Section 25. About Wireless Settings

25. About Wireless Settings

BEFORE YOU BEGIN	SEE ALSO
About Configuring the Wireless Router	About 802.11 Security Strategies
Access Router Configuration	Configure Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) Security
	Configure WiFi Protected Access (WPA) Security
	Open Connection Properties and Enable Clients, Protocols, and Services

In Configure Internet Settings, you provided information so that the wireless router can access the Internet using the broadband connection device (the cable or DSL modem). The other basic configuration options you should set before you log on to the router for the first time are the router's wireless settings. These settings include the network name (its SSID), the region in which the network is located (such as United States), the router's channel (the frequency at which the router will operate), and the type of WLAN modes (802.11g and 802.11b) that the router supports.

Note

If your network includes computers using 802.11b network adapters, they can communicate with the wireless router as long as you configure the router to support this earlier wireless mode.

It is certainly a best practice to change the SSID (service set identifier) on your wireless router. When I am playing around with my wireless notebook computer, you would be surprised at how many wireless networks I can "see" in my neighborhood that have names such as LINKSYS or NETGEAR. Although having a unique SSID for your router doesn't really provide any security in terms of people accessing your wireless network, it is a good first step in configuring your wireless router so that your network users can easily attach to your WiFi network by name (SSID). The unique name doesn't ensure security; however, you can turn off SSID broadcasts so that your WiFi network name isn't broadcast to "outsiders" scanning for WiFi networks. With no broadcasts, the unique SSID does help secure the network because someone trying to connect to your network from the "outside" can't easily guess the SSID.

Depending on your particular router, the wireless configuration screen might include settings for the router's wireless security settings. About Basic Network Security is an introduction to wireless router security. Any security settings you configure on the router must also be configured on each computer that connects to the network with a wireless adapter (otherwise, the computer cannot connect to the network). A simple security measure such as turning off SSID broadcasts actually "hides" your WiFi network from people scanning for available WiFi connections. More complex security measures such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or WiFi Protected Access (WPA) use encryption and other strategies for securing your WiFi network.