Configuration 2Wire modem/router/wireless

BlackHawk

Just got a 2Wire 1800HW and it's the first time I've had a wireless and confgurable router. I have no idea what settings to use. I disabled the wireless part for the time being. Is there anything specific I need to enable/disable?

khan

For the wireless router:

1)Change the SSID (router's "name") from whatever the default is to something you'll remember.
2)Disable SSID Broadcasting (wireless routers, by default, send the electronic equivalent of a message saying "I AM AN ACCESS POINT. PLEASE CONNECT TO ME PLZKTHX. PS I SHARE MY C:/ DRIVE" every second. Anyone driving by can see that and log in to your network, which you don't want)
3)Enable WEP encryption (if you have it, this encrypts the signals being sent back and forth betwixt router and computer...still weak and has flaws, but better than nothing)
4)Enable MAC address filtering. the MAC address is unique the physical wireless card (or USB adapter, whatever) and is usually written on there somewhere. If you enable this you provide the router with a list of MAC addresses (usually all the computers you own that you want to be able to connect) that it allows to connect. All others are rejected outright, which keeps you safe.

For your laptop/desktop whatever you're connecting wirelessly:
If you're using Windows XP, this is pretty easy.
Install a wireless card and make sure windows recognizes it. Go under "network connections" and open up the one for wireless. There should be an option in there to connect to a network...tell it the SSID you set and the WEP key you set, and you should be good to go. Good luck!