LINKSYS WRT54AG Wireless A/G Broadband Router User Manual WRT54AG ug Rev NC

LINKSYS LLC Wireless A/G Broadband Router WRT54AG ug Rev NC

Users Manual 2

Dual-Band Wireless A/G Broadband Router Security This enables or disables WEP Encryption. An acronym for WiredEquivalent Privacy, WEP is an encryption method used to protect your wirelessdata communications. WEP uses a combination of 64-bit or 128-bit keys toprovide access control to your network and encryption security for every datatransmission. To decode a data transmission, each device in a network must usean identical 64-bit or 128-bit key. Higher encryption levels offer higher levelsof security, but due to the complexity of the encryption, they may decreasenetwork performance. To enable WEP, click the radio button beside Enable.Click the Edit Wireless Security button to configure the WEP keys for your2.4GHz, Wireless-G network (see Figure 6-10).Check all the values, and click theApply button to save your 2.4GHz, Wireless-G settings. To cancel any changes you’ve entered on this page, click the Cancelbutton. To get more information about the features, click the Help button.Wireless-G (802.11g) SecurityThe 2.4GHz, 802.11b (WEP) screen, shown in Figure 6-10, allows you to con-figure your 2.4GHz, Wireless-G WEP settings. WEP encryption is recom-mended to increase the security of your wireless network.35Wireless-G (802.11g)The 2.4GHz, 802.11g portion of the Setup screen, shown in Figure 6-9allowsyou to configure your 2.4GHz, Wireless-G wireless network settings.MAC Address This shows the Router’s wireless MAC address.Mode If you have Wireless-G and 802.11b devices in your network, then keepthe default setting, Mixed. If you have only Wireless-G devices, select G-Only.If you do not have any Wireless-G and 802.11b devices in your network, selectDisable.Channel Select the appropriate channel from the list provided to correspondwith your network settings, between 36 and 64. All devices in your wirelessnetwork must use the same channel in order to function correctly. If you wantthe Router to automatically scan for a clear channel, then click the checkbox.SSID The SSID is the network name shared among all points in a wireless net-work. The SSID must be identical for all points in the wireless network. It iscase-sensitive and must not exceed 32 characters (use any of the characters onthe keyboard). Make sure this setting is the same for all points in your wirelessnetwork. For added security, you should change the default SSID (linksys-g) toa unique name.SSID Broadcast When wireless clients survey the local area for wireless net-works to associate with, they will detect the SSID broadcast by the Router. Tobroadcast the Router's SSID, keep the default setting, Enable. If you do notwant to broadcast the Router's SSID, then select Disable.34Figure 6-9Figure 6-10
Dual-Band Wireless A/G Broadband Router 37The Security screen, shown in Figure 6-11, allows you to change the Router’ssecurity settings. You should change the factory default password, which isadmin, to your own as soon as possible. All users who try to access theRouter’s web-based utility or Setup Wizard will be prompted for the Router’spassword.Router Password The new Password must not exceed 32 characters in lengthand must not include any spaces. Enter the new Password in the second field toconfirm it.VPN Pass-Through Virtual Private Networking (VPN) is typically used forwork-related networking. For VPN tunnels, the Router supports IPSec Pass-Through and PPTP Pass-Through. IPSec - Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) is a suite of protocols used toimplement secure exchange of packets at the IP layer. To allow IPSec tun-nels to pass through the Router, IPSec Pass-Through is enabled by default.To disable IPSec Pass-Through, uncheck the box next to IPSec.L2TP - Layer Two Tunneling Protocol is an extension of the Point-to-PointTunneling Protocol (PPTP) used by to enable the operation of a virtual pri-vate network (VPN) over the Internet.SecurityFigure 6-1136Default Transmit Key Select which WEP key (1-4) will be used when theRouter sends data. Make sure the receiver is using the same key.WEP Encryption Keys 1-4 offer 64-bit or 128-bit encryption; select the typeof encryption you want from the drop-down box. To disable WEP Encryption,select Disable.Passphrase Instead of manually entering WEP keys, you can enter aPassphrase. This Passphrase is used to generate one or more WEP keys. It iscase-sensitive and should not be longer than 16 alphanumeric characters. ThisPassphrase function is compatible with Linksys wireless products only. [If youwant to communicate with non-Linksys wireless products, enter the WEPkey(s) manually on the non-Linksys wireless products.] After you enter thePassphrase, click the Generate button to create WEP keys. Keys 1-4 WEP keys enable you to create an encryption scheme for wirelessLAN transmissions. Manually enter a set of values. (Do not leave a key fieldblank, and do not enter all zeroes. These are not valid key values.) Keys 1-4offer 64-bit or 128-bit encryption.If you are using 64-bit WEP encryption, then the key must be exactly 10 hexa-decimal characters in length. If you are using 128-bit WEP encryption, then thekey must be exactly 26 hexadecimal characters in length. Valid hexadecimalcharacters are “0”-“9” and “A”-“F”.Check all the values, and click theApply button to save your 2.4GHz, Wireless-G WEP settings.To apply any of the settings you change on this page, click the Apply button.To cancel any changes you’ve entered on this page, click the Cancel button. Toget more information about the features, click the Help button.Note: All Wireless devices in your network must use the samePassphrase or WEP key.
Dual-Band Wireless A/G Broadband Router Block WAN Request By enabling the Block WAN Request feature, you canprevent your network from being “pinged,” or detected, by other Internet users.The Block WAN Request feature also reinforces your network security by hid-ing your network ports. Both functions of the Block WAN Request featuremake it more difficult for outside users to work their way into your network.This feature is enabled by default. Select Disable to disable this feature.To save your changes on this page, click the Apply button. To cancel anyunsaved changes on this page, click the Cancel button. To get more informa-tion about the features, click the Help button.The System screen, shown in Figure 6-12, lets you control a variety of theRouter’s general features, from restoring factory defaults to enabling its remotemanagement capability.Restore Defaults Click the Yes button to reset all configuration settings totheir default values, and then click the Apply button. Any settings you havesaved will be lost when the default settings are restored. This feature is disabledby default.3938PPTP - Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol is the method used to enable VPNsessions to a Windows NT 4.0 or 2000 server. To allow PPTP tunnels to passthrough the Router, PPTP Pass-Through is enabled by default. To disablePPTP Pass-Through, uncheck the box next to PPTP.Web Filters Using the Web Filters feature, you may enable up to four specif-ic filtering methods.Block Proxy - Use of WAN proxy servers may compromise the Router'ssecurity. Denying Proxy will disable access to any WAN proxy servers. Toenable proxy filtering, click the Block Proxy box. Block Java - Java is a programming language for websites. If you deny Java,you run the risk of not having access to Internet sites created using this pro-gramming language. To enable Java filtering, click the Block Java box. Block ActiveX - ActiveX is a programming language for websites. If youdeny ActiveX, you run the risk of not having access to Internet sites creat-ed using this programming language. To enable ActiveX filtering, click theBlock ActiveX box. Block Cookies - A cookie is data stored on your PC and used by Internetsites when you interact with them. To enable cookie filtering, click theBlock Cookies box.DMZ The DMZ hosting feature allows one local user to be exposed to theInternet for use of a special-purpose service such as Internet gaming or video-conferencing. DMZ hosting forwards all the ports at the same time to one PC.The Port Forwarding feature is more secure because it only opens the ports youwant to have opened, while DMZ hosting opens all the ports of one computer,exposing the computer so the Internet can see it. Any PC whose port is being forwarded must have its DHCP client function dis-abled and should have a new static IP address assigned to it because its IPaddress may change when using the DHCP function.1. To expose one PC, select Enable.2. Enter the computer's IP address in the DMZ Host IP Address field.3. Click the Apply button. Figure 6-12System
Dual-Band Wireless A/G Broadband Router Multicast Pass-Through IP Multicasting occurs when a single data transmis-sion is sent to multiple recipients at the same time. Using the Multicast Pass-Through feature, the Router allows IP multicast packets to be forwarded to theappropriate computers. Keep the default setting, Enable, to support the feature,or select Disable to disable it.MAC Cloning You can clone the MAC address of your PC’s network adapteronto the Router. A MAC address is a 12-digit code assigned to a unique piece of hardware foridentification. Some ISPs require that you register the MAC address of yourPC’s network adapter, which was connected to your cable or DSL modem dur-ing installation. To avoid calling your ISP and changing the MAC address thatis registered with the ISP, follow these instructions:1. Select Enable.2. Enter your adapter’s MAC address in the MAC Address field.3. To save your new settings, click the Apply button. To cancel your changes,click the Cancel button. To get more information about the features, clickthe Help button.To disable MAC address cloning, keep the default setting, Disable.If you do not know your adapter’s MAC address, follow these instructions:1. Click the Start button, and select Run.2. Enter command in the field provided, and press the OK button.3. At the command prompt, enter ipconfig /all. Then press the Enter key.4. Write down your adapter’s physical address; this is the adapter’s MACaddress.Remote Management This feature allows you to manage your Router from aremote location, via the Internet. To disable this feature, keep the default set-ting, Disable. To enable this feature, select Enable, and use the specified port(default is 8080) on your PC to remotely manage the Router. You must alsochange the Router's default password to one of your own, if you haven’talready. A unique password will increase security.41Firmware Upgrade New firmware versions are posted at www.linksys.comand can be downloaded for free. If the Router already works well, there’s noneed to download a newer firmware version, unless that version has a new fea-ture that you want to use. (To learn about any new firmware with new features,visit www.linksys.com.)To upgrade the Router’s firmware:1. Download the firmware upgrade file from www.linksys.com, and extractthe file using a file archive utility such as WinZip.2. Click the Upgrade button.3. On the Upgrade Firmware screen (see Figure 6-13), click the Browse but-ton to find the firmware upgrade file you extracted. 4. Double-click the firmware upgrade file you extracted. 5. Click the Upgrade button, and follow the on-screen instructions.40Figure 6-13Important: When you are upgrading the firmware, do NOT turn offthe Router, and do NOT press the Reset button.Note: By upgrading the Router’s firmware, you may lose the Router’sconfiguration settings, so make sure you write down the Router’s set-tings before you upgrade its firmware.

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