CT
Tue Mar 11 16:43:11 PDT 2008
On Mar 11, 12:47 am, Steve Winograd <bc0705...@comcast.net> wrote:
> On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:43:52 -0700 (PDT), CT <CThompson...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >> >Hi,
>
> >> >I want to change the SSID and password on our router, but just got our
> >> >private home newtwork working properly and DON'T want to mess it up.
>
> >> >I'm fairly certain I can go ahead and make the changes without
> >> >concern, but would like confirmation please.
>
> >> >Thank You!
> >> >Cheryl
>
> >> Yes, you can make the change without messing up the network.
>
> >> If a computer on the network runs Windows Vista, that computer might
> >> say that it has detected a new network. If so, configure the new
> >> network as a private (home) network, which will allow file and printer
> >> sharing.
>
> >Hi Steve,
>
> >Both computers are running WinXP Pro.
>
> >HOST- Ethernet desktop: WinXP Pro SP2
> >CLIENT- Wireless laptop: WinXP (Media Center)Pro SP2
> >Linksys Router WRT54GX2
> >Small Home Network working properly (printer and file sharing work)
>
> >Should be no problem then. Great!
>
> >Thanks so much.
> >Cheryl
>
> You're welcome, Cheryl.
>
> I assume that both computers get Internet access from the wireless
> router, so I wonder what you mean by "HOST" and "CLIENT". Are those
> the names that you've assigned to the computers, or do they indicate
> something else?
> --
> Best Wishes,
> Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)
>
> Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
> for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
> addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.
>
> Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
Steve,
The desktop is wired to the router (ethernet cable). It has access to
the internet. The laptop connects to the network wirelessly. It also
has access to the internet. Printer and file sharing work. In this
private network, the HOST computer (the desktop) is named Main. The
CLIENT computer (the laptop) is named Laptop1. The network was about
90% done when I got stuck. Finally got it fully operational after
reading this great article by you and Ron Lowe (BTW, Thanks!):
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_filesharing/index.htm
Turns out I needed to "Allow network access by users without
passwords".
My goal, now that I finally have the private network set up and
working properly, is to fine-tune the security of the router. Hence
this post. (I'm also working on trying set up Remote Desktop - that's
yet another post).But after some replies in this newsgroup:
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/browse_thread/thread/fa248d83a49c2d93?hl=en
,
I think there are some default settings on the router that were never
changed (that should have been changed) way back when we first
installed it. Changing the LAN TCP/IP address was mentioned - see last
comment from MVP in the above link. So, I'm trying to find out the
where, what and how to do this. Initially, I was under the impression
that by following the router's set up instructions, which
incidentally, stated specifically which default settings should be
changed, the router would be secure enough.
At this moment, I'm reading about static and dynamic IP addresses.
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/tcpip.html
I don't know if I know enough yet to articulate it for you, but here
goes:
My understanding, so far, is that I can change certain OTHER settings
on the router to my preference. Currently, the router is set to
"obtain IP addresses automatically", and "Broadcast SSID" is enabled
(per Linksys when they were helping me wirelessly connect the laptop
to the internet - I balked when they told me to enable this because
I'd read it was a security no-no, for obvious reasons). But now I
believe, to increase security, the setting should be changed to
"specify an IP address", so "Broadcast SSID" can be disabled. I just
haven't figured out how to choose _what_ address to specify, what
other adjustments need to be made (MAC filtering?) and _where_ to make
SOME of them on the router's online setup page (which isn't even an
https (secure!) page (why not?). I've Googled "LAN TCP/IP settings
Linksys WRT54G", trying to learn more. We live in a rural area and I'm
not sure disabling "Broadcast SSID" is even necessary in our case.
Thanks for your help. I bet I made this clear as mud.... ;-)
Cheryl
( I really should be preparing our taxes, not cramming for
"networking exams" ;-) )