Simple Help » Wireless

How to use your Nokia N95 as a wireless Webcam

Ken Murray — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:30:54 +0000

SmartCam turns a Symbian Series 60 phone with bluetooth and camera into a webcam ready to use with your PC. It is open source software, licenced under the GPLv2 and will run on Linux or Windows. There are commercial applications that will do the same thing, but I believe in using and supporting free, open source software whenever possible.

In this tutorial I will be installing SmartCam on Fedora 9 as the SmartCam developer has already tested and confirmed that SmartCam works on Ubuntu 8.04. Yes, SmartCam does use the Video4Linux API. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video4Linux for a list of compatible applications. I personally use SmartCam with aMSN quite frequently.

First things first, visit http://sourceforge.net/projects/smartcam/ and click the Download link in the green box.

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We’re going to install the Linux version, so click the Download link for smartcam linux.

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The latest Linux version at the time of writing is v2008.09.18.2. Download the zip archive and remember where you saved it. I saved it in ~/Download

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I’ll be doing the next few steps on the command line as it involves compiling a kernel module for SmartCam.

Navigate to the directory where you saved the SmartCam zip file.
[kmurray@radon ~]$ cd ~/Download
Unzip the archive.
[kmurray@radon Download]$ unzip smartcam_v_2008.09.18.2.zip
Archive: smartcam_v_2008.09.18.2.zip
creating: smartcam/
inflating: smartcam/COPYING
inflating: smartcam/ReadMe.txt
creating: smartcam/release/
inflating: smartcam/release/smartcam.ko
inflating: smartcam/release/smartcam
creating: smartcam/release/phone_files/
inflating: smartcam/release/phone_files/SmartCamS603rdEd.SIS
inflating: smartcam/release/phone_files/SmartCamS602ndEd.SIS
inflating: smartcam/release/phone_files/jSmartCam.jar
[file listing snipped to save space]
Now we compile the SmartCam kernel module. You will need to ensure that you have the kernel development headers installed. In Fedora it’s as simple as yum install kernel-devel
[kmurray@radon Download]$ cd smartcam/src/driver/
[kmurray@radon driver]$ make -C /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build M=`pwd` modules
make: Entering directory `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.26.6-79.fc9.i686′
CC [M] /home/kmurray/Download/smartcam/src/driver/smartcam.o
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST 1 modules
CC /home/kmurray/Download/smartcam/src/driver/smartcam.mod.o
LD [M] /home/kmurray/Download/smartcam/src/driver/smartcam.ko
make: Leaving directory `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.26.6-79.fc9.i686′
Kernel modules usually live somewhere in /lib/modules/`uname -r`/. Just to keep things tidy, we’ll copy the module there.
[kmurray@radon driver]$ sudo cp smartcam.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/extra
Now update the module dependancies.
[kmurray@radon driver]$ sudo /sbin/depmod -a
Load the module.
[kmurray@radon driver]$ sudo /sbin/modprobe smartcam
Verify that it loaded.
[kmurray@radon driver]$ /sbin/lsmod | grep smartcam
smartcam 9880 0
videodev 29824 1 smartcam

[kmurray@radon driver]$ ls -l /dev/video*
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 6 2008-11-15 13:59 /dev/video -> video0
crw-rw—- 1 root root 81, 0 2008-11-15 13:59 /dev/video0
As you may have noticed, we have a minor problem here. /dev/video0 is only accessible to root. Unless you plan on only using your webcam as root, which is a very bad idea, you need to change this. Rather than change the permissions of /dev/video0 every time you reboot, you can change your udev rules to allow all users to access /dev/video0.
Using your favourite text editor, open /etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev-default.rules. I used vim.

[kmurray@radon driver]$ sudo vim /etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev-default.rules

Search for the video4linux stanza and change the line that reads:

KERNEL==”video0″, SYMLINK+=”video”

to this:

KERNEL==”video0″, SYMLINK+=”video”, MODE=”0666″
Remove and reload the SmartCam kernel module.
[kmurray@radon driver]$ sudo /sbin/modprobe -r smartcam
[kmurray@radon driver]$ sudo /sbin/modprobe smartcam
Verify the permissions of /dev/video0.
[kmurray@radon driver]$ ls -l /dev/video*
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 6 2008-11-15 14:05 /dev/video -> video0
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 81, 0 2008-11-15 14:05 /dev/video0

Now /dev/video0 is available to all users.
Now compile the SmartCam application.
[kmurray@radon driver]$ cd ../../src/app/
[kmurray@radon app]$ gcc `pkg-config –cflags –libs gtk+-2.0 gthread-2.0` -lbluetooth smartcam.c -o smartcam
Make the SmartCam application available to all users.
[kmurray@radon app]$ sudo cp smartcam /usr/local/bin/
Make the SmartCam icons available to all users.
[kmurray@radon app]$ sudo mkdir /usr/share/pixmaps/smartcam/
[kmurray@radon app]$ sudo cp icons/*.png /usr/share/pixmaps/smartcam/
I also chose to create a menu entry for SmartCam under Applications -> Sound & Video. Click System -> Preferences -> Look and Feel -> Main Menu.

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This is where you add or remove custom Applications Menu entries.

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In the left pane, click on Sound & Video.

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Click the New Item button on the right hand side and fill in the fields as follows:

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Click the Choose Icon button at the top left and type /usr/share/pixmaps/smartcam in the file field at the top, then click on logo.png and click OK.

The window should now look like this:

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Click OK and close the Menu Editor. Then click Applications -> Sound & Video and you will see a menu entry for SmartCam.

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Now that the computer is set up, you need to install SmartCam on your N95. The SmartCam zip file you downloaded earlier also contains the SmartCam application for your phone. The version you want to install on your N95 is in the archive under release/phone_files/SmartCamS603rdEd.SIS. See my previous tutorials on how to install applications on your phone if you are unfamiliar with the process (How to install N95 apps via USB | How to install N95 apps via bluetooth) Once you have SmartCam installed on your phone, you will find it in your Applications folder.
You must start SmartCam on your computer first. Click Applications -> Sound & Video -> SmartCam.

Now start SmartCam on your phone.

Select Options -> Start

If you have previously connected to your computer via bluetooth you will already see it in the list. If not, simply select More Devices. Either way, choose to connect to your computer.
Here’s what it looks like on my phone and on my computer.

At the time of writing, SmartCam only supports bluetooth connections. Hopefully in the future the developer will implement USB and/or Wifi as well. Either way, I still think SmartCam is a fantastic piece of software!

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How to turn your N95 into a wireless access point

Ken Murray — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:30:02 +0000

This tutorial will guide you through turning your Nokia N95 into a WiFi (wireless) access point. No more tethering via USB or Bluetooth. Using JoikuSpot Light, a totally free utility that works well as long as you only need to use HTTP and HTTPS protocols, you’ll be up and surfing in no time. You’ll have to go with JoikuSpot Premium if you need POP3, SMTP, etc.

Warning: You probably only want to do this if you have a decent data plan. Using 3G data can result in a very large bill, particularly if you live in Canada.

You’ll have to use your computer to visit the JoikuSpot Light product page, where you will select your phone model, then click Download. Save the JoikuSpot Light installation file to a directory on your hard drive, then install it on your phone. See my recent tutorials on installing software on your N95 via USB or installing software on your N95 via Bluetooth.
For your convenience I have included a Mobile Code below. You may find you have limited success in using your mobile browser to download JoikuSpot Light due to the web site layout.

Now that you have JoikuSpot Light installed, you can find it by selecting Menu -> Applications > JoikuSpot.

Next you are prompted to allow sharing your internet connection with other devices.

Select No. We want to change some settings first. You will end up at the JoikuSpot main screen.

In the default configuration, JoikuSpot does not use any sort of encryption. You will want to change this. Select Options -> Settings.

This is where we can make changes to things like the Network Name, the default Access Point to use, and the Encryption options. Scroll down to Encryption and select Options -> Change.

Unfortunately WPA is not an option. You can only choose WEP Open or WEP Shared. At least WEP is marginally better than no encryption at all and will stop others from connecting to your network accidentally.
Lets try WEP Open.
Now scroll down and set the encryption key type, the length, and the key itself. In this example I chose to use a 128 bit ASCII key.

Notice that a random key was generated automatically. Lets change this to something easier to remember. Scroll down to Encryption Key and select Options -> Change. In this example I changed the key to NokiaN95Rocks.

Now select Back to go back to the main JoikuSpot screen, then choose Options -> Start to start sharing.

You will be prompted to allow sharing your internet connection. Select Yes.

Now select your 3G access point.

JoikuSpot starts and your N95 is now acting as a WiFi Access Point.

Press the Right toggle to see the status of the connection. Scroll down one page to see the Encryption Key being used. This is the key that you will enter on your computer when you connect to your phones shared connection.

Now set the phone down and go over to the computer. On the computer, select Connect To A Network and you should see your JoikuSpot access point listed. You may have to click the refresh button.

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Select your JoikuSpot access point and click Connect. You will be prompted to enter the same encryption key as you entered on your phone.

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Assuming you entered the key correctly, you should successfully connect. In this example I chose to save this network connection for future use.

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You should now notice that the Network Connection icon in your system tray indicates Local Access Only.

Not to worry. Open up a browser, preferably Firefox, and you will see an advertisement for JoikuSpot Premium.

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You can safely ignore this advertisement and just click the Home icon in Firefox. You are now on the Internet.

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It may take a little while for Windows to notice that your wireless connection has changed from Local Only to Local and Internet.

If you look at the screen on your N95, you should see your computer listed on the Clients tab in JoikuSpot.

Enjoy surfing, but don’t forget to shut down JoikuSpot when you’re finished. Select Options -> Stop.

JoikuSpot is no longer sharing your 3G internet.

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How to flash the Linksys WRT54G v8 with the DD-WRT Firmware

Ross McKillop — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:30:14 +0000

This tutorial will walk you every step of the way through flashing your Linksys WRT54G (version 8) router to use the DD-WRT firmware.

According to Wikipedia, the Linksys WRT54G v8.0 is “currently one of the most commonly available (routers) at US retail establishments, such as Best Buy and Target”. Due to hardware limitations, the 8.x versions (8.0, 8.1 and 8.2) are only able to run the “micro” version of the DD-WRT firmware (you can find a firmware version feature comparison chart here). Even so, the micro version of the DD-WRT firmware provides dozens of features, many of which are not available with the default Linksys firmware.

This walkthrough is based on the WRT54G v8.x tutorial on the DD-WRT wiki. The biggest difference between this one and the one on the DD-WRT wiki is that I’ve elaborated a bit, and provided screenshots for each step.

Please make sure you understand each step before you complete this tutorial. If you’re unsure of anything, please leave a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. It is possible to brick (render the router unusable) your device if done incorrectly.

You’ll need to use a wired (not wireless) computer to flash your WRT54G with the DD-WRT firmware. Make sure that computer (doesn’t matter if it’s a Mac or PC running Windows or Linux) is plugged in to Port 1 of your router. Unplug all other devices from the router – you can leave the WAN port plugged in to your cable/DSL modem.
Download the files vxworkskillerGv8-v3.bin and dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin to the computer you’re going to use to flash your WRT54G (the one plugged in to Port 1 of your router).
You’ll need to set your computer to use the following static IP settings:

IP Address: 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1

OS X Static IP Settings

Windows Static IP Settings

Unplug the power cord from the WRT54G. Push the Reset button (see image below) while plugging the power cord back in, and hold down the button for about 20 seconds. Use a pencil or ball-point pen to push and hold the Reset button – it’s a bit recessed and very difficult to push and hold with your finger or fingernail.

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Open your browser and enter the address http://192.168.1.1. Use a browser other than Firefox, as issues have been reported with Firefox not being able to flash the device properly. I’ve used Safari and Internet Explorer and both had no problems.

You’ll be presented with a Management Mode Firmware Upgrade page. Click the Choose File button.

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Navigate to the vxworkskillerGv8-v3.bin file, select it, and close Choose (or Open if you’re using IE).

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Make sure that vxworkskillerGv8-v3.bin is listed on the Management Mode Firmware Upgrade page, and click the Apply button.

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Wait for at least two minutes before you go any further. After the 2 minutes is up, if you notice a dialog asking you to reboot the router, do so by unplugging the power cord and plugging it back in again. If you don’t get a message telling you to reboot the router, wait another 3-4 minutes and then reboot the router.

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You should be able to ping 192.168.1.1 (in Linux or OS X open a Terminal and type ping 192.168.1.1. In Windows open a Command Prompt by clicking Start, selecting Run enter cmd and then type ping 192.168.1.1). If the router doesn’t reply you probably haven’t set your network settings correctly (step #3 above).

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Now it’s time to flash the WRT54G with the DD-WRT firmware. To do so, enter the appropriate command for your Operating System:

Windows: (note: Vista users will need to install tftp first) enter tftp -i 192.168.1.1 put dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin from the Command Prompt. Make sure that the dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin file is in the same folder that you’re using the Command Prompt from. For example, if you downloaded dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin to your Desktop, make sure the Command Prompt reads C:\Documents and Settings\your-user-name\Desktop> – where your-user-name is your Windows user name.

Linux: enter tftp -m octet 192.168.1.1 -c put dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin at your shell/terminal. Note: if you get the the message error code 3 while trying to flash it, try atftp. The aftp command is: atftp –option “mode octet” –verbose -p -l dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin 192.168.1.1

OS X: enter tftp -e 192.168.1.1 From the tftp> prompt enter put dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin

Make sure that the dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin file is in the same folder that you’re using the Terminal from. For example, if you downloaded dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin to your Downloads folder, make sure you’re using the Terminal prompt from /Users/your-user-name/Downloads – where your-user-name is your Mac user name.

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The file will be transferred and automatically installed. Once this is done, DD-WRT will automatically boot. After about a minute, you can browse DD-WRT on your router at http://192.168.1.1.

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If you browse away from the main page, you’ll be prompted for a user name and password. The default user name is: root and the default password is: admin. To change the user name and/or password (a very good idea!!) – select the Administration tab and then the Management tab. Enter your new user name and/or password in the spaces provided, and click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.

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When you navigate away from the Management tab, you’ll be prompted to enter your user name and password again. Enter your new user name and/or password to continue.

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How to enable or disable WiFi on your Jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch with one tap

Ross McKillop — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:00:52 +0000

This brief tutorial will guide you through using Cydia on your Jailbroken iPhone/iPod Touch to install WiFiToggle – an app that makes enabling and disabling WiFi a “one tap” affair.

For help jailbreaking your iPod Touch running the 2.x firmware, see this tutorial for Windows or this tutorial for OS X.

Launch Cydia from your Springboard.

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Once Cydia loads, select Sections from the bottom menu.

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Scroll down to the System section, and select it.

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Scroll down to the WiFiToggle entry, and select it.

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Tap the Install button in the upper-right corner.

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Now tap the Confirm button in the upper-right corner.

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Give WiFiToggle a moment to download…

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and then it will install. Once the installation has completed, click the big Return to Cydia button at the bottom of the screen.

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You’ll be taken back to the WiFiToggle entry in Cydia. Click the “home” button on your iPhone/iPod Touch to return to the Springboard.

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You should see a new icon on your Springboard – WifiToggle. Tap it.

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And WiFi will be disabled.

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Note (screenshot below) the WiFi icon in the upper-left corner is gone – WiFi is turned off.

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To re-enable WiFi, just tap WifiToggle again.

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How to access uTorrent from your mobile device

Ross McKillop — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:00:59 +0000

This brief tutorial will walk you through the steps required to access (and control) uTorrent from your mobile device (phone, PDA, wi-fi mp3 player etc).

Make sure that you’ve installed and set up uTorrent Web UI. Once it’s up and running, visit http://m.utorrentmui.com in your mobile browser. Opera Mini works great, Internet Explorer Mobile, not as well. Enter all of your uTorrent Web UI info and select Login.

And you’ll be presented with a list of your current uTorrent torrents.

Selecting (clicking) one of the links to a torrent will display all the info (current download speed, upload speed, ETA etc).

If you select Settings from the main uTorrent mUI screen, you’ll be able to change some of the settings for each of your bittorrent files.

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How to setup and use Skype on your Windows Mobile Smartphone

Ross McKillop — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:30:38 +0000

If you live in Canada, you know how outrageous even the ‘lowest’ mobile monthly plans cost. One way to get around the price gouging is to get a Wi-Fi enabled Skype supported phone, and make calls with Skype.

The steps and screenshots in this tutorial are specific for a Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone. With that said, they’re probably pretty similar for Windows Mobile 6, and even the Pocket PC version (though I can’t confirm PPC).

Before you get too far into this, there are a few things you should know up front.

If you already have a Skype account and it has more than 100 “contacts” associated with it, you may want to create a new one to use with your mobile. Throughout the Skype knowledgebase, one of the most common troubleshooting tips is “make sure your Skype contact list has less than 100 entries”.

Skype for Mobile requires the use of a headset. Only “some” Bluetooth headsets will work. The one that came with my HTC S621 works perfectly fine.

Download Skype for Mobile from: http://www.skype.com/download/skype/mobile/

If your phone supports directly installing .cab files, you can skip ActiveSync entirely. Look for the You can also download the .cab file (for advanced users only) link, and download the .cab file directly to your mobile phone.

Once Skype has installed, launch it from your Today screen.

Give it a moment..

and click Accept to continue.

Review the info provided on the Important notice section, and click OK.

Enter your Skype Name and Password in the spaces provided. Check Sign in automatically on start if you want to sign in to Skype automatically each time you launch it. Click Sign in to continue.

Unless you have an unlimited 3G or EDGE data plan, you will almost certainly want to select Use WiFi only as the Connection Method. Click OK to finish.

Skype will now connect and sign in.

Select the Skype Test Call entry and click Call. Make sure that your headset is plugged in.

Follow the instructions (just talk into the mic when told, and then listen for yourself).

After a successful test call, click Hang up.

And your Skype status is displayed on your Today screen.

Now give it a test with someone on your contact list. If don’t know anyone currently using Skype, you can see if I’m around (username: ross.mckillop) and say hello.
You can make unlimited calls to landlines with Skype – any time, day or night. And there’s no long-term contract.. As long as you have access to a free wireless network, you can use Skype to make all of your calls. Give your mobile provider a shout and tell them you want to downgrade to the lowest possible plan per month, and save on your phone calls.

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How to automatically upload pictures from your mobile phone to Flickr

Ross McKillop — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 12:00:37 +0000

This tutorial will guide you through installing, setting up and using ShoZu, one of the Flickr recommended 3rd party mobile tools. The steps and screenshots are specific to Windows Mobile 5.x, but should be somewhat similar for other mobile phones.

First things first, make sure your phone is compatible with ShoZu. If it is, sign up for an account.

I should also mention up front – you can use ShoZu to upload pictures to a number of services, not just Flickr. Facebook, Blogger, WordPress, Picassa and TypePad are just a few of the other supported services.

Important: uploading pictures with ShoZu will require you to use a data connection. In some countries, this isn’t an obstacle. Canada is not one of those countries. My monthly “plan” includes 1.5MB of data transfers. Each additional KB is 5¢ (that’s right). However, my phone is Wi-Fi enabled, which means I can send and receive as much data as I want (when connected to a free wireless network). The only time I use ShoZu is when I’m connected via WiFi.

Click on the link that ShoZu sends you as a text message.

Download the file. It will probably auto-run once the download has completed.

Select a location to install ShoZu, and click Install.

Locate ShoZu from your programs list, and launch it.

Highlight Share-It and select it.

Click OK on the Alert.

Highlight Destinations and select it.

You’ll be told that you haven’t set up a destination yet, and to use the Menu button to create a new one. Select Add new destination from the Menu list.

Click Yes

Review and accept the user agreement.

Scroll down to Flickr and select it.

Click OK to confirm.

The Destination name will probably be pre-populated. If you’re OK with the default name, click Done.

Click OK on the Alert window.

Check the email account that you used to register ShoZu. There should be an email from them with a link you’ll need to follow in order to send pictures to Flickr via ShoZu. Click that link.

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You’ll be taken to your Flickr account and there should be a You have successfully authorized the application ShoZu.

Now back on your mobile phone, open your picture-taking application.

Take a snapshot of something..

And ShoZu will pop up on its own. You can send it directly to Flickr now with one click (by selecting Yes).

Or you can scroll through the ‘options’. For example, selecting Add details..

allows you to change the Title, Description and Tags.

After your edits, select Menu and then send it to Flickr.

Check your Flickr account and you should see your newly uploaded photo.

It’s worth the time to check out the settings and options for ShoZu. You can modify the default tags that are included when you upload without first editing, change the delivery methods etc.

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How to find the best available wireless connection using OS X

Ross McKillop — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 14:00:24 +0000

This tutorial will guide you in using iStumbler to find and connect to the best possible wireless connection while you’re out and about on the town.

If you frequently use your Mac away from home – in coffee shops, parks, hotels or elsewhere, iStumbler is a tool that will make your life considerably easier. iStumbler is the leading wireless discovery tool for Mac OS X, providing plugins for finding AirPort networks, Bluetooth devices and Bonjour services with your Mac. It’s also free (donation-ware).

Using iStumbler

First and foremost, make sure you’ve downloaded and installed iStumbler. The installation is as straight forward as most Mac apps – unpackage it and drag it to your Applications folder.

When you launch iStumbler it will immediately search for wireless networks, Bluetooth devices and Bonjour services. This guide will only deal with wireless networks. If you have Growl installed it will start popping up notifications for all the networks/devices that iStumbler finds.

The main iStumbler window displays a list of all available wireless networks (when AirPort is selected from the left menu, which is the default) and detailed information about each network.
Allow it to run for a moment in order to discover every possible network. You can sort networks by selecting the various tabs – for example if you want to connect to an open network, sort by the Secure so all of the open networks are grouped together.

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As you can see in the above screenshot (though you might need to enlarge it) – iStumbler found 20 wireless networks (I was @ a coffee shop in Vancouver). At the exact same time, Apple’s default AirPort status monitor only found 6.

Select iStumbler from your menu, Preferences from the drop-down list and then choose the Airport tab. By default, iStumbler will auto-connect to the “best” available network. The coffee shop that I was in at the time had a very strong signal and minimal noise, so iStumbler considered it the best. However, it was being used by at least 20 other people, and was quite slow. So to keep iStumbler from re-connecting to that network, I removed the check from the Auto-Select Best Network option.

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Choose the iStumbler tab from the top of the Preferences menu to review some of the other options. I’ve found that leaving the defaults is ideal, but you can try changing them to suit your personal needs.

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To manually join a network, select it from the list and click the join network button.

iStumbler also includes a small (and transparent by default) Connection Monitor, which graphs the network that you’re connected to.

There’s also a Spectrum dashboard widget that displays a virtual spectrum analyzer, allowing you to visually detect network radio frequency overlap. Spectrum gets it’s information directly from iStumbler to provide you with the most accurate signal information available.

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How to secure your wireless home network

Ross McKillop — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 08:22:44 +0000

Here are 5 quick steps to help you secure your wireless network from unauthorized access. These steps are provided as general guidelines – for detailed help, please contact your hardware vendor. See the bottom of this page for links to some common wireless networking vendors.

1. Download the latest firmware for your device.
2. Change the administrator password.
3. Change your SSID and turn off SSID Broadcasting
4. Enable WPA
5. Limit access by MAC addresses

1. Download the latest firmware for your wireless router.

Firmware is software that’s embedded in a hardware device – in this case, your wireless router. The firmware that comes with your wireless router or wireless access point may be out of date. Download the latest firmware to ensure the best security and performance.

As security vulnerabilities are discovered, patches to stop them are developed. These patches are often included in firmware updates. If you’re using the default firmware that came with your wireless router, there could be several known security holes that could allow someone to hijack your Internet connection, view the files on each of your networked computers and even steal passwords or credit card numbers.

Most of today’s wireless routers allow for firmware updates, and the process is quite simple. Check the web site for your wireless device manufacturer for instructions on obtaining the latest firmware and how to install it. The Linksys support site can be found here and the Netgear support site can be found here. Additional hardware vendor support sites can be found at the bottom of this page.

2. Change the administrator password

Your wireless router’s default password should be changed immediately. All wireless routers are shipped with the same administrator user name and password. Changing the user name and password is not only the most important change, it is the easiest. In your wireless router’s configuration page, look for a link or setting titled “Admin.” If you have any trouble changing this setting, check your wireless router’s user guide.

3. Change your SSID and turn of SSID Broadcasting

Your wireless router comes with a default SSID (Wireless network name), and one of the first things you should do is change that SSID. By having a non-default SSID, you’re making it harder for unauthorized connections to your network.

By allowing your SSID to broadcast, you make it easy to add additional devices to your wireless network. However, you also make it easy for anyone with a wireless device to gain access to your network. Leaving broadcasting on is a bit like leaving your car keys in the ignition while you run into the store – you’re asking for trouble.

When you turn SSID broadcasting off, your wireless devices will have to be configured with the exact SSID that you have specified in your wireless router.

4. Enable WPA
Most new wireless cards and routers support WPA or WPA2 wireless security. Go with the one that you’re sure all of your hardware supports. WEP is no longer considered a safe way to secure your data.

5. Limit access by MAC addresses

Every network card, both wired and wireless, has a unique address assigned to it from the manufacturer. This identifier is called a MAC address. By setting your wireless router to only allow connections from specific MAC addresses, you’re greatly improving the security of your wireless network. For help figuring out what your network card’s MAC address is, please see this FAQ. Once you know each of the MAC addresses for your network cards, check the support Web site of your wireless router manufacturer for instructions on using MAC address security.

Common Wireless Networking Hardware Vendors

Linksys Support
Netgear Support
Microsoft Support
D-Link Support
Motorola Support
Apple (AirPort) Support

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