How to Secure the Belkin Network

Secure your Belkin router to protect yourself from hackers.

Securing a Belkin router is important if you want to protect your wireless network. At best, unauthorized users on your network slow down data speeds. At the worst, they can commit fraud against your or others using your network. It's possible for this activity to get traced back to your IP address. Protecting the router requires very little time and, in the end, protects you from computer hackers.

Things You'll Need

• CAT5 Ethernet cable

Instructions

1. Plug your computer into any of the LAN ports located on the back of the Belkin router. To do so, plug a CAT5 Ethernet cable into the Ethernet port of your computer and then plug the other end of the cable into the LAN port.

2. Open a web browser. It does not matter which web browser you choose to use. Enter 192.168.2.1 into the web address field of the web browser. This is the IP address of the router. Hit Enter on your keyboard to load the login screen for the router settings.

3. Click on the link titled "Login" on the top of the page. Enter "admin" into the user name field and leave the password field blank. Hit Enter on your keyboard to load the router settings.

4. Click on Wireless to expand the wireless drop down menu and then click on Security to access the wireless security settings.

5. Select 64-bit or 128-bit security from the drop down menu. Select Key 1 and enter in the password you want to use. According to Belkin, the password can be up to 10 digits long and must be hexadecimal. This means that letters, numbers or a combination of both are acceptable. To save the settings, select Apply.

References

• Belkin.com: Router Security