I am planning to put a couple of PCs onto a wireless router in my home. I'll have one PC on cable but the other 2 will be on this router

I have the equipment but I could use a few "Heads-Up" Hints from people who've done this before.

What are some of the things I should I watch for or do BEFORE I hook it up?

They're really simple to set up, but there are a couple of items that shouldn't be overlooked.

1.) Use WPA encryption
2.) Use your router's firewall (or Mac filter)
3.) Change the default setup password

All routers come with a predefined password and userid. You'd be surprised how many times I've found these values left unchanged. Which basically means your neighbors can access and change your setup (not good).


One other handy item is a software monitor that alerts you whenever someone tries to access your router. You can find that below -

AirSnare

Thank you InlandAZ. That's exactly what I'm talking about. Things that most of us would overlook

I have a router that has WPA and WEP

The router has double firewall and I will use it

Changing the default password, god idea

It has Intrusion detection but I'll check out the site that you provided

Thanks again!

The really neat part about AirSnare is that it announces the access (through your speakers) whenever a DHCP request is made to the router. Once you know someone is accessing your LAN you can open the log and locate the MAC address of device.

I enter them into my filter list and they're basically blocked forever. Depending on your OS, you can also send a warning message indicating that their activity has been logged.

It's also fun to watch folks that bring their WiFi enabled devices into the house and then get to hear Unauthorized Access Attempted ring out over the sound system.