so my home network has 3 computers on it...My desk top (hard wired), my lap-top (wireless) and Jen's desk top (wireless)

but any who...Jens computers refuses to log onto the internet...it shows a strong connection to my router, but it wont download information, it was working fine a day ago...

the setup is a WRT54G Linksys router...and a microsoft 54G USB networking antena...

any ideas as to the problem would be appreciated.

duke will be with you in a few hours.

Do you have WEP enabled? Do you have MAC address lock outs? Check those settings. Also, try updating the firmware on the router. Third-party ones are good as well for your WRT54G. Freeman is very nice (based on sveasoft Talisman, but free and "open-sourced").

do you have a firewall running or a mac filter set up on your router??

its all just the standard settings...the only one i have manually enabled was the wep...

however I changed my wep lastnight (re-set it) and changed it on all of the computers in the house...and now everyone is running great (much faster than before) so im wondering...Maybe jen was messing with her computer and accidentally changed her wep (or downloaded a virus which did it for her)

or...may be some punk kid neighbor had hacked into my signal...I have heard its possible if you sit and try for long enough...

Sometimes routers just need to be reset. I know every couple months our internet will slow and resetting the router will do the trick.

OR she didnt enter the WEP key properly. A reset should solve 90% of the problems.

a good recomendation...

to re-set the router...do i press the re-set button on the bottom, then go about installing it as if it were brand new? like follow the set up procedures i did when i first got it?

Nooo .... that will wipe clean everything .. if your connection keeps dropping or something then simply shut down the router and restart it .... IF you have forgotten your router master password then a complete reset will be needed.

no, i know all the passwords to get onto the control pannel for the router...

how do i do a re-set then...i have unplugged it a few times...but the problem comes back after a few hours...is there a "reset" button on the control pannel screen?

if you simply mean that i should reset my WEP...that is already done.

Well we have a Belkin router back home, and a D-Link here at my uni house, and both have just a small button on the back that you push in. It'll keep all your settings, it just sort of a refresh for the router. Then usually you can do a hard reset where you hold it in for like 10 seconds or something and that'll wipe everything clean as if you just updated the firmware or something, or if it was brand new.

Its also could be that your wireless network is interfereing with the wireless network of your neighbours or something .... try and change your channel ( default is 6 or 11 or something) .... Just try different channels and see if it makes any difference.

will do...

and will that button thisng work for a linksys? if i just press it once will it do a "soft" reset?

and finally...with 128bit WEP's what are the chancs someone near by could be messing with my network? i have read about how WEP's are ok...but that a 128 is not too hard to crack.

Nothing is uncrackable, givin enough time and resources. Now for most, a 64, 128, or 256bit WEP/WPA is fine for a kiddiescripter that just wants to get a free load. He/she won't bother hacking it, but if someone wants to hack into one, there is not much you really can do, short of not having a WLAN, to stop him/her.. well a shotgun wouldn't hurt.... much.

Yeah a WEP won't save you from shit. I don't even run a password on my router, I just have it set to filter MAC addresses.

Wireless though, you'd have to shoot everyone with a computer in like a 1500ft radias around your house O_O

Hey guys, i was always wondering about ppl stealing other ppl's internet.
Like if your router is broadcasting to everyone around your area, its dangerous.
I got the Linksys one too, i am just curious what do people have to use to tap into someone else's router?

If you disable your SIDD, enable WEP, or better, enable WPA, and enable MAC address lock outs, you have the closest thing to LAN based networking that you can get... without going to LAN based networking. It's not going to stop people from hacking into it, but its a damn sight near impossible if they can't find your network off the bat.

How can they break into it if you have MAC filtering? I mean you can't even get on the network without me entering the MAC address into the router.

Its called spoofing the mac address ....

I suppose that could work. Just use a random alphanumeric generator and keep trying until one works?

Use Kismet to capture mac addresses that are being transmitted in the area and then try to spoof those ... random alphanumeric generators will trigger firewall alarms in the newer/better routers.

I guess the only comfort I have is that there's networks far easier to break into than mine.

Thats my comforting thought too ... noone is gonna bother hacking into my network if there is an open one 3 houses away.