[Dombo]

Hi,

Can anyone help me. I installed a wireless network router last year and encrypted it with a network key which now for the life of me I can't remember.
I have bought my 9 year old son his first PC and installed a Belkin network adaptor which installed perfectly well but of course when trying to access my network it requests the network key.

My router is a netgear DG834G I have no difficluty accessing the wireless network with my laptop that has a netgear wireless card or my own desktop that uses a d-link adaptor however they were all set up at the same time last year when I knew the network key!

All pc's operate windows XP home.

Many thanks in anticipation of someones advise.

[wacky.banana]

Why don't you set the reset button on the router so it defaults back to factory settings, then set it up from scratch again with a new key.

You can then save a map of your system and keys somewhere where you can lay hands on if needs be. You could always encrypt your key and keep the encrypted version somewhere.

Hope this helps.

WB

[TerryNet]

wacky.banana is correct, but it's even quicker to just assign a new encryption key.

I keep the key in a text file on my desktop of each computer. Nobody else has access to them.

[JohnWill]

I tape it to the bottom of the router. If they have physical possession of my router, I suspect my wireless key is the least of my problems!

[Bob Cerelli]

Or even hide it as a text file somewhere on the computer. Then you can open it and copy and paste it in. A lot faster that way. The desktop is a bit of an obvious place. Unless having it so open is not a security concern.

[Dombo]

Thanks to everyone for their responses, I am not at all familiar with the IT technical side of things and the router was set up by a specialist. Assigning a new encrytion key sounds like a good option, how do I do this?

Dombo

[Bob Cerelli]

Check with the instructions that came with the router.

Typically you connect to the router from you web browser, go to the Wireless area and at least set up WEP security. Then you would need to enter that same key on the computer. That's where I like to copy and paste to a text file and keep it somewhere I'll remember on the computer.

[Zappattazz]

First, go to the Netgear website and do a search of the support section for your model or just click here:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/DG834G.asp

You should know which version model you have (this is good for when you want to update the firmware) -- I just typed "reset button" into the search box at top-right of page and clicked "Search Now" button which brought me to this page:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/inquira/...13#__highlight

After you've reset the password to something which is "easy for you to remember but difficult for anyone else to guess (combo of upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, special characters, etc.)", I would suggest securing your network using these methods:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/n101191.asp

[Dombo]

Thanks to everyone for their advise. I managed to log on to the netgear router via control panel and then once I clicked on wireless settings I could see the WEP keys that were set up. I have done as advised and copied them and hidden them securely, and bingo I was able to connect my sons PC to our network. He is one happy 9 year old!

[Bob Cerelli]

Good job. Now you have them tucked away in case you need them again.

[jonasdatum]

Originally Posted by TerryNet

wacky.banana is correct, but it's even quicker to just assign a new encryption key.

I keep the key in a text file on my desktop of each computer. Nobody else has access to them.

??? You keep them in a text file? On your computer's desktop screen? For each computer? Did you use some sort of encryption?

[Bob Cerelli]

It did seem a bit of a security risk.

[TerryNet]

Yes, I keep the keys in an unencrypted text file on the desktop. Maybe you folks were so shocked by this security risk that you didn't read the next sentence, reproduced below.

"Nobody else has access to them."

By "them" I mean the computers. The few people who can get into my house when I'm not around are trusted, and, if they wanted, or anybody breaking into the house, could do far more damage than unauthorized access to my wireless networks.

[Bob Cerelli]

The details are always good to know.

[jonasdatum]

Originally Posted by TerryNet

Yes, I keep the keys in an unencrypted text file on the desktop. Maybe you folks were so shocked by this security risk that you didn't read the next sentence, reproduced below.

"Nobody else has access to them."

By "them" I mean the computers. The few people who can get into my house when I'm not around are trusted, and, if they wanted, or anybody breaking into the house, could do far more damage than unauthorized access to my wireless networks.

How does nobody else have access to them? That is my question? Even if you restrict access to the user ID; if the file is unencrypted they can read it off the drive. I've done myself when recovring data from an old NT drive of mine.