I discussed establishing good wireless network security in a post titled Securing a Wireless Network. I currently have a Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G router. When I work from home I use this router to connect to work through VPN, and have done it without any problems. It has made a great cable router for my broadband connection.
The big issue with wireless networks is security. As anyone with a wireless network card within a few hundred feet of your router can connect to your router. To prevent this from happening, it is important to secure your router.
Securing Your Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router
Note:
If you need to reset your router back to the factory defaults, then please read How to Reset the Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router.
To secure your Linksys WRT54G wireless router, follow these steps:
- Open your Internet browser and enter the following in the address bar: http://192.168.1.1.
- Enter the user ID and password for your router. If you haven’t changed it, the default password is “admin”. We will change it later if you haven’t already changed it.
- You should now see the “Basic Setup” Web page display in your browser. Scroll down the page until you see “Maximum Number of DHCP Users”.
- Count the number of computers that will connect to the router, and type it into the “Maximum Number of DHCP Users textbox”.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the Web page and click “Save Settings”. Once the settings have been saved, click “Continue” to return to the Web page.
- At the top of the Web page, click the “Administration” option in the menu bar.
- On the “Management” Web page, you should see two password text boxes. This is where you should change your administrative password. Type in a new secure password into both boxes. If you need help creating a secure password, please read Creating Secure Passwords.
- Once you have changed your password, click “Save Settings” at the bottom of the Web page.
- You may be prompted to login again, if you are then enter you new password in the password field.
- Navigate back to the “Management” Web page by clicking the “Administrative” option in the menu.
- We will now encrypt your connection to your router setup from your computer. To do this click the “HTTPS” checkbox next to the “Access Server” option.
- Once again, click the “Save Settings” button at the bottom of the Web page.
- In your browser, change the address to: https://192.168.1.1.
- Login with your password and then click the “Wireless” menu option.
- Beside the “Wireless Network Name (SSID)” option, type in a name for you network connection.
- Click the “Save Settings” button and the “Continue” button to return to the “Basic Wireless Settings” page.
- Click the “Wireless Security” sub-menu option at the top of the page. This is where we will provide the most important security setting.
- Next to “Security Mode”, select “WPA – Personal” from the drop-down list. If you have trouble connecting to your wireless connection, you can try selecting “WEP”, but your connection will be much less secure. For more information about WEP and WPA please read Wireless Security: WEP and WPA.
- Next to “WPA Algorithms”, select “AES”. Once again if you have trouble connecting to your wireless router, select “TKIP”.
- Now you must get very creative. Specify a long “WPA Shared Key” with a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and punctuation. Once again, please read Creating Secure Passwords for tips on how to do this. In this case the longer the better.
- Click the “Save Settings” button at the bottom of the Web page, and then the “Continue” button.
Note:
If you have changed the IP address of your wireless router, enter that into the address bar. By default, the address is 192.168.1.1.
This option will assign a specific number of IP address to computers. If more than this number of computers tries to connect to your router, they will not be able to.
You won’t get the settings saved page again because the URL in the address bar is not longer correct. Since you have changed your connection to HTTPS, it you need to specify that in the address when you connect to the router setup.
If you get a security error, ignore the error and continue to the Web page.
Make sure you write down this key somewhere, either on a piece of paper or in a text document on your computer. You will need this information when you connect to your wireless network.
Now you are all done securing your wireless router and network. All you need to do is connect to your network, and enter your “WPA Shared Key” exactly as you specified it. I won’t go into detail on how to connect to your wireless network, as I will save that for another post.
Wireless Router Security Connection Questions
Question: How come we didn’t disable the SSID broadcast? Won’t that help with securing my wireless connection?
Answer: It has been mentioned many times that disabling your SSID broadcast will help secure your network. The reality is that those who attempt to get into your wireless network will be able to easily pick up or SSID whether it is broadcasted or not.
You may also have problems connecting to your wireless router if you disable the broadcasting of your SSID. I keep it enabled.
Question: Why don’t you filter who connects to your wireless router using the MAC address by turning on MAC address filtering?
Answer: This is another tip you may see on the Internet about securing your wireless network. There are a few problems with turning on the MAC address filtering.
The first problem is that a hacker can easily spoof a MAC address, and therefore bypass the MAC filtering. The second is that you need to manage the MAC addresses of all network cards attempting to connect to your router. Since it really doesn’t provide a lot of security, it is just easier to keep it turned off.
Question: Why do you specify to use WPA – Personal first, and not WEP?
Answer: The reason is that WPA is much more secure than WEP, and therefore you should use that security mode over WEP. An experienced hacker can easily crack WEP encryption so it doesn’t provide as strong security as WPA. If you can’t use WPA, use WEP because it is still better than nothing.
After following the steps, you should now be confident knowing that you have established a good wireless network security which provides a secure Internet connection through your Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G router.
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319 Comments
great post you have here about securing linksys wrt54g wireless router. thanks for the tips
Dude. Thank you. I was trolling through setup all for an hour. I came across this, and you seriously made my life like butta. Happy enough that I had to say something about it. Don’t ever take this down!
Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. From all the websites that I went, you’re the only who gave the right way to secure my wireless router.
Paul..I want to tell you how greatful I am for good people like you. I have had my wireless network in my home for several years. Until recently it stopped working and I was not able to located my network
in the list of available list it was gone. Thanks to a Bing search I ran across your blog. I read the comments and figured I can try to get working myself. I read through your great steps and wonderful instructions you outlined so well. With one try I was able to reset my router and then secure my network. The instruction were very easy for me to follow and actually took me only 30 minitues to setup. You are a angel and and good caring individual. Thank you very much…the family it now happy again..:-)
I tried everything until it told me to click on the HTTPS and when I hit the Save button, I got an error message and was never able to go back to my IP setup page. How do I fix this?
Sara,
That happened to me too, I freaked out. For some reasons, I was never able to use httpS so I just leave it at HTTP. just press the hard reset button on the back of the unit and follow the directions from the beginning again. hope this helps.
I went through all of this EXACTLY and all I did was create what they call an ad hoc connection. so now I have 2 connections and neither one is secure.
Thanks so much… finally can get wireless again!! I spent an hour an the phone with Linksys and all they tried to do was sell me up to a better router!
Fixing the router issue worked great but now am having trouble with the internet on my desktop i.e. very slow and non responsive. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the step by step instructions! They were AWESOME!!!!
Thanks for the guide. I have been trying to figure out how to set this up for the longest time. Finally found your instructions and it was simple step by step. Couldn’t have done it any better. Appreciate the time you took to post this!!!!
I just spent an hour on Live Chat with Linksys and am no better off than when I started. I think your dialog above is clear and great, but my problem is with my new IPad. Unless I disable security on my wireless, I cannot connect to my home network. I have a PC, and a Dell laptop on a docking station. I won the IPad in a raffle last week. Until then, I had never connected the Linksys router I had. I did that, and the laptop works great everywhere with security set at WPA Personal. However, the IPad will not recognize my home network UNLESS I disable security. It works fine at my office once I logged in there, so I don’t think the IPad is the problem. I changed the channel at home from 6 to 11 (after doing some googling), updated the firmware on the router, reset the router (using the red button on the back), set the security back to WPA personal, and the IPad immediately said wifi “not connected” — it will show all the networks in the neighborhood (including mine) — all with locks. Any suggestions from you or your very intelligent audience?
Couple thoughts that have tripped me up in the past. Does each computer/device have the same network name which matches the router? And… Have you entered the password into your iPad the same as in your router? Some devices have password length restrictions. Good luck.
if http://192.168.1.1/Wireless.htm
“the wireless tab” fails use
http://192.168.1.1/WSecurity.htm
http://192.168.1.1/WFilter.htm
http://192.168.1.1/WAdv.htm
hey paul im having a slight problem. everytime i try to change my wireless security from “disable” to “wep” it just refreshes and nothing happens. how would i fix this? because i cant save the changes if nothign actually changed.
I had the same problem with my linksys security refreshing back to “DISABLED”. I called tech support and they assured me my router had a “glitch” and needed to be replaced. I unplugged my modem and router, waited a couple of minutes, plugged in my modem, then the router. I was able to change my security mode.
My WRT54G will not access the router page when I type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar or in a browser page. I have reset the router and have the same trouble. When I type 192.168.1.1 the page that opens is my ISP provider home page. Any advice? Thanks.
Thanks. I solved the problem by disconnecting everything and when powering back on problem resolved.
I know this is an old post but, try putting another period (.) @ the end of the last 1.
I have a problem with my Linksys WRT54G2 V1 router , i configured the router successfully and would able to access the internet via my router, Internet access through my router is continuosly stopping after working for 20-30 minutes maximum. when i reboot my router again it starts working for sometime and getting the same problem. When i connect through the LAN cable through router it is working perfectly, only issue with wireless network and its frequent disconnection / not accessible.
Request you to kindly help me here and let me know in case if you need any further details
Thanks
Venu
I would try changing the channel of the wireless signal to see if that corrects the problem. There could be interference with other devices.
Paul, you know your computers, you are great. I was having problems with my WRT54G like everyone else on this site. I Google “Router unsecured need to secure it.” and your site was the one I turn to. PERFECT INSTRUCTIONS. KUDOS TO YOU. Thanks. Keep up the good work. And also, for being patient with all who are not tech sauve.
when i try step #14 and click on the Wireless tab, i just see garbled text.. what went wrong?
Thank you so much. Two questions:1. Even though I followed your instructions (and assuming I did everything correctly), how can I tell that the network is secure? 2. Do you have another post which goes into detail on how to connect to your wireless networks, as noted below No. 21 in this post.
One way to tell if your network is secure is when you attempt to connect to your network you will be prompted for your passphrase. Also, many times the devices that are connecting to the network will indicate if the network is secured. I don’t have a post that explains how to connect to your wireless network as it depends on the device. Basically the usual steps are to select your network from a list and then enter the passphrase.
I did a hard reset and started from scratch by following your instructions. I got it working now except that part that I got stuck previously which was changing from HTTP to HTTPS. I just left it at HTTP, not a big deal I guess. I am glad that I got a secured wireless network now. thank you.
Peter
The HTTPS setting is optional and won’t affect the security of your wireless network. The HTTPS setting only allows you to connect to your router’s dashboard using SSL.
Fyi, you’re the coolest person on earth. After 3 years of unsecured network I showed this page to my husband and we’re there! Thank you!
hi Paul,
in regards to 13.In your browser, change the address to: https://192.168.1.1. I did that but cannot go back to admin login page, I ran ipconfig, it showed 192.168.1.1; what went wrong? pls ehlp. thank you
What do you see when you try to access the router’s dashboard?
Hi Paul, it showed as it cannot connected to the webpage or portal.
“Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage”
in IPCONFIG, it showed two Default Gateway as followed;
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection > Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface > Default Gateway: :: (not showing anything, just showing 2 semi-colon, not sure what it means)
Anyways, I read through the whole chain of comments. I saw similar problem posted in the past, i will power cycle both cable modem and router and see if it happens again. I had this WRT54G for a while and the reason I am looking into all these is to convert my existing unsecure wireless network to a secure one.
My last resort is to do a hard reset but before I do so, i would like to know if this will wipe out my existing unsecure wireless network?
thanks in advance.
Peter
I thought I had found the solution to securing my Linksys WRT54G wireless but when I went to http://192.168.1.1, a whole list of sites came up on Google. But none of them gave me the option of entering my ID and password so I didn’t get very far.
How do I get to the window asking for my ID and password so I can continue on with your instructions.
Incidentally if it makes any difference I am working from my desktop with Windows 7, and have Comcast for my ISP.
Thank you.
• Open your Internet browser and enter the following in the address bar: http://192.168.1.1.
• Enter the user ID and password for your router. If you haven’t changed it, the default password is “admin”. We will change it later if you haven’t already changed it.
Hi Richard,
If you router’s IP address is 192.168.1.1 then when you enter that in your Web browser’s address bar you should be prompted to enter your router’s user ID and password. If it doesn’t work, you can verify the address of your router by following the steps in the post How to Get the IP Address of Your Router.
Thank you so much! You’re a doll!
Excellent instructions….thank you very much!
I NEED A STATIC IP ADDRESS FOR 5 WEBCAMS TO OPERATE & IF I RESET THE ROUTER (WHICH I BELIEVE ALREADY DID ACCIDENTLY AND CAUSED THE PROBLEM) WHERE DO I ENTER THE INFORMATION FOR ALL OF THE WEB CAMS? I TEMPORARILY HAVE INTERNET BUT CAN’T USE WEBCAMS UNTIL ROUTER IS SET WITH STATIC IP INFORMATION. MY PROVIDER SAYS MY ROUTER LOST ITS SCRIPT SO SET FOR DYNAMIC & STATIC UNTIL ROUTER IS REPROGRAMMED.
Thank you Paul. I changed a few things and all of a sudden my router was no longer secured. I called up linksys and they wanted to sell me a new router or charge me for the call. Out of principle alone I hung up on them. Your instructions allowed me to reset my router (i couldn’t remember the name or password) and secure my connection. I’m am very grateful.
Is it possible that the router would be causing extremely slow download speeds? I’ve got RR with Turbo Boost and am getting download speeds of under 1mbps. When I plug the modem directly into the laptop I get about 11mbps. Is this an indication that my router has seen its last days? I followed the article steps to reset, hoping it would help but it has not. Any suggestions? My laptop is fairly new, 2010 MacBook Air.
All the directions were great and everything went smoothly. The PC I did it on works great but when I try to log on with my laptop the internet will not work. The key is accepted and it shows connectivity but there is no internet. In the “network and sharing center” it is having trouble “identifying”. like I said the connection is there with excellent signal strength but something is not working. please help! Thanks!
I successfully followed your instructions for Securing the Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router and now I am no longer able to login to Linksys. I’ve tried typing in http://192.168.1.1 and https://192.168.1.1. but to no avail. How can I now access my router? Also, its taking much longer for pages to load (since I’ve updated security).
Do you get any message when accessing your router, or is it just a blank page?
I receive the following “problem loading page” message:
The connection has timed out
The server at 192.168.1.1 is taking too long to respond.
* The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few
moments.
* If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer’s network
connection.
* If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.
If you are on Windows, have you tried to access your router with IE?
I am using a Mac and do not have Office Windows….
So, after i changed the address to https, i proceeded anyway and it keeps telling me there is an ssl error… ugghhhhhh!
It should give you an option of whether to continue or leave the site. Continue on to the site. If you wish, you can just disable the https setting as it only affects the connect to the router’s dashboard, and not the actual connection to the Internet.
i’m trying to secure – but i cannot remember my username and password. it’s been about 5 years since it was originally set up.
Thanks
If you can’t remember your password, then you should reset your router and then secure it again. You can find steps to reset your router here: http://technicallyeasy.net/2008/01/how-to-reset-linksys-wrt54g-wireless.html.
Thank you so much for this helpful information. This worked perfectly for me since I had put in a wireless linksys router over 6 years ago, and forgot the password. I reset it as directed, then connected my MacBook, iphone, another little laptop, my boys’ gaming boxes and my home PC with the new secured password. Have noticed a big difference in internet download/upload speeds, and now have no problems with the connection just dropping and my devices no longer being connected intermittently. Paul Salmon you are a TechGod! I appreciate all the helpful and precise instructions for all the new tech devices that are coming up, its nice to know that people like you are willing to take the time and help us out here! KUDOS to you!
I did everything as you said, but when I try to connnect to a website, it will not. I tried to “refresh” both the router and the modem, but it still will not connect to the internet. Please help.
Hi Paul. You are right about the password change (I knew how to do that fom your instructions but was confused) and you can change the user name when you reset the router by adding it in on the requestor when you first log into 192.168.1.1.. We were able to secure the network right away thanks to the great help page you made. Still, two of five computers won’t connect although they had no problems while we ran unsecured. We have tried all the normal things including repair connection and new connection with the new shared key. I was reading something about changing the address but lost track of where that page was. As far as the linksys unsecured network, it is still there, there were never two of them available before, such as ours and a neighbors. We have the same queue of networks available as before but with the addition of our new secured network. So that is a mystery. I guess the big problem now is to try and hook up the two balky computers. Thanks for writing back!
I secured my connection using these steps, but my linksys unsecured network is still available also. How do I get rid of it?
Also, how do I change the user name and password where we first get started after typing in the IP address?
If you secured your wireless network, then your unsecured network shouldn’t appear in the list – you can’t have a router displaying two addresses. If it does, then you can try refreshing the list, and if it still appears, then perhaps you have an unsecured network nearby that isn’t yours.
As for changing the user name and password, with the WRT54G I haven’t figured out a way to change the ID, but changing the password is mentioned in the first few steps.
I followed all the steps above but once i am connected to my linksys on my ipod touch, it isnt actually connected!
After step 13, I tried accessing https://192.168.1.1/Manage.htm and I get an error message that says “Error 107 (net::ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR): SSL protocol error.”
I went back to the manage tab through http://192.168.1.1/Manage.htm and unchecked http and now I cannot access http://192.168.1.1 or https://192.168.1.1, so apparenly I’ve jacked this up pretty badly. I do still have internet access, but I now cannot continue to step 14. Suggestions?
The one thing you can try is to reset your router to the factory defaults by pressing and holding the reset button in the back of the router.
You don’t need to select the HTTPS option, as it is only used when connecting to the router’s administrative pages, and has no effect on your Internet connection.
I’m having the exact same problem as J and Romona.
i tried to secure my router but the ip address http://192.168.1.1. is temporarily unavailable. Now i can’t secure my router. What should i do?
Did you change to SSL (https)? If you did, then you need to enter https://192.168.1.1 in the web browser’s address field.
Great guide thank you.
You’re welcome. Glad you like the guide.
I made it through step 13. I changed my address to https, it asked me for my password (which I changed per your directions) and now I can’t connect because “the settings saved on this computer do not match the requirements of the network.” I tried hooking up directly with my router through the ethernet 1 port like I have in the past and that won’t display my menu either! Help pretty please!
Did you change the WPA passphrase for your wireless network? If you did, you will need to enter in the passphrase when connecting to your wireless network.
I have a Linksys Router WRT54G, if a leave my Wireless with out security my laptops IBM and Sony Vaio can connect perfectly but If a put any security in my wireless they cannot connect it! Could you please help me? This is driving me crazy !!
Thank you so much!
Paola
When you turn on the security, does your wireless network appear in a list of networks that are available?
I hesitated at Step 13 and canceled, and now I can’t get to the website at all. I get the following error message:
This webpage is not available
The webpage at http://192.168.1.1/ might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.
What can I do to get back on course?
By step 13, you should now have enabled SSL to connect to your router, so you would need to use https:\\192.168.1.1 to connect to the router.
I followed all the steps, but it won’t connect wirelessly. Everything went as the article said it should, but as soon as I unplug the ethernet chord, the wireless goes off. It gets a signal, but it’s “local only”. It won’t let me connect to the internet. Is there an internet option that I need to modify?
Try unplugging the power from both the modem and the router. Wait 30 seconds and then plug in the modem. After the modem completes its restart, plug in power to the router and let it restart.
Not sure what happened,I’m going to attribute it to you and the “restart it” idea. But it now works. It just kinda popped on. Thanks for your help and the article. Thanks.
I have to restart the modem and router at times as well. Sometimes things just go out of whack, and a restart is needed to clear everything and start again.
Many thanks for this logical, easy to follow sequence. It was the kind of help you wish the manufacturer would offer online. Keep up the good work. You are a great resource.
Thanks so much! Now I don’t have to call my network friend!
With Windows 7, after each “save settings” step, I had to reconnect my access on the taskbar (next to the clock) and enter the new password or key so that the setup webpage could tell me “Continue”
I went through all these steps and set up a password and key. However, once that was done, I was no longer able to connect to the internet. What do I need to do, change something in my computer control panel?
Did you connect to your wireless network with the passphrase that you setup in the router?
I got up to the part where it says to use WPA-Personal. I don’t have that option. It gives me the option to select WPA-pre shared key, and WPA-Radius. Is there a difference?
I tried calling Linksys customer support and they wanted to charge me $29.99. This was very helpful! We now have a secure wireless connection! Thanks!
Linksys charging people for supporting older routers is a common theme. Makes sense from a business perspective, but is a pain to the customers. I’m glad you were able to secure your router.
Thanks so much for your help!!! Linksys wouldn’t help as my unit was no longer under warranty.
You’re not alone with regards to Linksys not support older units. There are a few comments from people that had the same experience.
Thank you so much for guiding me with such easy steps. I am now secured and nobody will be able to use up my bandwidth anymore. ( I am using directway and only have a limited amount of bandwidth before they cut me off for the day)
Thanks again!
When I try to change the wireless security mode to WPA peronal, it goes back to disabled, why?
Which web browser are you using? Try using Internet Explorer if you aren’t using that browser.
did you get this figured out, mine is doing the same thing?????
clear and helpful. thanks so much for sharing!
Hello! I did all of this and the steps all worked. The problem now is that when I went in to try to connect to a network it says “The settings saved on the computer for the network do not match the requirements for the network”. Can anyone help?
Ok nevermind, I just figured out hot to go into the setting in the properties and change to a WPA in that area too. Think it’s working now!
Thanks Brie – I was having that same problem with the error “The settings saved on the computer for the network…” and thanks to your post I was able to figure out what to do to fix the problem. Just spent an hour resetting everything per the instructions and then got stuck with that error just like you did.
I had a friend help me and once we updated the firmware for the router, the problem was solved.
Hello, I followed the guide as much as I could… I was able to go up the the enabling the ‘https’ of my Linksys router. But, when I typed in the new IP address IE is not allowing me to log in and is giving me an error stating that the site doesn’t exist (I have windows 7 and IE 8) any help would be greatly appreciated.
Koei, did you ever solve your problem? I too changed address to https, now I can’t access my router web page.
What to do?
Is anything being displayed? You can try resetting your router and securing it again. HTTPS is optional, it just provides an encrypted connection to your router’s administrative pages.
Thank you for the BEST and most to follow directions for resetting up my device!
I tried all of your steps above (including a reset of the router) but we cannot access the internet via the router once I set up the router security. I changed to WEP and also tried TKIP, but we still cannot get on the wireless connection. Any other ideas?
When you secured the router, are you able to see it in the list of wireless networks? Did you enter the passphrase correctly when connecting to the network?
Actually, it looks like it will connect now. But I’m getting a message on my laptop that says “limited or no connectivity”. It says the network did not assign a network address to the computer. I’m not a computer whiz so I’m not sure what it’s telling me. Thanks for your help.
I should also mention that when I click on “details” it has values listed under Physical Address, IP address and Subnet mask. But the next three ( default gateway, DNS server and WNS server ) have no values listed. Could this be the problem?
Basically, it looks like your computer is not being assigned an IP address by your router. All computers connected to the router would be assigned an IP address by the router so the router knows where to send data it receives.
If you entered in the passphrase correctly, you should have gotten an IP address. What operating system are you using?
help!!! All these steps work as described, but I am having a problem on the final password step. Once I put in a new password and hit save settings it does indeed prompt me for a login. I have left the username blank and put in my new password, but it’s not working, it just keeps reprompting me. thus, i am not able to save changes and get into my network.
(I am doing all this b/c someone got into my previously open network and locked it, so now I cant even get in….annoying).
Are you referring to the admin password or the WPA passphrase? If you are having trouble with the admin password, try resetting the router and then go through the securing steps again.
I keep resetting the router and goign through the steps to change the password on the administration site. Once I hit save changes, a login pops up and that is where I am confused what user/pw to be using?? The blank/”admin” worked to get into the orginal “192.168.1.1″ page, but it is not working to save the final changes. I also keep trying blank/”{new password}” which wont work.
does that make any sense? I have been through this 5 times now and getting close to just buying a new router.
thanks again
Are you using Internet Explorer as your web browser? If not, try using that browser as others have reported problems when not using IE.
I followed the instructions a per step 11 and changed access server from http to https, but now my computer cannot take me to https://192.168.1.1 (“internet explorer cannot display webpage”)nor will it take me back to http://192.168.1.1………I went into advanced internet options and SSL and TSL protocols are enabled…..what to do?
When I enter either address into the browser a “/” is added to the end of the address…..is this typical?
It is typical for the browser to append a “/” at the end. It won’t affect your access.
One thing you can try is to open a DOS prompt (Click “Start Menu”->”Run”->type “cmd”->press “Enter”) and type “ipconfig”. There should be an entry called “Default Gateway” that is the IP address of your router. Ensure that it is still 192.168.1.1.
I followed the DOS directions, IP adress still shows 192.168.1.1. but I still can’t get to either http nor https.
By using the same command at the DOS prompt, is there an IP address assigned to your computer? Are all the values displayed in that command filled in?
The OP’s situation is exactly like mine. The https isn’t working. Not on IE not on Firefox. The IP address for the router and ethernet connection are both what you said they should be. But I type https://192.168.1.1 and “internet explorer cannot display the webpage”. Any other ideas? I am stressing that the connection is unsecured.
Using HTTPS setting only affects the connection to the administrative pages – not to the wireless network. It is an optional change, so you don’t need it to secure your router. If you are having issues, then you can go back to HTTP without any issues.
Tried http, it doesn’t work either. The (unsecured) network is running. Help!
Try resetting the router, but skipping the step that suggests switching to HTTPS.
Will do
I’ll report back, hopefully with good results. Thanks so much for the hand-holding!
I have successfully secured my router, however, when I connect my laptop and used my secure password I have noticed that I now have to connections one being secured and the other unsecured? I am using the secured connection but can others access the other connection as well?
Where do you see the two connections? When you connect to a secured router you can’t connect to it without security.
When using my laptop I see Linksys and my new changed router name which is MelKait … Linksys says unsecured and MelKait is secured both are accessible on my wifi connection using my laptop. MelKait is password protected and Linksys isnt so do I need to disable Linksys, if I do how? I am thinking someone may be able to still access my router inappropriately using the Linksys connection.
Do you have neighbours close to you? The Linksys SSID could be someone else’s router and not yours.
this setup worked flawless ! thank you ! I always got stuck on the mac filtering. thank you for showing it isn’t a requirement !
No problem. Some people like using Mac filtering, while others don’t use it. It’s a personal choice.
Hi all!
I have one desktop computer where the router is attached, and one laptop with a wireless connection. I can access the internet from my desktop, but the laptop no longer “sees” the router on available networks. I have gone through the set-up procedures above 3 times now to no avail. Any suggestions?
Gratefully for any help you may provide,
Jamie
Thanks alot. Easy as pie to do. Some of the wording was just a little different than mine but it still worked great. Way better than calling linksys and talking to another country… Thank you again….
I have tried changing the secutiry mode to ANYTHING but disabled and the system keeps defaulting to “disabled”. I have now successfully changed the name of the wireless router but not the security setting…. HELP!!!
I went through all the steps, but it just lets us on, and doesn’t ask for a password. Am I doing it wrong?
If I reset the router to factory settings- will that wipe out the firmware update that I did a few months ago?
Thanks for the great instructions.
Nope, it will just reset the security settings. The firmware will not be affected.
Fantastic instructions! Got my router secured. Thanks SO much. You are the deal!!!
this worked perfect but now i cant connect my iphone to my wifi it will not let me connect pls help
Did you enter the correct passphrase into your iPhone? Are you getting an error message?
Everytime I enter http://192.168.1.1. into my browser it says that the webpage cannot be displayed. Is this an issue on my end…?
When you run ipconfig from a DOS prompt, what is the IP address next to the gateway entry?
Sorry, can you say that in english? I’ve reset my router so shouldn’t the ip just be the default?
The 192.168.1.1 should be the default IP address when the router is reset. If you can’t get to the admin pages via that IP address, you can check to ensure your system is connecting to the router without any problems. You can find detailed instructions on getting your routers IP address at How to Get the IP Address of Your Router.
it worked! thanks a tonne
I understand admin is the password, but what is the user ID ?
The default user ID for the WRT54G is blank.
I reset my router, now it is unsecured. I tried to secure it but it is not taking the default user ID or password. How can I reset my password and user ID? Please help
If you reset your router following the instructions outlined in How to Reset the Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router, then the password and user ID should have been reset also.
What if you have reset the admin password at 192.168.1.1 and can’t find the notebook where you wrote it down? I have reset the actual router but need to reset the password online because I don’t have the set up disk.
Once you reset the router, it should return to the factory defaults. Which password are you referring to where you need the setup disk to reset the password?
I feel really stupid asking this question…but I just can’t figure this out. Someone else installed our wireless router for us last year. I had no problems connecting to the internet through my laptop. However, I just had some work done on the laptop and now I have to enter my username, password and logon domain in order to log on again. I have no idea where any of that information is. I’m looking on the administration page but can’t find where to find those answers. Can anyone help me?
How come when I get to the step to pick WEP or WPA it doesn’t let me pick anything but disable?
Are you using Internet Explorer to access the administrative pages?
Firefox
Try using IE. Some people have had problems with the WRT54G administrative pages and Firefox.
i am having the same problem. i click wpa personal and all it redirects it to disable. any help. windows xp/ie/fujitsu lifebok s7110. thanks in advance
Try reseting your router and try again to see if it still changes it to disable.
Thanks for the clear direction resetting the LINSYS and setting it up! Much appreciated. God Bless,
A
I hardwired my laptop because I think my computer was older and for the life of me I couldn’t get it to the WAP everytime it would resort back to ” disabled” so after doing a reset on the router I figured since my laptop was newer I would just try ALL the steps on my laptop and low n behold it worked.
I’m glad you eventually go it working.
Thanks for the info. I thought I was going to have to scrap my router!
No problem, glad I could help.
After hours of trying to get my “security mode” to WPA from “disabled” I simply hard-wired my laptop which runs Windows 7 to my router and everything else just ran smoothly.
So, you managed to secure your network after hard-wiring your laptop to your router?
there was a problem in my router when i click wep or in anything in security mode it just goes back to disable pls help me!!!
Which browser are you using to set the security? People have reported problems with using another browser besides IE.
i am using ie and have reset my router and its still defaulting to disable, i try selecting WAP personal and it goes right back to disable. What am i doing wrong?
You are clicking the “Save Settings” button after you change to WPA? Do you have anything loaded in IE to prevent the router’s admin pages from saving your settings?
Can’t get pass the “wireless security” security mode it is set to “disabled” tried unplugging and plugging back in with not success, I’m using IE don’t know what else to do.
It is set to disabled, or the dropdown control is disabled?
As soon as I change the SSID and try to save the settings it prompts me for a username and password. I type in my new password that I set in step 7 but it no longer works. admin no longer works either. What should I do?
also, after i change my password under administration — management, it says that changes are successful but the number of characters in the two password boxes do not match the number of characters in my new password
Nevermind
I found a comment saying to use Internet Explorer and that solved the issues!
I’ll have to include the use of Internet Explorer in the post since many people seem to be having problems with other web browsers.
I’m pretty sure I used Google Chrome, not IE, and I had no problems.
MS is to OS as AOL is to ISP
I use Chrome too. I guess sometimes it depends on the extensions/plugins that are installed.
I am trying to secure my wireless and I am following these steps. I make it to the very last step and type in a new WPA protected password. But when I go to continue, my computer stops connecting to my wireless network. My wireless status says that “the settings saved on this computer for the network do not match the requirements of the network”.
What is going on?
You are getting that message because you changed the passphrase. You will need to enter that passphrase when you reconnect to your wireless network.
I’m having the same problem as Shane: I get the message about the settings on the computer not matching the requirements of the network. The passode I had typed in under “Properties” *did* match the one I entered on the Linksys router management page. And I’d used the WPA-Personal and AES settings.
However, the only way I can connect to wi-fi is to remove security settings from the “Properties” tab (Vista Enterprise). What am I doing wrong?
Wonderful! Thank you!
Followed your advice to the letter and my browser sped up immediately!
I’ve been using an unsecured linksys router for 3-4 years. Lately I’ve suspected my new rental neighbors were tapping into my system b/c every time they came home my connection bogged down terribly. I don’t mind sharing, but it was affecting my own usage.
I’m glad you managed to secure your router. While it may not seem like a huge problem when unauthorized people start connecting to your Internet, anything they do online, however, can be traced back to you and not them.
Hey! This has been really helpful, but now I’m facing another issue.
My netbook connects to my home wireless connection correctly, however, there is no data flow/transfer. When i open an internet browser, i can not even get to load google page nor any internet page but the computer shows as if it is connected to the wireless connection.
Does this sound familiar?? Could you shed some light on this? Are there any steps I’m might be missing???
Thank you very much in advance for any insight.
Brgds,
Jose
The computer may be connected to the wireless network, but the wireless network may not be connected to the Internet.
Verify that you see an IP Address listed under Status->Router, and if not then your router isn’t receiving an IP address from your ISP.
If that happens, you can try rebooting both your modem and router, by using the following steps:
1. Disconnect the power plug from both the modem and router. Wait 10 seconds.
2. Connect the power plug to the modem and wait for it to finish booting. Lights should stop flashing once it is ready.
3. Connect the power plug into the router, and wait for it to finish booting. A light should come on in the front.
Try connecting to the Internet again.
I’ll try that and will let you know.
Thank you very much for your quick reply.
rgds,
Jose
Ok, done that.
When connecting to the wireless network, ap pop-up msg came into my home PC sayin “Windows error alert – hay un conflicto de direccion IP con otro sistema en la red” which in english would mean something like ” Windows error alert – there is a conflict of Ip address with another network system” or something like that.
Does this sound familiar to you? May this be the reason why?
Thanks,
Jose
It looks like your computer is trying to use an IP address that is assigned to another device on your network. Do you have more than one device connecting to the router? If you do, you should use DHCP so the IP address is assigned automatically to your computer. If you don’t want to use DHCP, ensure you assign your computer another IP address. For example, if the conflict is with 192.168.1.1, then assign 192.168.1.2 to your computer.
Thank you for this post! I forgot my password and Linksys wanted to charge me $49.99 to help me do a hard reset. Thanks to this post I was able to do it on my own!
No problem. You’re welcome.
Admin/Management – Access Server Do I have both HTTP and HTTPS boxes checked?
You only need one. All the HTTPS option does is provide a secure SSL connection to your administrative pages. It doesn’t affect anything else.
Paul,
Muchas Graci for your prompt reply and diligent support.
U Da Man.
cknicker
No problem. Happy to help.
I have had this router for several years. Anytime I tried to get help from Linksys that want to charge me just to even talk to me. Your directions are perfect and take me through every step to secure our network at home. I didn’t think that securing the router was that important until I receive warnings from my internet provider that DVD’s were being downloaded illegally from my IP. Thanks for the help!!!
No problem. I’m glad I could help.
That is so strange. I got an 800 number for Linksys and have used it 4 times so far. Other than talking to someone in India, It was totally free and other than the language barier it was rather helpful, however hands down this was much easier and much more informative. It is also the first time I use the WPA instead of WEP and I also agree with the reasons the Author chose to do it that way. This was an Awesome guide.
I got as far as step 18 with no problem. But, when I tried to change my security from disabled to WPA-Personal or WEP, the field automatically reset to “disabled.” I tried signing in again, but that didnt’ help. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Are you using Internet Explorer when accessing your router administrative pages? If you aren’t, try using Internet Explorer. Some people have report problems with using another browser.
After I made the post I was able to correct the problem and finalize the process by simply resetting my cable modem and router (unplugging and plugging back in). After I did that, I was able to select WPA-Personal, etc., and complete the process. Thank you very much for providing clear and easy to follow instructions. I’ve had the router a long time and was hesitant to do this. Thanks again.
By the way, I was using Internet Explorer. Thanks.
Sometimes a complete power down and power up helps as well. I’m glad you finally go it working.
Thanks you so much !! greately explained ! You rock !
Wonderful article; and very easy to implement. I lost my network system when recently I installed a wireless printer. Originally had a wireless laptop that I’d use out in the garage with my ‘hobby’. It worked for several months until I did the printer process…. when the printer began to work (only) with my desktop. Today, FINALLy got the laptop to work again … but now the printer does not.
Short of throwing all this ‘junk’ out the window, what would you advise.
TIA
How are you connecting to the printer? Wireless, or wired?
thanks ,,,well documented steps on setting up linksys.
You’re welcome.
Thanks for the help!
No problem.
you saved my life!! i almost threw this router through the window!!
I’m glad I could help.
Thanks, It’s working perfect. I really apreciate the step by step explanation.
Best Regards!
Tried todsecure router but cant get pass the fist step
http://192.168.1.1./password is “admin
How do I find out what login and password to use
If you haven’t set the password to your router, then it should still be the default password of “admin”.
What can I do if I don’t remember the “User” and “password”?
You will need to reset the router by pressing and holding the small button on the back. This will reset both the user ID and password to the factory default.
My router has been unsecured for a couple of years because I was too scared of all the technical stuff to do it. After reading this, I took 30 minutes and secured my connection. Thanks!
I’m glad you managed to secure your router.
Trying to secure my router. The first time I set it up it wouldn’t work bu it would unsecurely. Is been a year and I decided to get it secured. I reset my router and followed the steps. Now the Internet doesn’t wrk at all. Neither does my xbx live. This router will be the death of me. Please help!
Try the following:
1. Unplug the power cord from the modem and router, and wait 30 seconds.
2. Plug the power back into the modem and wait for it to completely finish restarting.
3. Plug the power back into the router and wait for it to completed finish flashing.
Try connecting to the Internet again.
I googled “Linksys Setup” and came to this site using a question/answer to find my instructions.
Try this:
http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?vw=1&docid=4bc964b0ae134bd6b610a2365fbef1ed_4570.xml&pid=96&slnid=39
This was not the exact page I used, but it was very similar.
I am having the same problem as Kelsey, however, I have a Dell and I am using IE. All I want to do it is secure my Internet with a name (instead of linksys) and password to block out unknown users. I got as far as Step 13, but now I cannot access the Admin site. Also when I changed my password (typed it twice and clicked SAVE SETTINGS) after returning back to that screen my password did not save, it was back to the very long default one.
Very long default password? The WRT54G default password is “admin” (without the quotes).
GOT IT! NEVERMIND!
I’m glad you figured it out. May I ask what was the solution, in case someone else has a similar problem?
i followed all the steps up to number 11 and changed it from http to https and now i cant go back to the linksys website to finish securing my router? HELP. i have a mac i dont know if that makes a difference. hope i didnt screw it up forever.
You probably didn’t screw up your router. If you did make a change, and can’t access your router you can always reset it to the factory defaults and then start again. Did you enter https:// in the address bar of your router to access the administrative pages?
yes i did https.. and my computer wont load the admin page. i was getting to it fine before i clicked https in your instructions. i tried reseting my router as well but still nothing. im unable to get to the admin linksys page now.
When your press the reset button, ensure you hold it for at least 30 seconds. As for the HTTPS, what are you getting back from the router? If you aren’t using IE, try switching to that browser.
i dont know what IE is. i have tried reseting my router as well. can you explain what IE is? i have a mac, does that matter? i am new to the mac world.
Sorry, IE is short for Internet Explorer. Those on a PC may experience issues when accessing the router’s admin pages unless they are using Internet Explorer. For Macs, I’m not sure. I guess Safari would be a good choice to try.
Safari is all I have. Any other ideas to help getting back to my routers admin page?
If you can’t get it working with Safari, you still have a few options:
1. Try another browser (you will need to install the browser), such as Firefox to see if you can get the administrative pages to work.
2. Run the setup on the CD-ROM that came with the router.
ok so i will try that. now i am having troubles remembering my password for the router. gosh im a mess. do you know if the passwords require special charaters, or the length it has it be, numbers and letters. anything will help. or even if you know how to reset that password?
ok. so i got in to the admin page. i just kept the username blank and put admin as the password. however, now i cant save any settings? what now?
The only way to reset the password on the router is the reset button at the back. Once you reset the router, the default login for the WRT54G is blank value for the user ID and “admin” for the password.
When I try to select WPA in the wireless security menu, it jumps back to disabled before I can select save changes. Even if I quickly click save changes it goes back to disabled. Any ideas?
I went back and tried it again in IE and it worked fine following your instructions. Firefox still would not allow me to save changes. Thanks for posting. The instructions were easy to follow and very helpful. I had previously paid $30 to Cisco for a similar problem, should have checked here first but I thought I was still under warranty. Great job!
I’m glad you got it working. Many of the problems with the administrative pages are associated with not using IE. It’s a shame the pages don’t work properly on other browsers.
When I go to Security mode it doesn’t say WEP or WPA, it only gives me these options: Disabled, Mixed, B-Only, G-Only
What does this mean?
After you clicked on “Wireless”, did you click on “Wireless Security” in the second set of menus? The options you described are the “Wireless Network Mode” settings under the “Basic Wireless Settings” menu item.
in step 7 i changed the password but when i get to step 10 the old password is back why
Did you click the “Save Settings” button on the same page where you entered the new password?
yes
Are you using the IE Web browser? If not, try using that browser, as I have known some of the admin pages for routers not work properly unless it is IE.
thanks ill try that
THANK YOU! You are a life saver! I don’t know why my router went from secured to unsecured, but I am so glad I found your post and was able to fix it! Easy step by step directions.
I’m glad you were able to secure your router.
i tried doing this i did everything on here but for some reason it wont let me go on any website or anything also now its saying “The settings saved on this computer for the network do not match the requirements of the netmork”…please help me its very important i get this setup, Thank You.
When you connected to the network, ensure you select the security algorithm correctly and entered the passphrase correctly.
Followed directions but I did not have the option of WPA personal so we chose WPA radius…then resumed following the directions…at the end of all directions…received the alert that the WPA Radius server address is illegal……..what is that? and what does it mean? Help
Sorry…backtracked and figured it out! Thanks for the post/blog!
Glad it eventually worked out for you.
I have tried to write a response on this blog but every time I submit the form refreshes the comment or gives an error. Can the webmaster could possibly check into the reason this is happening?
What kind of error is it giving? It may help determine the problem.
I’m on step 12-13, I changed my connection to HTTPS but now the new I.P doesn’t work nor does the old one work either…
If you run ipconfig from a command prompt, what is the gateway IP address?
Uh Oh….I may have made a mistake. I already had a network set up and was at step 15 and changed the name of the network, saved changes and now I can’t get into the router to continue the security setup. I don’t know if this step applies but the gateway IP Address is 192.168.0.1 now. Shoot – can i get any further now?
THanks.
If the SSID was already specified, then you don’t need to change it. If you changed the SSID, then you would need to change your network settings on your computer to connect to the new name. The easiest way to change the router settings is to connect the computer directly into the router with a network cable, that way you don’t have to change the wireless settings on your computer until the very end. The gateway address of 192.168.0.1 is the IP address you use to connect to your router, whether wirelessly or wired.
Well – i did get it to work. I found the info on resetting the router, restarted everything and then started over, not changing the SSID this time and it worked great!! Your steps are wonderful – in fact i told the tech from Qwest about it so he could forward his future customers to them so that they don’t have to try and figure it out by going crazy typing in all sorts of quesitons in the search first like I did. So glad I was able to do this on my own with the instructions – I’m stoked it worked. Kudos.
Thank you!!! This made it so easy for a computer illiterate moron like me. I spent a couple days trying to figure it out on my own and in a few minutes after using these instructions I was securely surfing the net.
Awesome! Worked first try. Thanks so much for posting!
Much faster and easier than the linksys page…thank you very much!
I thank you kind Sir or Madam for posting these instruction. The worked perfectly. I feel much better now.
when i reset the my router WRT54G Ver2 it won’t work. what should i do for this. i can’t access the default IP addres 192.168.1.1…. Please help!!!
What happens after you reset the router and you try accessing 192.168.1.1?
Thanks so much, all my computers (including my imac) are running wireless with wpa security from my linksys router
I am stuck at step 11. Under the “Management” tab of the “Administration” tab, I only have the following options: Router Password, Re-enter to confirm; remote management; management Port; Use https; and UPnP, I do not have an “HTTPS” or an “Access Server” option. I would greatly appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks very much.
thanks! you should also put up a post to this as to how to get a password to get in if you have forgotten your password.
I am on step 18. I am trying to select the security mode and every time I select WPA Personal or WEP, it takes a second and then goes right back to disable. Did I do something wrong or what is it? I’ve gone through the steps twice and made sure I did everything, but nothing seems to work…..HELP!
Thank you
did you get help with this??
I have been through the instructions a few times and have the same problem you did. Did you find a solution?
Problems with Step 18 have been listed several times, but I have yet to see an answer. Does anyone know why the WPA selection under Wireless Security will not save?
A message states that changes have been saved, but it appears as Security Mode “Disabled” and I cannot continue with the steps, and my system is unsecured.
Please help.
having the same issue, can someone please help RE step 18…the setting is not saving…thanks!
I think step 18 won’t work, if you uncheck the HTTP radio dial in step 11. Try checking the HTTP option and see if that helps.
I am not sure why it isn’t saving. Have you tried changing your router settings with a different web browser? Some people have had issues with administrative pages in a specific browser. If you are using Firefox, then try IE.
This did this to me also. I had to reconnect under my new connection name that i created, then it worked!
good luck
kevin
Thank you so much for posting this. I called linksys for help and they wanted to charge me 29.99 for a 24 hour tech support charge. Also read the reset and how to go about that so thanks for that post as well. I did have one issue in regard to switching to HTTPS. Everytime I checked it everything stopped working, it just cut me off and the page could not be reached, so I had to keep resetting the router because nothing worked after. So I kept HTTP and finished the steps. For some reason after I finished, I couldn’t connect wirelessly even after putting the right key in. Just a note if it does not work, you need to power cycle the routers and modem. As soon as I did this everything worked within seconds.
Tnx very much. The instructions were so easy to follow. I feel relieved, I think my wireless network is now secure.
this website was excellent..praise God!!! I contacted Linksys to help me secure my network for WRT54G and they gave me expensive options from $29.99 one time deal to $99.00.
I googled the subject – how to secure my WRT54G? and voila… I found this site w/ all the answers and followed the instructions. The next thing I know, my Network was secured and lock for my own use w/ the padlock icon. And I was able to configure my wireless laptop on Wifi to connect to the now secured Parent network.
I saved my money and became more savy in the name of securing a network. Just take practice and patience.
I also forgot my router password rightafter changing it, but resolved it by – pressing w/ the scissors point to the Linksys router RESET button for 40 seconds. The default ADMIN was restored then started all over again.
Hey i got to step 11. But i dont see the HTTPS check box or an acess server option. iam on the administration, management page.
Very simple, concise instructions that worked perfectly. Thank you so much.
Thank you SO much! I was able to secure my wireless network all by myself and since I tend to not be tech savy your directions must have been wonderful!!
Step 11, do I uncheck HTTP or leave them both checked?
Your the best man….thanks a lot
Thanks for the help. I knew that I needed to secure my wireless for some time but had no idea how to do it. Your guides are clear, effective, and, most importantly, easy to follow for those of us with little tech savvy.
Thank you soooo much. I found the information very helpful and easy to follow.
Hi,
I followed your instructions but when i went to access the wireless connections available, i saw mine but instead of saying secured network it said the settings on the computer do not match this network.. please advise
Did you enter your WPA key exactly as you typed it in your router setup?
Paul,
do you have an email address I could ask you some questions? Can you email it to me please.
thank you
Paul,
I’ve gone thru your instructions and once I set the security mode to WPA (steps 18-20), I lose my network connection… I can see the network broadcasting but I can’t connect to it. When I look at available networks, it states that the computer’s settings do not match the network. I’m having to reset the router to get back into it and start over, but I can’t get past this step.
The settings you are using from your computer may not be setup properly. I’m not sure what operating system you are using, but here is one for XP: How to troubleshoot wireless network connections in Windows XP Service Pack 2.
hi Paul, i followed your instructions here and was successful in setting up the secured network. However, when i use my other laptop, im not able to connect to this network. Im requested to input the WEP key. I do not have any option to use WPA… please advise me on this. Should i change from WPA to WEP? thanks!
Paul,
I followed your instructions and I still have a problem. But it’s not with the router, your instructions worked perfectly. Thank you.
This worked wonderfully for me except for one thing. When I got to the very last thing and tried to log back in and check my settings it will not let me. It keeps asking for username and pw and I have typed them and they will not go through. Also I can’t even get a username prompt with 198.168.1.1 after I saved my final changes. So I try 198.168.2.1. and get the prompt but it will not accept my password or username. I used them to first connect so I have no idea the problem.
Obviously, I’m not too smart with all of this.
Hi Missy,
When you entered in 192.168.1.1 did you specify https:// before the address?
December 28,2008
Paul,
Your article ‘Securing Your Wireless Router’ was very helpful and accurate that I was able to change my Linksys security setup from unsecure to secure in just less than 30 minutes. For years I was giving away freebie signal in my neighborhood that I noticed my house frontage
was a favorite ‘stop’ of utilitity company service truck looking for wireless signal. It was time to put stop into this and in this world of hacking- router security is a must for everyone!
Thanks,
JC
Thanks Paul! Everything is clear now and my wireless network is up and running..Hope it won’t have any trouble in the future
. Thanks for your guidance!
@Julia: Not all routers will have the HTTPS setting. I suggest you enable this setting so you have a secure connection between you and router when you load the administrative pages. It doesn’t affect your wireless security when browsing web sites.
As for the cord, you can disconnect that and just use the wireless connection. If you connect the cord, you will find that your computer will have both a wired and wireless connection to your router. I believe that in a situation such as that, data will be transferred on the wired connection rather than the wireless connection.
I hope that answers your questions. Let me know if you have any other questions.
@Chris: The HTTPS setting shouldn’t affect your Internet connection. Have you tried unplugging the modem and plugging it back in? Sometimes it may need a restart to assign an IP address to your router.
Oh I almost forgot, sorry! When you finish configuring the router do you take the cord that is connected to the computer and router off or just leave it on?
Thanks that clears things up.
Oh, one more question. In step 15 where it said you have to click on “HTTPS” in order to Access Server Option and in the website I listed above ( which is the one I listed a few days ago > a step to step guide to set up a wireless network for a macintosh) the person who did the guide didn’t list any steps on checking the box “HTTPS” to access the Access Server.. I’ve kind of have this mixed up now between your guide and hers. Could you clear this up a bit b/c I’m bit confused when I was looking back at your guide an hers and realized there was some difference among some of the steps. Thanks Paul!
I did all the steps here to secure my connection. However, once I clicked the https box, my internet will not work at all. I have reset the router and tried undoing everything but still no luck. I have no idea what happened. Any help?
You don’t need to plub the cable modem directly into the router when you setup the security. In fact it is probably safer to setup the router first, and then connect the cable modem to the router.
Sometimes you may need to unplug the cable modem and then plug it back in if your router doesn’t receive an IP address from your ISP, but most of the time you could just keep your cable modem plugged in.
The good news is your really can’t mess up the connection, mainly because you could always reset the router back to the factory defaults by using the reset switch on the back. If you make a mistake just reset the router, and try again.
The one thing I would change from the article you posted (I did read it) is to use WPA instead of WEP. The article is a few years old, but WPA (and WPA2) are better to use today.
This is a really good guide for starters like me. Just some quick questions. When you plug the Linksys into an outlet and plug one of it’s LAN port onto the Computer’s Ethernet port(to do the set up)…Do you also take the cable modem’s and put it into the linksys WAN port at the same time and do the router’s configuration (like the set up for the router) OR plug it in after you did the the set up for the router? Also, after the set up and all the wires are plugged in. The cable modem have to unplug it from an outlet and let it wait for a little while and plug it in to reboot to connect to the internet etc..This may sound kind of confusing. I got this from a website, it has a step to step guide on setting a wireless network for a mac using a Linksys WRT54G > http://lifehacker.com/software/wifi/geek-to-live-set-up-a-home-wireless-network-162754.php#viewcomments (please have a look at that). I’m trying to set up a wireless network for my imac g5 and my macbook *it’s my first time doing it and hoping I wouldn’t mess it up on my first try*. Thanks Paul hope you can answer my question
You will see something like “security-enabled”, WPA, or WPA2 next to your wireless network in the list of wireless networks in your area. You will also be required to enter a passphrase when you attempt to connect to your network.
I just followed your step by step instructions on how to set up a secure connection on my router. Is there a way to test it or check to see if it is really secure?
thanks alot for your help
You can probably do it wirelessly, but when setting up my router I usually like to connect to the router with a network cable.
Thanks for the guide Paul. Just one quick question, when we want to reset the password through IE, do we need to connect our laptop to the router with a cable or we can do it wirelessly. I am not good with all this stuff, so your help is very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Jazz
If you enabled https you shouldn’t be able to access the administrative pages using http. Did you click the “Save Settings” button at the bottom before navigating to another page?
I have enabled https in the router, but i am not able to access it through https.
FYI i am still able to access through http. what could be problem. Thanking you in advance.
Thanks for the instructions.
thanks alot.
Worked for me.
i have completed all the steps to secure my wireless network. How do I connect to my network and enter my WPA shared key? I can click on internet explorer and it pulls up my internet provider how page just like before I secured my network. What do I need to do?
I believe you can find your music and playlists in your user directory in the Music folder. There should be an iTunes directory in the Music directory.
Thank you so much for the information. It worked great. Now my wireless is finally secured!
Now another question, completely different from the wireless router. Do you know how to take the music from Itunes from my old computer to my new computer saving the lists and star ratings. We do have a hard drive to download it to from my old computer.. Any help would be appreciated.
Paul,
Thanks a lot. That seems to be the issue I’ve run into, also. Think I’ll try the hosting service (GoDaddy) and see if there is a way through that server.
Thanks again,
=Fist=
@Kent: Don’t worry about being a novice. I try to help those who aren’t experienced in certain areas of technology.
As for a welcome screen, I don’t have much experience in that department. From what I have quickly read, it can be a complex operation.
I did manage to find a free tool that can help at: http://www.publicip.net/. The problem is that you need a dedicated PC running to use it.
Paul,
I shouldn’t even be on this board. You guys are so far advanced. If I should take it some place else, tell me.
My question relates to this scenerio… You check into a hotel. Connect to their free wireless. Upon connection a page opens on your computer that has a welcome message. It may even ask a couple of social questions. After you agree to their Terms of Service, it then allows you to use the internet, as if you were at home on your very own wireless. Well, I’d like to have such a page open when someone attempts to connect to my wireless. Is there an application to help create such an opening page? Is such a welcome page kept on my computer, or does it reside on the router, or is it on my web host server? Am I too much of a novice for you to understand what I’m seeking?
Thanks for any guidance you may have for me.
=Fist=
It should be written in the manual. You can also look up various default user names and passwords here:
http://www.technicallyeasy.net/2008/05/default-user-id-and-password-for.html
I cant get into the main scree. What is the user name and password? Is it in manual or what is the default user name and password? I have never accessed my router before. This is the fist time. Help!!
Question… How can I set up a welcome page to my wireless network and have people sign on? I would like something like you find at a free airport hotspot, where you receive a greeting page and you enter a little info, before you are automatically connected to the wireless network. Any ideas?
(I use a WRT54g router.)
This was a very helpful guide, thank you
hi i have done all those step but when i go to my laptop i click connect noting came out
Are you talking about after you set up or network and are connecting to it through Windows?
i found the connection to my com . but where do i enter the Wpa pass ?
I have followed this step by step and always have a problem at #18. When it is time to change the security mode from “Disabled” to “WPA-Personal”, i click the drop down box, select the choice, yet the page always refreshes to disabled before I can save settings. I even tried selecting “WEP” and it still reverts to disabled before I can save the change. Why wont it allow me to change the security mode?
Did you get a reply to this? Having the same issue
I have followed this step by step and always have a problem at #18. When it is time to change the security mode from “Disabled” to “WPA-Personal”, i click the drop down box, select the choice, yet the page always refreshes to disabled before I can save settings. I even tried selecting “WEP” and it still reverts to disabled before I can save the change. Why wont it allow me to change the security mode?
All good information…but what if you have a teenage kid that likes to hack passwords from the computer to gain access to whatever he likes, and then can simply clear the passwords from the router by hitting the reset button and then reconfiguring it to get reconnected? I am solving the Windows password hacking problem, but what about the router? How do I disable the hard reset button?
Thanks. Hope it helped.
nice guide
Thanks for clearing the fog and letting me see clearly what I need to do to secure my network.
Good One.. yet to try..
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[...] =/ mas, segundo a minha fonte que é bem confiável, seguindo as etapas do artigo deles de segurança do Roteador linksys WRT54G Wireless-G e as etapas que vem logo abaixo não tem como errar. Vale lembrar que o artigo está em Inglês, [...]