How to Make a WEP for Your Router

Keep your wireless Internet protected with a WEP key.

Wired Equivelant Privacy, or WEP for short, protects your wireless network against uninvited users. Along with the potential of viruses, unwanted people on your network can severely slow your Internet service; web pages that only took a few seconds to load previously may start to take up to a minute or more to load. Protect your network with a WEP key and only give the key to people in your household.

Instructions

1. Open your computer's web browser and navigate to your wireless router's configuration site by typing the router's IP address in the address bar. The default IP addresses for some brands of wireless routers are as follows:

   Belkin: 192.168.2.1

   Netgear: 192.168.1.1

   Linksys: 192.168.1.1 

2. Enter the user name and password associated with the site. If you did not create a username and password to log in, the default entries are as follows:

   Belkin: Username- [blank]; Password- [blank]

   Netgear: Username- "admin;" Password- "password"

   Linksys: Username- [blank]; Password- "admin"

3. Click "OK" or "Submit."

4. Click "Wireless" or "Wireless Settings."

5. Select "WEP" from the available security options, either 64-bit or the more secure 128-bit.

6. Enter a pass phrase and click "Generate" and a code will appear -- 10 digits in 64-bit mode or 26 digits in 128-bit mode. This is your WEP key to access the Internet. Click "Apply" or "Save Settings" to save your settings.

References

• Belkin Support: Protecting Your Network with WEP Security
• UC Irvine: Linksys Configuration
• UC Irvine: Netgear Configuration