Mac Address Filtering

I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running Vista
Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension running XP
hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i have to enable
mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba? Or is it just for
wireless devices? Thanks

Bill T. wrote:
> I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running
> Vista Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension
> running XP hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i
> have to enable mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba? Or
> is it just for wireless devices? Thanks

It depends on what you want to do and the capabilities of your router.

Some wireless routers have the capability to limit wireless access based
on MAC address. This is not entirely worthless as a security measure,
but it's close. If wireless security is a concern (and it should be),
enable WPA2 encryption, use a strong password, and forget about MAC
address filtering and disabling SSID broadcast.

Some routers also can limit Internet access (this isn't the same as
access to the LAN) based on MAC address. This capability is not limited
to computers that are connected to the router via a wireless connection.
Linksys routers, for example, can limit Internet access based on
either IP or MAC address.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

Could you recommend a good router/modem, one that would be WPA2 capable as
well as easy to set up and configure? Thanks
"Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Bill T. wrote:
>> I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running
>> Vista Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension
>> running XP hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i
>> have to enable mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba? Or is
>> it just for wireless devices? Thanks
>
> It depends on what you want to do and the capabilities of your router.
>
> Some wireless routers have the capability to limit wireless access based
> on MAC address. This is not entirely worthless as a security measure, but
> it's close. If wireless security is a concern (and it should be), enable
> WPA2 encryption, use a strong password, and forget about MAC address
> filtering and disabling SSID broadcast.
>
> Some routers also can limit Internet access (this isn't the same as access
> to the LAN) based on MAC address. This capability is not limited to
> computers that are connected to the router via a wireless connection.
> Linksys routers, for example, can limit Internet access based on either IP
> or MAC address.
>
> --
> Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
>
> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

First of all, if your Versalink 327w is reasonably recent and made in
USA (as opposed to made in China) it probably supports WPA-PSK which is
far better than WEP encryption. WPA-PSK is not as secure as WPA2, but
it's pretty good. (And make sure that the wifi hardware in your laptop
supports WPA2 before buying a WPA2-capable router, unless you want to
buy an external wifi adapter for your laptop.)

Second, you may want to consider getting a separate modem and router.
Pros are it's more versatile and allows you to upgrade the router later
without also having to replace the modem. Cons are that it's initially
more expensive and takes up more physical space.

If you decide to buy either a new modem/router or a new modem plus a new
router, you'll have to make sure that the modem is compatible with your
ISP. You might want to check out some of the forums at DSL Reports:

Westell Equipment Forum
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/westell

ISP forums alphabetically
http://www.dslreports.com/forums/25

As far as home wireless equipment, pretty much any "brand name" router
that you buy today will be WPA2 capable: Linksys, D-Link, Netgear,
Buffalo. All of these are relatively easy to configure.

The current wireless standard is 802.11G. Most of the manufacturers
have made "improvements" to the basic 802.11G models to increase range,
speed, or both. If you decide to spend the extra money for one of
these, keep in mind that you will only get the added speed or range (and
probably not as much as advertised) if you use an adapter from the same
company with the same improvement.

Similarly, the newest (but not yet ratified) standard is 802.11n. That
it has not been actually standardized has not kept manufacturers from
producing "pre-n" or "draft-n" products. Again, you won't get the added
speed/range from an 802.11n router unless you have an 802.11n adapter
for your computer. It's not clear if these *must* be the same brand.
Many draft-n products say that they are "certified" to work with all
draft-n products.

In any case, assuming that your laptop has a built-in wireless adapter
that is neither draft-n nor "Turbo"-G or the like, you're probably
better off just getting a basic 802.11G router.

If you get a Linksys, I'd suggest the WRT54GL. This may be a bit more
expensive than the basic WRT54G, but the GL can be flashed with
third-party firmware (if and when you get the nerve to do that) which
will considerably increase its functionality.

If you want to go all out, the D-Link DIR-655 draft-N router seems to
work well for some posters in this ng.

Bill T. wrote:
> Could you recommend a good router/modem, one that would be WPA2 capable
> as well as easy to set up and configure? Thanks
> "Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Bill T. wrote:
>>> I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running
>>> Vista Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension
>>> running XP hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i
>>> have to enable mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba?
>>> Or is it just for wireless devices? Thanks
>>
>> It depends on what you want to do and the capabilities of your router.
>>
>> Some wireless routers have the capability to limit wireless access
>> based on MAC address. This is not entirely worthless as a security
>> measure, but it's close. If wireless security is a concern (and it
>> should be), enable WPA2 encryption, use a strong password, and forget
>> about MAC address filtering and disabling SSID broadcast.
>>
>> Some routers also can limit Internet access (this isn't the same as
>> access to the LAN) based on MAC address. This capability is not
>> limited to computers that are connected to the router via a wireless
>> connection. Linksys routers, for example, can limit Internet access
>> based on either IP or MAC address.
>>
>> --
>> Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
>>
>> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
>> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
>


--
Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

"Bill T." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Could you recommend a good router/modem, one that would be WPA2 capable as
> well as easy to set up and configure? Thanks
> "Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Bill T. wrote:
>>> I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running
>>> Vista Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension
>>> running XP hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i
>>> have to enable mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba? Or
>>> is it just for wireless devices? Thanks
>>
>> It depends on what you want to do and the capabilities of your router.
>>
>> Some wireless routers have the capability to limit wireless access based
>> on MAC address. This is not entirely worthless as a security measure,
>> but it's close. If wireless security is a concern (and it should be),
>> enable WPA2 encryption, use a strong password, and forget about MAC
>> address filtering and disabling SSID broadcast.
>>
>> Some routers also can limit Internet access (this isn't the same as
>> access to the LAN) based on MAC address. This capability is not limited
>> to computers that are connected to the router via a wireless connection.
>> Linksys routers, for example, can limit Internet access based on either
>> IP or MAC address.
>>
>> --
>> Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
>>
>> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
>> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm


Wouldn't you say that SSID broadcast off plus MAC address filtering are
useful *in addition* to the rest?

I was wondering that myself. When i asked Verizon to help me set up my
wireless security, they enabled the WEP, assigned a key and said that was
all that was needed. I specifically asked about the MAC filtering and SSID
, and they insisted that WEP being enabled was enough. I then called back
later and asked for a WPA or better router and the said all they had was WEP
routers. Can you beleive that? This is my ISP saying this. The more i ask
about this the more confusing it gets.


"Suzy" <not@valid> wrote in message news:4789f1dc$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Bill T." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Could you recommend a good router/modem, one that would be WPA2 capable
>> as well as easy to set up and configure? Thanks
>> "Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> Bill T. wrote:
>>>> I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running
>>>> Vista Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension
>>>> running XP hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i
>>>> have to enable mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba? Or
>>>> is it just for wireless devices? Thanks
>>>
>>> It depends on what you want to do and the capabilities of your router.
>>>
>>> Some wireless routers have the capability to limit wireless access based
>>> on MAC address. This is not entirely worthless as a security measure,
>>> but it's close. If wireless security is a concern (and it should be),
>>> enable WPA2 encryption, use a strong password, and forget about MAC
>>> address filtering and disabling SSID broadcast.
>>>
>>> Some routers also can limit Internet access (this isn't the same as
>>> access to the LAN) based on MAC address. This capability is not limited
>>> to computers that are connected to the router via a wireless connection.
>>> Linksys routers, for example, can limit Internet access based on either
>>> IP or MAC address.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
>>>
>>> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
>>> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
>
>
> Wouldn't you say that SSID broadcast off plus MAC address filtering are
> useful *in addition* to the rest?
>

do you have DSL or FIOS? what router did they supply? don't be
confused. WEP can be cracked in less time than it takes to read this
thread. see http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/Ou/index.php?p=41 for
an example. if Verizon is telling you WEP is good enough, ask them
to read that article.

On Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:21:11 -0500, "Bill T."
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I was wondering that myself. When i asked Verizon to help me set up my
>wireless security, they enabled the WEP, assigned a key and said that was
>all that was needed. I specifically asked about the MAC filtering and SSID
>, and they insisted that WEP being enabled was enough. I then called back
>later and asked for a WPA or better router and the said all they had was WEP
>routers. Can you beleive that? This is my ISP saying this. The more i ask
>about this the more confusing it gets.
>
>
>"Suzy" <not@valid> wrote in message news:4789f1dc$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>
>> "Bill T." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> Could you recommend a good router/modem, one that would be WPA2 capable
>>> as well as easy to set up and configure? Thanks
>>> "Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>> Bill T. wrote:
>>>>> I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running
>>>>> Vista Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension
>>>>> running XP hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i
>>>>> have to enable mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba? Or
>>>>> is it just for wireless devices? Thanks
>>>>
>>>> It depends on what you want to do and the capabilities of your router.
>>>>
>>>> Some wireless routers have the capability to limit wireless access based
>>>> on MAC address. This is not entirely worthless as a security measure,
>>>> but it's close. If wireless security is a concern (and it should be),
>>>> enable WPA2 encryption, use a strong password, and forget about MAC
>>>> address filtering and disabling SSID broadcast.
>>>>
>>>> Some routers also can limit Internet access (this isn't the same as
>>>> access to the LAN) based on MAC address. This capability is not limited
>>>> to computers that are connected to the router via a wireless connection.
>>>> Linksys routers, for example, can limit Internet access based on either
>>>> IP or MAC address.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
>>>>
>>>> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
>>>> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
>>
>>
>> Wouldn't you say that SSID broadcast off plus MAC address filtering are
>> useful *in addition* to the rest?
>>
--

Barb Bowman
MS Windows-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

Verizon set me up with a Westell Versalink 327w. I have Verizon DSL. If I
were to upgrade my AP what would you suggest? Thanks
"Barb Bowman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news(E-Mail Removed)...
> do you have DSL or FIOS? what router did they supply? don't be
> confused. WEP can be cracked in less time than it takes to read this
> thread. see http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/Ou/index.php?p=41 for
> an example. if Verizon is telling you WEP is good enough, ask them
> to read that article.
>
> On Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:21:11 -0500, "Bill T."
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>I was wondering that myself. When i asked Verizon to help me set up my
>>wireless security, they enabled the WEP, assigned a key and said that was
>>all that was needed. I specifically asked about the MAC filtering and
>>SSID
>>, and they insisted that WEP being enabled was enough. I then called back
>>later and asked for a WPA or better router and the said all they had was
>>WEP
>>routers. Can you beleive that? This is my ISP saying this. The more i ask
>>about this the more confusing it gets.
>>
>>
>>"Suzy" <not@valid> wrote in message news:4789f1dc$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>
>>> "Bill T." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>> news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>> Could you recommend a good router/modem, one that would be WPA2 capable
>>>> as well as easy to set up and configure? Thanks
>>>> "Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>>> Bill T. wrote:
>>>>>> I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running
>>>>>> Vista Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension
>>>>>> running XP hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i
>>>>>> have to enable mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba?
>>>>>> Or
>>>>>> is it just for wireless devices? Thanks
>>>>>
>>>>> It depends on what you want to do and the capabilities of your router.
>>>>>
>>>>> Some wireless routers have the capability to limit wireless access
>>>>> based
>>>>> on MAC address. This is not entirely worthless as a security measure,
>>>>> but it's close. If wireless security is a concern (and it should be),
>>>>> enable WPA2 encryption, use a strong password, and forget about MAC
>>>>> address filtering and disabling SSID broadcast.
>>>>>
>>>>> Some routers also can limit Internet access (this isn't the same as
>>>>> access to the LAN) based on MAC address. This capability is not
>>>>> limited
>>>>> to computers that are connected to the router via a wireless
>>>>> connection.
>>>>> Linksys routers, for example, can limit Internet access based on
>>>>> either
>>>>> IP or MAC address.
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
>>>>>
>>>>> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
>>>>> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
>>>
>>>
>>> Wouldn't you say that SSID broadcast off plus MAC address filtering are
>>> useful *in addition* to the rest?
>>>
> --
>
> Barb Bowman
> MS Windows-MVP
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

Check dslreports.com
Apparently you have an old Versalink 327w made in China. the newer
ones made in the USA support WPA. I'd call back and keep asking for
a supervisor and tell them that you found the information on
dslreports that the older made in China version doesn't support WPA
but that the newer ones do and firmly ask them to swap your
hardware. DO read the forums there.

here is one of the threads
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13747078

you might want to ask if they have a different brand available as
well.

I use D-Link routers here with a cable model. I like the DIR 655 and
the DGL4500. there are older and cheaper models that are pretty
decent, like the DGL-4300.

On Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:07:51 -0500, "Bill T."
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Verizon set me up with a Westell Versalink 327w. I have Verizon DSL. If I
>were to upgrade my AP what would you suggest? Thanks
>"Barb Bowman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news(E-Mail Removed).. .
>> do you have DSL or FIOS? what router did they supply? don't be
>> confused. WEP can be cracked in less time than it takes to read this
>> thread. see http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/Ou/index.php?p=41 for
>> an example. if Verizon is telling you WEP is good enough, ask them
>> to read that article.
>>
>> On Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:21:11 -0500, "Bill T."
>> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>>I was wondering that myself. When i asked Verizon to help me set up my
>>>wireless security, they enabled the WEP, assigned a key and said that was
>>>all that was needed. I specifically asked about the MAC filtering and
>>>SSID
>>>, and they insisted that WEP being enabled was enough. I then called back
>>>later and asked for a WPA or better router and the said all they had was
>>>WEP
>>>routers. Can you beleive that? This is my ISP saying this. The more i ask
>>>about this the more confusing it gets.
>>>
>>>
>>>"Suzy" <not@valid> wrote in message news:4789f1dc$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>>
>>>> "Bill T." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>>> news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>>> Could you recommend a good router/modem, one that would be WPA2 capable
>>>>> as well as easy to set up and configure? Thanks
>>>>> "Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>>>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>>>> Bill T. wrote:
>>>>>>> I want to enable mac address filtering for my Toshiba laptop running
>>>>>>> Vista Home Premium, It is wireless. My desktop is a Dell Dimension
>>>>>>> running XP hooked up to a Westell Versalink 327w. My queston is, do i
>>>>>>> have to enable mac filtering for the desktop as well as my Toshiba?
>>>>>>> Or
>>>>>>> is it just for wireless devices? Thanks
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It depends on what you want to do and the capabilities of your router.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Some wireless routers have the capability to limit wireless access
>>>>>> based
>>>>>> on MAC address. This is not entirely worthless as a security measure,
>>>>>> but it's close. If wireless security is a concern (and it should be),
>>>>>> enable WPA2 encryption, use a strong password, and forget about MAC
>>>>>> address filtering and disabling SSID broadcast.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Some routers also can limit Internet access (this isn't the same as
>>>>>> access to the LAN) based on MAC address. This capability is not
>>>>>> limited
>>>>>> to computers that are connected to the router via a wireless
>>>>>> connection.
>>>>>> Linksys routers, for example, can limit Internet access based on
>>>>>> either
>>>>>> IP or MAC address.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
>>>>>> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Wouldn't you say that SSID broadcast off plus MAC address filtering are
>>>> useful *in addition* to the rest?
>>>>
>> --
>>
>> Barb Bowman
>> MS Windows-MVP
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/
--

Barb Bowman
MS Windows-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

Suzy wrote:

> Wouldn't you say that SSID broadcast off plus MAC address filtering are
> useful *in addition* to the rest?
>
>

In a word, No.

See:
http://blogs.technet.com/steriley/ar...ess-ssids.aspx

--
Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm