Encryption problems..

Sajan

Hi.. I just recently set up a wireless internet connection with Eircom and had some trouble setting it up. I got on to Eircom and they fixed the problem by getting me to turn the encryption level off. They changed it from 128 bit to nothing.. The customer support guy said it must be my wireless card not being able to support 128 bit encryption which he personally thought was strange. Is this something that others have found a problem and what implications will this have for my security settings? My wireless card is an airport card in a Macbook.

Saruman

I have come across problems like this before but it was my wireless card did not support WPA encryption. Only WEP. However im pretty sure the default eircom encryption is in fact WEP. I have not tried on a mac before so you might want to have some mac users take a look at this thread! There is a mac forum (under operating systems).

Try setting it up again and use 64 bit instead.
You are better having it on as if someone did get on they do not only get your internet connection! They get access to any PC connected so they could get into your files!

Oh and take a look at this:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300153
Pretty much try it and enter a $ before the key on your mac.

Rebeller

Sajan wrote:

The customer support guy said it must be my wireless card not being able to support 128 bit encryption which he personally thought was strange. Is this something that others have found a problem and what implications will this have for my security settings? My wireless card is an airport card in a Macbook.

What router are you using. Is it the Netopia 3347 by any chance.

I have my own macbook successfully connecting to the above router with eircom using WPA-PSK (personal shared key) and have not had any problems.

The issue might be in the way you have your connection configured under network pane in system preferences on your mac.

Can you provide more info such as router model, how you went about initially setting up your connection first time round?

Sajan

Hi Rebeller I will just reply here to your post on the other forum regarding the problem.. Yes the router is a 3347NWG.

The first thing I did was just turn the modem on and set up a connection through the network setting in the system preferences. I am pretty sure it is a problem regarding the two keys not being the same in the router settings and network setting.

So am I better off deleting that network connection in Network settings and start again? Whats steps should i take.

Rebeller

Is there another computer connected to the router through the ethernet port or is your macbook the only means you have to connect to the router interface?

It would probably be easier to use a 'wired" computer to set up your wireless connection first.


Navigate to your router by opening your browser and entering

http://192.168.1.254/

in the address bar.

Click on wireless in the left hand menu of your router page. Make sure that the "enable wireless" box is ticked.

Change the name of your network to something random (i.e. don't leave the eircom default name) that doesn't identify your location (for instance don't give it the same name as your address etc).

Click on "advanced configuration options" and tick the "Enable Closed System Mode" box (this will prevent your network from being picked up by casual scanners).

I'd recommend selecting WPA-PSK from the drop down menu under "privacy".

Under the "preshared key" field enter a password consisting of a mixture of letters, numbers and other symbols ($, @ etc.) and not less than 30 characters.

Take note of the key you entered as you'll need it when setting up the wireless connection from your mac.

Click "save changes" and give your router a couple of minutes to restart and the connection to resume.

Once this is done go to your mac and open the network pane under system preferences. From the drop down "show" menu select airport (make sure airport is turned on first)

Delete any previous network connections.

Click the + symbol below the box.

In the new window enter the name you gave to your network when in the router in the "network name" field.

Select "WPA Personal" from the drop down wireless security menu.

In the Password field enter the same key as you put in the "pre-shared key" field of the router. (I find it's easier to tick the show password box so you can see what exactly you're typing).

When you've done this hit OK and then "apply now"

In the network pane select "preferred networks" from the "by default join" menu and hit apply now.

You should be good to go!

Good luck.

Sajan

Cheers for this Rebeller. Really appreciate the detailed help.

Sajan

Worked absolutely perfectly Rebeller.. Cheers. Why couldn't over an hour on the phone to Eircom Tech support be this productive.. Ahh well. Once again rebeller.. Cheers mate.