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Dual-Band Wireless A/G Broadband Router
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Appendix C: Configuring Wireless
Security
An acronym for Wired Equivalent Privacy, WEP is an encryption method used
to protect your wireless data communications. WEP uses 64-bit or 128-bit keys
to provide access control to your network and encryption security for every
data transmission. To decode a data transmission, each point in a network must
use an identical 64-bit or 128-bit key. Higher encryption levels mean higher
levels of security, but due to the complexity of the encryption, they may mean
decreased network performance.
You may also have heard the term “40-bit” used in conjunction with WEP
encryption. This is simply another term for 64-bit WEP encryption. This level
of WEP encryption has been called 40-bit because it uses a 40-bit secret key
along with a 24-bit Initialization Vector (40 + 24 = 64). Wireless vendors may
use either name. Linksys uses the term “64-bit” when referring to this level of
encryption. All wireless devices compliant with the 802.11b standard will sup-
port 64-bit WEP.
Make sure your wireless network is functioning before attempting to configure
WEP encryption.
In addition to enabling WEP, Linksys also recommends the following security
implementations:
•
Change the SSID from the default “linksys”
•
Change the SSID on a regular basis
•
Change the WEP key regularly
•
Enable wireless MAC address filtering (see the “Advanced Wireless” section
of “Chapter 6: The Router’s Web-Based Utility”)
For instructions on how to configure the WEP settings of your PC’s wireless
adapter, refer to your wireless adapter’s documentation. To configure the
Router’s WEP settings, follow these instructions:
Note:
WEP encryption is an additional data security measure and not
essential for router operation; however, Linksys recommends the use
of WEP encryption.
Step Two: Pinging for a Web Address
While the IP address returned above would work as your e-mail server address,
it may not be permanent. IP addresses change all the time. Web addresses, how-
ever, usually don’t. Because of this, you’re likely to have fewer problems by
configuring your system with web addresses rather than IP addresses. Follow
the instructions below to find the web address assigned to the IP address you
just pinged.
1. At the DOS command prompt, type
ping -a 24.53.32.4
, where 24.53.32.4
is the IP address you just pinged. Information such as the following data
will be displayed.
C:\>ping -a 24.53.32.4
Pinging mail.msnv3.occa.home.com [24.53.32.4] with
32 bytes of data:
Reply from 24.53.32.4: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=127
Reply from 24.53.32.4: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=127
Reply from 24.53.32.4: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=127
Reply from 24.53.32.4: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=127
Ping statistics for 24.53.32.4:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0%
loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
2. Write down the web address returned by the ping command. (In the exam-
ple in Figure C-2,
mail.msnv3.occa.home.com
is the web address.) This
web address is the web address assigned to the IP address you just pinged.
While the IP address of
could conceivably change, it is likely that this
web address will not.
3. Replace your ISP’s abbreviated server address with this extended web
address in the corresponding Internet application (web browser, e-mail
application, etc.).
Once you have replaced the brief server address with the true server address,
the Router should have no problem accessing the Internet through that Internet
application.
Figure B-2