Filter
Top Products
7776
Appendixes
77
ESSID Broadcast
Many wireless network adapters currently on the market possess
a feature known as site survey. It scans the air for any available
network and allows each computer to automatically select a network
from the survey. This occurs if the computer’s SSID is set to “ANY”.
Your Belkin Router can block this random search for a network. If
you disable the “ESSID Broadcast” feature, the only way a computer
can join your network is by its SSID being set to the specific name of
the network (like WLAN). Be sure that you know your SSID (network
name) before enabling this feature. It is possible to make your
wireless network nearly invisible. By turning off the broadcast of the
SSID, your network will not appear in a site survey. Obviously, turning
off the broadcast feature of the SSID helps increase security.
Encryption
Setting encryption can help keep your network secure. The Router
uses Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption to protect your data
and features two rates of encryption: 64-bit and 128-bit. Encryption
works on a system of keys. The key on the computer must match the
key on the Router, and there are two ways to make a key. The easiest
is to let the Router’s software convert a passphrase you’ve created
into a key. The advanced method is to enter the keys manually.
Application Gateways
Application gateways let you specify specific ports to be open for
specific applications to work properly with the Network Address
Translation (NAT) feature of the Router. A list of popular applications
has been included. You can select an application from the popular
choices included in the drop-down list. Your selections will be
programmed into the Router. From the drop-down list, select the row
that you want to copy the settings from, and the row you want to
copy to, and then click “Copy To”. The settings will be transferred
to the row you specified. Click “Apply Changes” to save the setting
for that application. If your application is not here, you will need to
check with the application vendor to determine which ports need to
be configured. You can manually input this port information into the
Router.