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View Full Version : Wireless network - FINALLY!


MrBill
13 Mar 2004, 4:48am
I bought a DLink DI-524 wireless router last Saturday and apparently the WAN side of the router did not work. I don't recall ever hearing anything good about DLink, but it was the cheapest .11g available to me at that moment. POS!

I took it back tonight and got a LinkSys WRT54G. It took a minute or two before my laptop picked up the wireless connection, but it is working now. :)

Is this a decent connection speed? I don't know jack about wireless.
.

primesuspect
13 Mar 2004, 4:48am
looks fine to me :)

KingFish
13 Mar 2004, 5:00am
Woohoo, time for some wardriving in tennessee.

KingFish

MrBill
13 Mar 2004, 5:54am
Woohoo, time for some wardriving in tennessee.

KingFish
LOL! Better do it quick before I learn how to properly use the security features. :D

a2jfreak
13 Mar 2004, 6:07am
If it isn't hardwired, it isn't secure.
If it's hardwired, it probably isn't secure.

primesuspect
13 Mar 2004, 7:25am
Come on now, don't be such a pessimist ;D

With WPA, it's pretty secure.... At least to the casual wardriver.

The goal is to make yourself a "pain in the ass" target, because then they will always drive down the street to the neighbor that has an open network, and leave you alone :D

a2jfreak
13 Mar 2004, 7:51am
I just didn't want him thinking "now that I've activated my D-Link's security protocols I'm secure." He might be less vulnerable, but I wouldn't consider his network to be secure.

Though, the pain the the rear theory is normally correct. Chances are a wardriver would rather find 5 open networks than spend a few days closely monitoring your network in an effort to break the security. Unless you specifically are the target, as opposed to a generalized target, your network probably isn't worth the time.

profdlp
13 Mar 2004, 8:43am
...Is this a decent connection speed? I don't know jack about wireless.
If you're getting 48 Mbps out of a theoretical maximum of 54Mbps I'd say that's pretty darn good. :thumbsup:

Jake
13 Mar 2004, 11:19am
Here's a pic of my wireless network speed. I have 128-bit WEP enabled, using four WEP keys (WPA hasn't been activated in the USR router firmware or NIC drivers yet--they promise "soon"). Remote admin is disabled in the router, SSID broadcast is disabled (as much as that's worth :thumbsdow), and, of course, the router admin account is password protected.

Wireless bandwidth would be better if I wasn't using WEP, but, well, that'd be insane.

Can only do so much to protect the wireless network. Still, I'm relatively confident that no one would want to go to the hassle of breaking into my particular network. Here's hoping, at least.... :buck:

Enjoy the 9.9k PNG pic (default ACDSee 6.0.2 JPG was 50K, default PNG was 9.9K, and original BMP was 2MB). :rockon:

qparadox
13 Mar 2004, 11:23am
Its all about the mac address authentication. Try wardriving MAA with WPA enabled, its not gonna happen in any reasonable amount of time.

Of course there's still plenty of targets around, I leeched internet off my neighbour (who was away in Asia) for a week when my ISP died. I wrote him a check for the cost of his monthly bill and also showed him how to secure his wireless network. I *might* have accidentally written down the key somewhere ... but i don't think so ;).

DogSoldier
13 Mar 2004, 12:47pm
Wartime Emergency Power? That's legal in american consumer electronics?

MrBill
13 Mar 2004, 3:37pm
Its all about the mac address authentication. Try wardriving MAA with WPA enabled, its not gonna happen in any reasonable amount of time.

MAA is what I was talking about. I briefly scanned the specs and thought that would make it virtually impossilbe for someone to get in. :confused:

Besides, unless they are sitting in my driveway, they probably won't be close enough for a signal anyway. ;)

khan
16 Mar 2004, 7:58pm
you should be fairly well protected with that, might disable SSID broadcasting too. generally stops stuff like netstumbler from picking it up first go around. WPA will help too, so good work =P.

MrBill
16 Mar 2004, 10:55pm
you should be fairly well protected with that, might disable SSID broadcasting too. generally stops stuff like netstumbler from picking it up first go around. WPA will help too, so good work =P.
I disabled SSID broadcasting on the initial setup. Now I have to work on the additional security features available.

Thanks for all the tips guys!


p.s. My wife has decided she wants to move her computer to another room. I told her that there wasn't a network connection in that room. She said: "I thought you could do it wireless NOW". Sheesh...had to go buy a wireless PCI card for her machine today. :grumble: