India Broadband

WA3302-g4 router - help needed to change access keys

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I just got broadband installed from MTNL and have got WA3002-g4 router (wireless router/builtin modem- single device) pre-configured by them.
I want to change the wireless network access key as MTNL default scheme is too well known.
I am on wireless mode. In interface setup menu I can see Authentication type " WEP-64 bits" and radio button Key#1 has some numerics in Hex code.
I would like to enhance the security to say WPA-PSK with TKIP
or WPA2-PSK .
How to do it is not clear from the user guide and MTNL helpline is almost impossible to get thru. I am not familiar with hex notations and would like to rely on ASCII symbols only.
Also I need to connect two laptops at least and the configurations steps for both are needed.
Can anyone please help me....
Thanks in advance

in WPA-PSK with TKIP or WPA2-PSK, you can type a ASCII password with minimum length of 8 characters. It is always better to use atleast 15-20 characters in your password and keep it complex using combination of alphabets(a-b,A-B), numbers(0-9) and special characters(!@#$%^&* etc).
Also change the wireless SSID name to as your choice. Your laptop will identify the wireless network by this name and you have to enter the same password as above for connecting to the network.

The most important thing is to protect you wifi router settings by changing the default password to as your choice.
reply for more details.

Hi amit,
Thanks a lot for the info posted on the forum and the private message. Basically I have a doubt i.e. currently my 2 laptops access the router by the 5 ch. numeric WEP Key given by MTNL. By experimenting with the menu's I have figured out that if I change the option to WPA in the drop down menu the screen changes and it offers me an input box to fill in a 8-64 ch. pre-shared key. I understand that this can be any phrase as explained by you. Now the issue is
Should I do it by using wireless mode or for safety sake( basically fear of being locked out) by connecting the LAN chord?
Am I required to first remove the WEP key? If yes.. what would be the steps?

Once I accomplish above, I would like to disable SSID broadcast for which I have several issues to understand and will raise them later. (I have already changed the SSID name, Admin Pwd etc.)

Once all of above gets done, I would like to change default 192.168.1.1 to something like 123.123.123.123 so that no outsider can make an entry.

I will trouble you with these questions and am deeply obliged for your offer of help.

Thanks a ton and looking forward to your kind help

First, do not perform configuration changes on a wireless router when connected wirelessly. Always use a LAN cable. This is an advice for novices - experienced people can manage even wirelessly.

Disabling SSID broadcast is a good idea but make sure that the SSID is registered on your laptop, wi-fi mobile, etc. In my opinion, disabling SSID does not really offer any strong protection.

All your other ideas have been posted here:

1. http://www.indiabroadband.net/comput...ty-primer.html
2. http://www.indiabroadband.net/bsnl-b...primer-ii.html

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Thanks for the info and excellent links.

but one thing remains...i.e.

Am I required to first remove the WEP key? If yes.. what would be the steps?


Thanks again.

Hi and many thanks to everyone (and very specially to Amit and Just for kikx)who helped,
Over the weekend I did manage to change the access keys flawlessly. I also managed to change router IP address but still kept it within 192.168.xxx.xxx series. (I believe there is some convention on this but have also seen quite a few posts encouraging users to change the IP completely at random. I wonder could there be a conflict with a real IP or not and pending my clear understanding on the subject I have played safe.) Having said that I must say - I was forced to change default gateway settings in TCP/IP properties on laptop to correspond with the new IP of the router.
I was wondering that now everything is set and I don't need to connect to router thru LAN- (wireless works perfectly) Can I put the setting in TCP/IP as detect settings automatically and remove every other entry. . This is because when I have to connect to office network a completely different settings are needed and i cant be doing changes at home and office everyday back and forth.

Any ideas or I am being stupid?

Thanks in advance

PS- It is an XP m/c fully updated.

any thoughts on this please..............

If you have enabled DHCP in your wireless router, then you can change machine's TCP/IP properties to dynamic.

I also use my laptop in office and home and settings are automatic.

yes please. DHCP has been enabled on router. I intend to fiddle with these now on weekend and would get back if I run into issues.
Thanks a lot.