Technically Easy

Category: Networks

Network security is important in the online world, and many helpful posts can be found here.

  • Is Mobile Broadband Taking Over Wireless Broadband?

    Is Mobile Broadband Taking Over Wireless Broadband?

    The rate at which mobile broadband has grown over the years is stunning, and there are even people speculating that it is only a matter of time before it becomes the dominant form of internet connection.

    Wireless broadband used to be all the rage, but things are changing fast, and it seems a lot more people are starting to embrace the mobile broadband internet.

    Personally, I believe it is only a matter of time before mobile broadband becomes the most used and the most reliable way to access the internet, and I also think it is a lot better than wireless broadband.

    In this article I will be giving you my opinion on wireless broadband vs. mobile broadband.

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  • Why You Need to Monitor Your Network

    Why You Need to Monitor Your Network

    How many businesses do you think have a website? 75, 80 percent? It’s 2011, everything’s online, so of course most businesses are going to be online too, right? Wrong.

    Only 45 percent of small business owners have a website, according to a recent study by Discover. And while that was a significant increase from the 37 percent in 2009, there are still a significant portion of the driving force of our economy that aren’t cashing in on all the potential the Web can offer.

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  • How Network Security Policy Works for Everyone

    How Network Security Policy Works for Everyone

    A good network security policy is not a topic commonly spoke about around water coolers at work. This topic is more commonly handled by extensively-trained experts. Where this fact proves true, this does not mean that you have to be a well-trained professional to desire the knowledge of how a network security policy works. More than ever before, every day computer users are becoming well-versed in the basics of how important network security is with the internet. This article is intended to broaden the perspective of every-day network users in accomplishing an effective network security policy.

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  • How to Reset the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    How to Reset the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    There may be times when you may need to reset the Linksys E4200 wireless router back to factory defaults. You may need to do this if there is a problem with the router, or you forget the administrative password needed to access the router’s setup pages.

    Once you have reset the Linksys E4200 wireless router, it is important that you take the time to secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router. The reason for this is because once the router is reset, it is no longer secured. There are two methods to reset the router, and both are explained below.

    The Two Methods to Reset the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    There are two methods that you can use to reset your wireless router. The first method requires physical access to the router to press the reset button. The second method requires you to login to the router’s administrative web pages.

    The steps to use both methods are as follows:

    Reset the Wireless Router Using the Reset Button

    1. Turn the router upside down.
    2. On the bottom, press and hold the reset button for 5-10 seconds.

    Reset the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router Using the Browser-Based Utility

    The second method involes actually logging into the router’s administrative pages. Obviously, if you forgot the router’s password, you will need to use the first method to reset the router.

    1. Open a web browser and navigate to http://192.168.1.1, or whatever the IP address of your router.
    2. Enter the user name and password for the router.
    3. Select “Administration” from the top menu, and then select “Factory Defaults” from the submenu.
    4. Click the “Restore Factory Defaults” button.
    5. In the popup message window, click the “OK” button.

    The post explained two methods that you can use to reset your wireless router. Once the router has been reset, it is important to ensure you take the necessary steps to secure the router once you reset the Linksys E4200 wireless router.

  • How to Secure the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    How to Secure the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    As with any wireless router, it is important that you ensure you secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router to prevent unauthorized users from accessing your network. Ensuring that your wireless router is secure is the first step to keeping your data and private information safe.

    Included with this router is a CD-ROM that contains the Cisco Connect software that allows you to setup your router. This post, however, will provide the manual steps you can take to manually secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router.

    Steps to Secure the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    The steps outlined below will help you to secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router. Ensure you follow the steps exactly, and if you think you have missed a step, or are having problems, you can always reset the router back to factory defaults and start again.

    Note:

    When accessing the router’s administrative web pages, I recommend that you use Internet Explorer if it is installed. It seems many of the administrative pages in routers tend to be more compatible with Internet Explorer.

    1. Open up your web browser and then go to 192.168.1.1.
    2. When the router prompts you for a user name and password, leave the user name blank and type “admin” as the password.

    Change the Router Password

    1. Click the “Administration” tab the top, and then click “Management”.
    2. In the “Router Access” section, enter a new password for your login, and then enter the same password a second time to confirm it.
    3. Click the “Save Settings” button and then re-login with the new password. The user name will still be blank.
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router - Changing the Administrator Password
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router – Changing the Administrator Password
    (Click to enlarge)

    Set Network Name

    1. Click the “Wireless” tab, which should display the “Basic Wireless Settings” page.
    2. Select “Manual” for “Configuration View”.
    3. In the “Network Name (SSID)” field, in the 5 GHz Wireless settings section, enter a name for your network.
    4. In the “Network Name (SSID)” field, in the 2.4 GHz Wireless settings section, enter a name for your network.

      5. Note:

      You can use the same network name for both the 5 GHz and 2.4 Ghz settings. Doing so will allow devices to use either frequency band when connecting.

    5. Click the “Save Settings” button.
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router - Setting the Network Name
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router – Setting the Network Name
    (Click to enlarge)

    Secure the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    1. Click the “Wireless” tab.
    2. Next, click the “Wireless Security” option.
    3. In the 5 GHz section, for the “Security Mode” drop-down list, select “WPA2 Personal” or “WPA2/WPA Mixed Mode” for the best security, and enter a long passphrase that will be used to connect to your wireless network.
    4. Repeat the same steps for the 2.4 GHz section. If you used the same network name for both the 5.5 GHz and 2.4 GHz, then use the same passphrase, otherwise you can specify a different passphrase.

      5. Note:

      When creating a passphrase the length of the passphrase is important. The longer the passphrase, the better.

    5. Click the “Save Settings” button.
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router - Setting the Wireless Security
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router – Setting the Wireless Security
    (Click to enlarge)

    After following the above steps, you should now have a secured router. If you have problems in the future, you can reset the router and follow the steps again to secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router.

  • Why You Should Secure Your Wireless Network

    Why You Should Secure Your Wireless Network

    While it may seem like a pain at times to connect a wireless device to your wireless network, there are very good reasons why you should take the necessary steps to ensure that your network is secure. Some people may choose to keep their network unsecured, but they are unaware of the consequences of allowing anyone to connect.

    Wired networks are different because in order to connect to a wired network, you would need to physically connect a cable from your computer to the router in order to join the network. With wireless networks, anyone within range of your router can join and use your wireless network if it isn’t secure.

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  • Why You Need To Understand Network Security Threats

    Why You Need To Understand Network Security Threats

    Network security is a crucial to all networks, but some people do not know truly know how important this concept is. There are a variety of threats and reasons why people should know about network security threats.

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  • Keep Your Network Safe with a Proxy Firewall

    Keep Your Network Safe with a Proxy Firewall

    A proxy firewall, otherwise known as a network/proxy server firewall or simply ‘firewall’, is a virtual security appliance that runs on a host computer or server machine and works at the application level. A proxy firewall is a form of packet filtering device, whereby both outgoing and incoming packets (usually in an organization’s intranet) are examined, as well as a “go-between” for users on different networks. A specific set of rules governs which type of packets–based on such items as IP address, source address, destination address–are allowed to enter and exit a private network, such as a LAN or corporate intranet.

    Proxy Firewalls Keep Intruders at Bay and Employees In-Check

    Network

    A proxy firewall typically resides on a single, private IP address that’s distinct from the rest of the hosts on the internal side of the firewall. This masks hosts’ true IP addresses, which are typically very similar and share at least two or three octets (number sets in an IP address: there are four in all).

    A distinction should be made between ‘proxy firewall’ and ‘proxy server’. Proxy servers are typically physical machines; one of their functions is act to as a centralized storage machine, whereby multiple users in a small network connect to it and retrieve “cached” copies of files–reducing the load/bandwidth on the network and increasing network efficiency. Proxy servers can also serve as a sort of storage depot for public internet users, especially customers of e-commerce websites.

    A proxy firewall, in contrast, is software or an application that primary serves as a security barrier between the outside internet and a private network or internal intranet. Proxy firewalls, however, can and do run on proxy servers. SOCKS must be enabled on both machines tunneling through a proxy, but nearly all modern computers already have this capability.

    How it Works

    While the specific details go far beyond the scope of this article, the fundamentals of how proxy firewalls operate are pretty simple. A proxy–which is kind of intermediary device in the technological sense–enables clients to establish communicate with other clients (or hosts machines, or servers) without actually making a direct connection. When a user sends a request to another user through a proxy server’s firewall, he/she connects directly to the proxy. The proxy, in turn, requests a connection from the destination address, and the flow of information between hosts is initiated. Through a series of “SYN-ACK” (send/acknowledge) requests, communicate takes place without either host on either side of the firewall ever being connected to one another.

    Why communicate like this? Security. As the internet has grown over the last couple of decades, so has the number and amount of people and malicious code circulating. Installing a proxy firewall on a host or server is considered a more basic form of security for organizations, though, and should not be used as a do-all security device. Through layering–adding multiple ‘layers’ of security to a network–network security is hardened.