• Main Menu
  • How to Secure a Linksys Wireless Router


    A Linksys wireless router is a device that converts digital information into wireless radio waves and vice versa. Linksys wireless routers, like other wireless routers, are used for wireless computer networking. They use an antenna and an Ethernet or coaxial cable connection to allow computers to connect to a wireless network that is within range. A Linksys wireless router typically establishes a wireless network in a home or office building, but any nearby computer can communicate with the router if a password or other form of encryption is not protecting it.

    What is Encryption?

    In computer science, encryption refers to the scrambling of data via a complex algorithm that a password protects. Anyone with the correct password can unscramble the data and access the encrypted device. Wireless routers are often encrypted to ensure that unauthorized users cannot access the wireless router. There are many different forms of wireless encryption and the two most popular are WEP and WPA.

    WEP VS WPA

    WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is a widely used encryption method that was intended to provide wireless users with the same level of security that a LAN (Local Area Network) would give them. WEP is a rather strong form of encryption and is usually the first line of defense that users can setup through a wireless router. However, WEP has several weaknesses that allow hackers and other wireless users to gain access to a wireless network, the most notable being a limited number of possible encryption keys. Because of this, WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) was created to provide users with a virtually unlimited number of encryption keys and a method of regularly switching to a different encryption key, so that anyone who attempts to guess the password does not have enough time to try every possible encryption key before it is updated. Both WEP and WPA can be activated through the user’s Linksys wireless router control panel.

    How to Test Network Security

    Once an encryption method has been activated on a Linksys wireless router, the user can test his/her network security by performing a procedure known as a “penetration test.” A penetration test is a simulated attack on a wireless network to see if any potential weaknesses exist. A free and open source software that performs penetration tests, known as Wireshark, is available.

    Leave a Reply to melinda_houston2 Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    4 comments
    1. melinda_houston2

      28 July, 2015 at 5:22 am

      ===

      Reply
    2. Jacques Blondeau

      26 December, 2011 at 3:51 pm

      How do i modify my wireless router from non-secure ( no encryption) to password protected?

      Reply
      • Marlon Franco

        26 December, 2011 at 7:02 pm

        Please read the article. The instructions are there. If you find it difficult to follow, please let us know.

        Reply
    3. maweed

      22 August, 2011 at 12:43 pm

      how to configuer linksys wireless access point and wat is the ip of linksys

      Reply
    Wireless Networks
    176 queries in 0.608 seconds.