40 replies to this topic

[1984]

K dudes! Finally got me a router. Went with Rridgely's advice and got the linksys 2.4 ghz broadband. has 54 mbps transfer and 4 port switch. wrt54G. was easy to set up, so i hope everything works out cool. i paid 80 canadian for it. not the best deal, but i hate shopping, so it works for me.

[1984]

Hey everyone, just a question! How do i check the security of my router? is there a website or something that will show me that its securing my pc? Im new to this, so bear with me! Thanks!

[rridgely]

Glad you found it to work good.
I loved my router. Stupid lightning.

Anyway to test that you have the firewall up and running run the firewall tests here:

http://www.hackerwatch.org/probe/
http://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default...e&venid=sym (run security scan not virus scan)

[Admiral Ross]

Lordoftheweb, on Nov 12 2006, 04:31 PM, said:

K dudes! Finally got me a router. Went with Rridgely's advice and got the linksys 2.4 ghz broadband. has 54 mbps transfer and 4 port switch. wrt54G. was easy to set up, so i hope everything works out cool. i paid 80 canadian for it. not the best deal, but i hate shopping, so it works for me.

Don't forget to change the default SSID if you already haven't done so. Use wpa2 if you can. Here is a website that will generate the key for you.

http://www.yellowpip.../tools/WPA_key/

[1984]

Admiral Ross, on Nov 12 2006, 07:23 PM, said:

Don't forget to change the default SSID if you already haven't done so. Use wpa2 if you can. Here is a website that will generate the key for you.

http://www.yellowpip.../tools/WPA_key/

could you explain that more? i dont understand exactly what that is.

those tests that rridgely gave me showed my computer was safe, except i had a few unsecured ports, but no programs were using them, so they were ok.

[rridgely]

SSID
http://www.webopedia...ERM/S/SSID.html

Which link said you had open ports?
If everything is set up right you should be 100% stealthed (as GRC says anyway).

LOTW you know that you can enter your IP address into your address bar and configure the router right? Just in case, find your IP here:
http://www.ipchicken.com/

[1984]

no rridgely i didnt know that. how do i do that? i cut and pasted my ip address into the address bar, hit go, and nothing happened. hmmmm. wonder what i did wrong? and it was the first link that told me that about my ports.

[rridgely]

Ok we got this sorted out.

[Admiral Ross]

Lordoftheweb, on Nov 12 2006, 09:12 PM, said:

could you explain that more? i dont understand exactly what that is.

those tests that rridgely gave me showed my computer was safe, except i had a few unsecured ports, but no programs were using them, so they were ok.

You are covered internet wise, but wireless is a whole other matter.

Here is a link that should help.

WiFi security or lack thereof (Part 1)
WiFi security or lack thereof (Part 2)

[1984]

to clarify, i had to type in the default ip address that linksys gave me when i set up the router-not my own. thats the mistake i was making. thanks rridgely and admiral ross for the assistance.

[Admiral Ross]

Lordoftheweb, on Nov 12 2006, 11:17 PM, said:

to clarify, i had to type in the default ip address that linksys gave me when i set up the router-not my own. thats the mistake i was making. thanks rridgely and admiral ross for the assistance.

Your Welcome! That's what I'm here for... All Linksys routers respond to 192.168.1.1 as the default router ip. However, you can change that to something else if you wish.

[1984]

ok admiral ross, i followed the links that you gave me and am having a couple of problems. everything worked out except-(from the first link)-

i cant set the maximum number of dhcp servers to 0 as it says in the tut. it will only allow me to put in between 1-253.

as well, when i attempt to save my settings after changing the dhcp server to disable, i get a message that says -please config one set of DNS setting to finish the settings. im not sure how to do this. any suggestions?

[Admiral Ross]

Lordoftheweb, on Nov 13 2006, 01:27 AM, said:

ok admiral ross, i followed the links that you gave me and am having a couple of problems. everything worked out except-(from the first link)-

i cant set the maximum number of dhcp servers to 0 as it says in the tut. it will only allow me to put in between 1-253.

as well, when i attempt to save my settings after changing the dhcp server to disable, i get a message that says -please config one set of DNS setting to finish the settings. im not sure how to do this. any suggestions?

As long as you have dhcp turned off you're fine. Make sure you set your pc to static ip. The default is your pc is to use dhcp. The default Linksys spits out is 192.168.1.100. Just sent your machine to this.

ip: 192.168.1.100
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
gateway: 192.168.1.1

If you decide to attach another machine to the network just put it at 192.168.1.101.

Once you do this test your connectivity. Run the following commands:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping

ping 192.168.1.100

if the above works go to the next one, this is ping yourself.

ping 192.168.1.1

If the above works go to the next one, this is pinging the linksys router Your gateway.

ping 207.69.188.185

this is a dns server and confirms that you have internet.

As for DNS, that comes with your provider. If you are running cable leave obtain ip automatically for you modem(wan link on the router) You are only turning off DHCP for your (LAN)

Or you can use OPEN DNS: Here are their IPS, Primary 208.67.222.222, Secondary 208.67.220.220
For your local LAN use 192.168.1.1 for your Primary DNS, you don't need a Secondary

Additional Reading:

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/IP_address
http://en.wikipedia....iki/Subnet_mask
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_dns
http://en.wikipedia....al_area_network
http://en.wikipedia....de_area_network
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrt54g
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhcp

I hope I didn't kill you with all of this info. I don't want you to think that I think you're stupid or something. Just want to make sure I cover all of the bases in one post. Anything else just ask.

[1984]

ok, i changed the ip and gateway (subnet mask stayed the same) and get a message that says-the wan ip address is the same as the lan ip address. please check them again. hmmmmmmmm

oh and no worries. im challenged when it comes to computers. im slugging through this, but it is trying.....

[Admiral Ross]

Lordoftheweb, on Nov 13 2006, 02:14 AM, said:

ok, i changed the ip and gateway (subnet mask stayed the same) and get a message that says-the wan ip address is the same as the lan ip address. please check them again.

That's exactly right, they can't be the same. You can't have 2 of the same ip addresses in your network. Also, a private address you can't reach via the internet.

http://en.wikipedia....vate_ip_address

The modem that is connected to your wan port on your router needs to get a public ip address which you get from your provider. That's why you want to see that to "obtain ip address automatically"

[1984]

ok, not sure whats going on, but when i plug in my router, it kills my internet connection and i cant hitch to my modem (which also kills my tv).

im beginning to hate routers..........

what the heck could i be doing wrong.

so question. when i used the install cd, where do i find whatever it installed? i want to wipe it clean, reset the modem, and then try a reinstall (which ive tried, but i think the original install is interferring).

so what kind of files are installed on the pc, and where do i find them? any ideas anyone. im totally at a loss and ive read a ton of junk about routers already........

thanks!

[Admiral Ross]

Lordoftheweb, on Nov 23 2006, 04:05 PM, said:

ok, not sure whats going on, but when i plug in my router, it kills my internet connection and i cant hitch to my modem (which also kills my tv).

what the heck could i be doing wrong.

so question. when i used the install cd, where do i find whatever it installed? i want to wipe it clean, reset the modem, and then try a reinstall (which ive tried, but i think the original install is interferring).

so what kind of files are installed on the pc, and where do i find them? any ideas anyone. im totally at a loss and ive read a ton of junk about routers already........

It's not you at all. Sometimes things do go wrong. At this point you need to reset the router. Hold in the reset button for about 30secs while the router is on. That will set it to factory defaults. Then connect your modem in and see what it does.

You don't need the install cd for anything. I never use them or never had the need to use them. Everything you need is in the web interface. Only time you need the cd if to use TFTP and updating the firmware manually.

[Parvez]

Just a suggestion: You should check out the DSLReports Wireless Router page... it's really useful and maybe it will answer some of your questions.

http://www.dslreport...m/forum/linksys

Cya!

[1984]

ok still having problems with this thing.

I held the reset button and reset it. I assume it reset, because the constant power light that is usually green starting flashing after about 5 seconds of holding it down.

So this is what i did to set the router up.

unplugged modem from power outlet.

unplugged internet cable from computer in.

plugged internet cable that comes from modem into the router.

plugged (one of the 4 ports-have tried all 4) cable from router into the back of the computer (where the internet cable from modem used to go).

plugged in router to power outlet.

plugged in modem power outlet.

so i have power from outlet powering up modem.
modem runs internet cable to router.
router runs internet cable to computer.
power from outlet powering up router.

should all work right? nope. i get a message when i try this that the internet connection is not working or some such thing. as well, my tv loses the tv signal (im not sure about that one-but i receive both my tv signal and my internet through the same "black box" which has the modem in it-and these are supplied through my telephone company).

once i unplug the internet cable from the router and plug into the computer , all is good. so what am i doing wrong? any suggestions? is there a configuration i need to do? could my firewall be doing this? my ip provider?

help! all i want is a router that i can run more than one computer on, and the built in firewall.

[Admiral Ross]

I need to know the specs on your router, modem & IP down/ip speed. Are you running XP and do you have xp firewall enabled? Who's your IP and what part of the country are you in? All of these things matter (regional dns, gateway, upstream server)

When you have everything connection, you have to power up in sequence. Modem first then *WAIT* a few secs like 30 for the lights to settle down. Then power up the router and last power up your machine.