setup utility to create a secure network (printed out the instructions as it told me to do) but I'm unsure what to do from here.

It pretty well depends how worried you are about the security. Do you live in a place where someone else could easily access your router, like in a semi-D or an apartment? If it's not likely, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

If you are concerned, consult the documentation that came with the router to find out how to set up WEP or WPA. If both the router and the adapter support WPA then it's a better choice, but WEP is OK for most purposes. Once the router is configured for a secure connection, you can configure the USB adapter. I don't think you need the Wireless Network Setup Utility to do this. (I've only used it once, and it was the most frustrating and pointless exercise I've ever engaged in.)

Capt'n Midnight

Switch off the AP when not using it - simple and removes the threat most of the time. Turn on WEP, use an alphanumeric rather than a word, if paranoid change the key every so often.

firefox has an extension SecurePassword Generator if you can't think of one.

dub45

dingbat wrote:

Have a Belkin router and a little Belkin USB WiFi adapter. I've hooked it all up and it's working sweetly (apart from the fact that, when installing the USB adapter, it kept telling me that it wasn't XP-tested... I ignored it. Wise?).

When I look at the connection status, it tells me that it's an "unsecured connection". I tried to use the XP Wireless network setup utility to create a secure network (printed out the instructions as it told me to do) but I'm unsure what to do from here.

Help?

There should be full instructions in your router handbook or on the Belkin site as to how to do this.

http://web.belkin.com/support/download/download.asp?category=9&lang=1&mode=

Gone West

ive broken the wep encryption on my own network lots of times. you should upgrade to winxp service pack 2. www.microsoft.com and it has a nice little wizard that sets it up for you. It uses WPA encryption. Much harder for people to break.

dingbat

Thanks for the replies.