How to Achieve Wireless Security?

Hi,

Currently I have LAN (Local Area Network): one desktop and one notebook
computers with Win XP Professional SP2 installed on both of them.

They are connected via Belkin 802.11g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway Router F5D
7230-4 to a
cable modem. My notebook is wirelessly connected to the router with Belkin
802.11g Wireless Notebook Network Card F5D7010. The desktop has wired
Ethernet connection to the router.



Can you please advice how exactly I should properly configure the wireless
security of my LAN taking into account the following additional information:



About the Router
a.. Currently the wireless security is "disabled" It could be changed to
"WPA-PSK" or "128 bit WEP" or "64 bit WEP"
b.. The feature Use as Access Point is "disabled"
c.. Wireless bridge is "enabled"

About the Wireless card

a.. Wireless interface compliance with the IEEE 802.11b standard and 54g
products
b.. 64 or 128 bit Wireless (WEP) Encryption


I read many articles and tried to make use of the new SP2 wireless security
features but without success.

What I need is a detailed step-by-step procedure to address how to make
secure the wireless part of my LAN configuration as described above.



Thanks in advance, A. Ratchev

Greetings Anton,

Log into the router's web based utility. Open the browser and and in the
address bar type 192.168.2.1. Enter the router with its default username and
password unless you changed it. Then enter that username and password. Put
the highest encryption on the router that your network equipment can
support. Check with the manufacturer for details. Since you have Service
Pack 2 installed, you can run the Wireless Network Setup Wizard to configure
those settings. For more information, see the following link.

The New Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/com...uy/cg0604.mspx

FYI, that router does have support for WPA. The router's documentation and
additional information about the router can be obtained at the
manufacturer's website in the link below.

http://web.belkin.com/support/downlo...oad=994&lang=1

_______________
Eric Cross
Microsoft MVP (Windows Networking)
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/



"Anton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
>
> Currently I have LAN (Local Area Network): one desktop and one notebook
> computers with Win XP Professional SP2 installed on both of them.
>
> They are connected via Belkin 802.11g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway Router
> F5D 7230-4 to a
> cable modem. My notebook is wirelessly connected to the router with Belkin
> 802.11g Wireless Notebook Network Card F5D7010. The desktop has wired
> Ethernet connection to the router.
>
>
>
> Can you please advice how exactly I should properly configure the wireless
> security of my LAN taking into account the following additional
> information:
>
>
>
> About the Router
> a.. Currently the wireless security is "disabled" It could be changed to
> "WPA-PSK" or "128 bit WEP" or "64 bit WEP"
> b.. The feature Use as Access Point is "disabled"
> c.. Wireless bridge is "enabled"
>
> About the Wireless card
>
> a.. Wireless interface compliance with the IEEE 802.11b standard and 54g
> products
> b.. 64 or 128 bit Wireless (WEP) Encryption
>
>
> I read many articles and tried to make use of the new SP2 wireless
> security features but without success.
>
> What I need is a detailed step-by-step procedure to address how to make
> secure the wireless part of my LAN configuration as described above.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance, A. Ratchev
>
>

Hi Anton,

First step would be to read the manual:
http://web.belkin.com/support/downlo...11g_Manual.pdf

Here are the full specs for your card.
FAQ: What are the wireless specifications for the F5D7001 802.11g Wireless
Desktop Network Card?
http://web.belkin.com/support/kb/kb.asp?a=3795&langid=1

It is important to note that, according to these specs, your card can use
WPA.

I would make 3 basic recommendations. You can also choose to lock down
things like ping (ICMP) and what not as well. Review these options in the
manual. For starters, you should (in no particular order):

1. Set Encryption
You should use WPA-PSK. Pick a long, random key. Don't waste your time with
WEP, it's been hacked for years.
How to do it on your router:
Start on Page 49 of the Manual
also here:
http://search.belkin.com/cgi-bin/Msm...d=F5D72304%2A+


Once you've got it configured on the router, you just go into the properties
of the Wireless settings in Windows and ADD a wireless network with the
correct properties. The information on the properties must match what's on
the router.

2. Turn off Broadcast SSID ~~ at least then you're not advertising...(manual
page 44)

3. Enable MAC filtering on the AP (manual page 61)

*****
Or, you can move here to China where we've got the best wireless security of
all: 20cm thick cement and brick walls. (and those are just the internals!)

;-)

*****

--
HTH,
=d=


Dana Brash
MCSE, MCDBA, MCSA

(E-Mail Removed)

"Anton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
>
> Currently I have LAN (Local Area Network): one desktop and one notebook
> computers with Win XP Professional SP2 installed on both of them.
>
> They are connected via Belkin 802.11g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway Router
> F5D 7230-4 to a
> cable modem. My notebook is wirelessly connected to the router with Belkin
> 802.11g Wireless Notebook Network Card F5D7010. The desktop has wired
> Ethernet connection to the router.
>
>
>
> Can you please advice how exactly I should properly configure the wireless
> security of my LAN taking into account the following additional
> information:
>
>
>
> About the Router
> a.. Currently the wireless security is "disabled" It could be changed to
> "WPA-PSK" or "128 bit WEP" or "64 bit WEP"
> b.. The feature Use as Access Point is "disabled"
> c.. Wireless bridge is "enabled"
>
> About the Wireless card
>
> a.. Wireless interface compliance with the IEEE 802.11b standard and 54g
> products
> b.. 64 or 128 bit Wireless (WEP) Encryption
>
>
> I read many articles and tried to make use of the new SP2 wireless
> security features but without success.
>
> What I need is a detailed step-by-step procedure to address how to make
> secure the wireless part of my LAN configuration as described above.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance, A. Ratchev
>
>

Ensure you set a unique SSID and not accpet the default.

Broadcasting your SSID may not be wise, as it just identifies a target for
someone who is actively seeking to havk; be it for the purposes of obtaing
free internet access or to do harm to your network devices.

For additional security you can and should use Wired Equivalent Privacy
(WEP) algorithm: and set this at 64bit: you can then choose a combination of
10 hexadecimal characters [0-9 + A-F], again for this may I recommend you
select your mobile phone number as it is 10 characters long and not known to
all your neighbours.

Additionally you can set the Access Point to only allow access to specific
units, where you would enter their MAC address, again a series of Hex
numbers, usually found on the Wireless Card plugged into the Laptops or other
desktop PCs.


"Dana Brash" wrote:

> Hi Anton,
>
> First step would be to read the manual:
> http://web.belkin.com/support/downlo...11g_Manual.pdf
>
> Here are the full specs for your card.
> FAQ: What are the wireless specifications for the F5D7001 802.11g Wireless
> Desktop Network Card?
> http://web.belkin.com/support/kb/kb.asp?a=3795&langid=1
>
> It is important to note that, according to these specs, your card can use
> WPA.
>
> I would make 3 basic recommendations. You can also choose to lock down
> things like ping (ICMP) and what not as well. Review these options in the
> manual. For starters, you should (in no particular order):
>
> 1. Set Encryption
> You should use WPA-PSK. Pick a long, random key. Don't waste your time with
> WEP, it's been hacked for years.
> How to do it on your router:
> Start on Page 49 of the Manual
> also here:
> http://search.belkin.com/cgi-bin/Msm...d=F5D72304%2A+
>
>
> Once you've got it configured on the router, you just go into the properties
> of the Wireless settings in Windows and ADD a wireless network with the
> correct properties. The information on the properties must match what's on
> the router.
>
> 2. Turn off Broadcast SSID ~~ at least then you're not advertising...(manual
> page 44)
>
> 3. Enable MAC filtering on the AP (manual page 61)
>
> *****
> Or, you can move here to China where we've got the best wireless security of
> all: 20cm thick cement and brick walls. (and those are just the internals!)
>
> ;-)
>
> *****
>
> --
> HTH,
> =d=
>
>
> Dana Brash
> MCSE, MCDBA, MCSA
>
> (E-Mail Removed)
>
> "Anton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Hi,
> >
> > Currently I have LAN (Local Area Network): one desktop and one notebook
> > computers with Win XP Professional SP2 installed on both of them.
> >
> > They are connected via Belkin 802.11g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway Router
> > F5D 7230-4 to a
> > cable modem. My notebook is wirelessly connected to the router with Belkin
> > 802.11g Wireless Notebook Network Card F5D7010. The desktop has wired
> > Ethernet connection to the router.
> >
> >
> >
> > Can you please advice how exactly I should properly configure the wireless
> > security of my LAN taking into account the following additional
> > information:
> >
> >
> >
> > About the Router
> > a.. Currently the wireless security is "disabled" It could be changed to
> > "WPA-PSK" or "128 bit WEP" or "64 bit WEP"
> > b.. The feature Use as Access Point is "disabled"
> > c.. Wireless bridge is "enabled"
> >
> > About the Wireless card
> >
> > a.. Wireless interface compliance with the IEEE 802.11b standard and 54g
> > products
> > b.. 64 or 128 bit Wireless (WEP) Encryption
> >
> >
> > I read many articles and tried to make use of the new SP2 wireless
> > security features but without success.
> >
> > What I need is a detailed step-by-step procedure to address how to make
> > secure the wireless part of my LAN configuration as described above.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks in advance, A. Ratchev
> >
> >
>
>
>

Good point with renaming the SSID, but why would you recommend WEP over WPA?
WEP hasn't been secure for years, and can be hacked very quickly.

Here's the tool:
http://www.cr0.net:8040/code/network/aircrack/

Here's the discussion:
http://www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu/isaac/wep-faq.html
http://www.cs.umd.edu/~waa/wireless.html
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials...le.php/1368661

WEP is better than nothing by a very small margin, but since Anton has the
ability to use WPA, I would very much recommend going with that.



--
HTH,
=d=


Dana Brash
MCSE, MCDBA, MCSA

(E-Mail Removed)

"BAR" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:7E1C5537-C1CA-4363-BD30-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Ensure you set a unique SSID and not accpet the default.
>
> Broadcasting your SSID may not be wise, as it just identifies a target for
> someone who is actively seeking to havk; be it for the purposes of obtaing
> free internet access or to do harm to your network devices.
>
> For additional security you can and should use Wired Equivalent Privacy
> (WEP) algorithm: and set this at 64bit: you can then choose a combination
> of
> 10 hexadecimal characters [0-9 + A-F], again for this may I recommend you
> select your mobile phone number as it is 10 characters long and not known
> to
> all your neighbours.
>
> Additionally you can set the Access Point to only allow access to specific
> units, where you would enter their MAC address, again a series of Hex
> numbers, usually found on the Wireless Card plugged into the Laptops or
> other
> desktop PCs.
>
>
> "Dana Brash" wrote:
>
>> Hi Anton,
>>
>> First step would be to read the manual:
>> http://web.belkin.com/support/downlo...11g_Manual.pdf
>>
>> Here are the full specs for your card.
>> FAQ: What are the wireless specifications for the F5D7001 802.11g
>> Wireless
>> Desktop Network Card?
>> http://web.belkin.com/support/kb/kb.asp?a=3795&langid=1
>>
>> It is important to note that, according to these specs, your card can use
>> WPA.
>>
>> I would make 3 basic recommendations. You can also choose to lock down
>> things like ping (ICMP) and what not as well. Review these options in
>> the
>> manual. For starters, you should (in no particular order):
>>
>> 1. Set Encryption
>> You should use WPA-PSK. Pick a long, random key. Don't waste your time
>> with
>> WEP, it's been hacked for years.
>> How to do it on your router:
>> Start on Page 49 of the Manual
>> also here:
>> http://search.belkin.com/cgi-bin/Msm...d=F5D72304%2A+
>>
>>
>> Once you've got it configured on the router, you just go into the
>> properties
>> of the Wireless settings in Windows and ADD a wireless network with the
>> correct properties. The information on the properties must match what's
>> on
>> the router.
>>
>> 2. Turn off Broadcast SSID ~~ at least then you're not
>> advertising...(manual
>> page 44)
>>
>> 3. Enable MAC filtering on the AP (manual page 61)
>>
>> *****
>> Or, you can move here to China where we've got the best wireless security
>> of
>> all: 20cm thick cement and brick walls. (and those are just the
>> internals!)
>>
>> ;-)
>>
>> *****
>>
>> --
>> HTH,
>> =d=
>>
>>
>> Dana Brash
>> MCSE, MCDBA, MCSA
>>
>> (E-Mail Removed)
>>
>> "Anton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>> > Hi,
>> >
>> > Currently I have LAN (Local Area Network): one desktop and one notebook
>> > computers with Win XP Professional SP2 installed on both of them.
>> >
>> > They are connected via Belkin 802.11g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway Router
>> > F5D 7230-4 to a
>> > cable modem. My notebook is wirelessly connected to the router with
>> > Belkin
>> > 802.11g Wireless Notebook Network Card F5D7010. The desktop has wired
>> > Ethernet connection to the router.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Can you please advice how exactly I should properly configure the
>> > wireless
>> > security of my LAN taking into account the following additional
>> > information:
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > About the Router
>> > a.. Currently the wireless security is "disabled" It could be changed
>> > to
>> > "WPA-PSK" or "128 bit WEP" or "64 bit WEP"
>> > b.. The feature Use as Access Point is "disabled"
>> > c.. Wireless bridge is "enabled"
>> >
>> > About the Wireless card
>> >
>> > a.. Wireless interface compliance with the IEEE 802.11b standard and
>> > 54g
>> > products
>> > b.. 64 or 128 bit Wireless (WEP) Encryption
>> >
>> >
>> > I read many articles and tried to make use of the new SP2 wireless
>> > security features but without success.
>> >
>> > What I need is a detailed step-by-step procedure to address how to make
>> > secure the wireless part of my LAN configuration as described above.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Thanks in advance, A. Ratchev
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>

Hi Dana, Eric, Jack, Bar,



Thanks a lot for your advices. I configured my LAN with WEP wireless
security, since the current wireless card does not support WPA security. All
is working fine.

However I learned from your input that it is better to go for WPA security.
Also you pointed that if I update my wireless card driver with Belkin it
should support the new WPA security feature. So I will try to update my
driver and will go ahead with the WPA security configuration.

Thanks again to all for the useful information



Best regards, Anton





"Dana Brash" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Good point with renaming the SSID, but why would you recommend WEP over
> WPA? WEP hasn't been secure for years, and can be hacked very quickly.
>
> Here's the tool:
> http://www.cr0.net:8040/code/network/aircrack/
>
> Here's the discussion:
> http://www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu/isaac/wep-faq.html
> http://www.cs.umd.edu/~waa/wireless.html
> http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials...le.php/1368661
>
> WEP is better than nothing by a very small margin, but since Anton has the
> ability to use WPA, I would very much recommend going with that.
>
>
>
> --
> HTH,
> =d=
>
>
> Dana Brash
> MCSE, MCDBA, MCSA
>
> (E-Mail Removed)
>
> "BAR" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:7E1C5537-C1CA-4363-BD30-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Ensure you set a unique SSID and not accpet the default.
>>
>> Broadcasting your SSID may not be wise, as it just identifies a target
>> for
>> someone who is actively seeking to havk; be it for the purposes of
>> obtaing
>> free internet access or to do harm to your network devices.
>>
>> For additional security you can and should use Wired Equivalent Privacy
>> (WEP) algorithm: and set this at 64bit: you can then choose a combination
>> of
>> 10 hexadecimal characters [0-9 + A-F], again for this may I recommend you
>> select your mobile phone number as it is 10 characters long and not known
>> to
>> all your neighbours.
>>
>> Additionally you can set the Access Point to only allow access to
>> specific
>> units, where you would enter their MAC address, again a series of Hex
>> numbers, usually found on the Wireless Card plugged into the Laptops or
>> other
>> desktop PCs.
>>
>>
>> "Dana Brash" wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Anton,
>>>
>>> First step would be to read the manual:
>>> http://web.belkin.com/support/downlo...11g_Manual.pdf
>>>
>>> Here are the full specs for your card.
>>> FAQ: What are the wireless specifications for the F5D7001 802.11g
>>> Wireless
>>> Desktop Network Card?
>>> http://web.belkin.com/support/kb/kb.asp?a=3795&langid=1
>>>
>>> It is important to note that, according to these specs, your card can
>>> use
>>> WPA.
>>>
>>> I would make 3 basic recommendations. You can also choose to lock down
>>> things like ping (ICMP) and what not as well. Review these options in
>>> the
>>> manual. For starters, you should (in no particular order):
>>>
>>> 1. Set Encryption
>>> You should use WPA-PSK. Pick a long, random key. Don't waste your time
>>> with
>>> WEP, it's been hacked for years.
>>> How to do it on your router:
>>> Start on Page 49 of the Manual
>>> also here:
>>> http://search.belkin.com/cgi-bin/Msm...d=F5D72304%2A+
>>>
>>>
>>> Once you've got it configured on the router, you just go into the
>>> properties
>>> of the Wireless settings in Windows and ADD a wireless network with the
>>> correct properties. The information on the properties must match what's
>>> on
>>> the router.
>>>
>>> 2. Turn off Broadcast SSID ~~ at least then you're not
>>> advertising...(manual
>>> page 44)
>>>
>>> 3. Enable MAC filtering on the AP (manual page 61)
>>>
>>> *****
>>> Or, you can move here to China where we've got the best wireless
>>> security of
>>> all: 20cm thick cement and brick walls. (and those are just the
>>> internals!)
>>>
>>> ;-)
>>>
>>> *****
>>>
>>> --
>>> HTH,
>>> =d=
>>>
>>>
>>> Dana Brash
>>> MCSE, MCDBA, MCSA
>>>
>>> (E-Mail Removed)
>>>
>>> "Anton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>> news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> > Hi,
>>> >
>>> > Currently I have LAN (Local Area Network): one desktop and one
>>> > notebook
>>> > computers with Win XP Professional SP2 installed on both of them.
>>> >
>>> > They are connected via Belkin 802.11g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway
>>> > Router
>>> > F5D 7230-4 to a
>>> > cable modem. My notebook is wirelessly connected to the router with
>>> > Belkin
>>> > 802.11g Wireless Notebook Network Card F5D7010. The desktop has wired
>>> > Ethernet connection to the router.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Can you please advice how exactly I should properly configure the
>>> > wireless
>>> > security of my LAN taking into account the following additional
>>> > information:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > About the Router
>>> > a.. Currently the wireless security is "disabled" It could be changed
>>> > to
>>> > "WPA-PSK" or "128 bit WEP" or "64 bit WEP"
>>> > b.. The feature Use as Access Point is "disabled"
>>> > c.. Wireless bridge is "enabled"
>>> >
>>> > About the Wireless card
>>> >
>>> > a.. Wireless interface compliance with the IEEE 802.11b standard and
>>> > 54g
>>> > products
>>> > b.. 64 or 128 bit Wireless (WEP) Encryption
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > I read many articles and tried to make use of the new SP2 wireless
>>> > security features but without success.
>>> >
>>> > What I need is a detailed step-by-step procedure to address how to
>>> > make
>>> > secure the wireless part of my LAN configuration as described above.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Thanks in advance, A. Ratchev
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1276349,00.asp

Carey

"Anton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
>
> Currently I have LAN (Local Area Network): one desktop and one notebook
> computers with Win XP Professional SP2 installed on both of them.
>
> They are connected via Belkin 802.11g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway Router
> F5D 7230-4 to a
> cable modem. My notebook is wirelessly connected to the router with Belkin
> 802.11g Wireless Notebook Network Card F5D7010. The desktop has wired
> Ethernet connection to the router.
>
>
>
> Can you please advice how exactly I should properly configure the wireless
> security of my LAN taking into account the following additional
> information:
>
>
>
> About the Router
> a.. Currently the wireless security is "disabled" It could be changed to
> "WPA-PSK" or "128 bit WEP" or "64 bit WEP"
> b.. The feature Use as Access Point is "disabled"
> c.. Wireless bridge is "enabled"
>
> About the Wireless card
>
> a.. Wireless interface compliance with the IEEE 802.11b standard and 54g
> products
> b.. 64 or 128 bit Wireless (WEP) Encryption
>
>
> I read many articles and tried to make use of the new SP2 wireless
> security features but without success.
>
> What I need is a detailed step-by-step procedure to address how to make
> secure the wireless part of my LAN configuration as described above.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance, A. Ratchev
>
>