Yes, only WPA2 will make your network safe from outsiders.

At home I too don’t broad cast my SSID and i use WPA2

The only time i broadcast my SID is when I am adding a wireless PC/Laptop to my router access list.

I permit the broadcast as it is easier to select the wireless ap from the new device, in case it has a problem with the MAC. Why type in all that information and have to trouble shoot router and new device. (If the SSID can be seen on the new device, only the new device has to be checked for faults.)

Once it is connected I stop the router broadcasting my SID, and the user selects my AP whenever they are within range, as the user will know the SSID, and the wireless app will show it as within range.

Security standards depend on the age of the equipment you want to protect. Investigate the protocols and encryption levels of all the equipment you want to connect, and plan the strategy accordingly. Don’t assume they can all use the same protocols or encryption.

In the router what i’m using there is no access list it’s a router provided by my ISP.Here is the router model Thomson TG782T. Is there anyway in windows xp to show the SSID only for me using a ip address or MAC and how can you permit the broadcast? I’m using wifi in my laptop

Use the highest protection / encryption settings allowed by the router and your devices. Windows XP systems with SP3, Vista or Win 7 will use WPA2 / AES.

Always set a complex pass phrase to make cracking the encrytion key difficult. WPA2 / AES can currently only be brute force attacked so a complex long passphrase is good protection.

Leave the SSID on. “Hiding” the SSID in the beacon will only potentially cause you issues and provides NO security benefit. NOTE: The broadcast beacan saying “i’m a wireless router” can’t be hidden. It is trivial for an attacker to obtain the SSID from the beacon. Most modern OSs now do this for you.

Using MAC address filtration provides some benefits against a casual attacker. But even that is trivial to defeat for a determined attacker. In general, the administravia of MAC filtering outways the benefits.

If you are an expereinced network admin you could setup 802.1x authentication for wireless use. This is usually too complex and expensive for home use.

Can anyone please give me instructions on how to do MAC address filter in thomson tg782t?

Cisco1700 you really need to get a manual for the router. Google the make and model, and you will find a manual like I did.

Access control is mac based. I am actually beginning to think this is a homework question. Cisco1700? isn’t that a cisco router model?

Most routers have an internal gateway of 192.168.0.1 (class 3 private) so try using your web browser and login that way. Enter the wireless control module, select the access control module, add the mac addresses of the permitted devices, and that, is basically it.

Not all devices can use wpa2. So choose the security level by what keys can be used by the devices. This will mean reviewing each device networking protocols and security capabilities.

If the war driver can’t see a ssid, they can’t attack the wireless router because they will not know it is there. Mac address access control is a strong method of access control combined with hiding the ssid and a good encryption protocol.

802.1x is to do with communication speeds, not security.

Encryption keys and passwords are not the same thing. A router can have a SSID with a password/key but it works like the login password on your computer, it allows connection. It does not encrypt transmitted data. That is a higher level and different protocol, and requires handshake protocols between the devices, which has to be set up.

Ya i will try to get the manual from google thank you for that!!! Ya CISCO1700 is actually a router model and i’m actually a cisco student.I tried to hide my SSID but then it asks to save the settings and i disconnect and then i can’t see mt network to connect to the internet? Is there any solution for this problem?

When i do it, mainly for laptops i am working on, enter the ssid and pass etc, in the laptop and save it.

As I am typing this I have booted my laptop and it has gone straight into my prefered network.

Did you set it to automatically connect if this network is in range?

My laptop has booted and is showing all networks that have ssid broadcast allowed, and it is also showing both my home netgear routers as within range, even though my routers have ssid broadcasting as switched off. It is set to connect to router 1 first, but if that is offline for any reason, it connects to router 2.

I have a customer laptop next to my laptop, and it doesn’t see either of my wireless networks. I always work on them via ethernet cable, untill all the MS updates and my work is done, then i test them on my wirelessnetwork to see if responds as expected.

if you change the wireless network properties, and move your router to the top of the priorities list, it should connect without any user intervention needed. it still stops war drivers. because they can’t see it.

Play with the wireless network properties and try different orders of connection.

Where do i have to enter the SSID and the pass? and could you please tell me how to automatically connect if the network is in range? I founf the manual on google and how to do the access list but then it detcts my computer and MAC and says no verification found in computer?

What does this error message mean “windows was unable to find a certificate to log you on to the network” ?

This is why I always set up my new wireless devices with the SSID being broadcast by the router.

If the router is broadcasting, select the network and click on connect button. It will prompt for a password, which is the password used by the router. It is normally found on a label on the router below the SSID. If you have changed the password and you can’t remember it, it will be in the wireless section somewhere on the router.

When you have done that, and the laptop is connected to the router, you can turn the SSID broadcasting off again. Then disconnect the laptop from the router, switch it off and on again, and the laptop will show the router as there and you just have to click the connect button. If you set your home router priority at the top it will try to connect automatically, (well, mine does).

If you look in the wireless settings on the router, there is a module for allowing MAC entry,. On my router, it is button on the page labeled ‘setup access list’ . You can enter the MAC and a device name against it.

In my router there is no way to enter the MAC manually but through a registration button in the front panel of the router,it’s really complex it’s much easier if i had a linksys router!!! I still didn’t find a way to MAC filter