Limiting wireless router access

[camphostee]

I am Eric and I am new to the forum. I live in an RV full time, have Hugesnet and a Linksys WRT54G router. I have gone through the steps to secure the router but others who park near to us in the park can access the internet through our router. We have been to parks with WIFI that use a password or code to access the internet. Can I do the same thing with my router or modem? I apologize if this question has been asked a million times before.

[Squashman]

You obviously have not secured the router with any type of encryption if others are connecting thru it. You need to setup WEP or WPA. WPA is preferred over WEP because WEP can be easily hacked by competent computer users. If all your wireless hardware support WPA, use it and use at least a 20 character passphrase.

[rajthampi]

Originally Posted by camphostee

I am Eric and I am new to the forum. I live in an RV full time, have Hugesnet and a Linksys WRT54G router. I have gone through the steps to secure the router but others who park near to us in the park can access the internet through our router. We have been to parks with WIFI that use a password or code to access the internet. Can I do the same thing with my router or modem? I apologize if this question has been asked a million times before.

Further to what Squashman recommended you must consider changing the default ssid for your wireless network. Since you are using Linksys the default ssid must be linksys.
just log to your linksys router and find the "security" node, select preferred security mode, select 64 or 128bit encryption, enter the passphrase and allow the router to calculate the hash values for you.
Last time when I checked the linksys router created a total of four number hash values automatically.
Note down the hash values and "repair" your wireless connection. Follow the prompts and enter one of the generated hash values when prompted. This will block from others stealing your internet connection.
all the best

[johnwill]

While changing the SSID is never a bad idea, using WPA is the only real security available. FWIW, the 64bit or 128bit encryption is WEP, and is not the desired mode.

[crazijoe]

You can also set up access control list and only enter your MAC address or the MAC addresses of other computers that you want to allow on the wireless. Not as secure as encryption but every step of security makes it a little bit harder to hack into.

[cityguy]

use WPA, MAC address, change the SSID and maybe even change the channel:)

If you do all of that in particular the MAC address then you should be relatively fine.

[johnwill]

Actually, WPA is the one that is really secure, the other measures are anemic to be charitable. For your reading enjoyment: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/index.php?p=43

[Ericunicast]

another little trick to turn off the SSID so it cannot be picked up by other computers. Once you have all of your systems connected to the network via the key you entered previously, you can turn off the SSID so no other system, other than the keyed ones, can detect it.

[johnwill]

Disabling SSID broadcasts only make it harder for you to use your own network, it's an ineffective security measure. Perhaps some additional reading? http://www.icsalabs.com/icsa/docs/ht...D%20hiding.%22

[Ericunicast]

depending on the size and load on the wLAn, disabling the SSID may not affect preformance. I, personally use a linksys befw11sf wrouter and stream real-time video from my pc to a wireless connection i have setup on my HDtv. No packet loss, no SSID broadcast. Of course, depending on the distance from the router itself, there may be a significant difference. Im not saying the SSID broadcast myth is untrue, although i am saying i may have gotten lucky with mine. In larger situations such as a WLAN in a larger company or building where many users log onto the same router, then there is a consierable amount of preformance loss.

[johnwill]

Well, if your wireless network has that many people on it, the SSID broadcasts aren't going to be the limiting factor for performance!

[camphostee]

I have to admit, you guys lose me on some of this. At the same time I found this site and asked for help, I downloaded a program called Network Magic because it said it could help me limit access through my wireless router. I started having this problem. Internet Options showed the internet connection was disabled. I wound up removing the Network Magic but even now sometimes I find my internet connection is disabled. What could the software have done to cause this or has something else happened? Thanks for the help, CamphostEric.

[camphostee]

And while I am asking, I finally found a program that allowed me to prevent access to someone who did not know my passcode but it seems to have slowed down our internet speed. What could have happened there? CamphostEric

[camphostee]

And while I am asking, I finally found a program that allowed me to prevent access to someone who did not know my passcode but it seems to have slowed down our internet speed. What could have happened there? CamphostEric

[johnwill]

Without knowing what program you're talking about, it's pretty hard to comment on it's effects.