At 05:21 PM 4/17/2007, you wrote:
Hi Evelyn,Hi, Don,
Thank you for these detailed instructions. I am sending a copy to the
list because someone wrote to me wanting all this.
It looks as though I will be able to do this without sighted help. I
am wondering how secure WEP is though. Kim Komando says that it can
be broken within seconds.
I will be hardwire connecting my desktop to the router, which has
four ports. Does it matter which port I use? Thanks..
I wish also to thank all who have replied, so that I can get help if
I get confused or symied. I'm not a tekkie (grin).
Evelyn
There are two things you can do to create a secured wireless network
using the linksys router and braillenote and/or laptop.
The linksys router will likely have several options for secured
wireless, but the only one supported by the braillenote family is
wep. If you go into the wireless settings of your router from the
pc, you should see a combo box with several security options and the
one you want is wep.
Once you choose that, you need to create what's known as a wep key.
If you select 64-bit encryption, you need to then create a wep key
of 10 characters.
If you select 128-bit encryption, you need to create a 26-character wep key.
In either case, the wep key can contain the digits 0 through 9 and
the letters a through f in any combination.
There will be an option to allow the router software to create this
for you, but I strongly suggest you choose the option to create it
manually. That way you know the case of the letters you select and
the key is definitely case sensitive.
I'd also strongly suggest you write your key down somewhere in a
safe place incase you ever need to enter it again.
Next, enter the key into the field for that in the router software
settings and save them.
Now, on the bn/mpower, do a scan for wireless network and select
your network when it's found.
Go through the list of all the given settings on the bn/mpower and
just give the configuration a name. When you get to the setting
which says "wep is no" or something very similar, just change that
to yes and the next entry will ask you to enter your wep key. Enter
the exact wep key you entered into the router software and finally
save your settings.
You should then be able to connect wirelessly and securely to your
home network.
You'll also need to enter the wep key into your laptop.
The linksys router most likely will allow you to set up 4 different
wep keys, but the bn/mpower only looks at the first one on the router.
One other thing you could do is to set the option in wireless
security to turn on mac addressing.
If you do that, you will need to locate the mac address on both your
laptop and bn/mpower wireless cards and enter them into the router
software in the appropriate fields.
This probably really isn't necessary, especially if you use the
128-bit encryption and 26-character wep key, but I'm mentioning it
simply as an option.
In the real world, you probably will do just fine with only a
64-bit encryption and 10-character wep key though.
Remember, your router isn't going to transmit over that great a
distance, so no one else is going to be able to see your network
anyway unless they're really close, and the average person couldn't
access it unless they happen to know your wep key.
The linksys software is quite accessible using a pc, and I've even
done it a time or two using the MPower. For example, we have a
financial adviser who comes to the house occassionally and needs to
check some figures over the net or from his office.
When we need to do that, I just go into the linksys router software
and turn off the wep encryption for a few minutes until he's done
and then go in and turn it back on when he's through.
You don't even have to enter the key again when you do that.
The linksys documentation is quite good, but they can make security
sound like a bigger issue than it really is for most cases, but the
docs are also aimed at businesses where systems are more likely to
be broken into.
I hope this is helpful.
Don
----- Original Message ----- From: "Evelyn Weckerly" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 1:09 PM
Subject: [Braillenote] installing a secure wireless network
Hi, all,
I am ready to go DSL. I have received my Westel modem from my ISP
and have purchased a Linksys router. I intend to hardwire my
desktop computer to the router and the router to the modem. Beyond
that, I want to have wireless access in the rest of my home for
both a laptop and my BN. If I can do the entire job myself, is
anyone available who would be willing to cdirect me. If any phone
discussion is in order, I will makd the call. Please do reply off
list so as not to clutter it.
Evelyn
___
Replies to this message will go directly to the sender.
If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a
copy to the list as well.
To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit
http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
__________ NOD32 2199 (20070417) Information __________
This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
http://www.eset.com
___
Replies to this message will go directly to the sender.
If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a
copy to the list as well.
To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit
http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
