Table of Contents
Advertisement
between 802.11b and 802.11g/n wireless access points. NOTE: The recommended
setting is either "Auto" or "Always."
Tx Power — Set the output power of the wireless radio. Unless you're using this
router in a really big space, you may not need to set this to "100%."
WMM — Set WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia, which enhances the data transfer
performance of multimedia content sent over a wireless network) to "Enable" or
leave it as the default ("Disable").
2.7.3 Wireless Security
Unlike the Advanced Wireless Settings options, these settings are critical: If not done
properly, freeloaders can use your Internet connection without your knowledge
and hackers could gain access to your network and steal vital data such as credit
card information or bank records. Click the "Security Settings" menu on the left of
the Web management interface to select one of the four encryption methods from
the drop-down menu (see image below).
2.7.3.1 Disable Wireless Security
When you select this mode, data encryption is disabled and every wireless device
in proximity will be able to connect your wireless router if no other security measure
is enabled (like using MAC address access control disabling ESSID broadcast).
NOTE: Only use this option when you want to allow everyone to use your wireless
router and you don't care if someone reads the data you transfer over the network
without your consent.
2.7.3.2 Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
WEP encryption is an outdated method to secure your network, as it doesn't meet
the security standards of modern data encryption. Thus, it's not recommended that
you use WEP,unless you use WLAN adapters or WLAN networking devices that
don't support WPA/WPA2 encryption. If your WLAN card supports WPA/WPA2,
you can proceed to section 2.7.3.3 Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).
Key Length — There are two types of WEP key length: 64-bit and 128-bit. Selecting
"128-bit" is safer than "64-bit," but will reduce some data transfer performance.
Key Format — There are two types of key format: ASCII and hexadecimal, or "hex."
To improve the security level, don't use words found in a dictionary or that are too
easily remembered. Wireless clients will remember the WEP key, so you only
need to input the WEP key for a wireless client once. It's worth using a complicated
WEP key to improve the security level. Once you enter your WEP key and save the
settings, all wireless clients will need to enter that identical character configuration
in order to gain access to your wireless network. NOTE: 128-bit encryption and
ASCII key format are recommended.
36
SYSTEM & NETWORK SETUP
Advertisement
Table of Contents
