Answers to Everyday Questions : How do I make my wireless internet encrypted?

How do I make my wireless internet encrypted?

3 Responses to “How do I make my wireless internet encrypted?”

1. The Boss said :
   May 25th, 2010 at 2:35 pm

   It doesn’t really matter if your wireless connection is encrypted or not, you should be able to connect to the internet. Check your cables, and I presume you are using a wireless router, so you may want to check if it is connected (drivers, software) to your PC. If you want to encrypt your connection, turn you router around, and there’s should be something like 192.168.0.1. Type this in the address bar of your browser, then type the username and password for the router, also displayed on the back. There you should be able to change router settings, although i don’t know if this will work if you are not able to get online.
2. alanandersonuk said :
   May 25th, 2010 at 2:57 pm

   The Boss beat me to it !! well done him. You dont say if it is your router if it is not, there is not a lot you can do about it. If it is yours, and you still cant do it, get your friendly neighbourhood geek to do it for you. word of WARNING though, they mostly they want it install something else or delete somehing, usually saying its a must. DO NOT believe them!
3. Girly Brains said :
   May 25th, 2010 at 3:48 pm

   It is a bit of a palaver actually, but I managed it and I am a real entry-level anorak!

   My computer is running Mac OS X operating system, but the basic procedure will be the same.

   Wireless encryption is just a way by which you can prevent other people from using (stealing) your bandwidth – you have to access it with a password. On a Mac, the password is remembered for you by the computer in an application called Keychain (if you click “yes” to it’s request to remember it for you during the set-up process, or later!)

   Encryption also allows you to easily identify your own network, because you give it its own special name. So if your router is, say, a Netgear and there are three other Netgear routers in range that you always see when you switch on your Wi Fi, after you have set it up, yours will always identify itself by the name you have given it: eg: Mickey Mouse! (Called the SSID on mine, possibly standing for: Secure Station Identity???)

   You need to know which kind of security method your operating system can use (eg: WEP, that’s “Wired Equivalent Privacy”, or WPA-PSK, which stands for “Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key”!) This is most important. Your internet provider will tell you which one to use so long as you tell them the operating system and the router model. In fact, probably only the former! And they should be able to send you an email with specific instructions.

   With WEP, you enter a 13 character passphrase to generate a much longer WEP key, automatically. Make a note of it!! With WPA-PSK you enter your own hexadecimal number using any combination of 0123456789ABCDEF up to something like sixty four characters in length. Letters MUST BE UPPER CASE (use caps lock here). But I was advised by my, extremely helpful, ISP techy, not to go above about thirty two! (Even computers get confused sometimes, using long numbers!)

   After I successfully completed the task, I compiled the following document, for future reference – because the one my ISP emailed me was for WEP, and my Mac uses WPA-PSK! Which you are welcome to read. Don’t forget that it is for WPA-PSK, which is what my computer uses. Your operating system may not. But the set-up will be very similar.

   (By the way, the first answerer- “The Boss” – is quite correct about entering the funny number on the back of the router as a URL, and indeed the password and username. You can change these latter two to your own preferred ones while you are on the router’s set-up site.) So here we go . . . . . . .

   Setting Up Wireless Network Security For Mac OS X

   Checklist:
   1) The router is powered on.
   2) An Ethernet connection (wired connection) has been set up between the computer and the router. (Airport is best turned off).

   Set Up Your Router’s Wireless Security:

   1) Enter the URL for the router in the browser (eg: Safari) and go to.
   2) Enter the Username and Password for the router “configourator” and click OK.
   3) In Router Config. select Wireless Settings from the side menu bar.
   4) Enter a new SSID (Network Name). This can be anything; something that distinguishes it from other networks that are within range and which will be personally familiar.

   5) In Security Options enable (check-circle) WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key). [Most Important]
   6) Select Caps Lock on the computer keyboard. In the text-field insert an Encryption code (Min.8 / Max.63 characters – though maximum recommended is 32) using any combination of 0123456789ABCDEF only. Click Accept.
   7) Take a note of this code (Use left-arrow/right-arrow to scroll in the text field if your key is longer) and Log Out.

   8) Remove Ethernet Cable.
   9) Switch on Airport Extreme and select your Wireless Network, as named above.
   10) On the prompt, enter the Encryption Code. (You can check the box to “show password” to avoid errors, and you can check the box to save in this computer’s keychain so you do not have to enter the encryption key each time you connect to this Wireless network). Click OK. Airport should connect to this network.

   It is advisable also to open Internet Connect and ensure that you have given permission for it to use access to this keychain ‘always’ etc. Also, that Airport and this Wireless Network are your preferred settings, in Network settings, in Apple, System Preferences.

   11) Open Safari and check that your internet connection is working.
   12) De-Select Caps Lock.

   Current Username:

   Current Password:

   Current Encryption Code:

   _____________________________

   Hope this is not too daunting. As I say, your ISP technical help department will either send you an email on how to do it for your OS, or talk you through on the ‘phone – or both. And, by the way, the use of the ethernet cable (the yellow one) is to convert your router into a normal in-line modem so that any sharp-eared eavesdroppers can’t tune in to your wireless station and see what your encryption code is while you are choosing it. Clever stuff! The cable will have been included with your router pack and it connects the router directly to the computer without the need for wireless, for security during the sensitive operation. Leave your computer’s Wi-Fi (called “Airport” on a Mac) switched off throughout the process. Note: ‘Safari’ is the name of the internet browser on a Mac. You might use ‘Internet Explorer’ etc.

   Good luck.