Belkin P75125UK manual Essid Broadcast, Encryption

Appendixes

ESSID Broadcast

Many wireless network adapters currently on the market possess a feature known as site survey. It scans the air for any available network and allows each computer to automatically select a network from the survey. This occurs if the computer’s SSID is set to “ANY”. Your Belkin Router can block this random search for a network. If you disable the “ESSID Broadcast” feature, the only way a computer can join your network is by its SSID being set to the specific name of the network (like WLAN). Be sure that you know your SSID (network name) before enabling this feature. It

is possible to make your wireless network nearly invisible. By turning off the broadcast of the SSID, your network will not appear in a site survey. Obviously, turning off the broadcast feature of the SSID helps increase security.

Encryption

Setting encryption can help keep your network secure. The Router uses Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and WIFI protested Access (WPA) encrytion to protect to protect your data and features two rates of encryption: 64-bit and 128-bit. Encryption works on a system of keys. The key on the computer must match the key on the Router, and there are two ways to make a key. The easiest is to let the Router’s software convert a passphrase you’ve created into a key. The advanced method is to enter the keys manually.

Virtual Servers

This function will allow you to route external (Internet) calls for services such as a web server (port 80), FTP server (Port 21), or other applications through your Router to your internal network. Since your internal computers are protected by a firewall, machines from the Internet cannot get to them because they cannot be “seen”. If you need to configure the virtual server function for a specific application, you will need to contact the application vendor to find out which port settings you need.

To manually enter settings, enter the IP address in the space provided for the internal machine, the port type (TCP or UDP), and the LAN and public port(s) required to pass. Then select “Enable” and click “Set”. You can only pass one port per internal IP address. Opening ports in your firewall can pose a security risk. You can enable and disable settings very quickly. It is recommended that you disable the settings when you are not using a specific application.

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