The problem with wireless access points is that they work out of the box. Some of you may not see the problem in this. But the problem lies in the fact that once it works most people do not bother the change anything. However one thing that should always be changed is the security on the wireless settings. What this does is make it harder (notice I said harder) for people to access your network from there computer with a wireless card. Reason why I said harder is because this is very simple technology. With enough patience someone can figure out the security on the network. One good thing is that most people could not figure it out, or do not have the patience to do it. It could take some time, and with out a clear cut goal, the person attempting to use the network does not know what they are going to find, it could be a kid’s computer with nothing important on it.

But how do you set up the wireless security?
Here are brief list of instruction on a few major wireless access points/routers that you may pick up at the local computer store. Remember that these are very brief instructions; you should look at the users manual for complete instructions. I also suggest that you are connected to the Access Point/Router through a wire and not wireless to perform these steps:

Linksys
After you log into the web admin page, this is usually at http://192.168.1.1, click on Wireless. From this page there will be subcategories just below the Wireless link. Click on Wireless Security. The setting that I would suggest is WPA Pre-shared Key. This will allow you to set the Key that you want to use. It can be basically anything, pet’s name, secret password, etc. If you like you can also change the Broadcast SSID. This will be on the Wireless Settings page. Name it anything that you want, most people will use the address of there house. I suggest using initials of your name. Press the Save Settings button to save the changes.

D-Link
Go to the web admin page of the router, normally http://192.168.0.1. After you log in click on the wireless button to the left. It will immediately bring up the wireless settings page. Here you can change the name if the SSID (should be changed to something different), and also what type of security you would like. Again I would choose WPA-PSK for authentication, enter in the pass phrase that you would like to have (again this could be anything that you want). Click Apply, the router should reboot briefly.

Netgear
Go to the Routers login page (http://192.168.1.1) and log in. Click on Wireless Settings from the main menu. You will be able to change the SSID in this window along with the security option. As a suggestion choose WPA-PSK and click Apply. Below the Security Option section the Pass Phrase box should appear. Enter in anything that you would like as the pass phrase. Click Apply, and the Router should reset briefly.

Windows Setup
After you have installed the wireless network card, or have one built in, you should see an icon at the bottom of the screen. It will look like a computer with waves coming out of it. Double click this icon. The wireless networks window should come up. Here you will see a list of available networks. You should see the network that you just changed with the SSID as the network. Simply double click this network to connect to it. You will be prompted for the pass phrase. Enter it twice and you should be up and running.

Reason to change the SSID on the router. The one and only reason I have is that they are normally widely known SSIDs that come by default on the routers. For example, D-link is default, Netgear is Netgear, and Linksys is Linksys. This does not make is very hard for some one to figure out the type of router. And then makes it easier for them to try and mess with it, or know the password to get into the web admin pages. I also suggest changing the password for the web admin. Doing these three steps, changing the SSID, the wireless security, and the password on the routers will help prevent some one living close to you from changing or messing with the router, and in the long run save you frustration.