laptop wireless help needed- WEP security code
 

About 5 months ago I purchased a Belkin 802.11g network wireless card and their router to go with it. Setup was a breeze and it works great. Unfortunately when I setup the WEP security I apparently didn't write down the code ( stupid !!! ). I recently purchased a laptop for the wife and it recognizes my network but with no WEP code it's no go. Is there a way to find my WEP security code in my computer? I've looked everywhere I know to look and I can find all kinds of settings, IP addresses etc. but not the WEP code. Or do I have to change/setup a new code ( and write it down ! ) for both computers? If it matters my laptop is a Dell Lattitude running Windows XP. Any help is appreciated.............thanks.

Is there an administration portal for the router? You wont be able to get it from the old laptop. Try opening Internet Explorer and entering 192.168.1.1 as the URL in the address line.


If you can access the admin portal on therouter where you first set it up you should be able to get the key and enter it on the new laptop.

Is there a reset button on the router? It may be easier to reset to factory conditions and start over.

Are you sure you have encryption enabled? On my laptop wireless profile, under the 'wireless' tab (and 'edit wireless settings') if encryption is enabled, then the next window has the fields to enter the WEP keys. If by chance you have encryption disabled, then you will not see the 'WEP keys' window.

I'd just change the key in the router and reenter it in the existing PC

Unless I misinterpreted his post, that's his issue: he can't find the location of the WEP key(s) on his old PC.

I think the problem is not that he doesn't know where to enter the code, but more that once you get to that location, the code is just asterisks, so he can't see the code.

Gotcha....

Yes I can get to a screen where the WEP code is but it's all asterisks.

You'll etiher need to retrieve it from the admin page on the router, or start from scratch and set it up all over again if there's no admin portal.

My router (purchased with DSL service) has the WEP code right on the bottom of the router......

Since you bought the router separately, it may not be there, but hell, it's worth a shot to look on the thing........

How do I find out if I have a admin portal?

open up Internet Explorer, where you'd normally enter www.google.com or whatever, type in 192.168.1.1.

What happens?

or you may want to try 192.168.0.1.

Of course, the point of that would be to access the router. You may or may not know how to do that, but I suspect that since you set it up initially you probably already know. The problem may be that when you access the router the key is all asterisks there as well. I know my router converts the key to asterisks after I initially enter it, so accessing the router may not help, that's why I recommend just resetting the key.

There are some utilities on the net that are supposed to show the passwords that are 'under' those *, but I don't have any specific one to recommend.

If the problem is that you cannot remember how to access the router and the two addresses above didn't help, I can walk you through determining what address to access. Assuming that you are running XP Click start then run. When the box pops up type cmd and hit enter. When the dos box pops up type ipconfig and look at the default gateway. That almost certainly be the address that you would need to use to access the router.

The password to access the router will be your problem to solve.

unless the password for the router has been changed, most of them are

login: admin
password: password

or some variation of those.


You really should just change the wep code, since it's a good idea to change the codes every few months, anyway.

If you opt to download a password cracker off the 'net to find out what the astericks really are...good luck. You'll probably be wading through crack and porn sites till you find one that works. I have used a few of them in my time, and they do work, but their mostly on warez sites.

masraum I did as you suggested and the DOS screen says the IP address is 192.168.2.3 , then there is a "subnet mask " address is this by chance the WEP code? Then there is a default gateway address of 192.168.2.1 . I have typed in both addresses and nothing happens other than a "could not find " message.

No, the subnet is not the WEP

www.belkin.com has a very nice tech support site. Find your router, and the step-by-step installation instructions are online. I gather your admin address is http://192.168.2.1 You type this URL into your browser address.

This will bring you into your admin console login. You'll need to know your password, unless you've never set it, which means you should press enter and gain access. (THEN CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD).

Once you are in the Belkin control panel, you can look at or change your WEP code.

If it is like mine (not belkin), all you need to do is use a network cable to physically connect it to your computer and run the setup software again.

I found the WEP code!! Thanks guys.

Excellent. It's still a good idea to change it, but probably not that important since WEP can be cracked in minutes with a few simple downloads. Unfortunately there's not really a good wireless security option out there yet. The only thing that you can do is make your network more difficult to hack/crack than your neighbors and hope for the best.

For home wireless networks, a combination of WEP, MAC Filtering and disabling Broadcasting provides some pretty decent security. Also, be creative when creating your SSID. As in a good password, use a random combination of letters and numbers that make literally no sense...and remember it.

Is all of this fool-proof? Not hardly. But someone would really have to WANT to get onto your network pretty bad to get through all four of them. And if you're not a bank, or some other sort of financial institution, my guess is you'd be pretty safe.

Randy