Setting up a secure wireless network with the GIGABYTE GN-A16B.
Open a web browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox. Enter the internal IP address of your router in the address bar of your browser.
If you do not know your routers internal IP address please read our How To Find Your Routers IP Address guide.
In the picture above the address bar has http://www.google.com in it. Just replace all of that with the internal IP address of your router.
By default the IP address should be set to 192.168.1.1.
Click the Wireless link near the left side of the page.
You should now see a new menu. In this new menu, click Basic Settings.
In the box called SSID put a name that you make up. You will need to remember this name because it will be used to connect to your wireless network. Do not make it obvious to guess, the network name should be difficult for your neighbors to guess. If you can not think of anything, simply use your first name.
In the box called Channel, pick a random channel number. Channels make it so that you and your neighbors can use your own wireless networks without interfering with each other. By picking a random channel you reduce the chance of your neighbor using the same channel as you.
When you are finished, click the Apply Changes button.
Click the Advanced Settings link near the left side of the page.
Select Open System from the Authentication Type drop down box.
Turn off the option called SSID Broadcast. This turns off the broadcast of your networks name making it more difficult for other people to find your network. You do not want to broadcast your networks name.
When you are finished, click the Apply Changes button.
Click the Security link near the left side of the page.
Turn on the option called Enable WEP Security.
Select 128 bits from the Key Length drop down box.
Select Hex from the Key Format drop down box.
Select Key 1 from the Default Tx Key drop down box.
Now you need to make up your network key. It doesn't matter what this key is, as long as it is random. A network key is a password that is 26 characters long, and made up of only the letters A,B,C,D,E,F and the numbers 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. If you are using 128 bit WEP, then your key must be exactly 26 characters long, and the more random it is, the better it is. Here is an example of a random 128 bit network key:
7F5B3FD23A8EC290AC682DF8FA
Once you have made up your key, write it down somewhere. You will need it at each computer that you are going to connect to your network.
Now put the key you made up in the box called Encryption Key 1.
When you're finished, click Apply Changes near the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
And that's it! You're done!
Wireless Filters
Now that you have secured your wireless network, you may want to check out our guides on how to setup some wireless filters. Filters will help keep people out of your network who are smart enough to figure out your wireless keys. Wireless filters are the final step in securing your network. A wireless filter guide for your router is located here.
Connecting to your Secure Wireless Network
You may want to read our guide on how to Configure Windows XP to connect to your wireless network.
Open a web browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox. Enter the internal IP address of your router in the address bar of your browser.
If you do not know your routers internal IP address please read our How To Find Your Routers IP Address guide.
In the picture above the address bar has http://www.google.com in it. Just replace all of that with the internal IP address of your router.
By default the IP address should be set to 192.168.1.1.
Click the Wireless link near the left side of the page.
You should now see a new menu. In this new menu, click Basic Settings.
Turn on the option called Enable Wireless Access Control.
Enter a name for this filter into the Description box.
Now you need to know the MAC address of every device that you want to Allow access to. You can find the MAC address of a computer by following our MAC Address instructions. After you have found the MAC address of the computer you want to Allow, type the MAC address into the MAC Address section of your router.
When you're finished, click Apply Changes near the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
And that's it! You're done!
